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View Full Version : heard of bridepower.com?



maw
06-11-2001, 04:43 PM
I came across a site called Bride Power that seems to have a great selection of couture designs at great prices. I think they're samples and they typically only have one of each design (mostly size 8 or 10). Because they're such good prices, I'm interested to know if anyone has tried them. If so, what kind of service did you get? Was the dress trashed or perfect? They say you can return within 5 days (I think) -- did you take advantage of this perk?

It's so tempting, but I feel like if it seems too good to be true...

strideam
06-29-2001, 08:47 PM
Maw,
I had a great experience with BP...I actually ordered one dress from them, and decided I didn't like the color. I emailed them to say I was returning it and they offered me another dress, same designer, at a $300 discount from their already cheap price (they were Romona Keveza--her dresses are 2K plus and i paid $600 and $750). PLUS they paid the shipping on the second dress, and let me keep the first so I could compare them. My dresses arrived in perfect condition in a nice garment bag in THREE days (from Boston to CA). I would definitely recommend them. If you have any more ?'s email me!

[email protected]

lisarab
06-30-2001, 01:17 PM
Yes I have heard of that store. They sell samples that they get from other stores. These are not new gowns and just retreaded samples. I was amazed as they were passing these off as new gowns that they purchased lower than other stores. I think they were not totally honest. If you want a sample you can get a good deal, but they do not have new gowns at those prices.

strideam
06-30-2001, 01:57 PM
well...it does say on their home page thay they sell samples and overstocks....

kat_luvs_paris
03-21-2002, 11:16 PM
we're wedding planners and have had good experiences buying over ten dresses from bridepower. Not all of the samples are in perfect shape, and it is worth while to ask. The couple of times the bride has been unhappy they have taken the dress back without question.

mariana
09-12-2002, 12:32 PM
I live in Boston, so I actually went to the brick-and-mortar store behind bridepower.com. The store is called Vows Bridal Outlet, it is in Newton, MA, and every year it is consistently rated in Boston Magazine as "Best of Boston" in the bridal bargains section. They have no appointments necessary on Saturdays, but I've heard it's a madhouse, so I made an appointment for a Tuesday night last winter and dragged my mom along with me. When I first got there, the sales lady (sorry, can't remember her name, it was 10 months ago) told me which dresses were where (they have them organized by sillouette, except the Vera Wangs that are separate) and my mom and I pawed through them (they are in plastic hanger bags on racks) until we found about 8-10 dresses that fit what I thought I was looking for. I started trying them on and as I rejected or approved the dresses, the sales lady went back and got other dresses that were similar to the ones I had liked. In the end I got the first one I tried on (which was my favorite even on the rack), but it was really fun to look at all the choices. There was one other bride there at the same time as me, so there was plenty of room to spread out the goods.

My dress (a Jim Hjelm supposedly retailing for $1200, label was still in there) was $440 (including the sales tax). They had a huge selection of dresses and most of them were in really good shape, but they are mostly size 8-12 (keep in mind I am a size 4 in real life and my size 8 dress fit me almost perfectly, go figure). They had some really nice Vera Wangs for around $1000...that is their "signature" brand, they always have a bunch of them. My dress had a button missing off the back and a little stain on it. They dry cleaned it before they gave it to me and I took it home a week later. Since I was getting the alterations done by their seamstress, all they did back then was clean it, the button was still missing. The dress came completely clean, though, even though it looked a little dirty in the store.

I had to keep it at home in the closet (this was a major drawback, I will admit) until this week. I had my first fitting this morning. Their seamstress is really nice, she had a lot of suggestions and helped me to figure out what I wanted to do (for example the dress had a high neckline and I wanted to drop it). The dress is going to need a little taking in on the sides, a hem, the neckline thing, and a couple of other nips and tucks. I am also getting my veil from the store. The missing button is going to be replaced at no charge. They make these kinds of repairs for free. If I hadn't been planning to use their seamstress, they would have made this fix back in the winter before they dry cleaned the dress, but since she was going to have to work on my dress this fall anyway, they suggested I do it all at once.

In total, I spent $440 for the dress, $40 for the veil, and $220 for alterations: that is a grand total of $700. So far, I have been very happy with the service, the price and the quality of the merchandise. I will come back and update once I have the final product.

-Mariana

susanj
10-23-2002, 04:45 PM
I bought by Reem Acra dress from bridepower.com for $2500.
The shop wanted $5500 for the same dress.
http://www.saulon.com/reem-front-close.jpg
It says on their site that the dresses are samples, and they do state that the dresses are in "near new" condition.
I know several brides that have purchased from them and all were very pleased.
The top of my dress has a english net mesh overlay and I was worried that it would be stretched or pulled (when I tried on the sample at the Reem Acra salon the mesh was very worn) I contacted Leslie with my concerns and she looked over the dress and told me that it was practically new, not one pull or tear. She also assured me that any work that would have to be done, a loose bead or whatnot, would be fixed and the dress steamed and pressed before shipping it out. She was a doll to work with and I would highly recommend calling her if you have any doubts about a dress you see on the site. I had already purchased a dress and she held the dress aside for 2 days while I tried to decide what to do and sort things out with the bridal shop I purchased my first dress from. In the end I did buy the dress and it was one of the best choices I've made in my planning.
The dress came in mint condtion as it I was the only bride to have ever tried it on. Granted, I'm sure not all the dresses are quite as new as mine, but they certainly don't look "worn" and I would defiantely recommend them.

neko
12-12-2004, 01:57 AM
I used bridepower and was very happy with them. They sell smaples, mine was a discontinued Diamond Bride that I was trying really hard to find. I found it one on bridesave.com for $3000, bridepower.com had it for $899. I got it quickly and even though it was a sample, it was clean and beautiful! I think it is a GREAT site! Couture for less!

eweissin
01-31-2005, 11:09 PM
I didn't purchase through them online, but they have an actual store outside of Boston and I bought my dress there. The dresses in the store are the same as the ones they offer through their website -- and having seen a lot of them in person, I'd say that most of them are in really good shape. For the ones that might have minor flaws (e.g., button or beading missing), they fix the problem as part of the purchase price. The people I have dealt with have been very helpful and they were very open with me about any problems (e.g., buttons missing) with the dresses I tried on (although most of them of them were perfectly fine). And the purchase price includes cleaning (regardless of whether or not it's bought online or in the store). I thought overall it was a great deal (my dress was originally $1500 and I got it for $699) and the people were very friendly and a pleasure to deal with. I would definitely recommend Bridalpower.com or VOWS Bridal Outlet (the actual store).