Say Yes to the Dress??

prodigalgirl

Have you ladies watched that show?  It seems that the overwhelming concensus among the consultants is that the bride shouldn't bring a lot of people.  But then, it seems that they're always complaining about whoever is there with the bride, so does it really matter?  Sometimes I think they'd only be happy if the bride came alone and listened to whatever the consultant had to say about the dress ("Oh!  It's so beautiful on you!  I've never seen it look prettier on any other bride!!") and had NO budget.
The budget thing bugs me.  I mean, when a bride comes in with a $2000 budget, they act like she's SO beneath them!  Then again, I don't see anything wrong with getting a $99 dress at DB

I'm addicted to the show, but sometimes those consultants bug me!

lodonnell616

At the end of the day, they are commission based sales people...of course they want ot sell the most expensive dress!!!

kayakrunhike

Trust me, bringing a ton of people only adds confusion to the mix.  I went dress shopping with my bff (I was her MOH) and 9 other family members/BMs, and it was a nightmare.  Too many opinions was the least of it. 

I don't think it's so much that having less than a $2k budget is beneath them as it is the fact that they probably don't have a ton of dresses available in the style the bride might be looking for at that price. (As one of the consultants on the atlanta show said, they've got champagne dreams and beer wallets.) And yes, it is a smaller comission for the consulatant as well. 

noelle24

It's Kleinfelds.  They don't HAVE a lot of dresses for less than $2k, especially once you consider the cost of alterations.  People need to be realistic about their budgets and what they can afford.  More than likely, those brides are just there to play dress up and get the "Kleinfeld experience".

At the end of the day, they make their  money through commissions on sales.  It's very unlikely that a $2k budget bride is going to buy anything from them, so it's a waste of their time and a loss of money for them.  

If you watch long enough, they are MORE annoyed when a bride isn't honest about their budget and falls in love with a dress they can't afford.  Why? Because that means no sale.  They'd rather sell a $3k dress than have a bride fall in love with a $10k dress that they will never buy.

GreenPepperBurger

Kleinfeld's prices start at $1500. I always find, when I watch the show, that the consultants always bring out a really expensive gown that's way out of budget, knowing the bride will fall in love with it. It pisses me off. Why can't it be like the good ol' days when my mother bought her wedding dress at Kleinfeld's for $300?

prodigalgirl

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_say-yes-dress?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:ef6ed41c-1484-4b86-a7bb-18c113540ff4Post:45c23e9e-7a86-4cab-bd8f-33d253e0abab">Re: Say Yes to the Dress??</a>:
[QUOTE]If you watch long enough, they are MORE annoyed when a bride isn't honest about their budget and falls in love with a dress they can't afford.  Why? Because that means no sale.  [/QUOTE]

But I've seen the consultants on more than one occasion pull dresses that are over the bride's budget just hoping she'll spring for the extra. 

rickylee244

This is just a generalization - I had a $2000 budget, bought my dress at Klienfelds.  NO pressure for a higher budget.  ALL the dresses that she brought out were in my price range.   Also, they even helped me out with price because they had to order a different pattern for the top of the dress (std size is a B cup and I am much larger than that) so they discounted the dress to compensate for the extra cost of the new pattern and in the end I actually got $200 off the price of the dress. 

I only brought my mom and my MIL (which was great because she bought hers at Klienfelds when it was still in Brooklyn).  It was so much better with less opinions. 

I truely believe the experience is base on how you feel going into it and the converations with your consultant prior to her bringing in dresses (and that goes for anywhere).  If you leave things out (like budget) or have a dress you MUST try on that is way out of your price range, you are going to leave with nothing. 

*off soapbox* 

Ana_2985

I agree with everything Noelle and Ricky said.  It's a TV show.  Chances are, what we see on the show isn't what happens/happened in real life.  Ricky is a perfect example of that.

I think it depends on the individual person whether or not it's a good idea to bring a lot of people with you.  I brought my mom, my three sisters, an aunt, and three cousins with me to one appointment.  Yes, that's a lot of people.  But I love them and I knew they were going because they were happy for me and I know that they truly believe I look beautiful in everything so I didn't bring them to get opinions from them.  They were just there to have fun with me.  At the salon where I bought my dress, I had my mom, three sisters, and my niece.  And I DID care what they thought.  But they know me well so their opinions were based on what I like, not what they liked.

Short-story: You know yourself and your friends and family. If you want to bring lots of people, do it.

[Deleted User]

I'm taking a total of 6 people with me (my mom, my future niece since FSIL lives OOT, our matchmaker, a BM, my MOH and her mom).  I really hadn't wanted to take that many, thought it was a lot, but I know everyone going with me has my best interests in mind and know that I won't be pressured into getting something I don't want.  My mom and I have always shopped well together for clothing, we have very similar tastes.  Mom is also paying for the dress - she hasn't actually given me a budget yet, but she has seen the prices of all the dresses on their website and hasn't complained or said any of them are too high (the most expensive dress on their website is $1100, I think).

My MOH has already been told she's not allowed to comment on any dress I come out in, unless it's to tell me it's pretty.  She & I don't agree on fashion at all. Originally I wasn't going to include her, but I was afraid her feelings would be hurt and she was so excited when I asked her to come...she's 42 yrs old, but is mentally challenged (had leukemia at age 4 and the treatments left her with brain damage) - most of the time she functions around a 12 yr old.  I just couldn't break her heart and tell her she couldn't come and now I'm happy I made the decision to let her come.

I'm like others, I think the dress shopping experience is what you make of it. If you communicate what you want to your consultant and bring along people who really care about you and keep an open mind, it'll be a great experience.

leia1979

They pick certain scenarios for the drama. I'm sure folks who go in knowing their budget and stick to it and bring a respectful group of people are the ones who don't make it on TV. That wouldn't be dramatic enough.

I do like to see the pretty dresses, but I want to slap some of these people sometimes! I do know that I would never go someplace like Kleinfeld's or Lori's because I would not spend that much on a dress.

ETA: Just to clarify, the people I want to slap are usually the bride or her friends, not the consultants. I actually like them. I just know I'd never want to spend enough to be able to shop at those kinds of stores.

Goldlie11

I find that most times they tell brides not to try on things above the budget.  There have been a few cases where someone has had an unrealistic budget for what they want.  In that case, the consultant has usually told them that they would have to increase the budget or go somewhere else.  

Most of the consultants don't make rude comments about lower budgets. I can only think of 2 consultants who have made rude comments.  

zipis1

Generally I don't think large parties for dress shopping are a good idea. You end up with way too many opinions, which is what happened with my best friend when she went (she brought eight people, if I'm counting correctly). It was the biggest headache ever, people started getting cranky, which made others cranky, which then made the bride cranky, and just...ugh.

And with that show, I think the consultants just seem to get upset when the people the bride brings with her are not letting her have fun with it, or make fun of her for liking something. And honestly while watching it I would get a bit irritated too, as would BF (he watched it with me). And as far as the budgeting goes, while they would go over budget sometimes, it seemed they generally tried to stay within it or only go a little over if they were having trouble. The only times I saw them go ridiculously over was when they'd tried on everything else but the bride hated them all, so they'd pull an expensive one out since she obviously had expensive tastes.

PandaBurr

Am I the only one who doesn't like the Atlanta show?

Either way, I'm really starting to get the bug. Must. Wait. One. More. Year.

bethsmiles

I don't think the staff is as good on the Atlanta show as the original. I don't mind watching it though. But really watching any wedding shows make me impatient to have a ring on my finger so I've cut back on watching any especially since we keep pushing our timeline further and further back.

Goldlie11

The Atlanta show makes me feel like I'm watching the same show over and over again.  I feel like with the original we get to know the consultants a bit better.  I feel the Atlanta one a mostly about the owner.

I also feel that the NY one picks the brides and families a bit better.  We see all kinds of personalities and family dynamics.  I feel like the Atlanta one is all about the bitchy moms.  

PandaBurr

Honestly, I don't like it because the owner in the Atlanta one voices her opinions too strongly. She seems really snotty to me.

bethsmiles

Yeah I really don't like the owner of the Atlanta one.

teetooshort

I honestly love that show.  I haven't seen much of Atlanta.  I just like to see what the brides try on and how it looks on different people.  But there is no way I would consider a dress at those prices.  (If I could, I would!! )

deburnin

I'm totally addicted. BF will text me to ask see if I'm awake when it's on (my sleeping schedule is pretty backwards so I'm usually up all night and sleep during the day). lol I felt all discombobulated when they had the Little People, Big World marathon on Labor Day. Totally through off my routine. lol

Sometimes that people that the bride chooses to bring drive me nuts. I hate when the family/friend say "I don't like the style" when it's clear that the bride is in love with the dress... Like really? It's not your wedding dress. When it's your wedding then you can decide. If you're paying for the dress I can kind of understand voicing your opinion more, but it still irks me. And that is why I will be paying for my own dress (in the far off distance future). I don't want to feel like I have to please the person who's putting up the money, not that my parents would have the money to do that anyway.

Bring the amount of people that a lot of those brides do just seems so overwhelming. I want my mom and gramma to come and that's it.