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It looks like you've done your homework and you should be okay with buying from them. But go with your gut.
I think stores that don't allow pictures mostly prey on brides who haven't done their homework. I went to one too and was very informed during my visit. As the consultant was pulling out dresses for me, I was naming the designer and style for each dress. She was really impressed and I think it let her know that I knew my stuff . She did let me take pictures in the fitting room (but not outside) so as not to encourage the other brides.
For me, reviewing my pictures was a really important part of the decision-making process. I personally wouldn't shop at a store that wouldn't allow pictures and wouldn't buy from a store that won't tell you the style numbers, etc. That is being unethical and you don't know what else they do that is also unethical.
If this is the dress for you, I would find another salon that carries Mori Lee and see if they'l meet the price. If you can't get it for a better price elsewhere, then do your homework on this place (internet reviews, BBB, etc) and decide if it's worth it.
No, it doesn't mean they aren't trustworthy. I would assume you should be safe ordering from them.
To each their own, but I personally would not buy from them. One store told me I couldn't take pictures because they had to protect their designers, assuming that I would just take the pictures to have the dress recreated and I didn't want to give my money to someone who thinks I am a thief. But that's just my two cents!
I purchased my dress from a store that didn't allow picture taking. For me, I had that "this is the one" moment and never hesitated so I didn't need to take a few days and look through pictures.
At first it didn't bother me, until a few months later when all I wanted was to see me in the dress!! I finally just sent an email to the store owner and asked if it was okay for me to come in and take a picture of me in my dress. I had already purchased the dress there so it wasn't a problem.
The salon I purchased the dress from has a great reputation, they just have that "no pictures" policy.
I never understood why bridal salons have that policy, especially since there are plenty of dress pictures available online by the designer themselves.
thanks for the responses bees... this salon that i went to also has a great reputation and i've heard nothing but good things about them.. when they realised how tall i was they told me right away they would charge me under a 100 for alterations instead of the regular 250 since i need no hemming at all.. i think in my gut i knew i trusted them and my mom did too otherwise i would never have paid the 100 deposit i just still wanted to hear opinions from other bees too.. i'm sooooo in love with this dress and it was the 1st dress i tried on! i tried on a few after that but i had to try it on again because i couldnt get it out of my head...
I have found that most places that don't allow photos will allow them once you make a purchase. Is that not true across the board?
They are just trying to protect the designers from having their dresses recreated.
A lot of dress stores don't allow pictures and don't tell you the style number (to prevent shopping around for some).
I did, and I hated it. I thought it was bad business, even though I was only going in to try some on for S&G. It would've meant the world to my grandma to see me in some actual bridal gowns (since I'm going short and green instead of long and white) but they wouldn't tell us their policy on photos until I was already in the damn gown.
But then again, this is the same place that won't let you try something on in your preferred size/color (BM dresses) until you've ordered it, so...
I think it's a terrible practice, but it doesn't in itself mean that the store is untrustworthy.
@emtheartist - Pictures of the designs are all over the internet. If that is their "reason", it's a stupid reason and a non-issue.
@MissAsB - It is illegal for them not to let you know what designer/style the dress is. See this thread: http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/bridal-shops-who-cut-out-tags
It is a pain, but they are only trying to protect the style of the dresses and the designers. You would get the same thing from jewellery stores as well. They dont want you coming in, taking pictures of dresses you like, then take those pictures and get re-made somewhere else for cheaper. I think it's a pretty strandard thing to do.
@abbyful: I didn't make the rule, I'm just offering one of the many reasons you're not allowed to do it.
If they didn't post professional pics online, how would they advertise?
It's the same for film and theatre. There are promotional pics of actors in costume, but you are often times not allowed to take pics of things backstage/onset because the designers and craftsmen have it written into their contracts to protect their "property." I think if you were in the designer's position you would understand.
I do agree, however, that not letting you know the style number is shady.
Honestly, I wasnt a fan of any of the bridal stores that wouldnt let me take photos. Now, I dont know if thats BECAUSE they wouldnt let me take photos or if they just really didnt have as good of a selection.
i still dont get the whole no pictures thing. i mean your wedding day is THE most photographed day of your life... seriously - everyone has pictures of them in their dresses.
so it cant be that they are "protecting" the dress integrity. honestly if they allowed folks to take pictures they might sell more dresses because then you can go home look at the pics and know definately what you want to buy.
but i took pics anyway - even at salons who said not to- a few i stared them down and dared them to say anything when they were trying to say no, and the others i just waited until they left the room. one bridal store openly didnt mind when i told them i have a grandma at home that has to see me in the dress before i can even think of buying it, so i got to take pics.
as long as they have a good rep, i wouldnt worry, but if they refused to tell you the designer or style number i would get a little annoyed. lots of folks dont like to give that out because you can get them cheaper online from like netbride.com or pearlsplace.com
My bridal store let you take pictures depending on the designer. I was buying Maggie Sottero dress, and they told me I couldn't take pictures in it before I bought it because Maggie Sottero has copy right on their dresses, so I guess they could get in trouble.
@SoonToBeMrs.Kiss: I don't think that's a designer policy because I had pictures of me taken in maggie dresses.
Bridal dresses are a big purchase. Any store that I thought wasn't be upfront and honest with me wouldn't get my money.
I bought my dress at a smaller boutique that had a no-pictures policy. It wasn't a huge surprise for me (if you watch Say Yes to the Dress, you'll notice that no one takes photos there either). I bought my dress at one of their trunk shows and they had dresses there which the designer had not even released to the public yet because they are for the Spring 2011 line. In that sense I understood why they had the no-pictures policy, and it's to protect the more unique designs. I think bigger bridal stores tend to be fine with pictures especially since there are so many designs to choose from (we were allowed to take pictures at DB).
I put my deposit down at the small boutique and I think they would have let me take pictures of the dress, but honestly I didn't even think about it because I was 100% sure that was the dress I wanted.
I always presumed it was to try to prevent someone from finding out the designer/# and then going and finding another vendor who will sell you that same dress for less. It "protects" their sales, supposedly....
Especially "back in the day" when vendors such as "DBS" (Discount Bridal Services) were around. They could order almost any gown at whole sale/very deeply discounted prices if you just knew the designer and the design name or #.
In fact, back in the 80's and 90's, it was pretty common for bridal stores to cut out the tags of sample dresses just so that you couldn't figure out the desiger or design style # easily! I don't think they can do that now a days, though.....
I think it is absolutely ridiculous, though.....I just went ahead and started snapping photos without asking. What are they gonna do? Rip the camera out of your hand?
Especially once you have already purchased the gown......it should be obvious then that your "intent" is just to share with family/friends what you look like in the sample until your purchased gown comes in.
it is a silly practice... but i feel much better cos i asked around and just the fact they didnt let me take pictures and didnt want to tell me the style # doesnt mean they are not trustworthy.. if they had refused to tell me the designer that would have been a deal breaker... i like the store i went to aside from their no picture policy...
I think most of what you guys have brought up is right. The pics online are never good enough resolution that a copycat could truly recreate the design. However, with how good pocked dig. cams are these days, a single in-salon 12 MP photo will get all the details. If they won't let you see the style # I bet its because they know the first thing you will do is turn around and check out the prices online... but aren't they right? In the end, I wouldn't say the salon isn't trustworthy, I'd say they are just protecting their sales and business.
The first bridal shop I went to wanted 1,375.00 for a discontinued dress.
They wouldn't tell me they style, so I looked on the bag and wrote down the style number. I spent probably 2-3 hours before finally finding they only use the first 3 numbers and discovered that she was over charging by 825.00.
I did manage to sneak a picture to keep in mind exactly what it looked like.
I spent a total of 14 hours straight looking through about 10 dresses and finally found one on Craigslist in Canada pre-owned. The owner was willing to ship and bonus, the dress is already altered (we're the same height/size) and cleaned.
Don't be afraid to get sneaky to get pictures or style numbers off the bag! You can always check the designer's website and find the style name there too! Don't get ripped off!
It's kind of weird that they wouldn't tell you the style number....
As for me...I'll be having my entourage snap stealth pics of me in the dresses anyways!
I worked in a bridal shop for 5 years. We didn't allow pictures or readily share designer names. The bridal business is very competative especially with stores like David's Bridal and the internet. Having an edge, like having designers no-one else carries, is one way to stay in business. Believe it or not, other shops will send in people to see what other bridal shops have. We have no way of knowing if that's you or not. They are not out to "cheat" you. Any shop that does that will not be in business long.
We also had problems with a local seamstress that would tell brides to go to a store and take pics of a dress that they would then copy. Bridal shops lose money on brides who use them for trying on dress with no intention of ever buying one. There are also private dress collections that are not advertised on-line and don't want their styles easily copied.
One of the points of having a consultant and bringing people with you is to get oppinions on how you look. Most brides know which dress is the "one" and going home and pouring over pictures is only going to confuse things. A bridal consultant, your friends and family will not let you buy a dress that you don't look amazing in!! In my own experience pictures were not helpful. Also, do you really want to show everyone your dress before the big day? Why not let it be a surprise for all but your very closest friends and family?
Most shops will meet any reasonable price. And most shops are competitively priced for their region and for the services they offer with the dress. Again, if they are not competitively priced, they won't stay in business. Just because you see a dress on-line for cheaper doesn't mean that is a legit price. There are many fraudulent wedding sites out there. They will take your money and you will either not get a dress or get something you didn't order. Bridal shops all over the country are battling internet wedding gown fraud. They don't like people using the store as a try-on place to buy on-line. They are in the business of selling gowns, not being a place where you can play dress-up.
Once you buy a dress, most shops will let you take all the pics you want. So, stop whining about pics. I saw hundreds of my brides buy their dream dress just fine without taking pictures beforehand. If you really need to show someone a pic before you buy, try to work something out with the store where you put down a deposit with the option of transferring it to another dress within 24hrs if your mom, grandmother or whoever doesn't approve. Yes, your gown is important, but not nearly as important as who you are marrying. Find one you love and get on with the business of planning your wedding to the man of your dreams!
I understand (sort of) why you can't take photos but I still think it's one of the bad sides of the wedding industry. I mean, at the end of the day, if I can walk in to a car store and take it for a test drive, you shouldn't be so insane about me trying on a dress. Also, pictures are so helpful when you're trying to see what you look like. That rant over though, I agree that while the policy sucks, it doesn't mean the store is unreliable.
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Beekeeper
how many of u ended up buying ur gowns from salons that didnt let u take pics? I went to the bridal store yesterday and they said no pics.. they didnt want to tell me the style number but did show me the designers label inside the dress.. i always said i wouldnt buy from a store that didnt let me take pics or tell me the style number.. however i recognised the dress and it is mori lee blu 4708 and i'm sooooo in love and they offered me such a great price.. [yes i had already compared the price of this dress pre-shopping] I havent bought the dress yet but i did put down $100.00 deposit (but this can be applied to anything in the store such as veil/shoes..) is it a mistake to buy from them? does it mean they arent trustworthy?