Wedding gowns in greater DC area

[vtbonita]

We bridesmaids accompanied the bride to Hannelores to pick out her headpiece. First, we were virtually ignored even though the bride had an appointment. Then, a very disinterested sales girl showed us a small selection of headpieces (they were quite nice, but nothing outstanding or unique) and acted like we were wasting her time, even after the bride placed an order for a $370 item. As a previous poster noted, they didn't call to tell her the headpiece had arrived (two weeks late, as well). When she and her finace went to pick it up WITH an appointment (yes, an appointment to pick up a pre-paid headpiece), they told her she'd have to come back at another time because they were too busy to go into the back to get it! Her finace nicely, but firmly, explained the concept of customer service to them, and they did get the headpiece that night, but Hannelore's lost out on other sales opportunities with her as well as those of us who witnessed Hannelore's snottiness.

[jlstodd1]

Hi,
I too like the inventory at I Do, I Do in Maryland. I also liked the price list that they had for alterations. They may have more control over the pricing for the alterations than an individual does who goes to this seamstress. I actually used this person (Don Brookie) based on a thread that I found on this site recommending her. Unfortunately, Don has an assistant that is very unscrupulous. She will give you a low-ball estimate by phone (e.g. to get you in for a fitting & then the new estimate is about 20% higher than the highest end of the range quoted by phone). I was too exhausted to start the process all over again, so I just sucked it up. However, I did mention this to Don's assistant & she extremely defensive and insulting. She talked over me the whole time & said that she would be very suspicious of anyone who questioned the prices. You don't need this aggravation.

[ariel1234]

Beware of Bridal Images in Rockville, MD

Words of advice:
- All their dresses are marked up higher (about 400.00 more) than retail.
- Avoid Azir, she is rude and very unhelpful: more negative comments are written about her on www.weddingchannel.com
- They have false advertising on the web claiming "satisfaction guaranteed."
- Once you buy the dress- you can make absolutely no changes. They are not flexible at all.

[ariel1234]

Well, it's Nov 2003, and this message is for those brides to be in the DC area.

I went to Bridal Shoppe in Manassas, VA and agree that they have a great selection of bridal dresses. The only thing that I didn't like about this store is that when I asked for the style number of the wedding dresses that I tried on, they lied to me and stated that their style numbers were different from the ones on the internet, etc. Of course, I didn't believe this. I went home and remembered two of the dresses I had tried on and researched them on the internet when I got home. When I came back, there was a different sales rep and she pulled out my card. I couldn't help but notice that the style numbers from my research exactly matched those on her card.

I guess, they don't want to give the style numbers so you can research the prices and get it for a better deal (almost like tearing out the tags). I did't confront them about this.

[BigBird]

Well, I found a few in VA that were less than reputable....one even claims to be the premiere salon of the area. They rip tags and would NOT give me model numbers for BM dresses. Another salon I found had WAWAWAWAWAYYYYYYY too high priced BM gowns. $400 for a machine stitched, polyester blend tafeta fabric "gown" that would normally go for around $125 in prom season. I'm having mine made.

[BigBird]

.
>
>I went to Bridal Shoppe in Manassas, VA and agree that they
>have a great selection of bridal dresses. The only thing that
>I didn't like about this store is that when I asked for the
>style number of the wedding dresses that I tried on, they lied
>to me and stated that their style numbers were different from
>the ones on the internet, etc. Of course, I didn't believe
>this. I went home and remembered two of the dresses I had
>tried on and researched them on the internet when I got home.
>When I came back, there was a different sales rep and she
>pulled out my card. I couldn't help but notice that the style
>numbers from my research exactly matched those on her card.
>
>I guess, they don't want to give the style numbers so you can
>research the prices and get it for a better deal (almost like
>tearing out the tags). I did't confront them about this.

The EXACT same thing happened to me. I was considering having my BMs buy their dresses instead of having them made, and I had heard such wonderful things about them. But when my salesgirl refused to give ME the numbers, I made my decision then and there NOT to use them. I don't like playing games when it comes to $$$$$

[spats23]

Does anyone know of a reputable bridal shop in the Washington DC area offering Suzanne Ermann gowns?

Thanks!

[sverige]

I just saw Gamberdellas and had to reply. My friend got her wedding dress there and we got our bridesmaid's dresses there. I did not like the place. They seemed completely unorganized. When I came in to pick up my dress, they could not find the receipt. Eventually they found it stuffed in the cubbyhole of one of the cute wooden desks there which I guess are supposed to function as their organizational system. The place is also not that big and I found it pretty cramped when I was trying things on. I guess I'm partially influenced by the fact that I really didn't like the bridesmaid dress and the sales consultants kept insisting that it was beautiful.

[rlynns22]

I have a couple of shops to recommend in the DC area, particularly if you are not looking for a traditional bridal shop. One is Gossypia in Old Town, Alexandria (http://www.gossypia.com/). They are not at all your typical bridal shop and have folk art, jewlery, and clothing on their lower level and bridal gowns and special occaision dresses upstairs. The selection is somewhat limited, but if you find what you want you can get a good price. The sell both new dresses and off the rack dresses. The saleswoman who helped me was very nice. I went on a weekday afternoon and did not need an appointment, but was told that it can get very busy on weekends. The other shop I want to recommend is the Jessica McClintock boutique in Tyson's Corner. Again, this is not a typical bridal shop. You can look through the sample dresses on your own and try on whatever you want. I happen to really like Jessica McClintock's style and her prices are better than a lot of other designers.