Starting the wedding dress search in Denver-- need tips!

goodmanr

Hi ladies,

I just moved to Denver a couple of weeks ago and have no idea where to go for wedding dresses in my price range.  My fiance and I got engaged in February and have our wedding planned for August 11, 2012.  While I've done some poking around at David's Bridal back in North Carolina, I didn't find anything I was in love with and figured I had plenty of time.  Now that I'm in Colorado, I have no idea where to look other than David's Bridal!  My price range for a dress can go up to about $800, and I know many of the boutiques barely have dresses that start there.  Any tips for places to look in that Denver/Boulder/Colorado Springs area where dresses fall in the $500-$800 range?

Thanks!

sakana1840

a lot of our brides love amanda's bridal!

http://www.amandasbridal.com/

aria, online let's you "try on" dresses for a fee and they are fairly inexpensive
http://www.ariadress.com/

i want to get my dress from dolly couture (also online but inexpensive!)
http://www.dollycouture.com/

good luck, hope it helps!

JessieR933

For low price nice dresses, Amanda's is the place to go. But the staff can be really unfriendly sometimes, but it is worth it for the price. 

wallacje

I got my dress at Amanda's too, I'm a maggie bride.  I never had a problem with the staff being unfriendly regardless of when I went to the store.

TIffany Caldwell

I got my dress at The Altar on West Colfax...its a Bridal consignment store and if you have ideas of what you want style wise it is a good place to look.  I found a brand new dress that was brought to the store after another bridal store had closed and I got it $200 cheaper then if I had ordered it at another store.  The sales girl actually found it for me with just a little bit of explanation of what I liked.  I also looked at Davids at Park Meadows and while they mean well I felt like it was a little pushy...I didn't want to Have to wear a pouffy slip but the sales girl made me try one on as well as a strapless long bra and when all was said and done I went from a 8 fitting comfortable to a 10.  I felt like it added so much to me that I didn't like anything and my poor FMIL wanted to tell the girl to back off but she is too nice.  We did go to Amanda's and they were very nice also...  Just my thoughts!!  Good luck! 

goodmanr

Thanks so much ladies-- I will definitely check out both Amandas and The Alter.  Glad to hear there are a couple good alternatives to David's.  I found David's to have a good selection, but I had a similar experience to you, Tiffany-- too pushy and not an enjoyable experience.  Looking forward to checking out the places you all mentioned!  Thanks!

ksheeks

I recommend A Total Image Bridal in Arvada (www.atotalimagebridal.com/) lots of selection in prices from about $400 or 500 and up.  The ladies at the store are super nice.  I got my dress there after looking at MANY different places.  The dress I fell in love with was about $850 (the top of my range was $800 also) but turns out it was discontinued so they let me buy the one they had for half price and it was in pristine condition!  

Also, even though I didn't end up finding my dress here, another place I definitely recommend trying is The Bridal Collection off Belleview/I25,  http://www.coloradobridalcollection.com/index.html.It has a great atmosphere and they also have quite a few dresses in the $500-800 range (plus more expensive too of course) The people there were also very friendly and helpful.  If Chelsea happens to be working when you go in, she's fantastic!

Good luck!

chelbell326

Also consider the Brides Against Breast Cancer Gown show on August 27th & 28th in Broomfield!!!  There will be LOTS of dresses and you'll be helping out a great cause!

[Deleted User]

I bought my dress from The Bridal Collection, and agree they have excellent customer service.  Broad range of pricepoints, too.

Another place worth checking out in your price range is Mariel's in Larimer Square.  They sell all their dresses off-the-rack, and they have a nice selection.  Jenny is who I met with there, and I thought she was great.

goodmanr

Chelbell-- thank you so much for the info on the Brides Against Breast Cancer show!  I had heard of this and was SO excited to go-- but when I googled for it yesterday, the information I found made me think it was this past Sunday and I had missed it.  (Are there two?  Or maybe the info I found was from last year?)  Anyway, this show was where I was hoping to go, so I'm thrilled I didn't miss it!  I will be there!

And ksheeks- thanks for telling me about A Total Bridl Image and A Bridal Collection!  I had seen them online, but it's always so hard to tell which stores are in my price range from their website!  Good to know those places have dresses in the under $800 range.  My sister lives in Portland and is coming out to shop with me in February if I haven't found a dress sooner, so if Brides Against Breast Cancer doesn't work out, I will add Bridal Image and Bridal Collection to my list with Amandas!

goodmanr

PS-- Amazing dress Ksheeks!  So beautiful!!

ksheeks

Thanks so much goodmanr!   I hope you enjoy your dress shopping, I found it to be so much fun, my mom and I went to probably 15 different stores in Boulder, Longmont, Denver and Colorado Springs.  I loved trying on all the different styles and feeling like a princess....  and there's nothing like that moment when you look in the mirror and see a bride looking back at you (bring kleenex!)

skantrowitz

My budget is only a little bit bigger than yours, and I've been calling around to find out where it will actually give me a variety of options. So far, Bea's Bridal Nook, Bridal Collection, and Amanda's have all confirmed i'll have plenty to choose from. Unfortunately, Blue Bridal and (as much as I wanted to shop there) Anna Be said my options would be more limited, trunk show, floor sample and sheath dresses aside. I was disappointed but glad they were honest. I've only been to the David's Bridal in Lone Tree so far, and I actually had a great experience there.

goodmanr

Super helpful- thanks skantrowitz!  I will make sure to add Bea's Bridal Nook, Amanda's, and Bridal Collection to my list if I don't find anything at the Brides Against Breast Cancer show this weekend.  Thanks!

chelbell326

The Brides Against Breast Cancer show is this coming weekend (Aug 27-28) in Broomfield.  Let me see if I can page karimichael on the CO nest board (She's the one who runs the Denver & Chicago shows  

Good luck & I hope you find your dress!!!