Budget Bride...David's Bridal??

Knottie30705674

I am toying with the idea of getting my dress from David's Bridal.  But i just want opinions and experiences on Quality, Customer service and Brand as a whole.  Are there better options for a budget bride?

CMGragain

David's Bridal sells about 33% of the wedding gowns in the USA.  They must be doing something right.  They are a franchise.  Each store has basically the same merchandise, but the experience can vary, depending on the staff of your local DB.  Daughter was pleased with the staff at DB in Bowie, MD, but she bought her dress elsewhere.  They can be very busy.  Your best bet is to make an appointment on a weekday.
David's Bridal manufactures ALL of their dresses (no matter what the designer's name) in their factories in China.  There is no middleman, so prices can be more budget friendly.  Their turnover is faster, so a dress that you try on tomorrow might be discontinued six months down the line.
They have a good website, which features clearance styles.  I wouldn't order from it until you have gone to a DB and tried on some of their gowns, so you know the sizing.

cgss11

The store that I live closest to was a "Collection" store, if that makes a difference. It's my understanding they have a little higher of a minimum price point in store.

That said, my experience was great. I had an appointment, and it was very "say yes to the dress". I found a great dress, that was within my budget. The dress came in earlier than they quoted, and their seamstress did a wonderful job on my alterations (those were a little pricey though).

All in all, I had a wonderful experience.

Maggie0829

Why don't you just go to DB to see what the quality of their dresses are like in person?

As far as customer service goes, that is really store to store dependent.  Just like with any other retailer you can have a shitty experience at one store but a great experience at another.

MesmrEwe

It's greatly going to depend on your local location for the experience.  I have one near me that is over the top fantastic - but the other David's location nearby is known as one of the worst bridal shops in the region because of their customer no-service...  The one with the great service has the same policies, it's just that they're up-front about them and don't say them in condescending and rude ways, and when there's an issue, they are on it instead of blaming the customer (this happened to a friend whose BM dress didn't show up, they were told "it'll be here on the truck"...for weeks... week of the wedding comes ... "No, we can't get that dress..." Blamed the bride/BM, when they'd ordered it about 6mo earlier!  Then after about 40 phone calls trying to locate something in the system, the bridal shop had the dress, in the right color/fabric, size, etc. sitting on their rack... And they were still trying to blame the bride/BM for the issue - Yea, that didn't go over well..) 

Bridal shops in general carry a variety of price-points so it is good to shop around, just remember this is an emotional sale and the staff want to make a sale that day anywhere you go.  Some places stoop lower than others.  Alterations can double the cost of the gown no matter where you go and is something you need to factor in to your budgeting process, so order a dress in the size you are that day.  The nice thing with David's is most of the time you can try on a dress that is in/near your size so you can compare (something those of us who are plus-size can't do easily)

Knottie30705674

Just wanted to say thanks for the thoughts...

Many ask why i haven't gone into the store, it is because i am not living in the U.S right now, and all my info comes from their website, i figured there had to be brides that have gone there or shopped there so before i came back and made an appointment at least i could have an idea of what i was in for.  Also sorry this was posted multiple times I'm new to forums so if any one could also tell me how to delete posts that would be great.

artbyallie

My dress was purchased at David's Bridal. As with any chain, customer service will vary wildly with location. The quality, however, was quite acceptable for the price (my seamstress agreed it was well made). I would never ever ever have alterations done there, however. I didn't, so I can't speak specifically to them, but again chain stores can vary and I have heard horror stories regarding price and execution for their alterations. I used a trusted professional who also happens to be a long time family friend.

[Deleted User]

I had a good experience for my dress and bad experience for the BM dresses. The key thing is make an appointment. For my dress, I had the most wonderful sales person helping me out. She was so helpful and even got me to try on a dress that I had previously rejected, and it turned out to be the one. She knew what looked good on different body types and listened to what I liked and found me the perfect dress. My alterations experience was great too, I'm sure I could have gotten them cheaper, but with the work I was having done, I felt more comfortable having them do it because I figure, they have worked on this dress before for other brides. I loved my dress and it held up great and looked beautiful. Now the sales clerk that was assigned to us when we went back for the BM dresses, was useless. She didn't do anything, she helped a co-worker with a bride that she was working with. My girls and I pulled all the dresses ourselves for them to try on. Due to her lack of assistance, we didn't buy the dresses that night. Instead, since we knew the sizes, I went on e-bay and was about to find 3 out of the 4 dresses that were needed for a huge savings. Even with the cost of dry cleaning those dresses, it was still half the price of buying them new.

MaggieF1990

I got my dress at David's Bridal and I was pretty happy with my experience. We originally went there rather than a boutique/local shop because we felt the prices would be much lower at DB. They were lower in general; unfortunately, I spent a bit more than we originally intended and possibly what I would have spent at a local boutique. Having said that, I loved my dress and others are correct in saying customer service can vary, but I liked my stylist as well! She was super sweet and coincidentally similar to my body type so she was able to help me out with different styles that would look best.

AddieCake

I had a great experience there.