David''s Bridal is so frustrating

[selflove]

They steamed the dress with the bustle in place! Thank god I undid the bustle to see how it would flow and it was a wrinkled mess!! And they got a mark on it, on the back toward the bottom. I am so glad I didn''t have my alterations done there. I can''t believe they would let something like that walk out their door.

I feel like I need to buy a home steamer as a backup just in case it''s not perfect when I pick it up...

 

[tanyak]

Ugh. Sorry about that. They are altering my dress as we speak. I''m knocking on wood, crossing fingers and everything.

Actually, it''s not a bad idea to have a steamer on hand anyway. Mine will be steamed when I pick it up from alterations later this month, but my wedding isn''t until August. I''m having my bridal portraits done in June, and will be moving it to a friend''s house, so it''s bound to get wrinkled again. I''m planning to pick up a steamer at Target.

 

[FireGoddess]

That stinks. My dress wasn''t very long so I didn''t bustle it - they couldn''t screw that up while steaming it. I love David''s bridal for the dresses, but anything other than that (shoes, veils, accessories, alterations....) they rob you blind.

 

[ocbride2007]

Yeah good idea about picking up a steamer... they don''t cost a whole lot, but I remember I needed a bridesmaid dress steamed last minute and the nearest dry cleaners wanted to charge $30!!!! I can''t imagine it costs that much to clean a dress!! I just put it in the bathroom with the hot shower going and it looked a little better... but your wedding dress needs to be at it''s best!

I think every David''s Bridal may be very different... I went in with another bride and she got great service, but when I went in to try on stuff for myself, I got this girl who it was her first day working. I knew more about finding the stuff than she did! It took like 2 hours to try on 6 dresses. The worst thing was she didn''t even know how to interact with customers AT ALL... I can handle being new and taking a while, everyone has to start somewhere, but I would ask her for something, very clearly, and she didn''t even listen!!! I think I said "fingertip veil" SIX times, and it took her 3 tries to bring one out. I hope that since then she''s got some better training. I didn''t like any dress there, so I''m heading to a private boutique as soon as I get the chance.

 

[Mannequin]

If the cleaners is going to charge $30 to do one BM dress, then a steamer purchase will more than make up for itself. I picked up a basic home steamer at Home Depot last summer for about $40. I use it regularly, especially on BF''s suits he wears to work. No complaints, works great for getting through a few weeks without a dry cleaning.

 

[monarch64]

First, Selflove, so sorry to hear you had a bad experience! Should never have happened. I wanted to say, though, that if you do go ahead and get a home steamer please make sure you test it out on something before you attempt to steam your own dress. If you don''t have experience with a steamer (I don''t know if you do or not), they can damage fabrics if you don''t have the right temperature, water, etc., or if you hold the steamer nozzle too close to the fabric. Be careful!!! My impression is that whoever steamed your dress and left a mark didn''t have the proper training or experience in using it. Shame on whoever trained (or didn''t train) her. Also, make sure you get distilled water to use in your steamer--regular tap water containing minerals can leave stains or marks. (I spent a lot of time working in retail and prepping garments for the floor.)

I have to say that I''m not a fan of David''s Bridal... I think their prices and selection are great, but the one time I went to try on dresses was the first time I''d tried on anything. I was so displeased with my experience. In particular, I did not like the feeling that I was one of about 100 other girls trying on dresses at the same time, and the sales associate who was "helping" me really pressured me to buy without even advising me on what looked best on my figure. I tried on about 6 dresses in an hour, in a teeny tiny fitting room and hated every minute of it. They did have some beautiful things, but the atmosphere turned me off so much that I chalked it up to a learning experience and went on to my next appointment at a smaller boutique and ended up buying from them. I''ve had a few friends who purchased from David''s and were happy, though...I know that it does work out for some people. To me, it was a good place to go and try on several different styles to get a better idea of which really suited my body type. Again, I''m not trying to bad-mouth David''s at all...just sharing my experience.

 

[qtiekiki]

David''s Bridal service is so inconsistence from store to store. So are they re-steaming it and clean the mark for you?

It''s not a bad idea to get a home steamer. It''s one of the items on our registry and we got it, and it''s the best thing ever. It''s much faster than an iron and you don''t have to worry about delicate fabrics. If you don''t get one, you can borrow ours.