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Has anyone else run into this? I walked into a bridal salon and they told me I have to leave my camera in the car. I had called and asked that question when I made the appointment. They said it would be fine and most brides do this. I get there and they said NO Camera! Bees I turned around and walked back out. I am to indecisive when it comes to my dress. I need pics if I am going to narrow my dress down. The ones I love on me I HATE in the pics so no way am I going to not take pics. I drove 2.5 hrs I was ticked. Was I too extreme in walking out?
Every salon but David's Bridal I went in to said I couldn't take pictures. I think most of them say that. They didn't let me take pictures until I purchased a dress.
i've heard of this - its to protect the dress design from being copied. I HATE IT. i can't stand how brides are treated somtimes. it is ridiculous to not allow a bride to take photos of herself in a potential risk. the policy just alienates brides, and if a store prevented me from doing so, they would lose my business. plenty of respectable salons at al price levels allow for photos. try to find your fav dresses at another salon that will let you snap shots.
I understand brides frusteraton when it comes to not allowing pictures. However, a lot of stores/vendors don't because all of the replicas being made in China. I've had some stores that let you as long as you delete the pictures before you leave.
i don't understand that at all because aren't these dresses most likely in magazines and all over the internet anyway? how are the designers really being protected?
I took my iphone into the dressing room and took pics LOL. If i spend a couple thousand on a dress you better believe I am going to take a pic of it!
i understand about replicas being made, but is it worth it to basically say you don't trust your customers? i mean, really what are the odds that the brides you see on a day to day basis are going to send photos to china?
I think I wouldn't have been so mad except they basically lied to me. I wouldn't have even made the appt. let alone driven all that way if I had known they weren't going to let me take pics.
I had 1 store tell me I couldn't take pictures and I turned around and walked out too. I needed to have that proof in my hand for later when I made my final decision.
I didn't run into this at all at the stores around here. At each and every store I went to, we took pictures of me in the dresses. Thank goodness we did, the pics saved me from a dress disaster. I would have bought a dress that looked amazing in the magic bridal salon mirrors and looked so horrible in the photos.
However, a lot of stores/vendors don't because all of the replicas being made in China
i dont understand how is that any different from me having the dress name and looking up the designers website for a photo? heck, ebay is full of designer photos for replica dresses
@secondchances: A lot of place don't allow cameras and the reason I am told is to protect the designers, which is rubbish since you can get most photos online. As someone who took tons of photos at the salons that did allow cameras I can see pros and cons to doing so.
While it is benefical to look back and see yourself in the dresses if the photos of your face/hair etc aren't to your liking it can affect the overall feeling towards the dress. The boutique that I bought my dress at allowed photos but strongly recommended not using them to make the decision.
It is really so silly because everybody has a camera on their cellphone. Are they going to tell you not to bring your cell phone in??
My experience was that most salons were ok with allowing pictures.
Hmm I guess it is good then I always chop of heads in pictures (accidentally). LOL I hear what you are saying about hair, last time by the tenth one my hair was standing up straight.
I am not a clothes person. As someone who never shops I can't pick up a style and say this will look good on me. I am trying on all kinds of styles and like such a wide variety of things that this is sooo hard. Without pics to come back to I would be lost. When I get it narrowed down under six I will be posting to get the hives opinion.
Hmm I guess it is good then I always chop of heads in pictures (accidentally). LOL I hear what you are saying about hair, last time by the tenth one my hair was standing up straight.
I am not a clothes person. As someone who never shops I can't pick up a style and say this will look good on me. I am trying on all kinds of styles and like such a wide variety of things that this is sooo hard. Without pics to come back to I would be lost. When I get it narrowed down under six I will be posting to get the hives opinion.
i did not have that problem at any of the salons i went to. heck the consultants helped with pics in most cases. i had one hide behind me while holding the back of the dress tight so it would look like the right size for my pic.
The first place I went to allowed pictures. I took tons of pictures in my favorite dress, and my consultant put different sashes, veils, and jewelry on me. It was awesome and I had a great experience. I went into it pretty upset because I just assumed they had a dress I wanted to try on, but they didn't (they did say they'd be able to order it though).
I went to another bridal salon that did carry the dress I really liked, and they would not allow pictures. They didn't give the replica reason though. They said that some designers don't want pictures of "normal" girls in their dresses floating around. Huh?! She said the girls come in without makeup and without their hair done and make the dress look bad. The consultant was pretty rude the whole time and never left my site (even in the dressing room). Luckily my sister was able to snap 1 quick picture for the 30 seconds she left me alone (to grab a veil). Other than that, she was with me the whole time!! Needless to say, I called the first bridal salon that day and made an appointment to get measured and ordered the dress from them instead =)
I was definitely pretty upset when they said no pictures, but there was no way I was walking out because they had a lot of dresses I had been wanting to try on.
Wow, you girls have had some pretty rude stores/consultants! I feel very lucky that at all 4 of the bridal stores I went to they were all fine with pictures and even helped take them!
Wow, I was alllowed to take pictures everywhere too. I'd be quite uncomfortabe if I didn't have the pics as a reference later.
And as a PP said above...dresses are in magazines and online everywhere...how exactly are their dresses "protected?"
@krobbie: wow that is totally rude and snobby. I would feel like crap if someone told me I make their dress look bad, and I definitely wouldn't buy from them. Heck, that makes me not wanna buy any designer dresses.
I always thought the main reason they didn't let you take pictures was to prevent bargain shopping...if you have a picture of the dress you can remember it and look for a better price elsewhere. Regardless, I had my matron of honor take sneaky pictures with her cell phone of the dresses I liked. We had a system...I would give her a signal and she would take out her cell phone and pretend to be texting lol
Every salon I visited encouraged pictures...from the couture salon (Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera, Monique Lhuillier) to the low end one (Casablanca, Maggie). I never brought it up...they did!
Perhaps they did this because I was shopping alone? They may have thought I needed to consult with my mother?
@Bellini:EXACTLY! It is saying they don't trust me.
And, hey, those china replicas come out similar but not the same. If I want an expensive dress, a $500 chinese replica won't do the designer one any justice.
I actually ended up NOT buying a dress from one of my favorite designers because I just didn't have enough pictures. (She let you take pictures of your one top choice dress only.) Turns out my thoughts kept going to a different one. Hmm.
It is probably so you don't go to another store to buy it at a cheaper price.
They also cut the tags out of dresses so you don't know the designer. WHICH IS ILLEGAL!
i took them on my phone , just put my phone on silent.
i had my cousin (she went with me) come in the dressing room with me to "help me in my dress" and had her take pics !!!!
here is a great article
http://www.windsorpeak.com/bridalgown/advice/index.htm
Click on the third article on the side "the ugly truth about bridal retail shops"
Thankfullu, the salon I went to didn't have any problems with it. I've heard about this happening to other people though. While I guess I understand where they're coming from, I definitely think if they don't allow cameras, that's something they need to tell you when you schedule your appointment, especially knowing how far you had to drive out there!
I read in a book once that is was because they want to protect the designer and that way you can't take a pic and then have it replicated, which made sense until I realized that you can get pictures of almost every desginers dress on-line...
@krobbie: The reason they gave you just ticks me off. They don't want "normal" girls to model their dresses okay then why are they trying to sell them to us normal girls? Man that steams me even worse now.
@eloping: I'm guessing it's b/c you could really take detail pics of the dress, not the entire dress? But it's funny b/c it's been this way for years. I remember a friend getting married in the mid-90's and running into this, well before digital cameras or china replicas.
It's only the shady bridal salons that won't let you take pictures. I've never run into this problem except in places I'd never buy from anyway!
When I was shopping, it seemed like a lot of stores wouldn't tell you the name of the dress until you bought it so you couldn't go to another store and price check it.
I HATE this rule! I've ruled out quite a few dresses because they weren't very flattering in pictures (sometimes the lighting in the salon is so great you don't realize your gut is sticking out!). I've only run into this once, but my MOH snapped a picture on her blackberry when the consultant left to get something.
I really hated this rule too. So I just used my cell phone :P
I went to a salon that didn't allow pictures but I had an awesome consultant who allowed my Mom to take them. She would leave us alone in the room for a few minutes and then come back in. I think it's an absolute bullshit rule and I don't think you overreacted by walking out :)
@georgiaann: I must say I strongly disagree, I mean would you call Kleinfeld's shady?
The places that didn't allow photos (in my personal experience shopping) were often very nice and classy, it was just a store policy that they asked us to respect. While I don't agree with the policy I adhered to it to at least try on dresses. I will say that the boutique I did buy my dress at allowed me to take photos of the top contenders without any issue (although see their warnings about photos in my original post). I was very grateful that they were so willing to allow it.
No picture equal no money from me. Every designer has a website--if someone wants to copy their designs, it isn't from little 'ole me. While it would really frost me that I drove 2 hours, you did the right thing.
@secondchances: You have to understand that in this day and age many people are shopping online. They go into the store try on the gown and go home and look it up to order it online from a discount vendor. This practice of shopping really hurts the small boutiques who spend approximatly 1 1/2 hours with each individual. It does not hurt to ask as you are standing there in the gown and loving it. At that point many consultants will allow you to snap a shot.
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