bridal mansion of lisle, evas of orland park, catherine simms bridal..

Sparkle1985

So I found my wedding dress! I'm super excited about it BUT i found it at house of brides in aurora.  Thats the part I'm not so excited about.  When I started my search for my dress I was planning on going to the Filene's basement sale and I had decided to go try some on before hand to know what size I would need, what style looked best, etc.  Hence.. I ended up at HOB for my first run through.  The third dress I tried on I adored but wanted to keep looking since I really hadn't on planned on finding "the one".  I went to Filene's, went to countless other stores.. and today I ended up back at HOB to try it on for a fresh look.  Well.. its the dress and there isn't one thing I would change about it... besides its location.  I have contacted the 3 stores above since they do carry the designer... Soooo my question is... who has been to these stores and what are your recomendations?  I know I will need alterations done on the dress and I want it to fit like a second skin so I really want a good alterations department.  I know you girls are a big help! Thanks in advanced and sorry this was so long.. I felt I needed to explain why I was in HOB in the first place hehe

aperitisa

I don't know anything about those other stores, but I do know that my cousin got her dress from the Aurora HOB and had the worst experience ever.  Not only did they order the wrong dress the first time, the second time they ordered the wrong color sash.  She didn't get her dress until about 2 weeks before the wedding....when she ordered it about 8 months early!   Anyway, good luck and avoid HOB like the plague!!

kellym050370

I don't know anything about Bridal Mansion of Lisle but I shopped at the Eva's in Orland Park and even though I did not get my dress there, I was treated quite nicely (although I think their bridesmaid dresses are overpriced).  I was not impressed with Catherine Simms.  Although a lovely store, I was basically ignored by the salesperson.  I was going to order my dress at the HOB in Oak Lawn but they started playing games and I walked away. 

libbylo

I had a great experience with HOB in Orland.  Laura was my consultant.  She wasn't pushy and very helpful. 

Ainslie325

I bought my Pronovias gown at Eva's in Orland.  There's a review in my bio.  The short version: delivery was late and the employees I spoke to on the phone kept inventing new arrival dates and putting me off) but the purchase and alterations experience was great. 

I hate HOB.  Feel free to search my past posts for more information on my BP's experience there. 

Michelle_G

I ordered my BM dresses from Bridal Mansion of Lisle, and was so not impressed with the customer service.  They would only let one BM try on the dress, and just measured the others.  They made us pay 100% up front.  The dresses came in two weeks late, and when I picked them up the lady hung them on a rack and said "have a nice day".  I had to go through each of them myself to verify the sizes/lengths/etc.  The dresses did all come in correctly, but I refused to allow my girls to have their alterations done there.  Plus, it's not a mansion by any stretch.  They do not have a lot of inventory.

I don't have any feedback on the other locations.

HTH.

ewenner

I tried on dresses at Catherine Simms, and I had a good experience.  The saleslady was very helpful and even offered me some extra discounts to get the dresses more in my price range. 

I eventually ordered my dress online from Pearl's Place, which is something you might consider as well.  Since it sounds like you already know the exact designer, style, and probably size, you could simply order it online and then have alterations done by a private seamstress.  Doing things this way saved me a significant amount of money.  Best wishes! 

anng23

Got bridesmaid dress at Catherine Simms- loved it there! Ask for Dana- she is soo helpful

pajarito81

got all my 7 bridesmaids dresses from Cahtherine Simms and I'm from out of state, and
I had a pleasant experience with them. They were very professional and helpful with everything and everytime I called to talk with them.

Sparkle1985

Thank you ladies for all the input!