Honest Bridal Shops in San Francisco

[edcinco]

I'm about to start dress shopping, and have done some research on the shops around San Francisco and the Bay Area. Does anyone have any advice on who's reputable and who's not?

Thanks!

[sarap73]

I just got my dress this past weekend at a place called Brad Kinney Productions in Pleasanton. They were really nice and helpful and almost all of their dresses are less than $900. They have a good selection too.

I was treated pretty crappy at Cherisheed Wedding Gowns in Walnut Creek, and Gesinee's in Concord was very nice with a HUGE selection, but most dresses were $1200 and up. It was too expensive for me, but they do have many dresses.

[edcinco]

Thanks! I'll look into Gesinee's. Concord is a little far, but it could be worth the drive.

I also have appts. scheduled for Bridal Galleria and Ginger's in SF, the Unique Bride in Burlingame. I'm also thinking about going to Trudy's in Campbell. Does anyone have any experience with these shops?

[Jenn Weiss]

Gesinee's in Concord... let me tell you a little story. It was my friend's wedding day, and she forgot to get a garter, so I "ran over" to Gesinee's in Concord... yeah... $50. No joke. I couldn't believe it. Granted, it was the tosser and the keeper, but I since refuse to go there, although I LIVE in Concord, and am getting married this summer. No thanks. Showed me the priorities, not to mention the woman who worked there was a little "snooty", should I say.

I'm in the same boat as you now, looking for a wedding dress, locally, at a good price, so let me know if you make any great discoveries!

Blessings,
jenn :)

[deforest33]

I just started looking too - have been to Ginger's in SF and Jin Wang across the street. 2 totally different experiences with dramatic differences in prices too. Jin Wang has gorgeous dresses, someone to help you in and out of the dresses and a lot of personal attention given to you - but $2k-$4k in price. Ginger's doesn't really give you much help, but their prices are lower. I found a Watters dress I liked - it was a bit out of my price range at Ginger's, yet I've since gotten quotes from registered discounters online that are at least 1/2 off. If you know what you like, style # and all, try the online quotes through DBS - discount bridal services. Good luck and congrats!

[rquezad]

FYI-- I went to Gesinee's Bridal shop in Concord. I can't vouch for their honesty but I can say that they are one of the shops which charge "try-on" fees after the second visit (which if you purchase a dress there goes toward your dress). Outrageous!!

[felicityreb]

i've had some pretty good experiences w/ shops in the bay area.

i want to highly recommend "just-engaged bridal salon." (www.just-engaged.com). lovely little boutique with reasonably priced gowns. check out her website - she started the boutique after she had such a hard time finding a reasonably priced gown for her own wedding. she carries 5 designers and all are priced between $300 and $1500. it's a small shop so not a ton of dresses, but you will be the only bride-to-be in the shop (she won't even answer the phone when you're there) and will get very personal attention. plus she had a plate of scones out for me and my girlfriends. =)

unfortunately i found my gown at an incredibly low price online that she was not able to come close to - i would have been willing to spend $100 over the online price just to give her the business, but she couldn't go that low. but i highly recommend the shop.

i went to elegant lace in san jose. 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.

i was able to take photos at both of the above shops.

i went to rin's in san carlos. excellent service, excellent selection. terribly overpriced AND they ripped the tags out of some of the gowns!!!

lastly, i visited loveliness wedding on geary street. smallish shop, small selection of gowns, many in very small sizes and all were a quite "used", some even being dirty. the shop was kinda dirty and the fitting rooms were cubicles w/ curtains. the staff were friendly and relatively helpful, but it wasn't an aesthetically pleasing experience...

no photos allowed at the above two shops.

BEST of luck finding your gown. it's fun and frustrating. but you'll know when you finally try "the one" on. =)

[westamp]

About Loveliness. This is basically a wedding all-in-one store that the bridal Bargains talks about. The dresses available are usually reserved for rentals and for their in store photo shoots. A lot of these stores do not dry clean the dresses after the rentals.

My sister hired them for the studio and on location photography. They were not very good.

>
>lastly, i visited loveliness wedding on geary street.
>smallish shop, small selection of gowns, many in very small
>sizes and all were a quite "used", some even being dirty. the
>shop was kinda dirty and the fitting rooms were cubicles w/
>curtains. the staff were friendly and relatively helpful, but
>it wasn't an aesthetically pleasing experience...
>
>no photos allowed at the above two shops.
>
>BEST of luck finding your gown. it's fun and frustrating. but
>you'll know when you finally try "the one" on. =)