I feel like I should review Gown Gallery because I just came from there. I read a lot of reviews before I went down there, and let me just say, I didn't have high expectations. So I was pleasantly surprised by how great it was.
Gown Gallery is in a loft, which makes it a little difficult to get up there (we used the steps, but I didn't see an elevator, although I'm sure there is one). When we walked in, Megan greeted us and had me fill out the standard info sheet. Then she came right over and we set to work, discussing my budget and what I wanted. They do have a back room, but they also have a few racks of dresses in the waiting area. She invited us (me, my mom, and two aunts, one of which is a designer herself) to look through them and she'd check the back room for things she thought I might like. We found six dresses total that I liked, although I could have tried on more if I had wanted to, but the third dress I tried on was it.
Megan was very nice the entire time I was there, helping me into and out of the gowns. The one I decided on (Anniston by Maggie Sottero, if anyone is interested
) has a corset back that you have to lace up, and she did it for me twice! She never tried to coerce me to try on anything I didn't want or that was out of my price range.
The loft is what you'd expect it to be (raw brick walls, concrete floors) but that actually appealed to me. I didn't want one of those places with overstuffed couches where they bring you champagne and put you on a pedestal with mirrors surrounding you.
Granted, I just bought my dress today, so we will see how it goes, but I thought that Gown Gallery was getting a bad rap on other websites.