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I have an Alfred Angelo dress on order; it shipped on the 25th as promised, and so I'm happy so far. My sister (MOH) is getting her dress from JCrew.
I found DB to be a weird combination of a total lack of service and a really hard sales push. Plus the fabrics were cheap and the gowns were not well made. Not only did I not go back, I ended up calling the store manager to tell her how unhappy I was about their use of my email and phone number for marketing. Thank heavens it stopped after that conversation.
They seem to me to cater mostly to people who either assume they don't have the money to go elsewhere, or who like the no-frills approach - seriously, their dressing rooms were like Target. It was 7 months before my wedding, but they kept telling me there was no way I could get a dress anywhere else in that time. I would assume that they wanted you to find out your dress wasn't available at the last minute, so that you would assume you had no other options, and they could sell you whatever they wanted.
You should check out netbride.com, You could order all the dresses at once like I did. They give you a garentee date, and they are usually in way before that date. Mine came 2 months early. Also the prices are wayyyyyyy less than botiques, and they are the exact same dresses from the manufacturer. All you have to do is have your bridesmaids use the measuring chart and then order the size. It worked great for me with all the out of state bridesmaids.
Sorry I just wanted to add I got Bill Levkoff dresses shipped for 130 when the boutiques said they were at least 200 and wouldn't come in on time.
as a bridesmaid, we had a TERRIBLE experience with david's bridal. so much so that i wrote a complaint letter [we did buy our dresses there but was not happy to be giving the commission to the sales lady who was our main issue - but we were so exasperated with the entire process that we just wanted to be done] to both the president of the company and the store manager explaining the dissatisfaction and how i will not be returning to any david's bridal in the future. even after being plied with discounts on alterations and other stuff, i still haven't gone back. though it's sad when you still end up getting alterations done for cheaper than the offered discount.
so for my future wedding, thanks to weddingbee, i'll be going other boutiques to find bridesmaid dresses and then buying them online. so much easier. maybe you can pick a designer and then find out where they are sold in the areas your bridesmaids are located and then have them go and try them on to see what size they need, and then buy on line. i believe a few of the bees have done this option.
Thats exactly what my other bridesmaids did went to other salons and tried them on. It also helped them apprieate how much of a deal I got online when they saw the salon's prices. LOL.
I had no problem with DB. I got my dress from them and the salesperson was great. She was helping a couple of other brides at the same time, but I felt like it was good service.
My BMs went to try on dresses at a different DB location and also felt the service was fine. The salesperson even told them that they should wait to decide on a dress because new styles were coming out in a few weeks and they would have a better selection.
It is a relatively no frills deal, their prices are very reasonable, and to a certain extent you get what you pay for.
I have bought and sold DB bridesmaid dresses on eBay. There is a brisk secondary market on eBay for DB dresses, moreso than for any other brand. It may be possible to outfit your entire bridal party in the discontinued dresses - at a deep discount - on eBay.
And that's the best thing I can say about DB bridesmaid dresses.
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Anyone get dresses through RK Bridal? That stinks about DB....where was the one you went to Dulaman 8?
So far I am so pleased with the Alfred Sung dresses my 'maids will be wearing. They were originally $190 but we got them on sale for about $139. They are a nice quality and a beautiful color.
I think it's a common misconception that David's is the only place/brand to get inexpensive dresses from. I saw bridesmaid's dresses and bridal gowns at other boutiques that weren't much more expensive than, if not in the same price range entirely as those at DB. This is not to say that DB doesn't have some great options, but there are also so many other places to look these days. You don't have to sacrifice good customer service (or good prices) in order to get a good deal if you find that your David's in particular is lacking in the customer service area.
I agree with Mrs. Cupcake–David's Bridal is not the only option for inexpensive gowns. The local salon where I purchased my gown had gowns from $500-$2000. To be honest the gowns at the salon I went to were much higher quality for the same prices and better, more personal {not just trying to make a buck or at least hiding it well!} service. The fabric of the three or four dresses I tried on at David's Bridal felt very cheap compared to ones in the same price range at the store I purchased my gown from. Another thing I didn't like was that DB wouldn't let me walk around and look at gowns; they had me pick a few by looking at a catalog and then the salesperson chose a few based on what I said I liked. I liked walking around and feeling the fabric, seeing the
I know some have had a great experiences with DB, but I'm super picky and sometimes a bit snobby {at least I admit it!!} about fabric and clothing so I pretty much figured David's Bridal wasn't going to be for me. We only went in to see about bridesmaids dresses and I ended up trying on a few gowns.
I think we might have just hit the jackpot with the bridal salon I went to; we found my wedding gown, bridesmaids dresses, AND my mother's dress all in one weekend. The BM dresses were only $160 and my mother's dress was less than $200.
I am in no way saying David's Bridal is the best, because I think as with every chain, the people and service REALLY vary by store. That being said, I bought my gown there and had fantastic service. My sales girl didn't push at all, but she also told me she hated working in sales. Haha. But I had a good experience and I am truly sorry you didn't.
Onto Alfred Angelo, my MOH and I went there to try on dresses (also did at David's) and had a terrible experience. It was like all the girls had better things to do than help us. In the end we did get dresses made by Alfred Angelo, but not from the store. Haha. I got them from Pearl's Place (the dress was $149 in the store, and $100 with Pearl's Place, serious no brainer). I can't wait until they come in, and hopefully I'll have nothing but great things to say about Pearl's when they do 
JCrew is really making an effort with rewearable and affordable bridesmaids dresses. I know that wasn't the point of this post, but it's worth a look.
Haselwand that's funny - at our DB, even though I came in with catalog numbers written down from the website, they wouldn't pull the dresses for us - we HAD to walk up and down the aisles and find them ourselves. I don't think you necessarily get bad service from a chain - look at Starbucks - but I do think it's the sign of a really poorly run organization when the standards and practices vary so much from store to store. Also I second that there were lots of better quality dresses in the same price range at the boutiques I visited - so I have no idea what makes DB so popular. The power of mass marketing I guess. Not only will I not be back, but I've told everyone who might be interested that I had a very poor experience, and what a great experience I had at the locally owned shop where I did buy my dress.
I was in the same situation as you (6 bridesmaids, all over N. and S. America), but I ordered Jim Hjelm dresses through Netbride. I ordered them last week for a September wedding, and they're slated to come on August 5. My BMs all went into a local bridal salon to try on dresses and get fitted so that they could see what the dress looked like in person. It really wasn't a big deal, so please don't feel like you're limited to the "big chain" bridal stores!
Hi! Have you tried www.bestbridalprices.com? My bridesmaids got their dresses from there and the prices are great!
I love Alfred Angelo. I feel sometimes like I am a walking commercial for Alfred Angelo! I recommend his dresses to every bride-to-be that I run into! I got my wedding dress for an AMAZING price and I love it! My bridesmaids dresses are so cute - I think that they maybe will be able to wear them again, but then, I don't really know of anybody who really wears them again! The girls' dresses came out to be around $115 after taxes, I believe. They did save money, though, because I got my dress there. I went through one of the Alfred Angelo boutiques, rather than going through a bridal shop because the bridal shops jack up the prices and only carry dresses that had to be pinned onto my body with many of those little clips! So, with Alfred, the girls are less likely to need alterations because they have dresses in the store in all sizes and they can figure out what size they really are (it seems that bridal shops encourage girls to order a larger size so they need alterations). Anyway, my favorite thing about Alfred Angelo is the customer service I received. I went to two separate Alfred boutiques and both times the girls working there were super sweet, friendly, willing to help, but not at all pushy! Another thing that was great about ordering our dresses there was that they had said my dress would take up to 4 months to come in. It was there 5 weeks later!! We were told that the girls dresses were in the 6-8 week range for delivery, but they came in in only 3 weeks! I am not sure if our speedy order was typical or not, so still give yourself plenty of time to get them in and altered. Also, I took advantage of that you can order their dresses in shorter or longer sizes and I do not need alterations on my dress! So, if you are going with long bridesmaid dresses, ask them about the different lengths! In short, I had an amazing experience at Alfred Angelo. I am really satisfied with everything - especially their customer service (one of the girls there actually picked my wedding dress out for me - I didn't try it on because it didn't look great on the hanger, but the girl was so sweet and she thought it would look nice on me - I put it on and loved it!), fast delivery, and low prices!!! I would definitely recommendation Alfred Angelo! :)
oops...I hit submit twice! Sorry!
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Rebecca,
I LOVE netbride.com. Like I said mine came 2 months early and they were BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks for the suggestions! It looks like I will have some more fun shopping! There are worse things, right?!
Someone asked which David's Bridal I went to. It was the one in Manchester, CT. It was a zoo... but I really thought I was going to the place with the best price.
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I appreciate that everyone is entitled to to their opinion, but I had a very good experience with DB, after having sworn to never go there - when 3 private, upscale shops dropped the ball and one LOST my info and dress all together.
Calling it the "Wedding Wal Mart" is a bit harsh - not everyone has thousands to buy a dress, or even the opportunity to save that much and I think that you may have alienated dozens of brides on here with that little comment.
I'm not rying to start a fied but you should maybe remember brfore spouting off, that the birdes on here are all earning levels. Lets respest that a little more please -
Thanks for the suggestions! It looks like I will have some more fun shopping! There are worse things, right?!
Someone asked which David's Bridal I went to. It was the one in Manchester, CT. It was a zoo... but I really thought I was going to the place with the best price.
You may still be able to find your dresses, as the discontinued styles end up on the clearance rack. I was just at the DB in Norridge IL and they had about 100 BM dresses on clearance. You could try calling individual stores and asking if they have it.
I think the point it Sweeney that DB really IS NOT less expensive. My dress, from a fabulous privately owned bridal salon, was about the midrange of the DB prices. Sure, a small salon can get you a $5000 dress - but a good small salon can also get you a dress for $500 or less. And I have sewing since I was in grade school, and worked in a fabric store for several years, and I still stand by my opinion that in general the DB dresses were inferior fabric and construction for the price - compared to what can be found (easily) elsewhere. I think the problem is that people are convinced that they have to spend thousands if they go to a bridal salon - and that DB is their only option for an affordable dress. That is simply not true.
Enough brides on this website have had really poor experiences with DB that we can't all be making it up. But if you just loved them, that's great for you. What women should know is that they are far from the only option if you are on a budget - and that if you look around a little, you are absolutely likely to find better quality dresses for the same price elsewhere.
Not everybody dislikes walmart, but everyone knows it isn't like walking into Nordstoms (and to be perfectly honest I feel weird in a Nordstrom unless I'm pretty dressed up). I don't think it was meant in a bad way, though. ;) It is a chain that doesn't really have the most fabulous reputation. That said, they usually get the job done, and many of their products are great.
And really, Alfred Angelo dresses are awesome. My bridesmaids got them at a boutique for a great price (about $150) and the service was excellent and we weren't pushed into anything.
The point is that you can get a similar or better product for the same price and without generally poor customer service and LOTS of spam.
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this is just my personal opinion. so please dont take offense! but i walked in db and within 5 min, i walked out. i could not believe what they were charging for the quality!! generally we've been looking online for dresses on sale at macy's, nordies or bloomies. this w/e we went to banana republic and zara and found THE cutest dresses, all under $150. and since they're not bm's dresses, the girls can wear them again. in fact, they'd want to! in terms of your problem... maybe you can just get a dress made. the designs at db aren't elaborate... is it pretty simple? maybe you can find a cheap seamstress that can replicate it- just pick out a material/color that is most similar (?)
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I have yet to have a good experience with DB , after three bridesmaid dresses and looking for my dress. Every time I have been in they sales people have been pushy and slightly rude. But as in all chains I know there have to be women out there having good experiences. Otherwise they would no stay in business.
I will agree that they are NOT the cheapest place to find your dresses either. And do find on whole the quality of construction and fabric so be inferior. That being said There are some lovely dresses there , just nothing that is my "dream gown".
I haven't had any problems with DB. The dresses always arrived earlier than the expected dates, the prices are reasonable, everything is straighforward, they are convenient and easily accessible, and my sales consultants have been really nice. They even told us to shop elsewhere for lingere and shoes because we could find things cheaper or better!
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Has any other brides out there had this experience?
First off, I have been in 9 weddings and have never had the opportunity to wear ANY of the dresses, again. I understand the whole process and have frankly embraced it. The thing I do care about is the price. I don't want to go much over $150 on a bridesmaid dress for my girls.
Secondly, I have 8 bridesmaids. The majority of them are out of state, so I wanted to pick a dress that could be easily accessable for my girls.
With those two things in mind, I figured David's Bridal would be a good place to start. It's the wedding Walmart, right?! Well, I made my sisters take the time out to go to the store to pick out a dress. I picked one that complimented my dress perfectly!!! I registered the dresses for my girls. My sisters decided to wait to buy the dress because one sister was unsure of which size to get and wanted to scope out alteration prices. THANK GOD.
The dress is now discontinued. It is nowhere to be found. Did a represenative call to let me know?? They had no trouble calling me every other day to set up an appointment for a gown... even when I told them I already purchased mine elsewhere. But...NO...they couldn't call to tell me that the dress was discontinued.
David... I hate you.
Alfred Angelo... anyone have a relationship of hate with him?! I am hoping he will be my new friend.