Delaware

Fantasia Bridal - RANT! Horrible service, tags cut out.

I went in saturday with a friend. Started out great as I saw a gown in the window that looked like the gown I had feel in love with. As we were looking around I notice they cut the tags out of the gowns so you can not find out the designer. They have a "salon style" tag on the gowns. My assosiate lead me to belive the gown I was trying on was Watters Bridal line gown that I had seen online and was in the window when I came in. Only to find out they are not a realter of that designers bridal line when I checked after I got home.

 I emailed them today asking who makes the gown and I was sent back a message of " We are very sorry, it is store policy not to give out information about which designer makes which dress. Once again we are sorry for the inconvenience."

They also link bridal designers on there website that are not functioning websites so you can not see the gowns. I don't mind giving a salon my money,  as I am a second time bride and I have been through this all before. But practices like this piss me off. I would rather buy in a salon then online but not if a salon is going to treat me this way.

Re: Fantasia Bridal - RANT! Horrible service, tags cut out.

  • dibsontopdibsontop member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I purchased my gown from Fantasia.  I was slightly annoyed that they wouldn't tell you who made the gown, but it wasn't all that difficult to figure out.  I just went through the links on their website and in about 10 minutes found the dress.  Then I compared prices at other salons and found they had the best deal.  Sorry you didn't have a good experience there.  Try not to let it bother you too much.  Just find another shop deserving of your money :)  That's the approach I took with Brides & Grooms where I had a terrible experience.

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  • Mattsbride10Mattsbride10 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    They do that so you can't shop around. I've heard some shops will do that.
    imageBaby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • edited December 2011
    I have never heard a good story about Fantasia.  Brides and Grooms, however, has a wonderful reputation on this board and I had a fantastic experience with them.  They let you take pics, they don't remove tags or anything like that, and they price match (including online competitors).
  • edited December 2011
    thats sounds really sketchy to me.
  • MrsCross2BMrsCross2B member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I never went to Fantasia after hearing too much bad word of mouth.  I ended up getting my dress from Brides & Grooms in Newark.  Everyone there was super sweet and super helpful.  I especially loved that I didn't have to comb through not one rack of dresses.  My consultant asked me what I was looking for and brought me dress after dress until we found 'the one'.  It's true what others have said, the salon is small and appears chaotic, but the staff really knows the stock and is happy to help. 

    On a related note, I think they may have charged me a bogus fee to order my Casablanca gown in a petite length.  I've heard from other brides that no such fee from Casablanca exists, and it's a little unnerving to hear this after I had such a postive experience with thier salon.  I'm going to do a little more research before I decide if it's worth making a fuss over. 
  • edited December 2011
    MrsCross- I have heard that sometimes the manufacturer requires an extra deposit amount for either petite or tall sizes.  I have also heard that other salons don't "charge" this amount (and advertise that they don't, either) because their pricing on stock overall is so much higher that they are able to cover those costs.  Because Brides and Grooms keeps pricing as low as possible (especially in this area), they may have had to charge you because it's not "included" like in other salons.  While it sucks that it cost you extra, overall, for the salon, it's the best business decision they can make.
  • dibsontopdibsontop member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    MrsCross - I do believe there is a special charge for petite or extra length from Casablanca.  I ordered a Casablanca from Fantasia and was told about the charge, although with my height I didn't need it.  The way it was originally explained to me was that they actually pull your dress out of production to get it to the exact length that you'll need.

    Oh, and YEAH!!! for CasaBlanca brides  Smile

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  • dibsontopdibsontop member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_delaware_fantasia-bridal-rant-horrible-service-tags-cut-out?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:77Discussion:e365b244-dc84-4886-bf69-a0a000a9b738Post:3e4ce073-7c98-44d6-81bb-aeb4364962b6">Fantasia Bridal - RANT! Horrible service, tags cut out.</a>:
    [QUOTE]My assosiate lead me to belive the gown I was trying on was Watters Bridal line gown that I had seen online and was in the window when I came in. Only to find out they are not a realter of that designers bridal line when I checked after I got home.
    Posted by MrsJPalamar[/QUOTE]

    According to the Watters website, Fantasia does carry partial lines of both Watters and WToo.  Fantasia's website is probably just not updated.

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  • edited December 2011
    @MrsCross...Alfred Angelo charged me $50 for petite
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  • MrsCross2BMrsCross2B member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I'm glad to know it wasn't just me that paid a fee for a custom length.  MsBriar-I think maybe you are right.  The cost for the gown itself seemed sooo low to start with.  And even with all the changes I made, custom length, corset back and adding 3 feet to the train, my gown was still just over $1000 dollars.  I had such a super positive experience with them, I would hate to think they would try to get over on me.  But if other girls have paid the same fee then it must be legit.  I'm glad I mentioned it here before I called and said anything.  Because I really like the salon and staff SO much.  I would hate to damage the relationship at this point. 
  • RogueQueenRogueQueen member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Most of the problems i am aware of with Brides and Grooms is with the bridemaids side of the business. Myself and several other girls who were in two of the same weddings had problems both times they ordered the dresses, usually ordering them ridicously big to then charge a huge fee with alterations. I would think it was just me but its happened twice to me and to several people as well. They just don't listen when ou say you want a certain size, they order what they want anyway. Its very frustrating. I also would think that is like every store across the board but no other bridal salon has ever messed up my bridesmaid dress order like that. But as far as bridal gowns i haven't heard a ton of issues.
  • MrsJPalamarMrsJPalamar member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I actually contacted Watters about the gown they had at Fantasia and was told it was not the watters gown I tried on as Fantasia has the Wtoo line and Watters Maids but not the Watters Bridal line. If you check Watters site it also shows they do no carry Watters Brides(Silly designer and haveing 5 different lines with that and not all salons having all the lines)


    I'm just so frustated becuase I fell in love with a gown there but will not order it there and after going through all the WORKING links on there website for who they carry couldn't find the gown online. I am guessing it is from the non-working link desginer. :( And that deisgner is just not a normal designer it seems so I have yet to find another salon that stocks it.

    Where is bride and grooms at? We went to Jennifers before Fantasia the other day then started back up here in PA. It is just crazy because where I live at our only bridal salon closed a year ago and now it is about a 45 minute drive to any salons.


  • edited December 2011
    Brides and Grooms is in Newark, right by Christiana Hospital.
  • redreviving6redreviving6 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Fantasia is the absolute worst!  I had the same experience and one of my BMs found the dress I loved online and yes, it was Casablanca!  I ended up ordering another Casa dress from Brides and Grooms.  LOVED them!  Saturdays are really busy...but other than that they are great!

    Oh, btw...some of my BMs dresses were HUGE too!
  • edited December 2011
    I went to Fantasia last Saturday too.  I was surprised how small the store was, and I didn't find anything I liked.  Actually, the only dress I tried on had a huge rip on the inside.  I noticed right away that it smelled like stale cigarette smoke in there too, and just seemed really dirty and ghetto to me.  I finally found a dress today at Davids Bridal and ordered it, it's so cute and I can't wait for my wedding now!
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