Honest Bridal Shops in the Bay Area

[June Bride]

Whatever you do, don't go to La Boutique Des Brides in San Francisco.
First of all, the owner is very pushy and rude, and the shop is a hole in the wall with dresses crammed into racks and no space to browse.
I went in to look at a possible bridesmaids outfit. The woman told me we had to purchase NOW or we would not have them in time for my wedding (which was 8 months away.) While I was in the dressing room trying one on, she tried to get the bridesmaid that I had brought with me to put down money on the dress - she said that while she was in the dressing room, I had definitely decided to get the dress!!! It was a bold-face lie - she was trying to force my bridesmaid to put money down on a dress that I had not even chosen yet! Thankfully my bridesmaid said no and when we left, she told me the whole story.
Very sneaky tactics at this shop...

[EllyAnderson]

Bridal Image on 6th street and Brannan in S.F. leaves the tags in and seems pretty reliable. It's not fancy, but the service is good and they leave tags on!!!! Their prices seem good, and they have some nice dresses in the under $1500 range, including a few silks and designer dresses. I've found "the dress" there - a beautiful simple silk one for under $1500! They're in Sally Socolich's bargain hunting guide as well

[sarahden]

I've been looking for a bridesmaids dress done in white (low budget bride here!) but there are some salons I'd reccommend based just on that:

Trudy's Bridal in San Jose (Campbell, actually) - all the tags are left in, in bridesmaids, at least, and their selection is HUGE. I've heard great things about the bridal service.

Margene's in Oakland - a smaller shop, with very personal, though not over-fussy, service. Another one with a good reputation, at least on the BayAreaBrides listserv.

I'd love to hear about more!

-Sarah

[sstreit]

I just visited Cherished in Walnut Creek today. Amazing!!!! It is a consignment store and I totally expected to walk in there and find only consigned dresses. I was wrong!!!! They receive sample couture dresses from all over. Vera Wang, Rheem Arca, etc. I bought a Carmela Sutero dress that is absolutely beautiful - and it was marked down by half of what the store had already marked it down. The woman that owns the shop is so helpful and absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend anyone in the Bay Area visit this store before they go anywhere else.

[vurayav]

I had a very good experience with Cherished in Walnut Creek - http://www.cherishedweddinggowns.com/

The brand name tags were still on the gowns, I had a much more pleasant shopping experience than I anticipated, and I found *the gown* on my first day of serious shopping. Incidentally, my sister, who wasn't shopping for a wedding gown, also found a gown that would have suited her perfectly.

I found a Manale gown that was exactly what I was looking for - it cost about $650, but would have cost several times more than that new.

My sister and I went together, and must have tried on a dozen gowns. I thought the staff was pretty generous with their time and pretty astute about what sorts of gowns I would want to try on. Suki was so much help. Besides the fact that the labels were still in the gowns, Suki indicated the brands of the gowns that I was trying on.

As of last spring, when I did my shopping, the web site didn't accurately reflect the current inventory, which I mostly knew because my gown wasn't on the site. But Cherished is a small business, and they have a very impressive inventory.

And while I didn't buy from them, House of Fashion in Sacramento was very good to me. Again, very generous with their time, though I don't recall the situation with labels and tags, except to note that in the course of trying on a gazillion dresses, the woman that was helping me Yvonne, I think?, happened upon the very dress I brought in a picture of, in my size.

[rquezad]

Check out Lily Helene gowns in Mill Valley. Sarah, the owner is great, she really takes her time and the gowns are not overpriced!

[rquezad]

>I got my dress through Discount Bridal Service. Not only did
>they beat the price by about $240, the dress came in about a
>month earlier than what was originally quoted by the rep I
>went through. The dress came in perfect condition - there was
>nothing wrong with it. Apparently, DBS has a site back east
>where all the dresses are inspected prior to shipping it out
>to the customer. My experience with DBS is definitely a
>highlight throughout this whole wedding planning ordeal!
>
>I'd also have to say that my experiences at most bridal
>salons in the bay area was not as bad as it could have been.
>But, be on the watch if they refuse to tell you the style #,
>the manufacturer, etc. You do not want to deal with those
>places!
>
>Good Luck!
>
I was thinking of using DBS as well. Where are you going to get your dress altered?