Bad Bad Bad....

gert&ed

I am not normally one for bitching but I had the worst dress shopping experience last week. I went into Bridal and Beyond in Mississauga. There website looked appealing, as though they had nice dresses and claim the best prices going. I went in, with an appointment, then was told to sit myself down at a computer to register myself....they want all your information and then you print it off so the person who is going to "help" you can have it. Then.....you can look through the dresses - yourself, but don't take ANYTHING off the rack until your "helper" comes over....so looking, looking....Every and I mean EVERY dress but one was dirty,  sweat or make up stained or snagged....I found one that I thought I might try on...yes one....but before I did I asked the price as it was not on the dress. It turns out this, just in (probably why it looked so much nicer) is a simpler dress then a number of ones I had already tried on elsewhere and was listed as being over $400 more....ummm, no thanks.

"Ok is there anything else you want to try?" Ummmm.....I just couldn't do it, all I could think of is how would my dress be treated. Maybe bridal stores are just better left not being box stores?

opalsky007

Sorry you had a bad experience. Feel free to write it up in our new vendor reviews section--see my link in the "Want to help other brides?" post for details.

Just wanted to point out some things you might not have thought of as well. While it's unfortunate, sample gowns often get badly damaged by being tried on hundreds of times by brides--this is why brides are asked not to handle the dresses without a helper. Even with precautions, they become stretched and makeup stained.

Also, there may have been some subtle differences between your desired "simpler" gown and the ones you saw elsewhere--perhaps the fabric was silk instead of polyester? Better construction? Lace or beading? These can all increase the costs, making it harder to compare between stores.

ring_pop

Sorry you didn't enjoy your experience. It sounds like their process is a little inefficient, but I don't think it's so unusual for sample dresses to be dirty or damaged - especially at a busy store like Bridal and Beyond. That's why they're sold at such a deep discount when the store wants to get rid of them. Also, don't compare dress prices unless you know it's the same item at both stores. Opalsky is right, there are lots of factors in determining dress price.

I don't see Bridal and Beyond listed in the Toronto section of the Wedding Channel site, and the site doesn't have the ability to add Canadian vendors at the moment (BOO!).

opalsky007

Thanks for the heads up. I'll ask KA when to expect this to be fixed.