Mockingbird Bridal

bethlovesjim

I went dress shopping with my mother and bridal party Sunday afternoon.  We visited Mockingbird Bridal in Dallas. 
Maggie was my consultant she was great!  Very positive, and helpful.  She knew the products, and knew what was best on my body type.  I went in very nervous, and left positive that I will be a beautiful bride.
The plus size selection was small.  I find this so odd, considering the average size of an American woman is a size 14.  The small selection of plus size sample gowns were a size 18-20, which translates to a real size 14-16.  Sample size is a complaint that all brides encounter, yet no bridal shop is willing to address.  However, the shop is able to order the dresses in any size.  I suppose it is a matter of finding a shop that has a sample dress in the style and size I desire, and deciding where to order the dress. 

This is a small shop, a boutique dedicated to personalized service.  I appreciate this aspect, as so many stores these days feel like mega marts.  In my wedding planning, I am in my own world, and Mockingbird Bridal allowed me to stay there.  However, the finicky or indecisive bride may not enjoy the small feel or selection. 

I do not consider myself indecisive, or finicky.  In fact, I am quite the opposite.  I found that I knew immediately what I wanted; the issue was that this shop could not accommodate my vision in a plus size gown.  Although they are able to order my size in the gown, I want.  

I did not find "THE ONE" this past Sunday, which was disappointing.  Nevertheless, I know what style I want, and what designer I want.  I just need to find the dress in my size to try on. 

Overall, I give Mockingbird Bridal 4 out of 5 stars.  If I were a skinny bride, I probably would have given the bridal shop 5 out of 5.  I like the small feel, the personalized service and the knowledgeable staff.  I wasnt overwhelmed, and the consultant made my experience special and comfortable. 

I hope this helps some Dallas brides considering Mockingbird Bridal.

  

btweety04

NIce review. I know this place has gotten a bad wrap in the past few yrs, but I will probably put it on my list to visit when I go shopping after the first of the year.

marksle84

Beth, 

I encountered the same problem when I went dress shopping. I would leave crying because I couldn't try on most of the dresses because of the sample size. I was so overly frustrated and I was not about to spend thousands of dollars on a dress that "might" look good on me! Ultimately I ended up finding a plus size trunk show called "gorgeous with curves" that was being held at Bliss Salon in Ft Worth. I could try on every one in the trunk show and Bliss is big into ordering a plus size in their top selling gowns. 

I was so happy with being able to feel and look like a bride. And the dress I found was UNDER budget! Woohoo!

http://www.bluebyenzoani.com/main.html (2009 collection-Bedford)

bethlovesjim

btweety04:  Definitely put it on your list.  I loved the small feel, and all of the attention I received.  For all of the bad reviews I read, I honestly didn't experience any of the "bad" stuff. 

marksle84:  I'll have to check out Bliss! 

Thanks!

bobbileighb

Were they not able to clip you into it tight enough that you could tell how it would fit?  I went to Lulus bridal and pulled about 8 gowns I really liked and was able to try on 6.  Of the two I could not try on one was way too small and there was no way but the other I could have squeezed into but had already found one I loved so I said it wasnt necessary.  Some of the samples would zip and everything others they have to use clips to show me how it would look closed, I didnt mind this method at all because it looked the same way it would if it just had 2 more inches of fabric in the back.  I am not sure what style or budget you are looking for but you may want to consider Lulus as an option.

Bisoume4

Another option are the off the rack bridal stores.  They carry a large selection of plus sizes...  Circle Park Bridal and A Bridal Blossom are two that you should check out.

bethlovesjim

bobbileighb : Most of Mockingbird's gowns are a size 8 or 10.  To give you an idea, my size is 28.  So those 10's and 8's wouldn't even go over my bum! lol.  But of the larger size dresses I tried, 16's 18's and 20's  Maggie at Mockingbird got me into these gowns, and did it beautifully!  in fact, of all of the places I went, Mockingbird did the best job of making the dress fit.
But with that said, I went to Lasting Bridal Couture in Addison, and Laurie there got me into a size 8!!!  However, she ripped the heck out of the back seam, and it was a corset gown.

Bisoume4 : I went to Circle Park Bridal.  A cute shop, very trendy, but I wasn't impressed.  Most of their gowns are slim down to the hips or below.  Kinda trumpet style or mermaid style I guess.  And it seemed like they all had the gathered fabric that is in style right now, which is something I WASN'T looking for  I looked like a walrus in all of their gowns.  Also, because it was off the rack, they weren't wiling to do ANYTHING they could to get me into certain dresses, like Lasting Bridal Couture was.

knjeaves

I had the absolute WORST experience at Mockingbird.

I live out of state, so my planned my trip to Dallas around a few bridal store appointments. After making an appointment at 9:30 with Betty, I was excited to try on some dresses! I arrived with my sister and best friend at 9:35 (traffic was crazy), walked in and told the girl at the desk my name. She said Betty would be right with me. I sort of browsed through some of the dresses hanging on the racks and waited. When Betty finally came out, she so rudely informed me that she didn't know what I was going to do because she already took a walk-in. Then, she told me to just find something and my best friend was going to just have to help me. She quickly added that if I were to find anything, just let the girl at the front desk know and she could put Betty's name on the dressing room (as if she was going to collect the sale but not do any work for it).

Needless to say, I sort of rifled through some of the dresses and didn't find anything that I wanted to try on (mostly due to the bad taste in my mouth about the shop). My sister and best friend and I just walked out of the shop without anyone even acknowledging that we were leaving.