Although I am wedding planning in my hometown of Pittsburgh, I had to stop by the Minneapolis boards to sing the praises of Andrea's Vintage Bridal! I never thought I would buy the second dress I tried on, and only go to one bridal shop, but that's what happened here!
I have walked past Andrea's Vintage Bridal on occasion, so upon my recent engagement, I knew this was my first resource for bridal gown shopping. It is a small, mother/daughter business, located in a former garage that has been turned into a great little vintage haven! Their adorable poodle named Pierre lazes around the shop. A small parking lot is associated with the building, to avoid Uptown parking woes. They offer vintage accessories (jewelry, headpieces, purses, etc) in addition to a wide selection of vintage gowns from the 1920s to 1990s. It appeared there were a variety of size options as well. Each dress has a handwritten label attached to the dress-bag, describing the era of the dress, fabric/detailing, or any special stories about that particular item. One dress I tried on was a vintage item from Bulgaria!
I have communicated primarily with Nikolina, who is a lovely young woman and a total vintage-dress whiz! She absolutely respected and celebrated my love of unique fabrics and vintage silhouettes; however, I understand there are also more classic gowns available for those with modern/traditional tastes. She sent me an email with some questions about my preferences prior the appointment. The appointment occurred over a 2-hour time slot, during which time Nikolina provided me with a variety of about 15 dresses, carefully curated based on my feedback from the prior gowns. They only see one customer at a time, so my group and I got a wonderfully personal experience with Nikolina and her assistant. I felt that Nikolina really understood my aesthetic, as I liked elements of each gown.
After just a 2-hour appointment, I found the perfect gown, thanks to the top-notch experience here! Since each dress is one-of-a-kind, you have to be prepared to make a move if you really like a piece. Nikolina suggested that she temporarily put the dress "on hold" while we take a leisurely lunch to think it over -- we scurried right back afterwards and left with a gorgeous, Great Gatbsy-inspired gown! The price was right, too -- my dress (which has beautiful lace, and beadwork details) was $850 and is absolutely "the one" regardless of price tag. Everyone in my family was shocked at the low cost for such a quality dress (thanks to too many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, even my dad thought the gown would be in $5,000 range) -- now we have extra cash to put towards the perfect venue!
The next steps are to meet with Emily, the in-house seamstress. She has prior experience at Monique Lhuillier, so I am pumped to meet with her soon to tweak the dress and make it the perfect fit! My alterations were estimated as being a maximum of $400, which seems appropriate for modernizing the dress a little and making it fit like a glove. As an FYI, Nikolina is a strong advocate for getting a bra fitting before your appointment (at a non-mall store sort of place).
Overall, I highly recommend Andrea's Vintage Bridal to those who have a love of vintage, or want a one-of-a-kind piece that stands out from the current trends!