House of Botticelli vs Fontana

Sewilson33 · July 2010

Hi Girls!!

I originally was going to shop for my dress at Fontana and yesterday I was told a few horror stories about that salon and was recommended to House of Botticelli.

Any input??

psichick · July 2010

i went into fontana's once. not to shop for a dress but to look for accessories. i can tell you it was not a great experience. the accessories were even pricier than i would have expected ($400 for a headband, really???? it wasn't even that nice!) and the sales lady i had did not want to listen to what i actually wanted and was looking for. she kept just pushing on me what was "in that season" according to her. i know it's all about the person you get, but i wasn't impressed with the place. it also didn't seem that big.

never been to house of botticelli so i can't comment on it.

Meliss5178 · July 2010

I went to both and honestly I wasn't impressed with either place. Fontanas was nice enough, but they were pushy. I have heard bad stories about their alterations.
House of Botticelli was worse, the consultant was nasty acted like she didn't even feel like pulling anything for me and then flat out told me they did not make a dress like I wanted (I wanted a strapless A-line!) and I was out of the store within 20 minutes in tears! I have heard of others having a good experience there though. Regardless, they are pricey.

TerriandJoe · July 2010

I never looked at either salon because I knew that I wouldn't be able to afford it. (And a friend of mine works at one of them - if you are interested in going, I can pass along her name).

They do have pretty dresses though. And they carry the higher-end designers. (So you save a trip to Kleinfelds!)

44lobster · July 2010

I've never been the House of Boticelli but I just recently (1 month ago) had alterations done for a bridesmaid dress at Fontana and they did a lousy job. Between the actual dress cost and the alterations, the Jim Hjelm dress wound up costing @$500 and it looked so cheap and ill fitting even after 3 appts. Also the day the dress was supposed to be picked up, I made an appt for it to be ready by 2:00p.m. and it wasn't ready until 3:15. I didn't even consider it when I went to purchase my wedding gown.

sjsphish · July 2010

I also did not like either store, and I myself left Botticelli almost in tears! I'm not super skinny but am not a whale either, yet the woman told me I was "too large" (her words) for the sample sizes and was making faces the whole time I tried stuff on.

I recommend my bridal shop, Amelia's Bridal in Mt. Vernon - ask for Maria!

xtina_824 · July 2010

I actually got my dress at fontana's about a month ago. I don't have a horror story (but I haven't done alterations yet either). My sales lady was very nice, pulled out what I wanted and stayed in my price range. They even gave me a discount which ended up covering alterations. I would say check out wherever you want, I've heard good and bad things about a lot of places, just depends on your own situation.

TerriandJoe · July 2010

Sewilson - Just checked with my friend. Her name is Brenda. She works at Fontana's. And I know she has helped at least one bride on this board. Anyway, she said the dresses there start at $1000. (Often they give a discount if you buy your first day). She said to check their website for the designers they carry. And that they and Botticelli, for the most part, carry different designers. (To keep the competition friendly, I guess!)

GL! HTH!

Sjsphish - Really sorry that that happened to you! Glad you found a dress at a store that made you happy!

For Other Girls - There ARE stores in the area that carry a range of sizes. So know you can at least go to one that carries your size. (I didn't go to the place my sister got her dress for that reason, the place she chose told me to "try" the bridesmaid dress on by holding it in front of me. I never even went to look there when I was planning my own wedding.)

clarereedy · July 2010

I've been to Fontana's twice and House of Botticelli once.

I bought a bridesmaid dress from Fontana's for my cousin's wedding. Alterations were terrible - I have a larger chest which is not in size with the rest of me. When they ordered my dress, I asked to order it in a larger size so that the top would fit. They said I didn't need it. $300 dollars later after having to order extra material and rebuilding the top of the dress, I hated the dress and threw it out the minute I got home from the wedding. The second trip there was to look for dresses for my girls - they had the dresses they wanted in stock so we just wanted to try them on. They were very helpful, but I would not order from there.

House of Botticelli was the first stop in our bridesmaid shopping trip. They were helpful until they asked if I needed a wedding dress. Once I told them that I already had my dress, they wanted nothing to do with me.

clarereedy · July 2010

Oops, meant to add that I had a wonderful experience at Meme's in Larchmont.

Midgette · July 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-york-hudson-valley_house-of-botticelli-vs-fontana?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:113Discussion:ee023052-f974-4001-b481-91e3f395bcecPost:8c051b28-9160-4839-8090-abf0b2451ff9">Re: House of Botticelli vs Fontana</a>:
[QUOTE]Sewilson - Just checked with my friend. Her name is Brenda. She works at Fontana's. And I know she has helped at least one bride on this board. Anyway, she said the dresses there start at $1000. (Often they give a discount if you buy your first day). She said to check their website for the designers they carry. And that they and Botticelli, for the most part, carry different designers. (To keep the competition friendly, I guess!)
Posted by TerriandJoe[/QUOTE]

<div><waves> That was me!</div><div>Brenda was my sales women and I LOVED her to pieces! She was great from start and finish..Never once pushy!!!! Cory, Paula, Nancy and Christina were always so nice and helped me and my bridesmaids in so many different ways!.</div><div> We all got our dresses there, and got great discounts, and always worked around our schedule and what we wanted. </div><div>To be honest, since i got married last month, i miss going in there almost every week LOL</div>

Sewilson33 · July 2010

Thanks so much for the advise!!!

House of Botticelli vs Fontana

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