I haven't had any major issues yet, but I've had enough minor things concern me & I've heard enough horror stories to make me ask this question. Is there anything I can do to make my experience with David's Bridal go as smoothly as possible? I didn't get my dress there, but my bridesmaids dresses are from there because most of them are out of town, and I thought it would be easier.
Extra details of the minor things (beware this part is long): I had been warned against doing anything with David's Bridal by multiple people, but they are the only choice near me except for a consignment shop and a bridal store that said I would have to get something off the rack because it was too close to the wedding date to order from their designers. I tried on dresses at the consignment shop first, and then went to David's to at least start getting an idea of what I liked. I told the lady helping us that I wanted to try on a variety of necklines, styles, etc because I honestly had no clue what I wanted. In the two hours we were there, she ONLY brought me sweetheart necklines, and the rest of the style of the dress was very similar too.
The next weekend I found my dress at the shop that had said I would have to get something off the rack (it was discontinued). Immediately after that appointment, I had another appointment at David's Bridal, so we used that appointment for my MOH to try on Bridesmaids dresses. When they mentioned I didn't have my dress yet, I simply told them I had found my dress at a different store. They weren't busy, but it was like pulling teeth to get them to pull dresses for us, and once again, I left there frustrated. We had managed to narrow it down to 4 dresses, so I sent the style numbers to my sister (my only other bridesmaid I had chosen at the time) so she could try them on and give me her opinion. She was told one of the dresses was discontinued, but she found another dress she really liked that we had wanted my MOH to try on, but we had been told that was discontinued.
A couple weeks later, I had finalized my WP, and was visiting Minnesota for 2 days where the other 3 live. I wanted to dress shop with them if possible, and I was so incredibly grateful when all 3 were able to make it along with my step-mom, grandmother, and flower girl. (Who gets that lucky?)
After we got to the appointment, we chose a few dresses, and then when we got back to the dressing rooms, the consultant asked which girl would be trying on the dresses. I've only been in one wedding, so I assumed I was just wrong that each of them would be trying on dresses, but each one of my BM's has been a BM multiple times, and they all commented on it after I chose someone and the consultant had left that they thought it was odd that only one girl would be trying on dresses. We brushed it off, and I was once again feeling incredibly grateful when EVERYONE liked the same two dresses. We asked if the other two could try them on to make sure there weren't any weird fitting issues. The consultant agreed to let us have a second fitting room unless someone else came along who needed it.
I got a third grateful moment when the top choice and second choice were unanimous (including my MOH I was texting pictures to and my family). I was hoping everyone would wear the same dress, but I wasn't requiring it, so I assumed each of the girls would be in a different dress.
We managed to choose a flower girl dress (once again the votes were unanimous, and I was super excited it was the dress my Grandma had picked out). No one else needed the second dressing room during that time, so someone commented on why the consultant had made such a big deal about it after we left.
The next weekend, my MOH asked me if I wanted to go with her to try on the chosen dress. She called the day before to make an appointment, find out what her deadline for ordering was, and ask a few other questions. When we got there, they had a really hard time finding my information, which had me worried, but once again, I brushed it off. Before looking for the dress, she inquired about why I hadn't chosen my dress, and then made a face when I said I had gotten it elsewhere (I understand they work on commission, but they're not going to have the perfect dress for everyone). Our consultant then searched for the dress for a good 10 minutes before she discovered they hadn't gotten it in yet (apparently it was a newer style). She apologized and then said it would probably be a good idea to call and for someone to actually check the rack before coming in again.
A few days later, I received a voicemail from my local store saying they were concerned because I hadn't chosen my dress or my BM's dresses, and the wedding was only 5 months away. I understood them not knowing I had my dress because I purchased it elsewhere, but why wouldn't they know my BM's dresses were from there considering 2 of my 4 BM's had already ordered them. I called back, and once again they couldn't find my account, but when they did, she said she didn't know why they said that, but my other 2 BM's really needed to order. I explained that my MOH had been told she had until the end of February to order, and I understood there was a deadline.
I then asked her to check if they had the dress in yet even though it had only been a few days. When she said they did not, I asked if there was any chance they could call me or my MOH instead of us calling constantly to check. She said she was going to have to see if this was possible. I'm hoping she was new because it didn't seem like an odd question to me. When she returned, she informed me that her manager told her they would not be getting this dress in because it was some sort of limited edition, but my MOH could come in to get sized and they could order it. I explained that she wanted to try it on, and was told that we could drive to Store XYZ. After the moment of shock wore off, I explained that store is over an hour away, and my MOH is already short on cash so driving up there may not be an option. I didn't tell her that I would be more than happy to drive her up there, but finding a time we were both available and expecting her to take an extra 3-4 hours away from her family seemed unfair just to try on a dress.
I know a dress can be altered, but I know she would be much more comfortable at least trying it on to make sure it doesn't fit her body weird or anything like that. If it turns out it would look funny, I would be more than happy if she chose another similar dress.
Thankfully we both might need to go near the other city sometime soon anyway, so we might get lucky and have the perfect opportunity to even get to go together, but I would think if someone is requesting a dress that they show as available at their store, they should be able to get one in for them to try on.
So once again, all of these things are minor, but I'd like any general tips on making sure things go as smoothly as possible. I'm well aware that nothing goes perfectly with wedding planning, but I'd like to avoid any major catastrophes by knowing the things David's Bridal tends to mess up. I'm sort of wishing we had checked other places, but we're severely limited on options where I live, and David's Bridal was the only place I could find open when we went because it was a Sunday. If the dress hadn't seemed perfect along with mine, and it wasn't unanimous, we may have continued looking too.