Weddingbee boards

I actually liked Brides by Demetrios (well, I found my dress there so I'm biased).  House of Brides was okay, but I went on a Saturday afternoon and I wish I had gone at a different time.  The woman who helped me was nice, but the dress selection was horrible.  I had found a lot of styles online (around 10) that I wanted to try and they didn't have any of them!  ("oh, our online selection is much better" grrrr)  I think a lot of dresses were hidden away in other bride's rooms, so maybe going on a less busy day would have resulted in a better search.  GL

I spent an hour at each place I went to.  And I could only handle two places a day because I'm a shopping wimp...I really hate trying on clothes.

I had a nice experience at House of Brides, but it's true -- most of what they have on their web site is not in the store.  Eva's Bridal has a lot of Watters gowns, but they keep them tucked away so you have to ask for the ones you're looking for otherwise you just get what they think you want (based off what dresses you choose out on the showroom floor). 

I'd say at least an hour at each place.  It's a little tricky getting into some of the dresses, and then you have to get it tugged and pinned to make it look like it fits you. 

Maybe also check out the Brides Room, which also carries Watters.  I've heard good things about them, though I've never been.  Yelp has some reviews on these bridal salons, too.

I second Wedding Belles in Barrington.  I got my dress there!  :)  They sell mostly sample dresses that are well-maintained and, of course, at a discount.  Their stock is in constant rotation because of that.  The shop itself is in an old Victorian house.  And the staff is super nice. 

I THIRD Wedding Belles in Barrington...I just bought my dress there TODAY.

I bought my dress at Catherine Simm's in Naperville (<span class="a">www.catherinesimmsbridal.com). i can't recommend them enough. They had beautiful dresses, were very reasonable, and the staff was super nice and helpful. I worked with Karen and she was wonderful.

I went to House of Brides in Schaumburg and found them ok. I think i called a different one before that and they were rather rude. 

Other places to consider: The Bridal Mansion in Lisle I've heard from several people is awesome! Here Comes the Bride (www.herecomesthebride.com) in Addison is a good source for getting a designer dress for less (lots of samples etc..)

I went to Eva's Bridal in Orland Park because they had a certain dress I wanted to try on. Selection was great, but they were very "salesman fake" to me. I also found their pricing varied from store to store.

I found a great Bridal resourse is to pick up the Knot's yearly magazine of all the top vendors. I think it just came out for this year a month or so ago. It's like $10 and you can find it at most stores (I got mine at Walmart). There you can go by the state and see what other brides have used and liked. It helped me out a lot of for the Chicagoland area.

I got my dress at Wolsfelt's Victorian Bridal in Aurora and they were so great! The store has a huge selection, and the salespeople were very helpful. It's family owned and has been in business for 30 years, so they have a pretty good reputation.

I also shopped at Priscilla of Boston in Oakbrook, and when I went with my mom and sis shopping for my dress (with an appointment) they were very helpful and nice; however, I came back with BMs to look for their dresses and we were treated kind of rudely. We didn't have an appointment, but the place was empty so I think it was mostly a matter of age discrimination or they didn't think we were serious buyers (we were until they treated us like lepers)