**Ephemery**- Philly ''burbs gown shopping

[havernell]

Hi Ephemery (or anyone else that has gone wedding gown shopping in the Philadelphia area)

I think I recall that you did some gown shopping in the Philadelphia suburbs when you were looking for your wedding dress. I''m going home to PA next week and thought it might be a good idea to start checking out some bridal salons on the main line with my mom while I''m home. I wanted to know if you had visited any of these salons and, if so, which one''s you thought were good/helpful and which, if any, you would recommend avoiding.

I think we are going to check out:

The Wedding Shoppe (Wayne)
Priscilla of Boston (Wynnewood)
Sabrina Ann, consignment wedding shop (Ardmore)
Suky Rosan (Ardmore) -I''m debating aobut this one... I have a feeling most of their gowns will cost more than I want to spend, so it may be wise to just avoid the place to ensure that I dont fall in love with something super expensive!

Any other salons you visited in the area that you would recommend?

Thanks!

 

[crystalheart1]

Hi - I am from Philly, actually Bucks co... most of the shops you mentioned, on the Main Line probably have mid - high end gowns
I would make some calls and make sure the shops you are interested in, have gowns in your price range. Most of the Main Line is going to be expensive.
Have you thought of going into Philly - or trying Montgomery CO... outside of the Main Line so you can stay within your price range?

Best of Luck, Let us know how you make out...have fun

 

[blushingbride]

Hi - I''m from Allentown originally and I took my mom to Suky Rosan. They had a great selection and ask for your price range before you begin so, it doesn''t hurt to still keep that one on your list!

 

[ephemery1]

Hi Havernell! It's always fun to come on PS and see a post with my name in it!!

A run-down of the dress shops I visited in the Philly area:

1) The Wedding Shoppe (www.wedding-shoppe.com) - Wayne, PA -- nice shop and salespeople, great dress selection... my friend just found hers there

2) Suky Rosan ( www.sukyrosan.com) - Ardmore, PA -- nice dresses, nice people, good selection (but I think I expected more, since they make themselves seems so legendary!)... not everything was super-expensive, they actually had a decent range of prices

3) Priscilla of Boston ( www.priscillaofboston.com) - Wynnewood, PA -- where I found my dress(!), really great people (ask for Nina if possible), lots of dresses (but carry Priscilla and Melissa Sweet only)

4) The Bridal Garden (www.bridal-garden.com) - Marlton, NJ -- don't let you browse dresses, which I hated (they just bring them out to you, a few at a time), but apparently other people have had good experiences

5) Bridals by Danielle ( www.phillybride.com) - 13th and Locust -- fairly big selection, slightly annoying people

6) Maria Romia ( www.mariaromiabridal.com) - 20th and Walnut -- really small selection, nice people, will custom-make gowns

7) Diva Ree's (www.divarees.com) - Harrisburg, PA -- smallish but good selection, cute shop, awesome owner

Nicole Bridal (www.nicolebridal.com) - Jenkintown, PA -- haven't been there, but heard some good things... a friend found her dress there

I originally went through the Philly dress shop page on The Knot to see what shops were in this area, so you might want to check that too. Most of the places I visited carried dresses in the $2000-$6000 range, and you can see the designers they have on their websites or Knot profiles. There are other places in the area that carry dresses at a slightly lower price-point ($1000-2000), depending on which designers you're looking for... I think La Bella Moda in Conshohocken is supposed to be good.

Hope that helps... keep us updated on the process!!

 

[havernell]

Thanks for all of the feedback ladies! All good info.

I am just getting started looking at dresses. Actually, I'm not getting married until late spring 2009, so I probably won't actually buy a dress for a while (probably not until fall 200. BUT later this fall, I'm leaving to do dissertation fieldwork in Africa for about 9 months, so I won't be able to try on dresses during that time. Therefore, I wanted to at least start to figure out now what types of dresses look good on me (i.e. which silhouettes, what fabrics I like, etc...) so that the "real" shopping will be easier in fall 2008.

I picked the shops I listed in my first post based on what designers they carry (after finding the shops on the knot Philly page and through google searches). These seem to be the shops in SE PA that carry the brands/designers whose dresses have been consistently the most appealing to me visually (without knowing the prices of the gowns) when I've see them in bridal magazines and on various knot.com pages.

I don't have a totally set price range, mostly because I think I need to see the quality of dresses in each price range before I decide what I consider the best "value" for me. I'm frugal by nature (and know I will feel guilty if my dress costs too much), so I want to keep costs down. But at the same time, I'm also a stickler for nice material (i.e. I'm pretty sure I'll want real silk rather than a synthetic material gown), so I know that automatically means I'll have to spend more. So, this first shopping trip with my mom will really be about seeing price vs. quality trade offs in gowns. I think the consignment shop I mentioned will really be helpful in this regard- since they will have lots of different designers in every price range (from David's bridal to Vera Wang), it will be a good place to compare gowns.

Sounds like the shop in Conshohocken that Ephemery mentioned has gowns that may be a good price/quality balance for me, so I'll add it to the list. Arielle Bridal in Ambler is another one I just found that may be a good one to check out for mid-range prices/quality (anyone been there?). But, its good to know that Suky and some of the other shops I listed are willing to work with a more limited budget as well.

Okay, that just became a long essay about me, so I'll stop now. I think I'm just excited to be starting the dress process, but also really afriad that my frugality on one hand and taste for quality on the other are going to clash big time as I look at gowns. Again, thanks to all of you for the info- I really appreciate it!

 

[crystalheart1]

Ephemery - That is a great list for us gals in the area... Thank you

I have a stupid question, you said you got some of the shops from the Phila board on the Knot..did you mean the page that takes you to the vendor''s website... or is there another page that brides'' tell you about their experinces ?

I have been looking for something that can give me some feedback on various venues, instead of just adverstisements...
If it is there, I am not finding it....

Thanks for your help... That was so kind

 

[havernell]

Date: 8/22/2007 3:56:06 PM
Author: crystalheart1
I have a stupid question, you said you got some of the shops from the Phila board on the Knot..did you mean the page that takes you to the vendor''s website... or is there another page that brides'' tell you about their experinces ?

I have been looking for something that can give me some feedback on various venues, instead of just adverstisements...
If it is there, I am not finding it....

I''m clearly not Ephemery, but the only thing I''ve found on the knot was this page (I assume this is what Ephemery was referring to, and what you have found too) : http://www.theknot.com/vs_PHILADELPHIA_BWP.shtml

It''s really just a list of Philadephia area bridal salons with links to their websites and a list of the designers they carry. No reviews from brides or anything (I wish they had that- that would be super helpful!!)

I guess you or I could post on the Philly talk boards and ask what peoples'' experiences have been at various salons. That may be the best way to get the type of feedback we''re looking for. Hopefully there are other great girls like Ephemery who will take the time to really give a good rundown of the shops they visited. I don''t know what the vibe of the Philly board is though -I don''t read it since I live and am getting married in Upstate NY (my parents live outside of Philly)... Do you know if it''s usally a helpful board, crystal?

 

[crystalheart1]

Hi Havernell

That is what I thought... just the listings. I have not gotten a great Vibe from the knot boards at all... The girls seem very immature and crude.

I would not go there and ask for advice... they probably would be mostly sarcastic...I think you have received the best advice possible already...

I am still waiting for my ring.. he has had it since June 12th.... I don''t want to push... too hard- any way.

I have actually been very good and not brought it up...long story with ring purchase ( he didn''t want me to know,,, but I did,,, no accident)

This is a 2nd and 3rd marriage... so I think some exta caution is due..

I won''t be doing a full blown gown any way.. maybe something more informal... like a destination gown