Wedding Dress Shopping?!?

katieflash · October 2010

I am going wedding dress shopping next weekend, and was wondering at which places people received the best service. I was "googling" various stores- Bridal and Formal, European Bride, etc. and it doesn't seem like any place was consistently getting good reviews. I would like to stay right at the $1000 range, so I am also worried that I either won't be able to find anything at these nicer stores or that they won't really help because the comminsion on my dress would be so small. And finally---how long would you say a "typical" appt. lasts? I would like to go to multiple stores but am not sure of how long to stay at each place?

schermcn · October 2010

I would suggest David's Bridal. They are having a $50-300 off sale right now. It's also really nice because you don't have to hunt through a bunch of dresses, they give you a catalog, you tell them what you'd like to try on, and they find them in your size (if they have it). I'm not sure of their prices but the dresses that I tried on (without knowing the price beforehand) were between $800 and $1,200. My appointment there lasted almost two hours but I had a lot of people with me wanting me to try on a lot of dresses. My second appointment was at Wendy's Cincinnati Bride. I think I am going to buy a dress I found there for roughly $900, but it seemed like most of their dresses were over $1,000. I spent much less time there because I didn't care for most of their selection.

caseyandlizzie · October 2010

I only went to 3 bridal stores....Davids, Fabulous Bridal and Madison Ave. Bridal. I had great personal service at both Fabulous Bridal and Madison Ave. Bridal and didn't feel rushed at all. I spent about 1 1/2 hours at Fabulous Bridal and was at Madison Ave Bridal for about 2 hours and ended up finding a great dress there for less than $1,000.

I went to Davids in Kenwood and had pretty good service, although the consultant was helping at least 1 other bride while I was there and I felt that she forgot about me a few times. I've been there to look at BM dresses and felt that we had much better service then.

kelklump · October 2010

I bought my dress at Bridal and Formal for way under 1k. You can do it there, and dont be afraid to look online for the dress pricing and get quotes. They price match.

muamanda18 · October 2010

Go to Lillian's in Centerville...well worth the trip. I also went to David's Bridal and did not like it at all. The consultant was less than helpful. It's a great place to get Bridesmaid dresses but not your dress - in my opinion.

baboox · October 2010

I had a great experience at Cincinnati Bride (Now Wendy's Cincinnati Bride). They have a coupon on their site for $100 of a wedding gown and also a discount on bridesmaids. So my wedding gown ended up being $867.

tortis · October 2010

For every great post a salon gets here, there is a negative. This is one of the few things about wedding planning that I think is really 100% based on how you feel walking in the door.

You said you are going on the weekend.If I can offer one piece of advice, it would be to skip the weekend and go during the week. I went to places on a Thursday andit was empty. At Bridal and Formal there were only 2 other brides, and that place is HUGE.

I ended up getting my dress from B&F, and i did NOT feel pushed into it at all. I didn't originallly pull it,but I had marked it in a few magazines.

That is a plus about B&F- they will ask you your budget up front, and show you where to fin dresses in that price range and then let you pull the dresses you think you'd like. That was great for us, and then the girl I was working with, Sarah, looked at what I loved, and pulled dresses that looked just ok on the hanger, but worked perfectly for what I was looking for. She didn't pull a single dress out of my price range.

I really really think that you will have a great experience at any of the main salons here. If you have to go during peak hours ( Thurs/ Fri nights or Sat/Sun) absolutely make an appointment. If you walk in, you will 100% cause them stress and will probably be unhappy with that salon. I would recommend going during the day on the weekday.

Good luck! And have fun!!

txin1_19759230 · October 2010

Sally at Cincinnati Bride was awesome and we got a dress for much less than $1,000. A week later we got a coupon in the mail for $25 off of bridesmaid dresses. Bridal and Formal was just hard to look at dresses and I was never offered any help.

hsnodgra · October 2010

I was going to say the same thing as tortis - Everyone seems to have had different experiences with different salons. Seems like a lot of it just depends on the consultant you work with, and how your personality matches up. I'd also recommend avoiding the weekend! You'll get a lot more personal attention if you go when the store isn't crazy busy.

Davids wasn't my favoirte, but I liked that they had dresses in different sizes, so you can really get a good idea of how certain styles look on you. The other stores all had one sample dress, in one size (I think an 8? 10? Somewhere in that range) - so if you are bigger, the dress can't even zip up (FSIL had this prob w/ BM dresses) and if you are petite, like me, the dress is pinned and clipped in so many places that it is hard to really get the full picture! So my rec is to do Davids first and get a good idea of what certain styles IN YOUR SIZE look like on you. Then once you know what style you like you can try other places to find that perfect dress.

I ended up getting one from Wendys Bridal in Kenwood. I had a great experience there - and the dress came in earlier than promised. Also the dress was well under 1000 - under 800 is what I paid.

Good luck - I had so much fun dress shopping!

andrea4111 · October 2010

I went to several dress shops and found Fabulous Bridal to be the best by far. Bridal and Formal does have a huge selection. The sales consultant was really nice and pretty helpful but the atmosphere made it really hard for me to fall in love with a dress at all. Fabulous Bridal doesn't have as big of a selection but they had many different designers that Wendy's and Bridal and Formal did not have. I ended up finding my dress there and they worked with me on the price. They had a special in August that was $250 off a dress and $250 off a veil. They not only honored that in September but also gave me an additional amount off the dress. My sales consultant was Elizabeth and she was wonderful! She was never pushy but really helpful. Wherever you go, though, don't be afraid to ask them to price match or give a percentage off. Most were willing to do so. Good luck!

parker624 · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-cincinnati_wedding-dress-shopping?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:108Discussion:57c6a79a-3257-474b-9714-f3e43c4e7dc4Post:34f4b93a-a6fa-4e3d-a307-42269a511b76">Re: Wedding Dress Shopping?!?</a>:
[QUOTE]I bought my dress at Bridal and Formal for way under 1k. You can do it there, and dont be afraid to look online for the dress pricing and get quotes. They price match.
Posted by kelklump[/QUOTE]

I got my Pronovias dress at Bridal and Formal for WAYYYY under 1K. I had a $1500 budget and didn't try on any dresses over $1000 at B&F. And I tried on 10 dresses. They ALWAYS discount, ask for a 20% discount. if you buy your bridesmaid dresses there you get even more of a discount.

[Deleted User] · October 2010

I went to bridal and formal last night and just looked at dresses without prices. I found one I liked for almost $2000 and asked the salesperson, "find me this dress only less poofy and less expensive" and she did! They are really amazing there... I went to European Bridal last night too and it was a total waste of time...in my humble opinion..

schermcn · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-cincinnati_wedding-dress-shopping?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:108Discussion:57c6a79a-3257-474b-9714-f3e43c4e7dc4Post:cc72dedb-e33a-4f9d-a1d6-1af7151ac19f">Re: Wedding Dress Shopping?!?</a>:
[QUOTE]I had a great experience at Cincinnati Bride (Now Wendy's Cincinnati Bride). <strong>They have a coupon on their site for $100 of a wedding gown and also a discount on bridesmaids</strong>. So my wedding gown ended up being $867.
Posted by baboox[/QUOTE]

<div>Can you tell me where you found the discount on their site? I'm not seeing it. Thanks!</div>

lbrown713 · October 2010

I started out at Fabulous Bridal. I was determined not to break the bank on a dress that I will wear once, so I had a pretty strict budget. I was upfront about that and unfortunately at FB, the only dresses I could afford were the "off the rack" dresses on the 4th floor. Since I went there first and had nothing to judge it against, I can say I was pleasantly surprised by the way I was treated, even though it was obvious I wouldn't be buying one of the expensive gowns. I then headed to Madison Ave. Bridal. The owner/manager was too busy talking rudely to someone on the phone to really pay any attention to my mom and me, so we looked over some of the dresses, then left. After Madison Ave., I wanted to go to Wendy's in Florence, but once we got there, saw the sign on the door that they had closed. I was determined NOT to buy my dress from David's Bridal, but of course, that's where I ended up. We didn't really have time to go all the way to Kenwood to the other Wendy's at that point, so we headed to David's Bridal in Florence. I found several dresses there that I liked, and after a few more visits there, I bought one on sale, so that with all the undergarments, veil, etc., I got the dress for less than I originally budgeted! :-)

Good luck!

Debbydew · October 2010

I bought mine from European bridal, and I loved my dress, but... they sold me a dress under the label "Artistic Bridal" which I later found online under the label "Allure Bridal". I paid $1300 in store, and found it online for like, $700. I was beyond ticked off! And they didn't do anything to make it better...since I had already signed the contract and paid the deposit, I was locked in. Definitely be aware!

lindsaynewbride10 · October 2010

I would highly recommend Fabulous Bridal in Covington- when I went they were having a 25% off all gowns sale so right of the bat I was excited. Not only did I purchase and order my gown for $1,000 less than I wanted to spend, but they also hosted a Maids Party for my bridal party a few weeks ago where the girls tried on a ton of bridesmaid dresses, which we ended up ordering their dresses and they were given 20% off since I purchased my dress there previously.

My bridal consultant was Elizabeth and I would highly recommend her as she was very honest about what would look good on all of my girls, they all are different heights, different busts, weights, and one is even expecting. She was great!

Good luck!

1tabbey · October 2010

I came to Cincinnati to look for dresses, but left frustrated. I live in Columbus but (but grew up near Kettering) and wanted to look for gowns outside of the city to get a gown my friends haven't seen. I came back to Columbus once I saw the same dresses only more expensive!! Not sure if there's a more competitive market in Columbus but the dresses were less expensive. Anyway, good luck! Let me know if you'd like a reference from Columbus

tasharocks · October 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_ohio-cincinnati_wedding-dress-shopping?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:108Discussion:57c6a79a-3257-474b-9714-f3e43c4e7dc4Post:9a50181a-c254-4518-881d-176178b1b581">Re: Wedding Dress Shopping?!?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would highly recommend Fabulous Bridal in Covington- when I went they were having a 25% off all gowns sale so right of the bat I was excited. Not only did I purchase and order my gown for $1,000 less than I wanted to spend, but they also hosted a Maids Party for my bridal party a few weeks ago where the girls tried on a ton of bridesmaid dresses, which we ended up ordering their dresses and they were given 20% off since I purchased my dress there previously. My bridal consultant was Elizabeth and I would highly recommend her as she was very honest about what would look good on all of my girls, they all are different heights, different busts, weights, and one is even expecting. She was great! Good luck!
Posted by lindsaynewbride10[/QUOTE]

elizabeth is great! she helped me earlier this week. i narrowed down my choices so i can bring my mom back with me to pick "the one." and the customer service at fabulous bridal was a million times better than bridal and formal. when i went to bridal and formal no one paid any attention to me even though there weren't any other customers in the store!

Wedding Dress Shopping?!?

Re: Wedding Dress Shopping?!?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards