Give me the scoop...Bridal Boutiques on Ventura Blvd?

GinaBean3

Morning Girls! I'm planning on finally starting to look for a dress. I know there are a bunch of bridal boutiques on Ventura Blvd...can anyone give any recommendations/tips? Or even if not on Ventura Blvd...let me know where you got your fabulous dress if in the SoCal area....and I'll go check out the store. :-) Thanks in advance for all your great advice! P.S. I am not looking to go somewhere where the minimum price for a dress is $$$$$$$$$$. But I also don't want to do David's Bridal...and I already had a horrible experience at Alfred Angelo. Blah!

[Deleted User]

Pebbles Bridal is very popular, and I was very pleased with their service even though I ended up buying from Glamour Closet<--which is totally worth the trip they are awesome(the dress I got there blew the dress that I saw at R-mine out of the water and it was 1/5 of the cost).I went to Lili's Bridal on Ventura and they were also very nice, but they only had one dress that was close to what I wanted.I also went to R-mine bridal, but they were expensive they are polite but their dresses were in the $3k+ range.  I found a dress there that I thought was perfect in every way except the $6000 price tag--yikes!I tried Cruz's Bridal, they were helpful also, but the dress I thought I wanted from there turned out not too look that good on me as others I had tried on.Cast a wide net and take your time.  You will feel the temptation to go for some of the first dresses you try on.  But even if you think it is the one, you want make sure by visiting at least 4 to 5 stores.  I am not saying delay forever, but make sure you have tried on as many dresses in the styles you like so when you come back to the ones you liked you can compare, contrast and make an informed decision with regards to look and price (thereby making you less likely to change your mind later--and spend even more money which alot of girls do).

Kyumsterpoo

I really liked Pebbles Bridal in Woodland Hills (it's on Ventura Blvd). It's not the prettiest bridal shop or anything, but they have a pretty wide selection and they're not overpriced at all.I really liked the service at this place called Yelena's Bridal in Monrovia, but they're dresses were a little pricier.I actually ended up getting my dress at this place in Torrance called La Soie Bridal. The girls were really sweet there and I ended up finding "the dress" there. Glamour Closet is ok if you happen to find the dress there, but everything they sell are sample sizes and the dress you try on is the dress you buy. Hope this helps!

Mellie35

I totally agree - You should check out Pebbles. They are really nice there and they do have a lot of dresses that are affordable. I also came across this store in Toluca Lake - Rose Petals Bridal. I looked at bridesmaids dresses there but they seemed to have nice wedding dresses, too. They were so helpful, relaxed and they let you take pictures. I did not have a good experience at Davids's. They were very pushy and told me every dress looked fabulous even though none of them were. Good luck!

GinaBean3

Thank you to everyone so far....I really really really appreciate the guidance. SoCal Knotties are THE BEST! I will definitely hit up Pebbles! THANKS! You are all wonderful.

vjorge2002

Hey GinaBean3I'm also looking for  more places to go... I went to Glamour Closet on LaBrea last night, it was nice cuz I was in there alone with the girl and she was helpful. I found something I liked but I don't know if I want to rush and get it. They are all sample dresses so some of them are a little messed up.. but they just got a new batch in, so you might want to go now to check em out. They let you try on 6 dresses at a time, and its first come first serve No Appointments.. very small place.. so there is usually a wait.I went to Pebbles also, there's no glitz and glamour but they do have better prices. I think I may go back and get something from them. I also went to Thousand Oaks Bridal.... pretty far.. but I'm willing to try anything. It was ok, selection was small, but I also found one I liked there. I need to see more options, I feel like I haven't seen something that really gets me excited. Someone told me to go to Mon Amie in Costa Mesa, but I don't want to drive out there.. I'm hoping I can get more ideas from this site.Goodluck!V

SBgirl228

Karoza Designs in Glendale is great.  I went there a lot to try on different dresses.  Iended up buying my dress from Pearl's Place (telephone order) but if you want to buy your dress from a local shop, Karoza had really great prices and selection.  All the girls I met with were super nice and helpful.

csunsweetie

Def check out Cruz's. The girls there know their stuff and almost every friend I've had got married (or getting married) bought their dress from there.  You can take plenty of pics and they also have BMs and MOB dresses.    PS. you cannot take photos at Pebbles.

[Deleted User]

Pebbles will let you take pictures if you are the only girl in the store at one time. The reason is they know girls post those pic on the internet and if manage to get a snapshot of another customer in there it discloses confidential information.

csunsweetie

I've gone in there a few times and there's always other brides. I think that's a lame excuse though {about capturing another customer in the background} 

mm45737

i bought my dress at Cruz's Bridal- they were fantastic!!! Lets see- here are my reviews of the shops I visited: Kay's Bridal in Simi Valley- super nice, pretty much only had MAggie Sottero dresses R-Mine on Ventura- very snobby. I went in there w/out an appointment and the place was EMPTY!!! 3 employees to 0 customers and they said i couldnt try on dresses w/out an appointment. bleh. i guess they dont need the business Lilys Bridal on Ventura- very nice, but not a very big selection. Pebbles- pretty big selection, but i wasnt fond of the girl that helped us while we were there, she seemed like it was a bother for her to find dresses for me. I went to a store in PAsadena called MAry Lynns? I think? It was a really cool store, and they had a really big selection. They were a fun place to visit to get the fancy bridal boutique experience (chandeliers, etc). I think those are all the places I visited. I heard KAroza's in Glendale is nice, but I never actually went there. Oh, and don't go to CHantilly's in Santa Clarita, they wont tell you who makes the dresses and i have friends that have gotten dresses there and everything got messed up. Ok, done rambling now. GOod luck!!!

Soon2B Mrs.V

I had a great experience with Lili Bridal, and if you go there ask for Maria. The first time I went there (during the week) I must have tried on at least 20 dresses, and Maria was a trooper the entire time. I picked dresses and she pulled some too. The one she pulled ended up being my gown. Don't bother going up to Santa Barbara. They had hardly any selection at the Marilynn bridal store up there. My experience at Pebbles kinda left a bad taste in my mouth, but I hear other brides have loved it there. Camarillo Bridal had a ton of Maggie Sottero dresses, not what I ended up purchasing, but if you're looking for that brand, the gals there are quite nice.

GinaBean3

mm45737 - i LOVE your rambling! your reviews were EXACTLY what I was looking for! :-) Thanks!

[Deleted User]

Well the rambling stuff.  . .Yeah R-mine is used to dealing with people that don't really have a budget with regards to their wedding. I got the feeling the minute I stepped into the salon.  I told the sales lady, "show me the best you have to offer."  It was because I wanted to see what would look good on me with an unlimited budget--and try to replicate that look on a budget.And they did that.  I tripped in the dressing room while I was trying on a dress and would have most likely broken something when I misjudged the distance from the floor to the pedestal had not the sales lady, Nicoletta, caught me in time.  They are expensive, but honestly I think even if you are on a budget you should go to a high end salon and try on the dresses there--it will inspire you to be more creative.  At first I was bummed, but when I looked back on it, it was a blessing in disguise.With regards to Lili's Bridal.  Maria was my attendant also.  She was incredibly sweet, especially when I helped her put away dresses left in the dressing room I was given and knew what rack to put it in after touring the store.  It was Maria that recommended R-mine to me.When you go to Pebbles, ask for Monica.  She is getting married either in November/December.  She took the pictures I posted on this thread a long time back.  She is very honest.  While she attended to me, she had to deal with another bride that had her mother in law buy her a wedding dress right out of the blue.  I listened in because I was curious.  And I really felt sorry for this girl. I was okay with waiting.  I told the other bride to register with the knot and try to post on the LA forums. I  don't see her here, but I hope she is reading.I would have bought my dress from them, but then I found something perfect at Glamour Closet. With regards to that, I am having major alterations--complete reworking of boning and placement.  My dress turned out not to have an applique at all at the bodice, instead it is truly a satin quilt(a bunch of pieces forming a overall pattern).  The sample was really clean but it was a tent on me.  My mom accompanied me on my most recent fitting and asked me if I was okay. I told her "I'm fine, just drowing in a sea of tulle."With regards to alterations. I went to Rene who is regularly recommended on this board. I decided not to go with her for one reason alone( I chose not to post originally because alot of you like her).  She suggested I have my silk satin gown cleaned before alteration and said hopefully my dress would shrink.I called around trying to all the reputable dry cleaners with good reviews, and all of them said that the best way to clean a silk satin gown was the anti-sugar method. And that process could not and should not be a shrinking proceedure--most of them said exposing a dress like that to water would destroy it.And then the second seamstress that was on the recommendation list from Glamour Closet, reconfirmed it."If the entire front lining of the dress is satin and if is quilted it will shrink in upredictable ways if given standard dry cleaning and possibly destroy the entire line of the dress."I have worked on quilts in the past and I have had 3 months work ruined by a bad wash.  I didn't want to see that happen to my dress.So I went with the second seamstress

CANDEE43

I got my maggie sottero Sabelle at Mariposa Boutique in Anaheim.  The girls are so super nice there.  I was trying to describe what I wanted and the lady that helped me was literally digging in all of their boxes in the back of new stuff trying to find what I was looking for rather than just saying "sorry we don't have it on the racks." She was soo nice and because of her I found the perfect dress!  I also got the dress during the trunk show so it was 15% off. =]I know it's nowhere near Ventura Blvd, but if you find you are in the Anaheim area, I definitely recommend Mariposa.Here's their websitewww.mariposabride.com