Dress Search Begins- HELP

EineSnickle7

Hi all, Home from Duluth and ready to start searching for the dress. I need some recommendations for helpful dress shops in the metro area and north of (I'm coming from the Cambridge area)  Any places that you've found helpful or places to avoid would be so greatly appreciated!
Thanks and happy new year!

Faith

martiac225

Bridal Shop at Macy's downtown Mpls was my spot

graysquirrel

I suggest Unique Bridal (formerly Blaine Wedding Dress Warehouse). It isn't your average bridal salon by any means, but the prices are great. I got a Sottero and Midgley there for half off, and the designer there used to be the head designer at Mestads. It is definitely worth a stop.

I also really like Angeliques in Blaine. That is where my girls are getting their dresses. They have a huge selection and donate a lot to charities for women who might not otherwise get a nice dress. 

acw016

For the biggest selection - the Wedding Shoppe in St. Paul - they have pretty much every dress you can imagine!

For the best shopping experience - Heartstrings in Hopkins - adorable little boutique, much more private and low-key. Much smaller selection though so I ended up getting my dress at the Wedding Shoppe

drdifabio

I found my dress at Bellas Bridal Boutique but ended up buying it from the Wedding Shoppe as they gave me a much better deal on it.

martiac225

FYI : email  I just received
Brides of France (3 locations)
Jan 1-31

20% off all off the rack

 Wedding Gowns

10% off New Special Order Wedding
 
Gowns

saintpaulJess

L'Atelier Couture in St. Paul is a really fun place to shop.  I ended up getting a great deal on my dress there.

shan87

I second Macy's, however they do say their dresses start off at $1,000. Mine was not much more than that.

If you have found designers you like I would check their websites to see which salons carry them. I feel in love with a Demetrios dress in a mag, thats how I found that Macy's carry them but the Wedding Shoppe didn't. I didn't end up with the exact one from the mag but an even better Demetrios one.
Review in my Bio

HTH!

colstj

There's the Hope chest in Ham Lake that always has a beatiful selection and then you could always do a Davids Bridal, even to just start looking at styles you might like because they have many locations! Hope that helps

Sarahsue1684

I got my dress at Rush's Bridal DT off Nicolette. Got it for $300 and was originally $1200.

JuliaBru

I had success at David's Bridal, which is a good place to start for a bride on a budget. With a sale and a coupon, I got my dress for $300, which was about what I had budgeted for.

My suggestion would be to do some searching online first and see what the stores you're considering have. I saved myself a lot of time by narrowing down what I liked and what I didn't like.

Good luck! Have fun with it

shaeknbake

I got my Amy Kuschel dress at the Macy's Bridal Salon during a sample sale. I spent $499 on a $2800 dress and they also gave me a deal on the perfect veil because it was discontinued ($50, orig $500). You really can't beat that! I was lucky enough to have the sample dress fit perfectly, not a single alteration needed, but even if it did need tons of alterations it would be worth it for everything I saved. I know someone else who got a beautiful $14,000 Vera Wang gown at the same sale and also paid only $499! Nicole, the manager, and Emma, my consultant were also fun to work with and knew just what was right for me!

alxabrw

I didnt really like The Wedding Shoppe  even though I ended up buying my dress from there. They told me they had a dress that I fell in love with and then by the time I got there to try it on, they had sold the sample to someone who came in a couple days earlier.  

I ended up getting a nice dress but obviously not the one I had planned on..

Steph0871

If you're interested in David's Bridal.... try the Roseville (Har Mar) location.  DB is pretty touch-and-go from what I've heard, but we had great luck there.  I worked with someone named Britney O. at the store, and she was so helpful.  and friendly

martiac225

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_dress-search-begins?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:9d03d733-b439-4c9c-af65-30b3394da74dPost:fc58b10b-6505-40e0-843f-41b16a0ead96">Re: Dress Search Begins- HELP</a>:
[QUOTE]I got my Amy Kuschel dress at the Macy's Bridal Salon during a sample sale. I spent $499 on a $2800 dress and they also gave me a deal on the perfect veil because it was discontinued ($50, orig $500). You really can't beat that! I was lucky enough to have the sample dress fit perfectly, not a single alteration needed, but even if it did need tons of alterations it would be worth it for everything I saved. I know someone else who got a beautiful $14,000 Vera Wang gown at the same sale and also paid only $499! Nicole, the manager, and Emma, my consultant were also fun to work with and knew just what was right for me!
Posted by shaeknbake[/QUOTE]

I also found my dress at a sample sale there. A Rivini, originally around $3800, I got it for $499! (although my veil was $200) I could not believe the deal, and I love Nicole (Kathy was my consultant).  Also, bought our BM dresses there, after the 10% discount, I think their dresses were $108!

KateJ10

If you are still looking for places, I went to Bridal Accents Couture in Savage and loved loved loved it!!  Great selection of dresses and reasonable prices I thought-

And service was amazing.

meganczeck

Island Bride in Uptown is amazing, Alex, the owner is so sweet. She mostly carries Ella and Mia Solano.

Also, The Loft in Lakeville. A little bit of a drive for you but she is one of the other shops that we work closely with.

I absolutely hate to bash people but I have heard a lot of horror stories coming from The Wedding Shoppe and Anjoliques lately just be cautious.

EineSnickle7

Thanks so much, ladies for all your input! Tomorrow's the big day to start trying them on.

Faith