Florida-North Florida

where should i go dress shopping?

Hello to all my fellow brides! im going dress shopping for the first time next week!! i made an appointment at The bridal shop @ the Avenues, in jacksonville. Theyve gotten some pretty bad reviews which makes me nervous. Have any of you used this location? if so what did you think? And any other suggestions for wedding gowns would be great! looking to stay within a reasonable budget :) Thanks!

Re: where should i go dress shopping?

  • baileykmbaileykm member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I went there and had a terrible experience. I ended up buying my dress from park avenue bridal, but I also had a great experience at Alfred Angelo. Both were great about working with my budget.
  • edited December 2011
    Check to see when Davids Bridal is having their $99 sale. That's where I got mine, got a gorgeous dress and had a great expierience !!
  • jagore08jagore08 member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If you're ever in Gainesville I recommend Jay's Bridal.  They were fantastic to work with and had great prices.  
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  • KnalexisKnalexis member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    YOU HAVE TO GO TO BLACK TIE FORMALS AT JAX BCH. She's moderately priced, not pushy, very nice. I am styling my entire wedding party, myself, and the groom/guys from there. 

    Tell Jan that the bride with different styled BM dresses sent you. :)
  • edited December 2011
    I got my dress at The Bridal Shop at the Avenues, and it's all been good so far.  I'm not getting married until May, and it's not supposed to come in until November, so I can't give you much info as far as that goes, but I have a great experience.  They were all very nice and attentive and not difficult when I tried on the same two dresses 4 or 5 times trying to decide..after having tried on 8 or 9 different dresses to begin with...haha.  And then I called a couple weeks ago to see if I could get a fabric swatch, and normally the designer charges you for official ones, but she was able to find some extra fabric and gave it to me, which was really great.  I hadn't heard any bad stories about them, but just knew I wanted an Allure dress, and they were the only ones in town that I could find that had their dresses.
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  • amandalt823amandalt823 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I went to the Bridal Shop of the Avenues and they were super nice. I had an appointment and there was also a trunk show going on but the lady who helped me was very attentive and I was her only customer. However, I did not end up buying my dress from there.

    I bought my dress from Love Bridal Boutique. They were so incredibly nice and the owner helped me through my entire appointment. And they have some great designers!
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  • heatherhljheatherhlj member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I highly recommend The White Magnoila in San Marco. I went to every bridal shop around and she has the best dresses, the best quality and she was great to work with. Beware at David's Bridal - they sell all your info to third party vendors and your phone will be blowing up with people trying to sell you all kinds of stuff.
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_florida-north-florida_should-dress-shopping?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:70Discussion:0812f7cd-db54-47d1-a254-9ded26fd5519Post:6960a8bc-a6a8-49d3-85d8-1fcf1a65f7f0">Re: where should i go dress shopping?</a>:
    [QUOTE]I highly recommend The White Magnoila in San Marco. I went to every bridal shop around and she has the best dresses, the best quality and she was great to work with. Beware at David's Bridal - they sell all your info to third party vendors and your phone will be blowing up with people trying to sell you all kinds of stuff.
    Posted by heatherhlj[/QUOTE]

    REALLY? Wow.. How true is that?? I haven't had that problem at all actually. I worked a Wedding showcase and my email blew up. I only once got a phone call from a photographer I don't know where she got my info from but haven't had any other random calls since then..
  • millkn2millkn2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_florida-north-florida_should-dress-shopping?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:70Discussion:0812f7cd-db54-47d1-a254-9ded26fd5519Post:bd49e09c-90b8-4192-975a-5147974087a6">Re: where should i go dress shopping?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: where should i go dress shopping? : REALLY? Wow.. How true is that?? I haven't had that problem at all actually. I worked a Wedding showcase and my email blew up. I only once got a phone call from a photographer I don't know where she got my info from but haven't had any other random calls since then..
    Posted by princessbridesgb[/QUOTE]

    I have had the same problem with David's bridal. Maybe you didn't, you were lucky.

    I got my dress from Michael's Formalwear at Towncenter. I love my dress and I think I got a good price too.
  • heatherhljheatherhlj member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    You def got lucky with David's Bridal! I was all set to buy a dress there and then for 3 days straight I got about 100 calls from everyone trying to sell me something or telling me I won a contest. I finally started asking how they got my info and was told that they are partners with David's. I had to call David's to get off their solicitation list and they owned up to the fact that they sell your info. So I'm gonna say it's pretty reliable that this is happening.
  • edited December 2011
    Holy cow. Ugh sorry you girls had to go through that. I wonder if maybe they've stopped doing it ? Maybe they got too many complaints I wonder..
  • edited December 2011
    I've had the same issue with David's Bridal - and i haven't even gone into see their dresses yet!! It's completely turned me off to them!
    Heather - I've heard wonderful things about the White Magnolia. I actually have been meaning to call, I think I saw on their website their dresses start off at $1400, and my budget is $1200. Rather ask before making an appointment.
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  • edited December 2011
    You know I was just thinking about this post.. one thing Davids does that really pisses me off is the amount of phone calls I get from them reminding me that only 3 of my bridesmaids have gotten their dresses. Now I know they're trying to help me out but no joke they will call me once every week or every two weeks and the last time I spoke with someone I told her they call way too much and she was going to put it in the system but guess what? They just called TODAY.. and I spoke with them two weeks ago. I just went off on her. She said she'd put it in the system and I said I really hope you do this time. YellI know it's not the same type of calls you girls are getting or have gotten but it's still frustrating.
  • edited December 2011
    I don't know if you've had your appointment yet or not, but I got my dress and my MOH's dress from The Bridal Shop. It was great, and super easy. I went in the week before and asked to just browse the dresses, since my mom and MOH were coming up the next weekend. They even filled out a form so I would remember which dresses I wanted to try on.

    We didn't have an appointment, but they were really helpful when we came in. I actually bought a BM dress for my wedding dress, and they were still totally great (I figured they'd be a bit unhapy since it wasn't a huge sale like a traditional dress). The dresses came in about 3 months after we ordered (MOH's came in first, I believe, at about 2 months).

    Oh, and I did stop in the David's Bridal off Southside, kind of by the mall. The woman who met me at the door was a bitch. She wouldn't even let me browse without first making an appointment (which I didn't do). And they were super crazy packed and people were rushing around every which way. Made me dizzy just watching it for all of 30 seconds.
  • edited December 2011
    My dress was from David's Bridal at the Avenues, and I didn't have a single issue with them as far as spamming goes (I think I might have given them a fake phone number and/or email address which could explain why I never received any calls lol).  The consultants who helped me were great, and my dress arrived in 3 weeks.  I was very pleased.  My one piece of advice if you go there- make an appointment during the week.  They're just way too swamped on weekends. 

    I also liked Park Avenue Bridal. 
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  • edited December 2011
    So I went to two places. Love Bridal Boutique at the beach - not impressed at all. It's a small place and I made an appointment. The lady I had was really nice - but there were like 10 bridesmaids and a bride there already taking up all of the rooms and the mirrors. They weren't really willing to work much with me.
    Second place - The White Magnolia - 1 word - AMAZING!!! She was so sweet and understood my budget, and was not pushy, she didn't give me styles I wasn't wanting and was understanding with how I wanted to look and my goal. I had the whole store to myself and even found and ordered my dress. :) She was a doll and I would completely recommend going to her!
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  • edited December 2011
    I'd recommend White Magnolia too!  Her dresses are top of the line so they're not cheap but the service is amazing.  Its by appointment only so you'll get 100% of her attention.  She might be able to work with your budget or sell you a sample.  I got my dress there and I can't say enough good stuff about my experience.

    Best of Luck!
  • Wahine4life66Wahine4life66 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Michaels in the the Town Center!
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