Wedding gown retailers
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innerkitten
Ideal_Rock
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I''ve thought of going there too. You may as well see what you think by visiting it and if you don''t like it you can always go elsewhere.
I haven''t found a dress yet either. I actually need two! My wedding is in tahoe and my reception is a week later in San Francisco. So I need a dress to get married in that will lookmgood in the photos and then a dress to party in
I''m not going for too traditional of a look with either. The one to get married in I''m thinking tea length perhaps a pastel color and with the second one I guess anything goes.
I haven''t found a dress yet either. I actually need two! My wedding is in tahoe and my reception is a week later in San Francisco. So I need a dress to get married in that will lookmgood in the photos and then a dress to party in
I''m not going for too traditional of a look with either. The one to get married in I''m thinking tea length perhaps a pastel color and with the second one I guess anything goes.
flopkins
Ideal_Rock
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There is so much discussion about this on various wedding sites... maybe you can search theknot for some threads. but my opinion is the quality of dresses is okay for the price, not great, but not terrible. however, you can find some regular bridal designers that are in teh same price range or a bit more, with very different styles if you don''t find anything you like. I''ve had mixed experiences w/the sales staff, some have been great, some so-so, some lousy.
Since they sell off the rack, if they don''t have your size, when they say they ''order'' sometimes that means they transfer a dress from another davids, ie the dress they ''ordered'' isn''t brand new, so I would just be aware and check over the dress very carefully for quality/cleanliness before you purchase, as others may have tried it on.
I think their alterations are all contracted out too, so you may want to consider finding your own seamstress for alterations if you don''t trust them as much.
I have heard they have a very good selection for plus sizes too.
I think if you don''t expect the same level of service and quality of dreeses as you do at a regular bridal salon, and you know what you are getting, then David''s will not disappoint. Plus I think the reason they have so much negative publicity is bc they have so many customers, and out of so many customers, they prob have a few that complain rather loudly. The reason I''m not buying from them is I just don''t like their dresses and the quality. But that is entirely personal. If I had a smaller budget I would definitely consider buying from them.
Hope this helps!
Since they sell off the rack, if they don''t have your size, when they say they ''order'' sometimes that means they transfer a dress from another davids, ie the dress they ''ordered'' isn''t brand new, so I would just be aware and check over the dress very carefully for quality/cleanliness before you purchase, as others may have tried it on.
I think their alterations are all contracted out too, so you may want to consider finding your own seamstress for alterations if you don''t trust them as much.
I have heard they have a very good selection for plus sizes too.
I think if you don''t expect the same level of service and quality of dreeses as you do at a regular bridal salon, and you know what you are getting, then David''s will not disappoint. Plus I think the reason they have so much negative publicity is bc they have so many customers, and out of so many customers, they prob have a few that complain rather loudly. The reason I''m not buying from them is I just don''t like their dresses and the quality. But that is entirely personal. If I had a smaller budget I would definitely consider buying from them.
Hope this helps!
innerkitten
Ideal_Rock
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MelissaSue
Ideal_Rock
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Davids isn''t bad.. per se.. its just different. Its not like a smaller bridal salon where there is lots of individual attention.. a lot of times the attendants have to run between 5 different brides and bring them all dresses. They have some BEAUTIFUL gowns though. My best friend got her dress there and it was beautiful. She really didn''t have any problems with the ordering or anything.. We also got BM dresses from there and they came in great too. You just have to be willing to be patient when you go in there, because it is most liklely going to be a zoo..
Here is an example of how nutty it can be in there.. When my best friend went in for her fitting, she went to the front desk, and said she had an appointment for a fitting.. and the girl at the desk called back to the alteration dept and she said that someone would be with us in just a minute to bring us back there.. We waited for a few minutes and then we just finally said something to another woman who asked us if we needed help.. and she brought us back there.. Well LITERALLY 20 minutes later, after my friend had already had her fitting and was using the bathroom, the front desk woman comes back and asks the seamstress if we had ever made it back there because she had forgotten to bring us back there! So that is the sort of thing you have to have patience for.
Here is an example of how nutty it can be in there.. When my best friend went in for her fitting, she went to the front desk, and said she had an appointment for a fitting.. and the girl at the desk called back to the alteration dept and she said that someone would be with us in just a minute to bring us back there.. We waited for a few minutes and then we just finally said something to another woman who asked us if we needed help.. and she brought us back there.. Well LITERALLY 20 minutes later, after my friend had already had her fitting and was using the bathroom, the front desk woman comes back and asks the seamstress if we had ever made it back there because she had forgotten to bring us back there! So that is the sort of thing you have to have patience for.
njc
Brilliant_Rock
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I just wanted to agree with what Flopkins and MS said... their dresses are great, their customer service can be interesting. It is its own experience, but its not a bad experience... give them a shot.
Weekends will be crazy in there, but be sure to have an appointment and you will at least have a dressing room and someone to help you. Also, bring your mom or a friend... my mother had to do a lot of the zipping and helping me b/c our sales lady had like 4 other girls.
Ive had to order 2 BM dresses there for myself and if i had found something i liked, would have gotten my BMs to order theirs from there too. They are great about getting things in on time and shipping them somewhere else if needed.
Just be patient and have fun with it.
Weekends will be crazy in there, but be sure to have an appointment and you will at least have a dressing room and someone to help you. Also, bring your mom or a friend... my mother had to do a lot of the zipping and helping me b/c our sales lady had like 4 other girls.
Ive had to order 2 BM dresses there for myself and if i had found something i liked, would have gotten my BMs to order theirs from there too. They are great about getting things in on time and shipping them somewhere else if needed.
Just be patient and have fun with it.
aljdewey
Ideal_Rock
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Let me start by saying that there is a big misconception that David''s is THE place to get an inexpensive dress. I don''t think that''s necessarily so. Yes, they are less expensive than *designer* dresses, but they are actually a bit MORE expensive than some other simple dresses by bridal makers.
I didn''t want to spend outrageous money on a dress....I''d have been happy to RENT one if I could have found a place to do so. I found my Eden dress through a bridal salon, and it was $200 LESS than the comparable David''s dress. It was also FAR more attractive and better quality materials.
I''ll also say that prices can vary WIDELY among bridal salons, so shop around. Once I identified the dress I wanted, I phoned several of their retailers in my area. There was a more than $250 swing between the highest and lowest quoted price for my dress....just the dress, not alterations, etc.
About David''s: Before I found my dress, I began my shopping at David''s.....two of them actually. (I didn''t even know enough then to know that they all carried the same thing!) The first one was great.....very helpful salesperson, not outrageously pushy, etc. The second one was terrible......the "assistant" didn''t help us at all. Had it not been for my girlfriend being with me to help, I''d have left in five minutes. So, service wise, it really depends on the location you go to....each can be very different.
I, too, ran into a situation where they were going to "transfer" a given dress from another location.....until I learned that it was likely a returned dress! That''s the only way "transfers" can happen according to the sales clerk at the first David''s I went to.
Pros: They have a decent selection; they are easy to locate; they have a lot to select from in larger dresses.
Cons: The service isn''t consistent; MANY folks have had complaints about alterations service through them; the dresses aren''t anything special.
I didn''t want to spend outrageous money on a dress....I''d have been happy to RENT one if I could have found a place to do so. I found my Eden dress through a bridal salon, and it was $200 LESS than the comparable David''s dress. It was also FAR more attractive and better quality materials.
I''ll also say that prices can vary WIDELY among bridal salons, so shop around. Once I identified the dress I wanted, I phoned several of their retailers in my area. There was a more than $250 swing between the highest and lowest quoted price for my dress....just the dress, not alterations, etc.
About David''s: Before I found my dress, I began my shopping at David''s.....two of them actually. (I didn''t even know enough then to know that they all carried the same thing!) The first one was great.....very helpful salesperson, not outrageously pushy, etc. The second one was terrible......the "assistant" didn''t help us at all. Had it not been for my girlfriend being with me to help, I''d have left in five minutes. So, service wise, it really depends on the location you go to....each can be very different.
I, too, ran into a situation where they were going to "transfer" a given dress from another location.....until I learned that it was likely a returned dress! That''s the only way "transfers" can happen according to the sales clerk at the first David''s I went to.
Pros: They have a decent selection; they are easy to locate; they have a lot to select from in larger dresses.
Cons: The service isn''t consistent; MANY folks have had complaints about alterations service through them; the dresses aren''t anything special.
njc
Brilliant_Rock
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Oh, i just wanted to add, they are a GREAT place to go when you first start in terms of lots of dresses in the correct size so you can get an idea of what you like. Many higher end bridal shops i went to had only a couple sample sizes that were always too small for me and they had to pin and pull and do crazy things so i could walk around in the dress.
And like Alj said... sometimes they are more expensive. My dress is similar to a Oleg Cassini they have and about $500 less.
And like Alj said... sometimes they are more expensive. My dress is similar to a Oleg Cassini they have and about $500 less.
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