Bridal & Formal

MiamiMergers2012

I really appreciate all of the advice from other brides on this site, so I thought I'd warn other brides after my horrible experience at B&F today. After having had a great experience at another bridal store in Reading Bridal District, I went to B&F. 

Had made an appointment and showed up 15 minutes early. Once our appt time arrived, we were told all the consultants were busy but we could start picking dresses and that a consultant would be available to help us shortly. 

After waiting about 25 mins more, I went and asked how much longer it might be and was told they would be with us shortly. Finally after waiting 45 mins, my mom and I decided to leave. We told the woman at the desk that we were leaving b/c we were tired of waiting, esp since we had made an appt. 

The lady told us that she was sorry but that they had become very busy with walk-ins. To me, this was a ridiculous excuse -- why bother taking appointments if they mean nothing?? 

After wasting an hour of my day, I just wanted to warn other brides that apparently appointments mean nothing at B&F

krausjm33

I was under the impression they didn't even take appointments.  That's what I was told.  

I also didn't like it there.  It's always so crowded and I hate that they throw you into a giant room with thousands of dresses and tell you to go at it.  I didn't even know where to start.  I also felt that my consultant didn't really care about what I wanted and she was only there to throw dresses on and off me.  I would tell her I didn't like a certain style dress and yet she would pull that style.  She also pulled a dress that I ended up considering only to find out they couldn't order it in my size, it was only available up to a size 20.  She know what size I wore so why even pull it. 

I had much better service elsewhere.

tasharocks

i didn't like how i was treated at bridal and formal and i went on a weekday afternoon when no one was there

i tell everyone to go to fabulous bridal in convington

Michele45419

I'm sorry all of you had a bad experience.

Mine was AWESOME.  I went in knowing about the communal dressing rooms and the volume of people, etc.  I also knew the weekends were super-busy. 

Bridal and Formal had, by far, the most dresses and most options to try on.  They also could accommodate my relatively-low price range.  They were closing when I still had several dresses to try on and couldn't make a decision.  Instead of rushing me out, my consultant and the manager stayed with me over an hour late.  Though I felt some pressure to buy that day (I paid $100 to reserve the price on 2 dresses that I couldn't decide upon), I expected that from ANY bridal salon.  They let me continue trying on dresses multiple times and multiple days until I was happy and comfortable with my decision.  At another bridal salon, the owner decided the 3rd dress I tried on was 'the one' and I had to practically beg to try on a fourth....

Bridal and Formal has always had mixed reviews here.  But I wanted to give some perspective and say I throroughly enjoyed my experience.

browneeprincess

I have to agree with Michele. I did my research about Bridal and Formal before I went in August. My FMIL, my MOH and my future SIL arrived before the store opened. My consultant listened to what I wanted and my budget. It took me less than 20 minutes to find my dress. I think it's important with any bridal store to pick a time/day that will be less hectic. Also remember this time of year is a mad rush at most shops.

I'm sure you will find "the dress". Maybe look at some other bridal shops in Bridal district or David's Bridal. Good luck .

AllysOop

I also had a great experience at Bridal & Formal. I went during the evening on a Thursday, I think (and I did have an appointment set). It wasn't crowded there at all - maybe only a few other people (but then again it was a week night). 
 I did go in there, however, already knowing that I would order my dress from there that day (I had tried it on at another place but found it was less $$ at B&F) - so my "situation" was a little different.
The price was great - lower than what I was told at another store, and they lowered it even more when I found out we would have to add a lot of extra length to it.
Overall I had a great experience. They gave me a little card to get a discount on BM dresses so I'm even thinking of getting the BM dresses from there.

Sorry to hear you didn't get a good experience - that is too bad

53hellmaae

I was there on Monday as well and was not blown away with the service. I also had an appointment and had to wait about 30 minutes to meet with my own consultant. Luckily I had already picked several dresses out online to try and was able to sift through the racks to find those exact dresses. After watching hours of wedding shows on TV, I was expecting the consultant to give more input and help with pulling dresses, but she really just helped me try on what I had. She did pull some great accessories which put the finishing touches on my dress.

My suggestion to anyone going there is to have an idea of specific dresses you would like to try on. It is pretty overwhelming to go through by yourself without any idea of what you want. But I will say that they gave me a great discount off my dress without my even asking! That made it worth my time and the stress!

txin1_19759230

I did not like that place at all.  We went across the street to Cincinnati Bride and got great one-on-one service from the start. 

glassslippergirl

I think it all depends on the day too. I went mid-week late afternoon and had great service. I have been there on a weekend day with my friend and thought it was a zoo and they were understaffed. Good luck with finding your dream dress!

Vendygirl921

I had a horrible experience there as well and I went on a weekday after work with a friend. Not only did they make me wait like 15-20 minutes before even turning me loose in the dress room but once we managed to find a few dresses on our own she made US take them to the waiting room. First of all there are a million dresses there, you can't really see what they look like in those blasted bags and how the hell am I to know that the style dress I saw on the Designers website is not the same one you use? Once we had a bunch of dreses picked out the consultant didn't even really help me in my dress! My friend did most of the work (luckily worked in a  bridal shop in high school).

I feel that if you are going to take appointments that you should have folks ready to serve those folks and you are being PAID to help me. It is your job to assist me with finding a dress. YOu know where the dresses are, you know the styles, sizes they come in and if you hate helping folks you are in the wrong job.

I would never recommend the shop. I had a great experience finding a dress at David's Bridal (though there is NO WAY I am letting them do the atlerations).
Fab Bridal in Covington was okay but too expensive for me.

Sadly I think B&F has more off days then they have on but good luck to anyone still looking.

lbaur01

I had a bad experience with them as well! I purchased my wedding dress in the bridal district at Cincinnati Bride. They were AWESOME!! I had a great experience with them.

lbaur01

I had a bad experience with them as well! I purchased my wedding dress in the bridal district at Cincinnati Bride. They were AWESOME!! I had a great experience with them.

sloanaw

That stinks that yours was so bad! I went there and mine was amazing! They were so nice and helped so much with my budget! They also helped a lot with bridesmaids. I had a ton of fun!