Weddingbee boards

@Bride2Be2012:I was also searching for a David Tutera dress and was shocked to see their prices. I sent them at email asking them how they could sell these 4,000 dollar dresses at 300.00 dollars and they did respond by saying they just make replicas of the dress. It will NOT be a David dress when you get  it in the mail, but rather a look alike to his model. I did see that they are connected with facebook, twitter, paypal..which did make me feel better. I don't know though..the email also had very poor spelling and you cannot call them either, just email. Is it worth the risk?

This is the email they sent back to me...

Thanks for your time, the dresses on our website are made by our company.We ensure that the dress will be 90%-95% close to the original. Due to the nature of the handwork required, 100% same as the original can not be garanteed,however,your 100% satisfaction and reliability can be garanteed.with quality fabrics,excellent handcraftsmanship and special attention paid to details,every gown has been made to be finest in quality and fit.We sell such quality dresses at a much lower price is becouse we operate at a much lower cost and much lower margin.We don't have catalogs, television ads, etc. , but we do have 24 hour a day customer service, risk-free internet purchasing, the best merchandise, the best return policy, and the best prices. 

We can make  the  dress  according to your own size/measurement (if you are not stardard size or not sure about your size)，color or other special requirement  without extra cost,  Normally you can receive the dress within  35 days ( or 20-25 days by extra charge). We can ship to any country of the world and all dresses are free of shipping but doesn't include custom taxes.  We accept paypal, western union, Visa, for payment.

If you have any special request, pls kindly take a note in the additional requirement box when place the order.

If you are not happy with the dress, you can return it to us for full refund within 14 days from the receipt of the dress. you should be responsible for the return shipping cost.
If you have any other questions or requirements, please feel free to contact me at 86 512 6565 6173, I am always glad to help you.

Have a nice day, Shirley

I have been looking on www.seabridal.com for a specific dress, and when I emailed them I got that exact response, word for word. Did anyone find out if these are legit companies?  Different companies sending out the same exact emails definately sends out red flags. I have been doing lots of research but can't seem to find any other reviews besides on their website, and the responses are very strange as well. 

Didn't mean to post twice!

DON"T DO IT!

Just today I spoke with a bridal boutique alterations person.  Her name was Maria, she has 25 years experience.   She said basically what some of you said.  If its too good to be true, it probably is.  Maria told me that her business changed drastically when the internet became a must for wedding dress browsing and price comparsons.  She said that these internet retailers that sell the dress for more than 50% off of retail, when the dress is still in season,  are all fakes.  Not only are they fake, but they are poorly made, with cheap fabric and are probably not hand made.  Maria actually gave me an example of a bride that came in recently, who had purchased a 3000 dollar gown online for 700.00.  The bride was ecstatic at the deal she got.  The tag in the dress actually said the name of the designer.  As Maria started hemming the dress, shortening the bodice, and adjusting the zipper, she saw how poorly it was made, how crooked the seams were, and she had hours upon hours of alterations to do because the dress just awful.  Not only that, but Maria is very reasonable with what she charges customers, a normal dress for basic taking in, hemming, steaming, etc is less than 150.  This dress took her so many hours, at 25.00/hour (in the Bay Area, that is a BARGAIN!) it cost the bride 450.00 more dollars in alterations, when competitors were quoting her 800.00 and up.  So Maria finally finished altering the dress.  She was steaming it to get the wrinkles out about 5 days before the wedding, and then the worst thing happened.  None of the beading, and there was a lot, was sewn on properly, it was almost like it was glued on because the heat of the steam, just steam, caused the beading to fall off the dress immediately!  Maria was almost in tears, but had to sew each bead/bling back on by hand.

Maria told me that she didn't have the heart to tell the bride that her dress was a fake and that she got ripped off, so she did her job, zipped her lips and had to rework, re-sew AND re-bead the whole thing.  Don't do it ladies.  If you can't afford the dress, find something you can afford.  Its like a knock-off Chanel purse, the chain will make your arm green where it was being held.  If, I should say WHEN , your dress rips at the seems, literally melts from being steam pressed, or falls apart when being cleaned after the wedding for gown preservation, its too late.  You won't have time to re-order another dress, or the finances.  Also, its not right to take money out of these designers pockets when they are putting their hard work into quality hand made dresses that take hours to make each one.  All you're doing by buying a fake is supporting sweatshops in Indonesia.  There are plenty of beautiful dresses for 1000.00 or maybe even a little less.  With that being said, don't go to David's Bridal, they are the wedding dress equivalent of Wal-Mart, without the low prices!  I love Walmart but wouldn't buy my dress there.  Everyone assumes since they are a chain store they will have reasonable prices.  I know I did!  I went to a boutique first, tried some dresses, found one I liked but wanted to make sure it was the one.  So, I made an appt at David's Bridal, I am not a snot and am not TOO good for anything or anyone.  When I showed up it was like another world.  I felt like the day prior I was shopping at Barney's, and now I was shopping at Wal-Mart!  Several of the "taffeta" dresses felt like those table cloths you would buy for a party at the dollar store that are kind of plastic, stratchy.  It was awful!  The only thing they do have is relatively small number of designs with a LOT of sizes.  I know not everyone fits into a sample size 6, but that doesn't mean you have to buy an ugly, cheap dress (cheap looking, but actually quite a bit for what you're getting) just because it fits!  The advice I was given, and EXPERIENCED myself was that their dresses aren't worth what you pay for them, especially when the dress only looks good with the extra bustier, and (I can't think of the word for the can-can like, poofy, slip that goes under the dress) under garment slip for extra fullness.  By the time you add on all these extras it costs at least a couple hundred dollars, add that to the 500+ dollar dress you bought at David's Bridal, with their expensive alterations, and you end up spending a thousand dollars.  Back to the advice I was given:  When you buy a quality dress from a boutique, you shouldn't have to buy all these extras to make the dress look good, all that should be built into the dress, and the only extras you should pay for are accessories like tiaras, veils, shoes and jewelry.

I know I am a rambler, sorry.  I hope I helped everyone!  Congrats on your upcoming weddings and GOOD LUCK with your dress hunting, and best wishes for many years of happiness with your best friend/fiance! 

-Callie