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HIghly reco European Bridal - stay away from Bridal and Formal

sdunaway10sdunaway10 member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Ohio-Cincinnati
I just went to find a dress yesterday at the Reading Road district and I was able to find a gorgeous dress within my budget of $500! Started at Wendy's and they were very nice just didn't find a dress.

Next we went to Bridal and Formal and I was shocked by how shabby we were treated. Your packed in there like cattle which made me think it was a very popular spot. The guy showed me the range of dresses from $800 - $1200 and didn't bother to ask me my budget just walked away. He also didn't tell me there was an upstairs that had dresss from $600 - down. We found them on our own and we weren't given a room or a consultant and told we could just try it on ourselves in the Bathroom! It was HORRIBLE!

Defeated and frustrated we went to European Bridal (btw, you should have an appointment b/4 you go, but they were inbetween appts and took me in). My consultant Anna was amazing! She did not make me feel bad at all for having such a tight budget and took me upstairs to show their dresses w/in my budget and style. She worked through her lunch and gave me as much attention as she would have a bride buying a $3,000 dress! I was able to find a beautiful dress under my budget and even as I write this I'm tearing up b/c European bridal gave me the experience I wanted (and didn't think I'd get w/ my budget). Thanks to the super sweet ladies there and to Anna for all her help! You've made me a happy bride.
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Re: HIghly reco European Bridal - stay away from Bridal and Formal

  • BrightFireflyBrightFirefly member
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    edited December 2011
    Sounds awesome. :o) If you don't mind me asking, were any of the dresses at European Bridal in the 200-300 dollar range? -_- I'm trying to be as friendly to my budget as I can.

    I'm embarassed to go into these places and look like a fool for wanting such a low-priced dress.
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  • sdunaway10sdunaway10 member
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    edited December 2011
    I'm with you! You feel embarrassed b/c you are surrounded by dresses that are $1,000s of dollars! Well I'm not blowing my budget on a dress!  Euro bridal did have couple that were in that range...but I think they were more non traditional..I would at least call and ask. Also Wendy's had a few I think. (Bridal & Formal def did upstairs, but be prepared for the crappy treatment!) We were also going to go to Davids and Chaz's but found one so didn't make it to those.

    I reco going w/ friends/family that back you up so you don't feel as uncomfortable and just go thru the As Is/Sample dress sections b/c they are the lowest priced! Oh and Euro bridal has a $50 off thing on FB if you check in at their store (I didn't see that until today though).

    Good luck! I don't care what ppl say you can find a beautiful dress on any budget you have, you just have to look!
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  • SunBear22SunBear22 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    It seems it's really hit & miss with Bridal and Formal. I bought my dress there during the week, and LOVED it. However, I went back when it was busy and the people just treated me a speck of dust and had no idea what they were talking about. I looked at the veils, the girl wasn't paying any attention to what I was saying and kept bringing me things out of my price range or that were nothing like what I asked for.

    Just wanted to add in that you can get some good deals if you do end up going to Bridal and Formal, on their sample gowns. The woman I worked with was wonderful and ended up getting me a $1700 gown for $800. But again, it's really hit and mis with the service.
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  • sdunaway10sdunaway10 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I agree they are really busy on the weekend...maybe try going during the week b/c the 2nd floor had stuff in your price range.
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  • JasLachelleJasLachelle member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I bought my dress from Bridal and Formal and had no idea that they had an upstairs! The service my family, friends, and I got when we were there was great! I guess it is hit or miss. Sorry you had such a bad experience there!
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  • gabriel0915gabriel0915 newb
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Sorry to hear about your experience. My dress is also from b&f and I had a wonderful experience and enjoyed all the women that I worked with (I went multiple times). I would actually agree to go during the week because it isa lot better than the weekend. Honestly, it sounds like you had a horrible guy working there. They only have 2-3 guys working there and I'm not a fan of any of them. I actually had a good ecperience at e.bridal but my dress was in HORRIBLE condition when it came in and they didn't do anything about it. Definitely try every places when looking. congrats on finding a dress
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  • prinzssbrideprinzssbride member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    My experience with the bridal district this weekend... sorry its so long

    I went to Bridal and Formal on saturday and it was terrible. I agree we were packed in there like cattle lol. I tried to call ahead of time to ask if they had the specific Jordan dresses I hoped to try on but no luck getting through to anyone. I asked when I got there and they told me they don't even sell Jordan wedding dresses. They do sell Jordan bridesmaid dresses and that is why they are advertised as a Jordan retailer GRRR what a waste.
    During the long wait my bridesmaids were able to try several dresses. The women on the bridesmaids side were very smart, friendly and helpful.
     They finally called my name to try on wedding dresses but I couldn't find any in my budget that looked half decent (wasn't told about the upstairs) so I left without trying anything on and went across the street.

    The lady at European Bridal was soo RUDE. She told me not to touch any of the dresses because there was no consultant available. I just had to laugh and walk out.

    So we went next door to Wendy's it was almost closing time so all their consultants were helping other girls too but atleast they let me take a few dresses over to the bridemaid side and try them on without a consultant (which was all I needed anyway). I feel more comfortable without a consultant anyway since I've tried on dresses before and just wanted to get a better idea of what I like.


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  • eiermacdeiermacd
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    B&F is so flaky. I went right after i got engaged to try on dresses and the women who i think is a manager was SOO rude although i flat out told her i wasnt going to buy anything? 

    But i went back with the intention on possibly buying something and the 2nd women i worked with was wonderful. they really need to get rid of the bad apples! 
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  • sdunaway10sdunaway10 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Yes, B&F will Not tell you there is an upstairs...if you happen to accidentally find it, you are on your own! But if you can get past all of that I did see dresses from $79- $699 upstairs!

    prinzsbride, sorry you didn't have a good Euro experience...I caught them between appts.
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  • BrightFireflyBrightFirefly member
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    edited December 2011
    This whole thing just makes me nervous!

    How does everyone feel about David's Bridal?
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  • debbiem56debbiem56
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    edited December 2011
    I got my dress and MOH's at DB.  Good experiences (see review), but like anywhere else it depends on if you have an appointment and how busy they are.
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  • khreeveskhreeves
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Has anyone tried the new Bridal Consignment shop in the Reading District?  I saw an article in the paper about it and thought I would try there for a wedding dress since my budget is super low as well!  I've already been to Chaz . . .unfortunately, I want a litlle bit more to my "wedding gown shopping experience."  I tried on a few dresses there, but just wasn't feeling it.  
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  • tb583tb583
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I had a great experience at European Bridal as well.  We went to B&F on a Friday and were treated pretty well, but they weren't too crowded.  Honestly though I was kind of overwhelmed because they told us to go ahead and look through dresses and let them know if there were any I liked, but there were so many dresses and they were hard to see because they were in bags.

    We ended up going across the street to Euro Bridal.  It was about 15 minutes before they closed on a Friday so we were just going to take a quick look and if I saw something I liked we were going to try to schedule an appt.  Well the lady I worked with was so nice, she took the time to ask what I was looking for and make suggestions in my price range.  I ended up picking three dresses to try on and the lady stayed late to work with us.  I fell in love with one of the dresses and went ahead and bought it that night.
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