bridal shop advice

angelanelson81384 · October 2011

I will be shopping for a wedding dress/mother of the bride dresses/bridesmaid dresses in the Minneapolis area. I'm not from there so I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on where to go with all of my bridesmaids to try on dresses. Who has the best selection?

bethanynic87 · October 2011

I'm actually going to David's Bridal tonight to look at bridesmaid dresses! That's where we got ours for my sisters wedding too. I think they have a very wide selection, plus they seem to have some of the cheapest dresses, as far as I've seen at least... Hopefully we'll find something!

kekr0202 · October 2011

I highly recommend Heartstrings Bridal in Hopkins (close to Minneapolis). It's a smaller bridal shop but great selection & customer service. I had a poor experience at The Wedding Shoppe-thought it was too crowded and the gal who was "helping me" was snooty and didn't listen. She also left mid appointment for her lunch break-was actually fine with me! lol

Try Meghan at Heartstrings Bridal!

Bejohnson5 · October 2011

I personally liked Rush's in downtown Minneapolis. I've been there twice (as a bride and a bridesmaid) and had great experiences both times. My friends and I can get kind of goofy and the salesgirls didn't mind when we purposely tried on the most hideous dresses we could find and take pictures. They have a great selection and both times we were the only appointment in the bridesmaid section so we had lots of room, time and attention which was appreciated.

Sscholfield · October 2011

I would highly recommend The Wedding Chapel in New Hope. I purchased my wedding gown there and have also been in looking at bridesmaid dresses. Bri is fantastic to work with!

The Wedding Shoppe was ok for wedding gowns, but the bridesmaid/mother-of-the-bride area is a mad house and they're not very helpful. I think they try to fit as many people is as possible, and really didn't have that personal touch I was looking for.

I've also heard great things about Heartstrings Bridal in Hopkins!

Good luck!

wittyschaffy · October 2011

I was completely turned off by my David's Bridal experience and refuse to set foot in another store again unless I am forced to by another bride. They put my name on all sorts of phone lists and email lists. Their service was horrid and they actualy suggested that the solution to my bra search (they dont' make strapless bras in my cup size for my low back gown) was to just buy a bigger band. like squishing the girls out and over the too small cups was a good solution?! Bah. Good grief.

I found my gown and bridesmaid dresses at The Wedding Shoppe. It is a little crazy but their prices were reasonable and I had good customer service. Make an appointment though - walk in is tough there.

For mother of the bride dresses, my mom had good luck for her dresses for my wedding and my sister's at Nordstroms in the Mall of America.

Cackle6 · October 2011

I'll second the Wedding Chapel out in Crystal/New Hope! We were just there yesterday and had a great time. Our consultant, Cindy, was very patient with us and was very fun to work with. And their prices are very good.

My sister-in-law had a terrible experience at Heartstrings in Hopkins. The looking for dresses part was fine, but once they get your money they just don't seem to care. My mom ordered extra fabric to make a shrug to go with my SIL's dress, and they ordered the wrong fabric, and then acted like my mom ordered the wrong fabric, and never apologized or returned her money. And even though the sample dress fit my SIL perfectly, they made her order 2 sizes up because they said the sample was "stretched" and would be to tight. Well of course the dress came in and was a full 2 sizes too big, so she had to have it taken in. Also, their seamstress was TERRIBLE. If you do purchase there, go elsewhere for alterations.

The Wedding Shoppe probably has the largest selection, but their customer service is hit or miss. We stopped in there today and they were able to accomodate us even though we didn't have an appointment, and the woman who helped us was great. But it was pretty crowded and they seemed to have to keep their eye on 2 or 3 appointments at once.

shan87 · October 2011

Do you have a designer that you like? I searched online/mags for a designer I loved (Demeterios) then found the only salon that carries it was The Bridal Salon at Macy's downtown. I really liked my sales consultant, it was my first stop and the 2nd dress I tried on was the one.

I would recommend them if you can spend $1,000+ on a dress. They do have trunk/sample sales so you can find good deals. Their bridesmaids, MOB dresses are super expensive though.

schmood · October 2011

I got my dress in Sioux Falls, so not much help on the bridal gown.

My mom has had good luck at Nordstroms Rack for MOB dresses.

For BM dresses, my girls ultimately ordered from NetBride.com. I had the challenge of having BMs in 3 different states and none of them in the same state as I was while planning. I had one that was picky about styles, so I went shopping with her first and found a few that worked for her. Then sent the others to try on those styles. I looked on NetBride and found the dress for $114, which was about $50 less than what we could find at any store (in any of the 4 states!) It worked out well and had no issues with the ordering or delivery process. They carry most designers and seem to be affiliated with Rush's Bridal.

graysquirrel · October 2011

I got my dress at Unique Bridal in Blaine. It isn't your typical bridal salon, but don't be fooled. They have some amazing gowns at low prices. Mine was a Sottero and Midgley and I got it there for half price! The lady who owns the place used to be the head designer at Rush's so she really knows her stuff!

My BMs got their dresses at Angeliques in Blaine. They had a pretty good selection and were good to work with. I love that the owner donates dresses to military brides that might not otherwise be able to afford a nice gown.

My mom got her MOB stuff at Dress Barn and Penney's. To us the MOB stuff at the salons was terribly overpriced and dowdy, so we stayed away from them for that.

KateJ10 · October 2011

I shopped at Bridal Accents Couture in Savage, Che Bella in St Paul, and the Wedding Shoppe. Of these, I would recommend Bridal Accents Couture the most, if that fits your budget. I loved loved my shopping experience there and they carry so many awesome dresses.

ETA: Also my mom found her dress at nordstrom in MOA. They have a great dress section there

ktanne44 · October 2011

The Little Bridal Shop in Rogers is where I got my dress and I am planning on getting BM dresses there too. They have a great selection and are wonderful to work with. You get discounts on your BM dresses and Tux's if you get your gown from them!!
I had horrible service at davids bridal! I would not recommend going to the maple grove location.

khornbach · October 2011

I loved my experience as a bride at L'Atelier Couture. It was highly personalized and they worked hard to make sure I was happy with my dress. That included 3 fittings the week of my wedding to make sure the dress was perfect.

For bridesmaids Che Bella is nice. Its a smaller shop, but has a great selection and is very personalized service.

For MOB hit Nordstroms, better prices better dresses.

AETS26 · October 2011

ha, unlike ktanne44, I thought The Little Bridal Shop in Rodgers was awful but was pleasantly surprised by David's Bridal. You'll hear a lot of crap about David's, some of it true, but I went to multiple shops in the Twin Cities and David's has by far the best space for trying on dresses -- nice dressing rooms, tons of space to walk around in, plenty of space for mom & bridesmaids, and fabulous mirrors.

Heartstrings was pretty good, though I felt like the sales woman there didn't give me very good advice.

The Wedding Shoppe just kind of a fun experience, but don't go if you're bringing more than 1 or 2 people with you.

I ended up getting my dress from Brides of France in Edina. The shop is teeny tiny and they don't take appointments, but it worked out for me...

AshP12 · October 2011

I'd recommend Angelique's in Blaine. I got my bridesmaid dress there for my friend's wedding, and they were incredibly helpful and great to work with.

I'd also suggest Our Shop in Stillwater, especially for MOB dresses. My mom and I thought many of the department store dresses were old ladyish, and she wanted to try on some of the nicer designer dresses. Our Shop is super helpful and is one of the only bridal shops that actually carries MOB dresses in store so she can try them on instead of just looking at a catalogue picture.

My dress came from Dena Marie's Bridal and Tux in Roseville. I like them because they're right around the corner from my house and are good to work with for the most part. However, when I walked in I knew exactly which dress I wanted (I'd found it at Bella Bridal in Woodbury, but didn't want to buy from them because they were being incredibly pushy about wanting me to rush the dress when I had plenty of time). I think the reason I've had such a good experience there is because I knew exactly what I wanted, from the dress to the gloves and veil. Another perk is that, unlike David's, they let you keep your dress with them until whenever you decide to pick it up and bring it home. Very helpful for those of us who have no closet space!

Good luck!

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