Need Wedding Dress Shopping Advice

swtheart1685

Hi, ladies! I will be starting wedding dress shopping soon in the Milwaukee/Racine/Kenosha area. For those who have already started shopping or who have already purchased their wedding dress, I'd love to hear your reviews of the bridal stores you've been to. I want to know the good and the bad, so I have an idea where to start looking and which places to avoid!  Thanks!

Lyra1020

It's a bit far away, but I really liked Brandi's in New Glarus (about 30 min south of Madison). Amanda helped me there, and she was fabulous. I didn't end up getting my dress from them, but they did have a great selection and good prices. I also visited Stone Manor Bridal in Cedarburg -- great customer service and and lovely gowns. Amelishan in Hubertus has a huge selection, too, but I don't like that they rip out the designer tags, so you don't really know what you're trying on. I wasn't a fan of Betrothed in Oconomowac (I doubt I spelled that right). I had an appointment, but it took them 15 minutes to help me (they were preoccupied with a bunch of teen girls wandering the store looking for prom dresses). I also didn't think they had a very "modern" selection ... a lot of dated-looking dresses. The place I got my dress is actually in Lake Zurich, Illinois, so you probably won't want to drive down there. Anyhow, it's Volle's and they had many lovely dresses.

cc7003

If you scroll to the bottom of the page and search this board for 'dress shopping' or something like that you'll see a ton of previous posts that might help you. I think you will find that it depends alot on the consultant you get at a place. There are lots of great reviews on here for Savvy but I happened to have a bad experience with them for example. On the other hand, I had a good experience at a David's Bridal but other people really despise them!

I am sad to admit that I visited ALOT of dress stores in the area! I ended up finding the dress that I love at Eva's in Oak Creek. They, like Amelishans, rip tags of out the dresses and I felt pressured there. Luckily I was able to figure out the dress and called around so that I could buy it elsewhere. I ended up purchasing it from Kathryn's in McHenry IL (about 1 hr from Racine).

I had good experiences at: Amelishans (large selection/nice staff), Davids Bridal (nice consultant/no pressure sales), Bravo (Racine-nice consultant), Kathryn's (IL)(nice consultant/no pressure), Gigi's (mequon-nice consultant but small dress selection for my price range)

I didn't have a good experience at: Savvy (poor customer service), Images (racine--don't know their stock AT ALL. I knew I wanted a fitted dress and they couldn't tell me if they had additional ones besides those that I found and pulled myself), Edith's (Fond du lac--you can print your wishlist from their website but they didn't have a single dress off of my wishlist)

Let me know if you want more specific info about any of the places. good luck!

Natrasha

I had a great experience at Savvy Bride and purchased my dress there. They don't rip tags and let you take tons of pictures. I didn't feel pressured at all, ever. My consultant even wrote down "the one" on a dress at my first appointment- and she was right! That's the one I bought. It even cost less than my top pick at David's Bridal

chamblin1

Without a doubt I recommend Vera's. She has two locations. The main store is in Madison, but I got my dress at their outlet in Janesville. THe dresses are impeccable quality and service is by far above and beyond anything I have found elsewhere. And the prices were just right! I got my dress plus alterations for $800 (originally probably a 2-$3000 dress). 

NicnJen01

I bought mine at a trunk show, (you can find on premier bride website for wisconsin) My MOH found it and got me a preview teh day before. Loved LOVE LOVED it.  otherwise i tried on my mom's dress and that's it.

jcrew_shopaholic

I hated Amelishans.  They rip out tags but if you do enough research, you will find out that you can find the dress at another local dress store for a fraction of the price.  I loved Stone Manor Bridal.  The sales staff was so friendly and helpful.  I found my dress there, as they were the only dress store in Wisconsin that carried it. Amelishan ended up carrying it later on, but their price was over double than what I ended up paying for it.  I ended up ordering my dress from Eva's Bridal because they offer price comparisons and they were able to offer me a much better deal than any other store.  I also had my bustle sewn in at Eva's Bridal (I didn't need any other alterations) and loved how it turned out!

swtheart1685

Thanks, everyone! This is very helpful!

texy72

I got mine at Betrothed in Oconomowoc.  I went EVERYWHERE and never even thought to look at Betrothed even though its in my hometown.  I had such a wonderful experience and the owners are SO NICE!  My dress was the first one I tried on there and was 50% off on clearance!  The owner was helping me that day and she was great--really honest and gave me great advice on what looked good on me.  We loved them so much we're getting our tuxes through them.  Lovely husband and wife team and I really liked spending my $ on a local mom/pop place instead of a giant chain.  Good luck!

gundy21

I got my dress (a Maggie) at Savvy - loved them.  Also had good service at Amelishan and Beratti.  Awful experience at Eva's.  From a wedding I was MOH for - I can say the Kay's and Zita's were nice as well.

AurorasEnvy

Yeah, I read several older posts before going out.  Here is what I posted in a previous post:

Hartland Bridal (Hartland) - first place I went, and I wouldn't recommend it.  We received virtually no help in selecting dresses, and as they were all stuffed into bags I had no idea which ones were which styles, etc.  Very small shop, too.

Savvy Bride (Brookfield) - This is where I am going to buy my dress!  Very cute shop, plenty of room for guests you bring, and so very helpful.  Our saleslady knew it was my first day out, and that it was very unlikely she was going to sell a dress to me that day, but she did a fantastic job & was super helpful without being pressuring or overbearing.  I am going back to get my dress from them!  They will also price match anywhere else.

Eva's Bridal (Oak Creek) - Didn't care much for it.  They apparently don't take appointments, so it was super crowded when I went, had to wait for a dressing room, where me and everyone with me crowded into because there was no place else to stand outside of it without being the way of someone else.  The dress I wanted to buy was $90 cheaper here, but the extra $90 more than compensated for the great experience I had at Savvy.  Not to mention the saleslady here was a little pushy, and told me they sell some dresses at prices lower than what they are supposed to legally in their contract with the desinger...kinda shady.  They price match too.

Christy's Bridal (Burlington) - Also very cute shop in downtown Burlington.  Very nice saleslady, apparently they don't work on commission there so there was no pushy sales pitch...she even told me that she loved the dress I was thinking about buying (which was at another store) and that she would have a hard time topping it.  I know several people who have bought here & had good experiences.

Germaine's (Lake Geneva) - Unique shopping experience as they have all their bridal gowns on mannikins, and you tag the ones you want to try on with a clip.  Very helpful & nice ladies there as well.  Didn't seem to have as much selection as other stores, and seemed a little pricier but they did offer me 20% off since they did not have the dress I wanted as a sample, which would have brought the price down to what it was at Savvy or Eva's.  

In short, I would have bought from Savvy, Christy's, or Germaine's.  I would not recommend Eva's or Hartland Bridal.

saranandy

I second the recommendation for Vera's! I had a wonderful experience there--the staff was very kind and patient (I wanted to look at a lot of stuff and am terrible with making decisions), as well as accomodating about my budget. I wound up with a $1000 Casablanca dress for $600, during the main Madison location's sample sale. I have never been to the Janesville outlet, but I have heard many good things. It's worth a drive. Do schedule an appointment though, as they are one of the only Madison area bridal retailers and can be quite busy.