melissa
07-08-2007, 02:31 PM
Hi Everyone,
I compiled a list of bridal salon reviews a few months back while I was searching for my own dress. Hopefully someone else will find them useful as well! :)
Note - All of my appointments were on weekday evenings or afternoons. I would highly recommend taking a day off of work to go in at non-peak hours if that is an option for you. Also, I only visited the first four salons below - the rest of the reviews are from other brides.
David's Bridal
3111 Stevens Creek Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95117
(408) 554-0025
http://www.davidsbridal.com
My experience:
My appt was on a Monday evening and was the first salon I visited. You get to pick dresses out of their catalogue and they wait for the salesperson to eventually bring they for you to try on. I was really glad I brought my maid of honor with me for this one. In addition to all the giggling of trying on wedding dresses for the first time, she had to help me change into them, since the salesperson would disappear for 30 at a time. All in all, the service was horrid and I just didn't find anything I liked. I think there may also be an in-store rack you can go through if you want your dress right then and there, but I didn't know about it at the time. I have several friends who did find their dresses off that rack though, and I think they were pretty pleased.
Trudy's Bridal
1875 So. Bascom Ave.
Campbell, CA 95008
408-377-1987
http://www.trudysbrides.com/
My experience:
A beautiful shop where you can find a lot of the dresses from the bridal magazines. I came in twice (no additional charge), once by myself on a Wednesday night, and another time with my mom the following Friday morning. At Trudy's, you describe to the salesperson what you're looking for, and they'll bring you a couple of dresses to try on. All of the dresses had the tags still in them. They are quite strict about the 1-hour appts. The salesperson was held up for the first 15 minutes of my 7:30pm Wednesday night appointment, but it still ended right on the dot at 8:30pm. However, everyone was super friendly here. My sister-in-law bought a sample dress from here for a good price, and was very pleased. I also found my dress here, although it's not where I ended up buying it.
Other brides' reviews:
A well oiled machine with the 1 hour appointments. A little more on the higher end, but that's ultimately where I bought my gown. I was able to purchase one of the sample gowns, so it was a better price than ordering it. I am sure I paid a heftier price than if I went online, but it was much easier for me to just get it done.
Elegant Lace
1061 Blossom Hill Road
San Jose, CA 95123
408-978-2230
http://www.elegantlacebridal.com
My experience:
The consultant I worked with here was sooo nice. My appt was at 5:30pm on a Tuesday night. I really wanted to buy my dress from her, but unfortunately I just didn't find the right one here. All of the dresses are out on racks in the store, so it's nice if you already have an idea of what you want, and would like to pick it out yourself. All of the dresses had tags in them, but the style numbers didn't correspond to those of the manufacturers. I do remember being a little hot in the store (maybe from pushing those heavy dresses around on the rack), so wear a tank top or something cool when you go it. :)
Other brides' reviews:
- The phone experience to set up the appointment was very nice. my first impression when i went in to the front desk was not so customer-service oriented. but i was paired with a really great consultant who walked around w/ me first to get an idea of what i liked and then brought back gowns and helped me in and out. very good experience.
- more disorganized and an older facility, but they let you try on as many gowns that you
- no constraint of the classic "1 hour" appointment. It was more a home town feel.
Bay Area Bridal
19640 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014
408-517-5700
http://www.bayareabridal.net
My experience:
My appt was on at 1pm on a Friday. At this salon you flip through binders of dress pictures, and hand the winners to a salesperson to go retrieve for you. They'll bring you additional ones later if you just want something "similar". We were there for awhile, so I don't think they stick to the 1-hour appt, but then again there aren't too many other ppl there at that time. They didn't actually have the dress I wanted, but they did have a poster of it and I had just tried it on at Trudy's. Their eyes lit up when I mentioned this -- it seems like they might delight in swooping in on Trudy's business. They wanted to know what Trudy's was offering, and then offered it for about $250 less. Shady? Maybe. But honestly, I didn't really care. Weddings are expensive, and I'm just trying to save money wherever I can. So they ordered the dress, it was supposed to show up in about 2-3 months, and ended up getting there in about 6 weeks. I am very pleased with it.
Other brides' reviews:
- I found my dress there although it was waaay out of my way and the service really sucked. Fortunately or not, they had the best price on the dress that I wanted.
Example of service: I had a 5 p.m. appoinment, didn't get seen until almost 6. They put me into a back room to bring me the dresses I had chosen to try. The woman brought me 3 of the 8 I picked out. After I nixed one and tried on 2 she said "so shall I write up this gown?" I pointed out to her that I had only tried on 3 of the 8 and she says "oh, you want to try on more?" I said yes so she tells me she will be right back. FORTY minutes later I am finally able to get a manager back there and ask about my sales rep. She says "oh, she went HOME." Get this! She tells me she will be right back but went home!!!!
They have a large selection and great prices but don't expect great service.
- I met with Veronica, who reported being w/ the store 5yrs. Her knowledge seemed to reflect this experience. They seemed to have the widest selection of gowns, and a number of discounted samples for off-the-rack sales. The alterations person came out to answer a few questions about hypothetical alterations, and she was very knowledgeable. I had a friend buy a sample dress there last year, and the seamstress did alterations that my friend was very pleased with. The sales rep also said they would price-match any written offer on gowns. I haven’t gotten this far yet, but worth a try if necessary.
- The lower-end sister store to Bay Area Bridal in the same mall is New Things West. They seem to cater more to the prom dress clientele. Their prices are lower, but the service was notably poorer. Their sales reps did not seem to match the experience or expertise of the ones in Bay Area Bridal. I’m not sure I would entrust one of them to see me through the bridal gown ordering process. On the upside, they use the same seamstress as Bay Area Bridal.
- the tags were in the dresses, and/or the sales rep readily told me the designer
Bella Mia Bride
Westgate Mall Shopping Center
1600 Saratoga Ave.
Suite 407
San Jose, CA. 95129
(408) 374-0400
http://www.bellamiabride.com/
Other brides' reviews:
- I didn't get the name of the sales rep, but she was friendly and helpful.
- the tags were in the dresses, and/or the sales rep readily told me the designer
Wedding Gown Superstore
40480 Al Brae Street
Fremont, CA 94538
800-286-4512 • 510-440-9333
http://www.weddinggownsuperstore.com/
Other brides' reviews:
- I was quite favorably impressed with how they do things. After reading Bridal Bargains, I was absolutely dreading going to a "traditional" bridal shop. I am a larger size, and worried that I wouldn't be able to try on many off the rack dresses, in addition to all the worries about manufacturers tags, etc. At the Superstore, which just opened in Feb. of this year, they have hundreds of dresses (from many of the leading designers) on the rack, all with tags, and you can try on up to seven. No appointment is needed, and you get as much service as you need, but not way too much, if you know what I mean. I bought my dress off the rack, at a reasonable price. You can take it home or pay it off over six months.
Jessica McClintock outlet
Bridal Outlets South of Market
Other brides' reviews:
- There are many bridal outlets South of Market which you could look up in the SF yellow pages, and which might be worth setting aside a day to browse. If you work in the area, check them out one by one at lunch time to avoid the weekend rush. Can't vouch for their quality or customer service, but I'm sure you could find something helpful.
Clarissa Bridal Salon
1424 S. Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA
925-930-0214
http://www.clarissabridal.com/
Other brides' reviews:
- I was VERY happy with Clarissa Bridal Salon in Walnut Creek. The salespeople were very good at picking appropriate dresses and were very forthright about prices and designers. It's mid to high end I'd say. I tried on gowns by Marisa and Priscilla of Boston.
I compiled a list of bridal salon reviews a few months back while I was searching for my own dress. Hopefully someone else will find them useful as well! :)
Note - All of my appointments were on weekday evenings or afternoons. I would highly recommend taking a day off of work to go in at non-peak hours if that is an option for you. Also, I only visited the first four salons below - the rest of the reviews are from other brides.
David's Bridal
3111 Stevens Creek Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95117
(408) 554-0025
http://www.davidsbridal.com
My experience:
My appt was on a Monday evening and was the first salon I visited. You get to pick dresses out of their catalogue and they wait for the salesperson to eventually bring they for you to try on. I was really glad I brought my maid of honor with me for this one. In addition to all the giggling of trying on wedding dresses for the first time, she had to help me change into them, since the salesperson would disappear for 30 at a time. All in all, the service was horrid and I just didn't find anything I liked. I think there may also be an in-store rack you can go through if you want your dress right then and there, but I didn't know about it at the time. I have several friends who did find their dresses off that rack though, and I think they were pretty pleased.
Trudy's Bridal
1875 So. Bascom Ave.
Campbell, CA 95008
408-377-1987
http://www.trudysbrides.com/
My experience:
A beautiful shop where you can find a lot of the dresses from the bridal magazines. I came in twice (no additional charge), once by myself on a Wednesday night, and another time with my mom the following Friday morning. At Trudy's, you describe to the salesperson what you're looking for, and they'll bring you a couple of dresses to try on. All of the dresses had the tags still in them. They are quite strict about the 1-hour appts. The salesperson was held up for the first 15 minutes of my 7:30pm Wednesday night appointment, but it still ended right on the dot at 8:30pm. However, everyone was super friendly here. My sister-in-law bought a sample dress from here for a good price, and was very pleased. I also found my dress here, although it's not where I ended up buying it.
Other brides' reviews:
A well oiled machine with the 1 hour appointments. A little more on the higher end, but that's ultimately where I bought my gown. I was able to purchase one of the sample gowns, so it was a better price than ordering it. I am sure I paid a heftier price than if I went online, but it was much easier for me to just get it done.
Elegant Lace
1061 Blossom Hill Road
San Jose, CA 95123
408-978-2230
http://www.elegantlacebridal.com
My experience:
The consultant I worked with here was sooo nice. My appt was at 5:30pm on a Tuesday night. I really wanted to buy my dress from her, but unfortunately I just didn't find the right one here. All of the dresses are out on racks in the store, so it's nice if you already have an idea of what you want, and would like to pick it out yourself. All of the dresses had tags in them, but the style numbers didn't correspond to those of the manufacturers. I do remember being a little hot in the store (maybe from pushing those heavy dresses around on the rack), so wear a tank top or something cool when you go it. :)
Other brides' reviews:
- The phone experience to set up the appointment was very nice. my first impression when i went in to the front desk was not so customer-service oriented. but i was paired with a really great consultant who walked around w/ me first to get an idea of what i liked and then brought back gowns and helped me in and out. very good experience.
- more disorganized and an older facility, but they let you try on as many gowns that you
- no constraint of the classic "1 hour" appointment. It was more a home town feel.
Bay Area Bridal
19640 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014
408-517-5700
http://www.bayareabridal.net
My experience:
My appt was on at 1pm on a Friday. At this salon you flip through binders of dress pictures, and hand the winners to a salesperson to go retrieve for you. They'll bring you additional ones later if you just want something "similar". We were there for awhile, so I don't think they stick to the 1-hour appt, but then again there aren't too many other ppl there at that time. They didn't actually have the dress I wanted, but they did have a poster of it and I had just tried it on at Trudy's. Their eyes lit up when I mentioned this -- it seems like they might delight in swooping in on Trudy's business. They wanted to know what Trudy's was offering, and then offered it for about $250 less. Shady? Maybe. But honestly, I didn't really care. Weddings are expensive, and I'm just trying to save money wherever I can. So they ordered the dress, it was supposed to show up in about 2-3 months, and ended up getting there in about 6 weeks. I am very pleased with it.
Other brides' reviews:
- I found my dress there although it was waaay out of my way and the service really sucked. Fortunately or not, they had the best price on the dress that I wanted.
Example of service: I had a 5 p.m. appoinment, didn't get seen until almost 6. They put me into a back room to bring me the dresses I had chosen to try. The woman brought me 3 of the 8 I picked out. After I nixed one and tried on 2 she said "so shall I write up this gown?" I pointed out to her that I had only tried on 3 of the 8 and she says "oh, you want to try on more?" I said yes so she tells me she will be right back. FORTY minutes later I am finally able to get a manager back there and ask about my sales rep. She says "oh, she went HOME." Get this! She tells me she will be right back but went home!!!!
They have a large selection and great prices but don't expect great service.
- I met with Veronica, who reported being w/ the store 5yrs. Her knowledge seemed to reflect this experience. They seemed to have the widest selection of gowns, and a number of discounted samples for off-the-rack sales. The alterations person came out to answer a few questions about hypothetical alterations, and she was very knowledgeable. I had a friend buy a sample dress there last year, and the seamstress did alterations that my friend was very pleased with. The sales rep also said they would price-match any written offer on gowns. I haven’t gotten this far yet, but worth a try if necessary.
- The lower-end sister store to Bay Area Bridal in the same mall is New Things West. They seem to cater more to the prom dress clientele. Their prices are lower, but the service was notably poorer. Their sales reps did not seem to match the experience or expertise of the ones in Bay Area Bridal. I’m not sure I would entrust one of them to see me through the bridal gown ordering process. On the upside, they use the same seamstress as Bay Area Bridal.
- the tags were in the dresses, and/or the sales rep readily told me the designer
Bella Mia Bride
Westgate Mall Shopping Center
1600 Saratoga Ave.
Suite 407
San Jose, CA. 95129
(408) 374-0400
http://www.bellamiabride.com/
Other brides' reviews:
- I didn't get the name of the sales rep, but she was friendly and helpful.
- the tags were in the dresses, and/or the sales rep readily told me the designer
Wedding Gown Superstore
40480 Al Brae Street
Fremont, CA 94538
800-286-4512 • 510-440-9333
http://www.weddinggownsuperstore.com/
Other brides' reviews:
- I was quite favorably impressed with how they do things. After reading Bridal Bargains, I was absolutely dreading going to a "traditional" bridal shop. I am a larger size, and worried that I wouldn't be able to try on many off the rack dresses, in addition to all the worries about manufacturers tags, etc. At the Superstore, which just opened in Feb. of this year, they have hundreds of dresses (from many of the leading designers) on the rack, all with tags, and you can try on up to seven. No appointment is needed, and you get as much service as you need, but not way too much, if you know what I mean. I bought my dress off the rack, at a reasonable price. You can take it home or pay it off over six months.
Jessica McClintock outlet
Bridal Outlets South of Market
Other brides' reviews:
- There are many bridal outlets South of Market which you could look up in the SF yellow pages, and which might be worth setting aside a day to browse. If you work in the area, check them out one by one at lunch time to avoid the weekend rush. Can't vouch for their quality or customer service, but I'm sure you could find something helpful.
Clarissa Bridal Salon
1424 S. Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA
925-930-0214
http://www.clarissabridal.com/
Other brides' reviews:
- I was VERY happy with Clarissa Bridal Salon in Walnut Creek. The salespeople were very good at picking appropriate dresses and were very forthright about prices and designers. It's mid to high end I'd say. I tried on gowns by Marisa and Priscilla of Boston.