I tried on about 40 dresses before falling in love with and deciding on one. During this process I visited 5 bridal shops. Here are my own personal opinions/reviews of each. All are located in Tampa
Brides by Demetrios - 1701 Westshore Blvd:
The dresses here, in my opion, were seriously over priced. I found the same dresses at other stores for hundreds less, and I don't just mean online. Even the dresses in their own line, to me, were pricey for the quality. The staff at the store was average in helpfulness. They weren't pushy, which is nice. I didnt try on any gowns here, because I didnt find anything I liked enough.
Alfred Angelo - 1518 N Dale Mabry Hwy:
I really like their collections, so I wound up trying on quite a few dresses here. I had an appointment and, other than still having to wait 30 minutes for a dressing room, everything went very well. The sales woman helping me was Tonya, and she is awesome. Very helpful and down to earth, not pushy at all. I -almost- purchased a dress from this store, but found "the one" elsewhere. My bridesmaids dresses are coming from Alfred Angelo though. I will say this, while my experience was very positive, I did get a "bad vibe" from a couple other sales girls. I'm guessing who you work with is a big factor.
David's Bridal - 4503 W Kennedy Blvd:
I figured Id give it a shot, despite all of the negative comments. I was not impressed. It wasnt crowded, but I went on a weekday. The sales staff seemed disinterested and unprofessional and the dresses werent really that inexpensive considering the quality. I didn't try anything on here.
Johns Bridal - 1102 E Busch Blvd:
I heard many good things about this store, so I had to go. It's laid out really well, the lighting is awesome, the selection is great, the prices are fair. So what's the problem? VERY pushy staff. The woman helping us (myself and M.O.H) would not let us search on our own. She walked us through every single dress and made sure to tell me what I would and wouldn't like. She was very car-salesman like. She asked me literally 4 times how long my finance and I had been together. If you're going to feign interest at least pay attention. I tried on quite a few dresses here and liked some of them, just found something better elsewhere. Honestly, I think even if I -had- wanted something there I wouldn't have purchased it just because Id rather not work with the staff there.
Emelinas Bridal - 9306 N Armenia
Small family owned shop, but surprisingly large selection of quality gowns. I tried on many dresses here and this is ultimately wear I purchased my dress. The staff here was fantastic with me and the prices were great. Everything I looked at was at least in match of the prices Ive seen online. I decided to go with Sophia Tolli in the style "Nia" and color Alabaster. I will keep you posted on how the rest of the process goes, as it has only just been ordered and will still have to come in and be altered.. but so far I am very pleased with Emelinas.
I hope this all was some help to you.
