Bridal Shop Recs?

tanyamary627 · October 2012

I was hoping you all could share which bridal shops you said yes to the dress at, or other shops that you had a good experience with. I'm open to going anywhere in central or eastern CT, western MA, or RI. Also, how long did you budget at each shop? My MOH lives several hours away and is spending next weekend with me, so I was hoping to visit a few different shops with her. Any other advice for my first time dress shopping? My wedding is June 1 so I'm a little behind! TIA!

MoonlightSilver · October 2012

I live in southwestern CT, so the stores I went to aren't really near you. Julie Allen Bridals in Newtown we visited just for bridesmaids dresses. Spent a few hours there.

For my dress, we went to two place.

Classic Brides by Eva in Stratford was a nice shop, but small. Limited selection, but the owner is super attentive and I believe does her alterations for free if you buy from her.

I bought my wedding dress at Harold's in New Haven. They have a huge selection of dresses (bridal, bridesmaids, Mother of the Bride). They paid attention to my budget and I never had a problem with the alterations.

I went to both stores in one day. We made a morning appointment (10am?) at Eva's, then had lunch and went to Harold's around 2pm. We had enough time for that, but I was also very quick to decide if I liked a dress or not (until we got to the one I picked... ha).

Good luck! My advice: Wear the undergarments you'd want to wear your wedding day if you can, but remember whomever you bring with you will probably be in the room while you're getting dressed.

sunshineinne · October 2012

I went to 3 places.
Camille in West Hartford - just didn't find what I was looking for there, although I think that perhaps most of their dresses were outside my budget.
Also visited Mariella's in Rocky Hill - I loved it there...they have a large selection, and let you choose the dresses you are going to try on...so you get to see their stock, unlike Camille, where they choose the dresses for you. (By the way - be sure to bring some pictures of dress styles you like!!).
Lastly, I went to Stars in Avon - they have a relatively small bridal shop upstairs - I ended up buying my dress there - I have had a positive experience so far - you get very personal service there.
You can ask when you make your appts. how long they book you for an initial appt. - I can't remember whether most places give you an hour or hour-and-a-half? Stars kept the shop open past closing for me...:).

SB1512 · October 2012

I said yes to the dress at The Wedding Dress in Portland, CT. It's a small shop, but they have a good selection and carry designers that you don't see in other shops (I think the dress I got is carried at only 1 other place in CT, it's an Essence of Australia gown). I also shopped at Mariella's. While I had a good experience there, a lot of the dresses I liked (which were very comparable to what I bought) were at least $1,000 above my max budget, and I didn't love anything that was in my price range. But again, that depends on what you are looking for, I was dead set on having a lace dress. The wedding dress not only has a great selection but the prices were extremely reasonable.

cronin85 · October 2012

I went to Beautiful Bride in Plainville and my experience was alright but their dresses were beautiful!

I also went to Davids Bridal in Orange (this is where I purchased my dress). They had a very large selection and I was very please with their customer service.

sundayrose · October 2012

I went to Bancroft Bridals in feeding hills,Ma and that's where I said yes to the dress- I loved everything about my experience now including the alterations process

I also went to Mariella's while I was looking and didn't have a great experience with the staff, the dresses were beautiful but I found the woman I worked with to be very rude and borderline snobbish.. I know others have had great experiences though

Amanda1443994 · October 2012

I bought mine at Mariella's and my MOH bought hers at Harolds. We had great experiences at both.

meghwood · October 2012

I got my dress at the White Dress by the Shore in Clinton and my girls dresses at Bliss Bridal in Cheshire. I had great experiences at both, but Bliss Bridal was really fantastic!

Mona8 · October 2012

I got my dress and BM dresses from Julie Allen Bridal in Newtown.

I've never been but have heard good things about Bliss Bridal in Cheshire.

I also went to Camille Bridal in West Hartford but found that their dress selection was on the pricier side.

whitneyf1 · October 2012

I got my dress at The White Dress by the Shore and could not have been happier! I loved every minute of my experience there. They also did my alterations and did a great job!

Our BM dresses were from J.Crew. They were easy to deal with and I loved our dresses!

tanyamary627 · October 2012

Thanks for all your responses! I made appointments at The Wedding Dress & Mariellas for the same day. I'll check out more of the recommended shops if I strike out at the first two.

Whitney, I didn't realize J Crew made BM dresses, I will be looking into that!

redjellybean128 · October 2012

I bought mine from Bliss. They were fantastic there!

boomboom1243 · October 2012

Ive been to Stylish impressions in Farmington and I hear great things about mariellas in rocky hill! They Way chose was I looked at designers online in my price range and see who carried them. Good luck!

BelleBride13 · October 2012

I bought my dress from Brides to Be consignment in Glastonbury. They have a large selection at great prices. I bought my dress (brand new) for more than half the normal price. The people were wonderful and I believe alterations are really reasonable (although I haven't had my alterations yet, just the inital consultation when I bought the dress). I was happy that I took the dress home with me. I don't have to worry about it not coming in and I get to look at it any time I want :-)

Bridal Shop Recs?

Re: Bridal Shop Recs?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards