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Bridal Boutiques in Philadelphia/NJ/NY area??

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Shiny_Rock
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Any suggestions on where I should go to find my dress - I''m in the Philly area but can travel to NJ or NY if necessary. I''m looking for a really chic, unique dress...!!:) Don''t care so much about the $$ as I''m just looking now and want to see all possibilities before I decide. I''m thinking of going shopping in like 2 weeks, so I want to start making appointments. Thanks for the help in advance:)
 
Priscilla of Boston is in Suburban Square. I bought my dress in New York though at Mark Ingram''s because I was looking for a specific designer (although I didn''t end up with that designer''s dress) so I would suggest getting ideas of what designers you might be interested in and then see where they are sold in Philly.
 
hi! check-out Kleinfeld and Pronovias when your in NYC.
 
I''m in NYC and here is where I went...

Wedding Atelier (nice salon. very helpful people. medium selection. i really liked my experience there)

Kleinfeld (obviously very large selection. liked my experience there, just didn''t find anything for me.)

Priscilla of Boston (love their dresses but none were quite right on me. i wanted so badly to make one work but no luck. my bm''s dresses are from there though)

Adrienne''s (small selection. nice people. not much else to say about it)

Iman bridal (in long island. hated this place. the owner was seriously pushy. smallish selection of dresses. mostly ballgowns)

Selia Yang (loved it. got my dress there. unique dresses. personal attention from Selia. clean modern styles with different ways to make the dress unique...her belts/sashes are gorgeous!)


In addition, I''ve heard great things about the bridal department at Saks and Mark Ingram. Also, I went with a friend to Wedding Salon in Manhasset Long Island and the place was beautiful and they had a nice selection.

Hope that helps!
 
I''ve been looking at a variety of designers on knot.com because that was the only place I knew that had a comprehensive list of designers. So far I like paloma blanca (sp? I think thats the name?), st pucchi, la sposa, pronovias. Does anyone have any suggestions of designers that I would like that aren''t on this list. Would you say that the ones on knot.com create a comprehensive list or are there a lot more high end designers just not listed there?
 
Based on what you said you are looking for maybe check out Carolina Herrera, her stuff is unique and show stopping IMO. Anne Barge is also great- I really loved every dress of hers I tried on.
 
I went to Kleinfeld''s, but my experience was just ok. I ended up buying my dress at the Wedding Salon of Manhasset. It''s not too far outside of the city - about 30 minutes without traffic.
 
I liked my experience at Kleinfeld''s and particularly at Mark Ingram. I also went to the Pronovias flagship store, but did not like my experience there as much, mostly because I didn''t love any of the dresses I tried, plus the sample dresses were fairly dirty.
 
I love Anne Barge! I found one dress that I really liked in particular, very unique looking. Its the one on her main page of her website.

Any other designers like her that I''m missing?
 
I recommend Jay West in Haddonfield NJ. A smaller shop, but you get such good personal attention, and their dresses are AMAZING!!!!!!!!
 
There''s a wedding gown consignment shop in Haverford/Ardmore along Lancaster Ave called Sabrina Ann''s. I liked it because they have gowns from lots of designer from opulent Vera Wangs to casual Nicole Millers and everything in between, so you can get a sense for a lot of designers. Plus, they let me try on as many gowns as I wanted (whereas in regular bridal salons, you only get a certain amount of time for your appointment). Of course, since it''s a consignment shop, it''s luck of the draw as to which dresses by which designers they have at any given time, but the upside is you can get a designer dress for half-off.

I also had nice experiences at the Priscilla of Boston shop in Lower Merion that sba771 mentioned and also the Wedding Shoppe in Wayne. I went to another salon in Conshohocken (the name escapes me) where the experience was okay- not as professional as the others I just mentioned (I felt like the sales associate got frustrated with me when I didn''t love any of the gowns she pulled), but worth a try if they carry designers you like.

I''ve also hear of people going to the Bridal Garden in Marlton, NJ.

Good luck in your search!
 
I visited Sabrina Ann (awesome consignment shop in Ardmore), and La Bella Moda (Conshohocken), Bridal Garden (Cherry Hill NJ I think). La Bella Moda actually has a very wide range of designers, including Paloma Blanca and Pronovias. There is also Suky in Armore or Bryn Mawr and Priscilla of Boston in Suburban Square like sba mentioned. I believe Suky carries Melissa Sweet and other designers like that.

I liked the Bridal Garden in Cherry Hill because they let me browse alone and pick up stuff off the rack. They also let me take pictures. La Bella Moda was mixed the three times I went there. The first two the woman was super nice and the associate I got at the third time was just OK. They also couldn't seem to get their story straight on the picture department.

I did go to Kleinfeld as well. I had a fun experience but I was really just going for fun. They do have a massive collection of designer gowns and I bet you'd be hard pressed to find another salon with that selection.

Have fun dress shopping! I was so grateful to live in an area where salons were plentiful when I was dress shopping.

ETA: I was writing at the same time as Havernell!

I forgot to mention that my experience at Sabrina Ann was great. It was actually nicer than some of the regular salons I visited in terms of decor and atmosphere. I went during the week and it was a nice relaxed experience. They also allowed pictures. If you find something you like but want to sleep on it they will pull it off the rack for 3-4 days for $25 (non-refundable but applicable to the cost of the gown if you buy it).
 
Suky, which Claritek mentioned, actually closed in June or July due to financial/customer issues. I would say that POB in Suburban Square, Ardmore (which is brand new -- they just moved there from Wynnewood about a month ago) or Bridals by Danielle on 13th between Walnut and Locust in Center City are the most "high end" boutiques around here. I''ve heard not-great things about Danielle''s, but if you have $$$ to spend, they''ll probably treat you like a queen. They carry Lazaro, Jim Hjelm, and some other high-end designers. POB has the signature line, Melissa Sweet, Vineyard, and a bunch of other lines. Note -- I didn''t go to either of these places, but if you''re looking for a high-end dress, they''re the ones I immediately think of.
 
If you like Anne Barge I highly suggest calling Tammy at Mark Ingram. Also check out when they are having her trunk show because they give nice discounts. Anne Barge was the reason I went there and they really know her dresses and what styles work.
 
Date: 12/7/2009 9:43:23 PM
Author: Octavia
Suky, which Claritek mentioned, actually closed in June or July due to financial/customer issues. I would say that POB in Suburban Square, Ardmore (which is brand new -- they just moved there from Wynnewood about a month ago) or Bridals by Danielle on 13th between Walnut and Locust in Center City are the most ''high end'' boutiques around here. I''ve heard not-great things about Danielle''s, but if you have $$$ to spend, they''ll probably treat you like a queen. They carry Lazaro, Jim Hjelm, and some other high-end designers. POB has the signature line, Melissa Sweet, Vineyard, and a bunch of other lines. Note -- I didn''t go to either of these places, but if you''re looking for a high-end dress, they''re the ones I immediately think of.
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Yeah, Suky closed down due to the recession/bad word of mouth hurting their bottom line.

Bridals by Danielle has beautiful high-end dresses but their customer service is awful and I have heard so many horror stories about that place that I would never trust them with my wedding gown. I visited once early in my dress search and the sales girl literally would not let my sister touch the dresses. It was hilarious but horrible how differently the sales girl treated my sister (who is a typical hipster and, to be fair, did look like she might have had grubby hands) and me (who came straight from work, so nicely dressed with e-ring and other jewelry). As if we were not right there in front of each other.

From what I''ve heard elsewhere, Bridals by Danielle is also awful about alterations and is frequently unresponsive or outright mean once they have your money in hand and know you can''t go anywhere else. I didn''t experience that personally, but after that first visit I was so turned off that I''m willing to believe just about anything bad people say about them.

So, in short, don''t go there.
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Okay so so far I have La Bella Moda and Danielle's (although you are right, the reviews are pretty scary
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). The consignment store in Ardmore - are those second hand dresses? Anywhere else in the suburbs? I want to go somewhere w large selection where I can try on a bunch of stuff so that I can figure out how these dresses that I like even look on me before I narrow it down.

edit: I just looked to make an appt w kleinfeld's and they don't have anything until Dec 31st, which is after my break. Appts are only 1 hour and 15 min - how can you get through all those dresses in such a short period of time????
 
Date: 12/8/2009 12:41:46 PM
Author: Carats
Okay so so far I have La Bella Moda and Danielle''s (although you are right, the reviews are pretty scary
23.gif
). The consignment store in Ardmore - are those second hand dresses? Anywhere else in the suburbs? I want to go somewhere w large selection where I can try on a bunch of stuff so that I can figure out how these dresses that I like even look on me before I narrow it down.

edit: I just looked to make an appt w kleinfeld''s and they don''t have anything until Dec 31st, which is after my break. Appts are only 1 hour and 15 min - how can you get through all those dresses in such a short period of time????
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You don''t get through *all* of the dresses. They ask that you do some research and pick out the stuff that you''re really interested in and they do their best to get you into those. Or if would be helpful to at least show up with a list of "dealbreakers" in a dress- things that you are positve you don''t want (i.e. for me it was ballgowns and pick-ups, other than that I gave the SA freedom to put me in whatever she thought would look nice).

To answer about Sabrina Ann- Yes, some of the gowns are second-hand. They are dresses that brides have put on consignment. They wah Sabrina Ann does it is to mark the dress down 40-60% off of retail and when it sells the bride gets half and Sabrina Ann gets half. So basically a bride can make about 25% back on her dress. A lot of the dresses are atually samples from local salons or elsewhere so they haven''t been worn in a wedding. When I would ask about the history of a dress the SA would jsut look at the tag and tell me which it was- once-worn or sample. I guess they keep track of that sort of thing. When I visited last year on my own and with a friend they had some amazing gowns from Melissa Sweet, Kenneth Pool, etc. Definitely worth a trip!

Since Sabrina Ann is pretty laid back with appointments and stuff you could just pop in and start trying some stuff on to get a feel for designers and styles. That way when you make your way up to Kleinfeld you''ll have a more solid idea of what sort of thing works on you so you can maximize your appointment there.
 
Anyone have any experience with Maria Romia?

Also, is there anything close to Kleinfeld in terms selection and size in Philly/NJ?
 
Date: 12/8/2009 8:26:27 PM
Author: Carats

Also, is there anything close to Kleinfeld in terms selection and size in Philly/NJ?
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Not that I know of personally and I did a lot of research on salons in this area. Though, I didn''t look north of Trenton in NJ so you might find something there. But, given your taste in gowns and whatnot I would just make an appt at Kleinfeld and make the trip up there. If you want to really find a large range of higher end gowns that is where you will find it. I would stop in at the Pronovias store (as someone else suggested) while you''re up there. I doubt you''ll regret making the trip. But, like I said before, go to some salons around here first to narrow down what you''re looking for so you can be ultra productive at your 75 minute appointment at Kleinfeld.
 
Thanks everyone for all the help:)!

So far I have appointments at Danielle''s Bridal, Bridal Garden, Wedding Shoppe, La Bella Moda, and Kleinfelds. Any other places that I can add in the suburbs of philadelphia? I have many pockets of time on the days that I am visiting these places.

Also, I am making a trip up to NYC for Kleinfelds - where else should I visit while I am up there? Any places in NYC or North Jersey?
 
Mark Ingram! And Pronovias
 
okay great! I called Mark Ingram and have an appt there too:)

Its amazing that they only give 1 hour appts - I really hope that is enough??? Especially since I will be traveling all the way up to NYC for a day. It will be Ingram followed by Kleinfeld. I left a message for Pronovias..
 
Aside from Kleinfeld''s, I''ve heard good things about Saks Bridal Salon. It''s right in midtown. I''ve also heard that Designer Loft isn''t bad either.
 
Date: 12/7/2009 5:54:27 PM
Author: Carats
I love Anne Barge! I found one dress that I really liked in particular, very unique looking. Its the one on her main page of her website.


Any other designers like her that I''m missing?
Click to expand...


I tried on an Anne Barge---Stunning. I ended up with a Rivini.
 
i loved The Wedding Shoppe in Wayne, PA. If you''re looking for a unique and stylish dress, try on some of their Jenny Packham styles. The "Marie Louise" style is absolutely to die for
 
If you''re passing through NJ, I got my dress at Exquisite Bride in Princeton. Everyone is so great there. One of my appointments there was almost three hours. They were having an Anne Barge trunk show and wanted me to try everything...I didn''t object
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They also have a location further north in Millburn, NJ. I didn''t visit that one though.
 
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