I got my dress yesterday! And I had a great experience with the store, so I thought I would share.
I was a little hesitant about the Buckhead store before going in because I knew they focused on the more designer styled offerings. I was worried about finding something in my price range (preferably close to $500). Still, I decided to check it out because they are much closer than any of the other locations.
The store has all the designer dresses up front. The first room contains the Melissa Sweet, Vera Wang, and Oleg Cassini dresses. They were beautiful dresses, but I knew I couldn't spend that much money. We are trying to do the entire wedding for $5,000-$7,000, so spending over $1,000 on a dress was out of the question. The next room back has the dresses that you usually think of for Davids Bridal and were much more the price point I had in mind. They don't carry as many of these dresses as the other stores do, but there was still a good selection for us to pick from.
The lady at the front desk seemed a little annoyed with me for not making an appointment before coming in. (I did try, but their online appointments weren't working.) Since we were all taking the afternoon off work to go shopping, I didn't know exactly what time we were going to be there. Plus I figured a weekday afternoon wouldn't be too busy for them to fit us in - so I didn't feel an appointment was necessary. They were able to get us in a dressing room within 30 minutes.
Other than the lady at the front desk being a little short with us, the rest of the service we received was fantastic! This was unlike any other Davids Bridal I've ever been to. There were no mass rows of changing rooms; it had much more of a small boutique feel - and the boutique service to go with it. They make a personalized sign for your fitting room with your name and wedding date on it. (Afterward, I was able to keep it as a momento.) Jillian was my consultant, and she was wonderful. She stayed with us the entire time, helping us select dresses, helping me get into them, and even figuring out the best undergarments. She took time with each dress so that I could make up my mind. She got one of the alterations ladies to come show us the bustle options for the dress I ended up getting. (We really liked how the dress bustled, and that was probably part of the decision.) The lady from alterations even came back at the end to look at a couple of undergarments and help me decide which worked best with the dress. And when my mind was made up, I got to ring the bell, and everyone in the salon cheered for me!
The dress I chose is a regular Davids Bridal dress that is available on their website. I got it for a fantastic price, at $499. I know some people prefer the designer dresses, but for my smaller wedding it is perfect and right in the range I wanted to spend. They didn't have it available in my size, so we ended up ordering it. I was concerned about a special order with my July wedding date, but they said the dress should only take about 6 weeks to come in.
Sorry for such a long post, but if anyone is considering a dress at Davids Bridal, I would highly recommend this location for the personalized service compared to their other stores. I enjoyed being able to have a special day with my mom and MOH. I have had horrific experiences with the alterations departments at other Davids Bridal stores, so we will see how that part of the process goes. But the expertise of the lady I talked to yesterday gave me confidence.
Just for comparison, we went to a smaller salon last weekend and looked at a Mary's Bridal dress that I also really liked. I thought we got great service there, but the experience yesterday definitely topped it!
