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I would suggest Bridals by Elena. Here's the address: http://bridalsbyelena.com/
I'd recommend going someplace that carries Alfred Angelo. There's a place near four-mile run in Arlington that was recommended to me. I ended up finding my dress before making it out there.
My dress came from Ellie's Bridal in Old Town Alexandria. I think they had a reasonable price range selection, but my dress was almost twice what you're hoping to spend, so I'm not sure how much they have in that range.
Good luck!
My dress came from I Do I Do Wedding Gowns in Gaithersburg, MD. It's up I-270 in the Shady Grove metro stop area (though I don't think it's walking distance from the metro). I highly recommend them. They are so friendly, professional, and realistic there. They asked me how much I wanted to spend and did not show me anything more expensive than that or try to convince me to spend more. There is a large back room filled with consignment/second-hand dresses; however, I found the off-the-rack and made-to-order gowns were more affordable (even at a 50% discount, a designer dress can still cost $2,000+). There are lots of dresses in the high hundreds range. They also carry Alfred Angelo, as another poster suggested. I would call ahead to ask about your price range. I had this place recommended to me independently by several friends and it was just excellent.
I also reccomend I Do I Do Wedding Gowns in Gaithersburg, MD. They were really great to work with even though I didn't end up buying a dress from them. I ended up getting my dress from Betsy Robinson's Bridal, just north of downtown Baltimore. I must have gone back four times to try on the dress I thought I was going to get and then ended up getting something else the day my parents were in town. I am not sure what their price range is so call ahead, but they have designer trunk shows pretty much every week where the dresses are marked down.
I recommend Promise for the Savvy Bride in Bethesda. They were so helpful and really gave me options that worked in my budget. They took the time to ask me about my wedding to see what types of dresses may fit in terms of style. I never felt pressured to buy a more expensive gown even though I tried on lots of different gowns in different price ranges within my budget. I found my dress and even got a 20% discount from a trunk show at the store. I highly encourage you to check it out.
I got my dress and my bridesmaids dresses at TLC Bridal Boutique in Frederick, MD. They are fabulous and SO sweet! Several of my friends have also gotten their dresses from there! Good Luck!
Though I didn't purchase my dress there, Ellie's Bridal is very accomodating and nice. And they have a nice selection across price ranges. I'm not sure if you read my post, but if you want a couture dress, you could always check out yourdreamdress.com. I highly, highly recommend them. If you're willing to take a look and go up a tad in your budget, sometimes you can find something great for as much/little as $750.
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I think the place near Four Mile Run Dr. was Bridal Visions - I got my bridesmaids' dresses there. The service wasn't that great and they are going out of business. They might be closed already, but if they are still open I know they were having a huge sail trying to get rid of everything.
I've been looking and have been to many salons in MD. I love the service at TLC.
Carine's Bridal Atelier is by far the best... see their reviews on yelp.com
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If you do go to David's Bridal go to the one in Glen Burnie, it's the largest on the east coast, gets test styles and extra clearence dresses. I'd go to that one for sure :) Good luck!
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Two of my friends got their dresses from Lady Hamilton in arlington. Despite the somewhat odd sounding name, it was a really nice salon, they had so many beautiful dresses, you get individualized attention and they don't seem to mind you taking pictures. If you ask, they'll give you a discount on almost all dresses, and there are also discounts for bridesmaids and mother's dresses. http://www.ladyhamiltonbridal.com/intro_content.html
I second the reccomendation for I Do, I Do. I found a great gown at a great price. I liked the store and the staff. And, most importantly, I love the dress!
The gown needed a minor repair, however, and in the process of doing that repair they managed to mess something else up, forcing me to make the trek up there for no reason. I probably would not go with them for alterations.
I recommend HItched, Carrine's in DC /georgetown and Katherine's in VA. I had great experiences at all of them :)
We tried I Do, I Do, but actually did much better at La Bella Bridal Boutique in Occoquan. La Bella has sample and consignment gowns as well as new ones. It's a smaller place, so we got the undivided attention of the consultant, Ellalynne, for the entire time we were there, both times. And she has an amazing eye for what will work. My fiancee and I were able to get coordinating gowns and veils there. And even though we are quite dissimilar in appearance (starting with I'm 5'9" and she is 5'1"), the gowns she picked out for each of us complemented each of us magnificently. And both of our gowns were under $500.
I wuld highly recommend M'Jourdelle in Towson (north of baltimore) -- even if you're not close, its worth the drive. The shop is tiny and crowded but they have a really nice selection, especially in your price range. And they are one of the few area stores that carries La Sposa. :) Try to get one of the owners, Linda or Delia, when you go.
I also visited Bridals by Elena, and they are very nice, but way overprice their gowns. ($1400 for a Maggie Sottero you can find elsewhere for $110, etc).
The Bridal Boutique in Columbia had a very nice selection with some very affordable dresses when I went there about a month ago (one of the dresses I tried on was a gorgeous Alfred Angelo sheath/mermaid at around $500), and I think they were supposed to get new styles soon too, and the attendants were very nice and friendly.
Bridals by Elena in Severna Park had a lot of dresses too but they were a bit pricey. If you're looking for Pronovias there's Juliet's Bridal in Parkville (northeast of Baltimore) and Distinctive Designs Bridal in Rockville (this is where I bought my Pronovias gown; some of their dresses were a bit on the pricey side, but I got my dress during a trunk show so I got a discount).
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Definitely second the Hitched (in Georgetown) recommendation. The girls are amazing, and they have a wonderfully edited set of dress selections. The best!
Promise for the savvy bride is okay if you're looking for a non-ballgown dress and they do have sample sales.
Carines is having a sample sale on June 21 and I believe the filenes in DC is having ROTB in July.
One more general tip for anyone shopping in DC: if you go to the Vera Wang at Saks Jandel and try on a sample dress, WAIT to buy. From monitoring Bridepower.com I've noticed they sell their samples to that site, which translates to at least 1000 in savings. I literally just bought my dress this way today :)
Promises is apparently closed as of 5/21:
Final Vows
There will be no more Promise for the Savvy Bride. We recently heard that the Bethesda boutique closed as of May 21. We loved their designer selection (Adele Weschler, Claire Pettibone, among others). The boutique did post an extensive note on its blog, advising customers of how to proceed if their gowns were being ordered or were in the process of alteration.
DC Scout
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Hello Ladies!
I am relatively new to the area and am not familiar with any good bridal salons. I am getting married in August, and its high time I get out there and find a dress! I'm on a tight budget, though, so I can't go crazy and do not really want to try on those high end dresses because I know I'm going to fall in love with one and have my heart broken because its out of my price range! So I am looking for a dress in the $600 range. There is a David's Bridal near me, so I'm going to try there, but any other suggestions on salons that might carry reasonably priced gowns?
Thanks so much in advance!