I saw a few vendor reviews below and realized I could chip in with several SC bridal shop reviews (Spartanburg, Simpsonville, Mauldin, Florence). I was not the bride on any of these visits (I've still not started my own dress shopping) but I've been to these as a bridesmaid/friend with my sister as the bride (mainly) and a friend once:
Carolina Traditions in Spartanburg: I've been here three times. Once, I was a bridesmaid. They were fine, it was nothing special, nothing bad. They had nothing I could try on (I was plus sized) but no one else really does in bridesmaid dresses either. The dress arrived and was fine, though it needed to get altered.
The second time I was with my sister when she was wedding dress shopping. They were
WONDERFUL. They treated my sister like she was a princess. She tried on 11 gowns of all different tastes (she was trying to figure out what she liked). The consultant came to us midway through (my mom & I) and said quietly she thought my sister was really looking for a bridesmaid dress, since she liked simple, no train designs. We let my sister try on the rest of the gowns she'd pulled, then passed on the suggestion. They didn't care at all that we then started looking at bridesmaid dresses.
They do not work on commission (which always makes for a better experience for customers)
. She found her dress right away, and was going to order it in ivory... but she wasn't getting married for two years, so she asked them about ordering later, and they told her to call and ask if it was scheduled to be discontinued each month, because the designer would tell them in advance...
Which brings us to the third visit. We came in because they'd told us it was scheduled to be discontinued in about six weeks, so we had to order then. She went to order and... it was already discontinued a few months earlier. We freaked out. They told us it was Mori Lee's fault, for not telling them (even though a Mori Lee rep had been in the store the week before) and were very apologetic. We looked at their dresses, but didn't find anything that really compared, though we found one possiblity if it was altered. We talked to their alterations department, and they were helpful, but we decided to try to visit The Castle before settling like that. (Read the beginning of the next review, because the Mori Lee mixup really wasn't the Carolina Traditon's fault, and we don't hold it against them).
Also, as a plus sized person, while I didn't try any on, I did sneak a peek at their selection. It was very small, but it did exist. And their prices were great. We didn't see a single dress over $800.
The Castle in Spartanburg: We headed over to The Castle to see if they had anything for my sister. When we told them the story of the canceled dress (see above) they looked in their computers and told us the dress wasn't discontinued! But then they called Mori Lee, and indeed it actually was. This event confirmed to us that it was really Mori Lee's fault, not Carolina Traditons, about the dress above.
Because my sister already knew she liked bridesmaid dresses (in white or ivory) we only looked at them. They also were wonderful. They also had more 'bride like' bridesmaid dresses (including a few with trains!) so if you're going that way to save money, not because like my sister you like it better, that'd be a good option. They were patient and let us try on several... we found two possiblities but nothing compared to the first dress she loved (and had gotten all smiley and danced around in, like they do on Say Yes to the Dress) so we decided it was time to call it a day. But overall, they were very nice. I liked Carolina Tradtions a little better though.
Carolina Bride & Groom in Simpsonville: We went here really to look at bridesmaid dresses (as bridesmaid dresses, not as a bridal gown). They had almost no selection. They really just had one large rack. It is a tiny, tiny shop, and it was a little difficult to find. They were nice though. We didn't find anything we really liked. They asked my sister (she was the bride again) if she'd found her dress, and when she said no, they tried to get her to try some on... until she told them her price point and they basically said they had nothing in it. They had about one full wall of wedding gowns and that's it. They were nice, so it'd be worth checking out if you're local, but they just don't have a large selection.
Be Dazzled in Simpsonville: Okay, this isn't really a review. This is just to say that even with two different GPS (a Garmin and my sister's phone) we just could not find this shop. Not sure it still exists, but if it does, call it and get directions or something.
The Dress in Mauldin: At this point we'd not had any success at the first shop in Simpsonville, and couldn't find the second, so we just looked for the nearest Bridal shop of any kind so we could check out at least one more place before heading home. The nearest place was The Dress, which is a wedding dress consignment shop. We really didn't expect anything, because the selection would be limited based on consigners and plus my sister liked simple, bridesmaid-like wedding gowns.
The store is run by the owner, and she was polite and helpful. She pulled two dresses that somewhat fit what my sister wanted in around her size... and the second one was the dress! It was the cheapest dress I saw in the whole place (about $225). Most dresses started at $500, which I thought was crazy for consignment, but they were all at least half off the original price, so it's really just a consignment shop for higher end dresses.
My sister's dress will be majorly altered (she'd getting the train removed, and it was a size to big... now it's two because she's lost weight) but she's sooo happy to have find it after all that craziness. She was able to make a payment plan, but there's only one option for it: put half down, and pay the other half off within 30 days. But she did, and now it's in her closet waiting until closer to the wedding to be altered. (She's getting married next fall).
I really liked the owner. Oh, and they had very reasonable accessories, and my sister fell in love with a birdcage veil for only $35... but decided to wait until closer to the wedding to get it.
The Dress had no plus sized selection in my size (I looked) but they had a few just a little smaller than me. I discussed it with the owner, and it's all just based on who consigns. The vast majority were in small to average sizes, with little over 12. Oh! And she arranges them based on
street clothing sizes, not bridal sizes, which I thought was nice.
David's Bridal in Florence: This was with another bride. It wasn't that bad, but they weren't as helpful as smaller boutiques. If we hadn't reminded them that the bride said she might be interested in tea length, they wouldn't have showed us any. After the first tea length, the bride was certain that's what she wanted but not that specific dress... and they didn't offer to bring us anymore but instead tried to get us out the door. We insisted she see another tea length...
And she fell in love with it and bought it on the spot (the sample was on sale for $99).
They did help her change though, and showed her accessories, though they kind of plunked them on her head. They were also fairly busy.
Overall, I had no horrible experiences. I'll post more when I go for my own wedding dress shopping. I plan on going to Carolina Traditons and probably David's Bridal in Greenville, because I'm plus sized and poor and those seemed like my best bet in that situation.
