David's Bridal yay or nay

sunflower331

Hi everyone, I was just curious of what people think of David's Bridal.....is it worth looking there, buying a dress there, or is it a waste of time to even try them? 

sboston06

I have never had a bad experience there.  I went there for my dress and my bridesmaid dresses and had great consultants both times (at the Danvers store).  I've also been there for other weddings I've been in, and again, never a bad experience.

I wouldn't go near their alterations dept, but their dresses are beautiful!

jc0n15

I think it depends on what you are looking for. If you want a designer dress then stay away. If you can't see yourself spending a lot of a dress than this is the place to go.

I got mine at DB in Danvers because I am not into fashion and couldn't see myself spending a ton of money on a dress I would only wear once....so it was great for me to find a gorgeous dress for a lot less money than at a bridal boutique.

october010bride

I bought my dress there and I love it! But it has the reputation it does because their service is hit or miss and some of their stock isn't the best quality.

I think it's a good place to look and try on different styles and if you happen to find a dress the great! (that's what happened to me). I also recommend looking else where just so you see a wide variety of dresses and designers.

I agree with sboston- stay far far away from their alterations dept. They overcharge like woah and I wouldn't trust their work.

Vows in Newton/Watertown is a bridal outlet store that has tons of dresses in David's Bridal price range. I'd check them out too if you are a budget minded bride.

sunflower331

Hi October01bride...I am definitely a budget girl especially w/my dress...I don't want to spend a lot of $$$$ on a dress I'm only gonna wear once...VOWS is actually the 1st place I plan to check out...just wasn't sure about David's...I know their alterations are ridiculous...I've gotten bridesmaids dresses there for other weddings, and didn't have the alterations done there for that very reason and for my wedding dress, my aunt has offered to do my alterations, which is very nice of her and also a BIG savings......thanks again

Ishaba11

I didnt get my dress there but all my bridesmaids did. So far 3 have ordered, all have gotten the sash, one got her shoes she ordered but my plus size girl was supposed to get hers at the beginning of August and we still havent heard anything! I am getting a little worried. I also dont really like the consultants. They are usually up my bum and I hate that! I tried on some for me when I went the first time and even after i told her what I wanted she still said everything was "so beautiful" I dont like BS but I know a lot of people have luck there for their dresses.

iwalktheline

i bought my dress at the DB in natick.  I had such a great experience and i loved my dress.  and i think they're really trying to change their reputation by bringing in lines from oleg cassini and galina (which are all really beautiful).  i do think it can be somewhat hit or miss, but i think its definitely worth checking out.
honestly, I didn't originally plan to get my dress from there; but I was in there one day to get a formal dress for another event and saw my dress on a mannequin and i knew i had to have it.

TeresaB2011

I agree with the ladies above, it depends on your dress preference and your budget.  One thing I do like about them is you can take pictures in the dresses and most other salons you cannot.  Great place to start.

sboston06

I do wish I knew about other lower-priced designer gowns.  I thought DB was my ONLY option for a dress under 1K.  But I went shopping with my friend and she got her Casablanca gown for cheaper than my Oleg Cassani gown from DB.  I would have shopped around a bit more if I knew there were other options out there.

Lauren6277

I didn't shop at David's Bridal in Massachusetts but I had a very pleasant experience in another state. I went during a week day, first appt of the day which I'm sure helped. They did tell me upfront that my consultant could be working with more than one bride. I would assume a Saturday appointment is a bit more hectic but during the week I had the consultant all to myself. I had written down the styles I liked online and just handed my list to the consultant to pull the dresses. My consultant told me that the list was very helpful.

I was pleasantly surprised by the styling of the dresses. Very pretty and affordable. I wish I would have found THE dress there because it would have saved me a lot of money. They use less expensive versions of fabrics, for example tulle instead of organza to create a sheer, feminine look. It's not exactly the same but the overall look is. The other nice thing is that they carry a range of sizes instead of just sample size like most bridal boutiques. I actually tried on dresses that fit instead of having to be clipped in the back.

I did buy a feather hair clip to wear on my wedding day. LOVE it!

noodle_oo

I shopped DB and I had a good experience!  The sales people can be hit or miss.  I went in 3 times and I had one great one, one mediocre one and one who annoyed me.  But you know what you are getting into so just be ready for it.

I did not end up buying a DB dress though.  I figured, if I was buying from there, I didn't want to spend too much money.  Unfortunately, I didn't like the cheaper dresses.  The 2 I liked were $600 and I wanted a corset back, which was $150 in alterations.  I ended up finding a perfect dress by Maggie Sottero and it was $800 (already had a corset, so it was worth buying it).

I would definitely tske a look there!  I liked the store in Natick.  However, I'd also look around and I highly recommend Maggie dresses.  There are plenty under $1K and my seamstress told me they are very well made for their price point.  Vs. David's Bridal which I think tend to be lower quality.

Also: If you do buy at DB, get your alterations done elsewhere.  I've heard they really rip you off on alterations there.

october010bride

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_massachusetts-boston_davids-bridal-yay-nay?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:89Discussion:ac27253d-36d7-4ac0-af60-f3ef786ba15bPost:c8b76874-5390-4430-866e-457930b7d542">Re: David's Bridal yay or nay</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi October01bride...I am definitely a budget girl especially w/my dress...I don't want to spend a lot of $$$$ on a dress I'm only gonna wear once...VOWS is actually the 1st place I plan to check out...just wasn't sure about David's...I know their alterations are ridiculous...I've gotten bridesmaids dresses there for other weddings, and didn't have the alterations done there for that very reason and for my wedding dress, my aunt has offered to do my alterations, which is very nice of her and also a BIG savings......thanks again
Posted by sunflower331[/QUOTE]

Oh thats great! Vows has some great dresses at all different price points. I went there and had a great experience... my problem is that I'm petite so a lot of the sample type dresses would look ridiculous on me even with some alterations, but there were some that I could have bought. In the end, I just liked my DB dress more.

Have fun shopping!

amylee545

I went to the DB in Natick for my very first dress search experience. I can be a designer snob so I really did not think I was gonna like any of the dresses there. I was expecting poor quality and cheap looking dresses...

I went on a Monday night and had my consultant all to myself. She was GREAT! I wish I remembered her name! But she was so attentive and really listened to my vision. And she was brutally honest with me. She knew what I loved and didn't love and told me when something really did not work well with me. I came in with a list that I wanted to try on, wasn't feeling any of them and she pulled a ton more that I hadn't even thought of to try on. It was great because she pulled a lot of different silhouettes and kinds of dresses that I didn't think would look good on me. Some really didn't look good on me, but she selected a few trumpet styles that I thought I was too curvy for. And I ended up buying a trumpet dress! After an hour and a half of trying on dresses, I ended up walking out of there with a GORGEOUS dress that I fell absolutely in love with. My sister (who is more of a designer snob than me!) even said that she regretted spending so much money on a designer dress for her wedding 3 years ago because the dresses there were so much more beautiful than she had thought!

I think it totally depends on what kind of dress you're looking for and how much you're looking to spend. For me, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a dress I was only going to wear for a few hours of 1 day of my entire life.

I loved my experience with them. So I give them 2 huge thumbs up!!

laura030

I tried on dresses at David's Bridal and had a good experience, although the shop was a bit more hectic than some of the other bridal shops I went to (but in a fun way!). As one of the posters said, its a great place to look but its not the only place to get a dress that is under $1,000. I ended up buying a Wtoo brides by Watters dress that I absolutely love ‐ the Wtoo Brides dresses are so pretty, you might want to look into them too. (the shops around here don't carry them all.. there was one I was especially interested in so I asked a shop that carries Watters if they could borrow one for me to try and they did)

Good luck and have fun!

MeaghanandMichael

I think if you want wedding dress shopping to be a personal, private and comforting experience, you don't go to a store with curtains instead of dressing rooms, only a few mirrors, mobs of people (and kids! wtf?) and a very hit or miss reputation. For me, the experience was an important part of purchasing and owning a wedding gown.

mjmessina

I had the worst experience of my life from David's bridal.  It's very long but if you plan on going near the Nashua NH store i'd stay FAR away from them.  If you'd like to know about my experience send me a message...like I said it's a very LONG story. 

superjules916

I'm not sure about what happens once you get into the store but I will tell you that if you plan on checking them out call your local store. I signed up for a give away online with them and corporate calls me at least 3 times a week regardless of the fact that I've asked them not to call and that I would call my local store when I was ready. I finally got so frustrated with them calling I told them I already had my dress which is half true, I have an appointment with another place in September to pick out my dress from the two dresses I loved when I was in there in June.

All of that to say, they annoyed me so I refused to go there. Maybe your local store will be better?

Shazzie116

I went to the Dedham store and had an ok experience. I recommend going to Danvers or Natick instead if you can. I found my dress and loved it, but I wish I had maybe scheduled an appointment on a weeknight evening so it would be quieter. I also wish, like sboston, that I knew of other designer gowns that weren't priced through the roof. I love my dress and that's all that really matters. I didn't really care about privacy and personal attention, that wasn't an important factor of wedding dress shopping for me. My mom, sister, and bridesmaids were with me, which was what counted. We had a lot of fun!

Also, spending a lot of money wasn't important to me either. I wanted a dress that I felt beautiful in, whether it would cost me $80 at a thrift shop or $800. I budgeted for $800 and spent $400. 

kelmarfar

I wasn't thoroughly impressed when I went to David's, but one of my friends got a gorgeous dress for her upcoming wedding there, so I think it's hit or miss.

I ended up purchasing a gorgeous Alfred Angelo dress for about $700, and most of their dresses have price points lower than $1000.  I'm also a bigger girl and I liked that they didn't charge extra for larger sized dresses.  I traveled to an Alfred Angelo store in NY near where I grew up so that my bridesmaids, who all lived out there, could get their dresses there, but many of the local shops also carry AA dresses (Marry and Tux in Nashua was fantastic when I went there). 

I also agree that you should definitely stay away from David's for alterations.  A girl I used to work with had to have them get her a whole new dress just weeks before her wedding because they screwed the alterations up so badly at the Danvers store.