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I went to Eva's Bridal in Orland Park which is where I bought my gown :) They are very helpful, allow you to take pictures, and seemed to have the lowest prices!! I found the gown that I loved at another place (Wolsfelt) and they could beat all the prices that I was quoted + free alterations!! I got my $1295 gown for $765! They also carry a lot of designers such as Pronovias, Jim Hjlem, etc.
Wolsfelt's Victorian Bridals in Aurora were helpful, but a bit pushy, no pictures allowed, and much higher prices.
I also went to House of Brides in Naperville/Aurora but the experience was kind of blahhh. It reminded me a lot of my David's Bridal experience.
Good luck!!!! :)
Glad you asked! Yesterday I was just saying that I wish one of my friend's was getting married soon so I could direct them to some great places I found in the Chicagoland area. What kind of dress are you looking for? I am going back Saturday to make my final decision. I'm going back to Dimitras, Wosfelts, and Priscilla of Boston. Here's the places I went to:
David's Bridal: All sorts of dresses if you're on a smaller budget for the dress.
Jenny Yoo (Chicago): Very simple basic dresses under $1,000. Great if you don't like lots of frills. Check out online the dresses they have.
Wosfelts (Aurora): One of my favorites. A bit of a hike, but worth it. Dresses from $600 to over $3,000. Feels like you're in the movie Steel Magnolia, but fun. Good selection & helpful workers. No photography allowed.
Wedding Belles (Barrington): Floor models, so you buy that dress. A lot of them are much cheaper than you would find in other stores, but cheaper since you buy that dress. Helpful, good selection, but just know it's a floor model.
826 Armitage (Chicago): Also floor models so a bit cheaper. Great selection & they're nice, but once again know that you will be taking home that dress.
Bella Bridal (st. Charles): Way out there, but my friends loved it. They have lots of fairy tale-like dresses with lace and beading. I wanted something simpler so I had no luck there though.
Priscilla of Boston (Oakbrook): I LOVE their dresses! Such nice lines, but they start at $2,000 which is the cut-off for my dress. I still went there & fell in love which wasn't smart!
Dimitras (Chicago on Rush or Oak): Another one of my favorites for selection. Dresses range from $600 to over $5,000). They don't allow pictures though which is hard b/c it helps to see yourself in the dress.
Evas (Orland Park): Lots of dresses, they pick the dresses for you. This was the only place where I went where I didn't pull dresses. She didn't pull anything for me that I loved, but again I'm looking for more of a simple dress.
White Satin Bridal (Plainfield): Lots of selection, very helpful, just a bit of a hike.
If you go to Wosfelts, ask for Laurie. She was great-knew her stuff for sure and wasn't pushy. Plus, she took a picture with the store camera so I could see what I looked like. Taking a picture narrowed down my choices. Also, you get a 10% discount if you buy the dress that day.
Oh wow, I also had Laurie at Wolsfelt - she was really great and helpful the first time that I went in, but I came back with my future sister in laws and she was more pushy and a bit rude trying to get me to buy the gown that day (maybe she was just having a bad day like we all have). When I went to schedule the second appointment with her, I was flat out asked if I was going to buy the gown that day so that they would know if they should squeeze me in or not. I was a little turned off by that. She also gave me a price that was WAY higher for the same dress than prices at other places (even with the 10% off discount).
If you go to Eva's Bridal (Orland Park) - ask for Naomi, she was like my second mom both times that I went in!! I brought in a list of gowns that I loved and she also pulled some for me that she thought I would like. She let me go back into the "employees only" area to pull gowns from the lines that I loved (Maggie Sottero, Pronovias, and Jim Hjelm) which was fun :) She took pictures for me and gave me her honest opinion. She also worked really hard to beat the price quotes that I received at House of Brides and Wolsfelt's.
Here are some pics of the gowns that "didn't make it" that I tried on at Evas. I posted one from each designer that I loved.
White Chicago! They are fabulous and sweet and lovely there. I didn't find my dream dress there, but I WISH I did! They sell once-wed and sample designer dresses for half the original price.
White Satin Bridal! It was by far the most spacious and peaceful wedding dress shop I visited. It was the perfect dress-shopping experience for my mom and me (and eventually, her friend, my FMIL, my sister-in-law, and my MOH)!
Thank you so much for the suggestions! :D
Looking forward to checking them out.
@futuredrbraun - thanks for posting the pics. Would you mind sharing info on Evas dress #1? That one looks like it's right up my alley. ;)
I LOVED that dress (except that it didn't have a long train and it would have been like $300 more to make the train longer).
It is Jim Hjelm 8862 and the price was in the $2000 - $2500 range. I didn't want to go over $1500 and Naomi was totally willing to work with me to get the price as close to my budget as possible if I went with that gown.
Here are some more pics of that gown :)
Jim_Hjelm_2.JPG (13.8 KB, 49 downloads) 2 years old Jim_Hjelm.JPG (27.9 KB, 49 downloads) 2 years old
Oh...one more thought!! If you like the Jim Hjelm 8862 style, you might want to check out the Melissa Sweet - Lia gown. I tried it on at Eva's as well, but didn't take a picture of me wearing it. Here is a pic of the gown that I found on preownedweddingdresses.com! Good luck!!!
Lia.JPG (14.4 KB, 44 downloads) 2 years old
I went to Eva's Bridal in Oak Lawn (not related to the Eva's in Orland). They had lots of dresses that fit what i was looking for and were wiling to dye and alter dresses that I almost liked (like take away some beading). The saleswoman said that you get the biggest discount when you visit the first time and they take your info as soon as you walk in the door. So maybe they would be good to visit after you have an idea of what you are looking for.
Oh and no pictures allowed but the saleswoman left after I tried on every dress so you could sneak pics if you're fast!
I also went to Eva's Bridals in Oak Lawn (bought my dress at the Evas in Orland Park and they aren't related). I heard that Evas of Oak Lawn has a very bad reputation...there is a weird statement on their website about people giving them a bad name. I found that they were helpful but refused to tell me who the designer was of the gowns that I was trying on which I didn't like.
Macy's on state street also has a very nice salon, you would never know it by just looking at what they have on the floor but they have a big inventory..Ask for Ravia she is so cute and helpful
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Hi ladies! I'm needing some recommendation as to where to go find a dress...where did you go? Share the experience, pics, reviews! Thank you so much!