Pearl's Place?

TheFutureMrsBrock

Hi ladies,
I'm a Chicago/MI knottie...but I was hoping you could help me out!

I'm flying down to Louisiana next week to see my sister. I've heard all about how great Pearls place is and I've ordered BM dresses from there in the past.

However, how is it for bridal gowns? How is the showroom? Do they sell dress off the rack? Do they have many samples?

Have any of you actually shopped at the store, and if so have you had a good experience?

I was thinking of driving over to check out the actual store... but I'd want to buy an off the rack or sample dress and take it home with me. I'm hoping to find a good deal on a high end designer.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

Thank you!

arhatch

I had a great experience with Pearl's for my dress. You will hear mixed reviews though I'm sure.  I don't know if they sell off the rack.  My dress had to be ordered.  So I can't help you there but they do have a ton of dresses in store.

NAJB99

Pearls Place is great, I recently picked my wedding gown up. I don't think they do off the rack sales, I know the dday I picked up my gown they were having a sample sale, which was the ony time I've seen them sale straight off the rack, but you could ask.

If you do decide to drive over ask for Lisa she was my consultant and remembers me everytime I go in to the store. She will make you feel like a princess while trying on the gown you are the main focus.

The show room is ok I guess it's not too big or too small.

Pearl's Place (504) 885-9213

Hope this helps!! Good luck

mags0607

I was impressed with the service, but I was not impressed with the fact that they do not take appointments, and the fact that they cut the name of the designer out of the dress.

 I had three specific designers that I wanted to try on, and my consultant who was sweet as could be, kept pulling out random samples, and wouldn't tell me if they were the designer I was looking for.

They also showed me dresses for a "specific" designer, and as it turns out, that designer does not have them listed as an authorized retailer. So I was a little iffy about that, as I do not know if the list was outdated, or they were trying to pull one over on me. They do have one of the larger selections in NOLA, so you should give them a try and reserve judgement for yourself. I don;t think you will be able to take the sample home with you though.

I did end up finding a dress that I loved there, and after much debating found out at least who made it. From there, I searched bridal books at another retailer and was able to locate the dress, which I ordered from the other retailer and not from Pearl's.

smileitskarli05

I really like Pearl's Place.  If you can avoid Saturdays you will find the service to be much better, and when it's not packed their service is great and their prices can't be beat.  (I did the opposite as PP and shopped for BM dresses elsewhere and ordered through Pearls for $50 less each)  You might try calling to see if they carry the dresses you're looking for, because I really wanted to try on one specific designer that they didn't carry.  (Also http://www.pearlsplace.com will tell you designers but not which styles)

They do carry a ton of bridal gowns though so I'm sure you could find something you'll love, and I do believe they occasionally sell off the rack.  Also, if you're looking off the rack because you're worried it won't get there in time, my dress came in in only 2 months which I considered very fast. 

Have fun looking and GL!

caramelhoneystar2008

I just ordered my wedding dress from there... My advice is to go during the week around 2 or 3pm  when it's not so busy...Saturdays are so busy! Good luck

Janbrit

I just ordered my dress and bridesmaids there but I have a long history there.  I am now living in the New York area, but my family is in NO.  I came down for a visit and I have been to Kleinfelds, you know Say Yes to the Dress.  Pearl's Place has huge selections, many dresses and they are authorized for every gown and designer they sell.  Some times companies do not list them, but if they have dozens of the designers gowns, they are authorized for sure.  The prices are great and they do not take appointments.  We came early on a weekday and had not one problem.  All of my family and friends have ordered there, with the exception on one member who chose another store in Metairie, and is still waiting for her gown for 9 months.  This is never the case with Pearl's Place as the delivery times are very fast.  My gown is by Marisa and they are having a trunk show for them in March.  I will just come down again to meet the designer.  -Great Store .

hjgreen

I loved my experiences at Pearl's.  I ordered my dress from them towards the end September.  My dress came in before the beginning of December!  All of my experiences have been great.  I definately recommend working with Sue.  I loved every dress she put on me.  I ended up going with the first one!

I agree with PP - go during the week.  Saturdays are a MAD HOUSE.  You will definitely be able to find the dress of your dreams - they have such a huge selection. 

lorilou0783

I ordered my wedding dress from Pearl's Place and wish I had not.  While they were very nice and helpful while I shoped for my dress, when we went back for bridesmaids dresses they were rude to my bridesmaids and even to me until they realized that I was already a customer.  Also, I recently had to have a dress altered there and waited 4 hours...they don't take appointments and seem unorganized.  They actually told me that my bridesmaids dress was "lost" when I first tried to pick it up.

The pros- they do have a great selection and once you can finally get someone to help you they do help you find a dress. 

The HUGE con is their customer service.  If I had it to do again I would have purchased my dress elsewhere.  I'm even paying for alterations rather than using their free service because I don't trust them to do it correctly (based on problems friends of mine have). 

Bustles and Bows is right down the street (you may see some bad reviews of them too, but I think most of them are from when the place was called with this ring and owned by other people). I know they sell off the rack and they are wonderful at customer service.  I don't know about any other places.

tnriver

I had a bad experience too. If you are not going to order a dress, and just try to take one off the rack it might be ok. But I did not get my dress in until the week before my wedding. I ordered it in March and my wedding was in December. They had to re-order it 4 times becuase it never fit, and then, even giving them the benefit of the doubt that it was designer error , didnt really explain much of what was going on. I had to call the designer myself to try to figure things out.

srgallender

I have ordered my dress from Pearl's place. Sue helped me and she was very helpful and nice. She told me that it will take 3 months for my dress to come in, so I'm not sure they let you buy off the rack.
I went to Bustles and Bows (It can't hurt, its just a couple of buildings down the street),but I didn't think they had much of a selection at all- especially compared to Pearl's place. Good luck dress shopping!

lous22

STAY AWAY!!!!  I purchased my wedding gown from here and it was the WORST experience of my life.  The store is trashy, overwhelming, and always crowded.  My dress was beautiful, but the seamstress ruined it during the first round of alterations.  Literally.  Then, to make matters worse, another lady pricked her finger on one of the pins and bled all over the back of my dress.  The alterations were so bad that they had to order me a new one...well, that and the blood stains.  It wasn't finished being altered until days before the wedding either.  Wasn't sure I'd get it on time!  Please save youself lots of time and trouble and go somewhere else- anywhere else!  Just google the store- you'll see millions of terrible reviews. 

kcadow

Pearls Place was been the worst experience for my brides I deal with. I have had many complaints about this store. They are very helpful when you come in for your initial visit, but after the get your deposit, they are through being pleasent and helpful. Things have been ordered wrong, dressed have been ordered short, dressed have been pre ordered by bridesmaids and never ordered by Pearls and then made them pay extra chg for rush chg, etc. To many other places to go to deal with the rudness and frustration of Pearls

tulanegal

If you want cheap and large selection, go Pearls Place. If you want more personalized service, go with another store. Pearl's Place is ALWAYS packed, even on weekdays. You cannot make appointments, so especially when it comes to alterations you could be waiting for 4 hours +. My dress was three sizes too big when it came in (granted I did lose some weight, but not that much), but after two fittings now fits amazingly. Some of my BM's have had bad experiences with the alterations and have chosen to have others alter their dresses instead. Like I said, it's whatever your priority is. Mine was saving money.