David's Bridal

Lilshell812

Pros and cons of getting a wedding dress at DB? It seems to have a bit of a taboo reputation but for someone who is cost conscious, it seems like the way to go. Thoughts?

Summer2011Bride

I did not order my wedding gown with them but did get my BM dresses there. A lot of the cons I experienced were specific to my local store, so take this with a grain of salt.

My MOH and I had an appointment to try on BM dresses. It was in the evening and was not a busy time at the store. However, our consultant was never around, would leave us waiting on a different dress or different size forever, and was overall not very helpful. They also pushed us to order right away (this was in Dec for a July wedding) but I'm glad I just went with my gut and let the girls wait until Feb to order because they came in within 3 weeks.

Again the consultant issue was a local one, but when I have been in DB before, I have seen consultants assigned to more than one bride and it seemed kind of frantic. I went to a local dress shop and had one girl working with only me the whole time; she was very attentive and helpful. I think it's just the difference between a local store and a chain.  However they do have a wide variety of price points and some nice dresses so I wouldn't necessarily write them off, just be prepared for the experience you might have when you go in. For budget dresses, you might also check local shops where you can purchase dresses off the rack.

QueerFemme

I think the pros are, that they have a large selection and can get dresses pretty quickly, and they are all over the place, so pretty accessible.  Also, they have a very wide selection of dresses for under $500.00 if you are looking for a pretty simple dress.

The cons are, their dresses aren't that high of a quality (fabric, beading, etc.) compared to "designer" dresses.  Even lower priced designer dresses like Alfred Angelo and Mori Lee are significantly higher quality.  And those designers are typically priced around the same price as David's Bridal. 

Their customer service is iffy, from store to store. Sometimes, they are over the top nice, and others, you can't get anyone to help you.

The other con of DB is their alterations prices are crazy expensive. So, if you do end up with a dress from DB, consider having your alterations done elsewhere.

My personal experience is... I tried on probably 20 dresses at DB.  The consultant was nice, but the dresses just felt "cheap", compared to the designer dresses I tried on. I did narrow it down to one dress at DB that I liked, but it was going to be about $1100.00, once they put in a corset back.  Alfred Angelo will alter a dress to corset back for free.  I ended up buying a Mori Lee that was $995.00 and already had a corset and, the beading, fabric and stitching was 100% nicer than the dress at DB.

Maggie0829

I have to restate what PP said.  Each location is different and each brides experience is different.

I didn't purchase my dress from DB but did have an appointment.  The consultant they assigned to me was not very helpful and hated the fact that I came with a list of dresses I wanted to try on.  She just grabbed the dresses, hung them in the dressing room, and then said "If you need any help just come and find me."  Um, what?  So needless to say she was helping more then one bride that day.  So my sister helped me in the dresses and the consultant would come back every once in a while.  We complained about her to the front desk and they gave us someone different who was the complete opposite of our first woman.  She was very attentive and helpful.  I tried on so many dresses that day that it was hard to keep track.  She did write down the styles that I liked before we left and told us if we had any questions to call.

But, like I said, I found my dress elsewhere but it may have been a different story if my experience wasn't so tainted by our first consultant.

kikirst33

I had horrible customer service when I went to DB... however I still found the dress i loved there and purchased from them.

As PP have said you may get great service or (like me) it can simplty stink. I am not using them for alterations but am very happy with the dress that I purchased.

kymalibustacey

I got my dress there. It does prob depend on the location. My consultant was GREAT! My dress came in early. I haven't gotten alteration yet so I can't speak to that. I know my MOH lives in another state and went to try on a dress I had picked out and the service at the store she went to wasn't as good.

Ividian

I had a bad experience with the employee I worked with at my local David's Bridal. I purchased my gown elsewhere.

finleyac

The customer service at the Anchorage store is amazing! (not that that helps you since you're not in Anchorage). I've dealt with so many different consultants there from my original dress appointment, to going back to try on a dress, to bridesmaids dresses, and even just stopping by and looking for accessories. I did not end up buying my dress there because they just didn't have the perfect dress, but I did the bridesmaids dresses through them because my bridesmaids are all over the country and they could all go in and try on the dresses before they ordered them. I've been in two weddings now where I ordered bridesmaids dresses based on the size charts and they were way too big!

So those are my pro's: locations and service (at my store), oh, and price if you're worried about that, I did find, though, that the one dress that was a top contender for me at David's Bridal was only $100 less than the dress I ended up picking from my local bridal boutique. I was more surprised by the prices at my local bridal boutique that they had a broad range or prices as well!

random4180

I had a fabulous experience with DB! It only took me one day to find my dress and since it was on sale and off the rack, I walked out with a $449 dress that originallt went for $1250. I chose to use them for my alterations after finding out some seamstresses with great reputations cost as much and don't include cleaning the dress (which DB does for free) and DB will at least back up their work so that if they ruin your dress somehow, they can replace it or order another- once you take it to another seamstress, that security goes out the window. You can- and should- research on the particular shop that your going to and make an appointment, preferrably on a weekday when it's less crowded. I absolutely love my dress and the DB I got it at but, like any other chain, every store and every staff is going to be different. I found the risks more than worth it. 

JoeAnne2013

Con: I hated the customer service. I was engaged years ago and bought a gown from them, they were absolutely horrible to work with, enough that I knew this time around I would not even consider them.

However, the pro is they do have some beautiful gowns at great prices so if I were on an extremely tight gown budget, I would have sucked it up and dealt with the crap customer service. However, if you have at least $600.00 to spend on a gown I would recommend going elsewhere.

QueerFemme

PS.  We did get our BMs dresses from there... and did not have a good experience at two different stores.   The first store... there was never a sales person/consultant to be found.  We pulled our own dresses, got into them ourselves.... I found the clips on the back of someone else's door to clip my BMs into the dresses. 

One dress came in at a store in Los Angeles a wrinkled, crinkled mess and DB told her to take it to a dry cleaner and have it steamed.  The other dress showed up at a store in the bay area with the stitching all wrong and little pinholes in it.  We had to send it back and get another dress, that one came in with the rouching in the front of the drress missing.  It was completely flat where there was supposed to be rouching on the bodice.

So.. in addition to the crummy service... so far, their products have sucked for me too.

Stinalove44

I dislike them VERY MUCH. i have had to buy brides maids dresses there a few times. and they were always very poorly constructed and the seems always started to come undone during the reception. I dont know how well constructed their wedding dresses are but personally, I would not buy my wedding dress there.

lyradimer

I've been to 4 different DB stores and there is a ton of variation. Some have been very kind and attentive, others have been rude or pushy on trying to sell to me. I did find my dress from them, a Galina that felt just as nice in quality as the designer dresses I tried on elsewhere. I'd recommend looking up your local store on Yelp, and also looking through their website a lot ahead of time so you at least have an idea of what you want if you end up with someone inattentive.

AllieS421

I bought my dress at Davids this weekend. It is a beautiful dress and I got exactly what I wanted, a full lace/beaded gown, for 600. When I said what I wanted and my budget at other bridal shops, they said there was no way I could have lace for under 1000 and I did it. My experience at the store was wonderful. Our consultant was so friendly and encouraging and the store manager helped me in and out of dresses when my consultant had to help her other client. I went on a Sunday afternoon and still got the attention I wanted and the dress of my dreams... so I'm very proDavids so far.

janellaj

I hated my experience at David's Bridal it kinda put a sour taste in my mouth for dress shopping. The consultants are just rude and fake, they make you wait and talk about you behind thier backs. On top of that they are unbeleivably not helpful, they couldn't be bothered to look for a dress found onlne at another store. I don't recomend going there.

divinemsbee

 Yeah, I think what's important, as PPs have said, is that you're not going to know how your local store is unless you go or ask someone on your local board. It's a total crapshoot in terms of if you end up with a great consultant or not. 

My experience wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as the appointment I had at the Alfred Angelo right before it. Totally subjective. My consultant was kind of distracted, but it was a Saturday evening. If you do choose to go with them, I'd try to make my appointment for a weekday so that you get some attention. I will say that as someone who's on the brink of plus-sized (I'm a 14, my wedding dress ended up at an 18), it was drilled into my head that David's would have tons of dresses in my size for me to try on and have lots of styles. Not so much at my store. There were about 5 dresses that I could try on and zip or fasten all the way up. There also wasn't much choice as to style, mostly ruching and satin, exactly what I didn't want. 

I will say that I just liked the dresses in Alfred Angelo so much better, without even going into the service side of it. They might be a little more expensive, but they also have some pretty great sales. 

sparkellyy

I had a great experience at David's Bridal just this past weekend. Due to it being July 4th weekend, I took advantage of knowing they would not be crowded. And - I was the only bride in the store.

I did not even expect to find anything. I went to try on dresses to see what styles look best on me so I knew what I was searching for on the computer. I didn't want to fall in love with a mermaid if I knew I'd look horrible in it.

My consultant had so much patience. She had me try on every style. Even things I thought I wouldn't like she'd say "Well, I want to see you in it!!". We were there for 4 hours, and I ended up finding my dream dress. She pulled it from the back. It was a discontinued style from the warehouse that had never even been tried on by anyone else.

I have been to DB with friends and know that it is crowded and they do not give you enough attention. A consultant can be working with more than one bride at a time. Try to pick a time you would think it is slow. Maybe a morning during the week. She also told me that this time of year is very slow for them, whereas late fall/early winter they really pick up again for the summer weddings.