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Hi,
I went to the following places:
1) Alexandra Bridal (SF)
2) The Wedding Party (Berkeley)
3) Amy Kuschel (SF)
4) Gesinee's Bridal (Concord - just saw BM dresses here)
#1 was very high-end. I wasn't crazy about their samples and wasn't ready to even try on the $$$$ dresses. It was kind of stuffy, but if you like Melissa Sweet and Vera Wang, they had a nice variety (but not a ton of dresses overall).
#2 had a few great simple gowns by Nicole Miller and other designers. The BM dress selection is amazing. Great vibe, very friendly.
#3 was my favorite - reasonable price range ($1500-$6,000)... My dress is an Amy Kuschel from eBay and I love it. In fact, I loved nearly all the dresses there.
#4 was a nightmare. I would not buy a dress from them - the woman helping us was on drugs. They did have a ton of BM dresses to try on though, and that helped me make that decision.
Good luck!
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I went to:
(1) Glamour Closet in North Beach SF- this place is great because they sell designer wedding gowns at outlet prices. These are like overstock dresses. You can find all major designers here and all the dresses are brand new. Only drawback is that the dresses are off-the-rack. Friendly service.
Website: www.glamourcloset.com
(2) Bridal Galleria - Embarcadero in SF - LOVELY dresses but it was too expensive for me. There are some people who have complained about rude service here but I got a friendly consultant. There were 2 dresses I fell in love with here but it was beyond my budget.
Website: www.bridalgalleria.com
(3) David's Bridal - Colma-I did not like their service here. I got yelled at because I touched one of their dresses even though it was still in the plastic bag and my skin never came in contact with the fabric of the dress. I was just looking to see if it was something I wanted to try on. I understand if I was touching the actual dress but this woman went berserko on me and acted like my hands were covered in oil. I didn't see much here.
Website: www.davidsbridal.com
(4) Trudy's - Campbell- bought my wedding dress here. The woman I worked with was mean though and I almost vowed never to buy anything here when I found the dress I liked. Everything is reasonably priced here and they have a huge selection. This is where most of my friends buy their dresses.
Website: www.trudysbrides.com
I tried three places:
#1: Clarissa in Walnut Creek: http://www.clarissabridal.com/
Hated the whole experience. It's a high end place with expensive dresses and VERY pushy saleswomen. I did try on one dress that I LOVED, but it was so far out of my price range I couldn't even entertain the idea. It really upset me that they would bring me a dress so far out of my range.
#2: Gesinee's in Concord: http://www.gesineesbridal.com/
Hated the experience there as well. They run you through like herded elephants - they're very busy and not very nice. HUGE selection though.
#3: Bride's Corral in Livermore
This is where I got my dress, a beautiful Maggie Sottero. It's a drive for most, but this is where we were getting married anyway so I was spending a lot of time out there (and I lived in Danville at the time). The two older women who have been there for many many years aren't necessarily the cheeriest people I've ever met, but were very very helpful and only did what I asked. We chose the dresses off the rack ourselves, and if I tried something I liked they would bring me more like it, but only in my price range.
The women there are very matter-of-fact and to-the-point, which I appreciated a lot with my personality though some might see it as mean. Their service was great, too, and we ended up ordering our tuxes and flower girl dress there as well. The BM dresses we picked there, and almost ordered, but I ordered them from a shop near my hometown in South Dakota for half the price instead since 3 of 4 of my BMs live there.
On an added note, Bride's Corral is in a place that doesn't look like it would house a bridal shop, and they do have a lot of outdated stuff there. But they also have good prices and a large selection of great new styles, too. I am from a small town, and the ONLY bridal shop near there is identical to this one. That is part of why I liked it so much.
HTH, and good luck!
I just started dress shopping in the greater Bay area--I went to Trudy's, and actually thought my consultant was really nice & helpful. I was impressed with their selection, and my consultant made a point of showing me a variety of dresses that were both in my price range & had some facet of design that I liked. My friend also shopped there for her wedding, while she was still "open budget" shopping and said she had a good time (though that's not where she ended up buying)
Since we were in Campbell, we also stopped by a place called Elegant Lace--wouldn't recommend it.
I'm planning on going next to the Wedding Party in Berkeley and possibly to Bella Bridesmaid (http://www.bellabridesmaid.com) in San Francisco since I'm interested in some Nicole Miller & Jenny Yoo designs...
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WOW, you girls are amazing! So thorough and informative. I can't express how much I appreciate all those mini reviews, too!
You ROCK!
Hi :)
Just thought I'd add to the conversation! I went to:
1. Amy Kuschel: Loved loved loved my experience there; my dream dress was actually the Rachel dress. Good, attentive service; not pushy at all.
2. Jin Wang: Beautifully architectured dresses. Jin's dresses are more ball gown and I had, at that point, grown to love trumpet/mermaid dresses. Nicole was the person that helped me, really sweet. Ended up to be much too expensive for me (4K+)
3. Marina Morrison: Bad service from the get-go. Girl on the phone first asked me what my budget was and since I wasn't sure yet, I replied that I was hoping not to spend more than $3500 and she shot back, "well our dresses start at that price range". Yuck.
4. Alexandra Bridal Salon: Originally I had crossed them off my list, as the Romona Keveza 559 and Melissa Sweet Lia were on the high end of my price range, but I ended up buying my dress here because of a sample sale that took place the following week!
Good luck!
I recommend Saks Bridal. Excellent service, exceptionally knowledgeable staff. The woman who helped me really listened to what I wanted and delievered.
I did not like Amy Kuschel. Also, do NOT go to Neiman Marcus bridal. Very bad experience.
Here's where I went: Gabrielle's Boutique - This is a MUST stop. http://www.gabriellesbridal.com Located in Los Gatos, this is where you go for personalized and boutique service. I found my dress here, spanish designer La Sposa. She has an awesome selection of Melissa Sweet, Yunko, La Sposa, etc. The prices were unbelievable. My dress was under $2k, fully beaded, excellent craftsmanship.
Marina Morrison - www.marinamorrison.com Dresses average $4-6k. Great for trying on Reem, Vera, Carolina Herrera. Out of my price range but a wonderful 'wedding dress shopping' experience. I have heard mixed reviews but they were lovely to me. (even though the dresses were out of my budget)
Saks - Union Square. I fell inlove with a $9k Carolina Herrera here. They have a surprisingly HUGE selection. And the prices match it! Go here, if nothing more than the experience. Wonderful service.
There's also Glamour Closet and Haute Bride. The best advice is try on EVERYTHING until you get a sense of what you like.
got my Henry Roth gown from Trudy's - and my BMs bought their Jim Hjelm gowns from Trudy's bridesmaid store right next door...
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I second MrsH - Glamour Closet. It gets mixed reviews, but I REALLY had a great experience. My dress was ~60% off (Pronovias - $800) and soooo wonderful. No appointments necessary. They are samples, so street sizes 6-8 typically. Good luck!
I was dreading shopping for a gown (strange, I know) and ended up putting it off until a couple of weeks ago when I went on a whirlwind shopping tour of the Bay Area to the following places:
1.) Neiman Marcus - I met with Stacey who was incredibly nice and not snooty at all. She made my first experience trying on wedding dresses wonderful. I liked two Vera Wangs, both priced around $5k.
2.) Glamour Closet - Definitely somewhere to check out if you are a sample size. I didn't find "the dress" here, but there was a good selection.
3.) Shadows, San Anselmo - they have a small selection of low- to mid-priced gowns. There were two gowns that would have worked nicely for my venue, both by Casablanca and both around $700.
4.) Trudy's - My MOH got her dress here and I heard that there was a great, affordable selection so made the drive to check it out. It might have been my salesperson, but I had a *horrible* experience. After describing what I was looking for, in detail, the person brought almost the exact opposite dresses for me to try on. After already being disappointed having tried on one too many monstrosities, the lady zipped my skin in a zipper which left me bleeding!! Would not recommend.
5.) Bridal Galleria - they were having a Vera Wang trunk show when I was there, so there was a 10% discount if the order was placed that weekend. I had a really nice experience. I found them super helpful and not snooty at all. The dresses I tried on were 3-5k. My 2nd and 3rd favorite dresses were here.
6.) Marina Morrison - I went here looking for a Lela Rose dress, that I found out was close to 10k. I had a good experience here as well, although I was intimidated having to walk out on the stage in front of everyone to check out the dress in front of the large mirror. Most dresses were between 3-6k.
7.) Jin Wang - I finally found my dress here. I think most of their dresses are around $4k. I met with Jin Wang herself, and what I loved the most is that she was able to modify any of their dresses to meet your needs (ie. adding straps to a strapless dress). I loved the whole experience, the setting, the personal feel. She's super nice -- try to request an appt. with her personally.
Hope this helps!! Good luck!!!
I'm surprised Bay Area Bridal in the Peninsula hasn't gotten mentioned. If your dress is available here, it's probably cheaper than anywhere else. They always run late and the service is inconsistent, at best, but it's not a bad place to consider when you've gotten your dress picked out.
I loved Jin Wang, but they have a limited selection and the dresses didn't work for me. I found my dream designer (Enzoani) there.
Papers and Petals in Burlingame had a few hard-to-find designers, but the owner was late, rude, and zipped my skin into a dress!! Avoid this place if you can.
My Trudy's consultant got excited when I liked an expensive dress, but then every dress she pulled after it was awful. I couldn't help but feel she was pushing me towards the higher comission dress.
David's Bridal sucks - I get argumentative just at "Hello"
Tomorrow I'm going to Nouvelle Bridal in Palo Alto and Trudys in Campbell. I hope I find something at one of those places. I'll check back in and let you gals know how it goes!
Elegant Lace in San Jose is a good one too. If possible, ask for Maria. She's the best!
Trudy's was really nice, but oh my god was it crowded. I went on a weekend and only brought one person with me. We had to share the mirror area with 2 other brides who each brought 3-5 people with them. My friend had to fight for her (1) seat!
I got my gown from Bridal Galleria in SF and found it to be a much more pleasant experience. I went in twice, once on a weekend, and always had lots of room and great service.
I also checked out Glamour Closet and thought the service was wonderful for what's supposed to be more of a discount sample store. I'm petite though, so sample dresses don't really work for me. If you're about a size 6-8, I think it's a great find.
The only place I would avoid is House of Fashion in Sacramento. I won't go into it, but check out Yelp if you want to see what I really think (and lots of others too).
I haven't bought my dress yet, but I had a really great experience looking at Mariel's Bridal in Redwood City. It's a bit of a smaller place, and they were really accomodating. My friend and I were both looking and they let us have a dual appointment. We met with the owner herself as well as one other salesperson - no feeling rushed or pressured, it was great! Their prices were very competitive. My only issue is that I think I want a tea length dress and they didn't have any, but if I end up deciding on something that they can get for me, I definitely want to order from there.
Here is my $0.02:
1) Trudy's in Campbell: This was the first place I looked. It's super crowded on weekends. My consultant was nice, but she seemed to be annoyed that I wanted to try on more than 5 dresses. She also didn't quite "get" what look I was going for.
2) Elegant Lace Bridal in San Jose: I really despise this place. The store is outdated and all the saleswomen are frumpy and pushy. I was pressured into buying a dress that I wasn't 100% sure about. Needless to say, I am now a two-dress bride because I realized soon afterwards that it wasn't the right dress. I wish they had been less pushy.
3) Unique Bride in Burlingame: I have mixed feelings about this place. They did a military promotion where they were giving away free sample dresses to fiance's of active duty military members, which is awesome. At the same time, they quoted me $400 more on a dress that I saw elsewhere for $3400. When I asked why that was, they told me that the designer probably raised her prices. False.
4) Marina Morrison in SF: Never stepped foot in this door, but they also quoted me higher than my Amsale was worth. They also gave me a very snooty impression over the phone and had the gall to ask me where I purchased my gown from when they called me 2 MONTHS after i contacted them to see if I was still interested in coming in.
5) Gabrielle's Bridal in Campbell: This was one of my favorite bridal shopping experiences. Great space, they let you take photos and they even write down the name of the dresses for you. That's just classy IMO.
6) Bridal Galleria in SF: I stopped in during a Lazaro trunk show. My consultant was nice, and I had a good experience here. Didn't buy my dress there but it seemed like a nice place.
7) Clarissa's Bridal in Walnut Creek: this is where I got my dream Amsale gown for $400 less than anywhere else I could find in the Bay Area. I love this place. The ladies that work there are super sweet and my consultant Lita was a dream to work with. She never pressured me and she was so wonderful. I just love them.
WOW, I've been to a lot of bridal shops! I didn't even realize...
I just wanted to post to say that I had the best experience at Trudy's, and my consultant was so wonderful and helpful. She looked at all the pictures I brought in and really got an insightful sense of what I wanted. I loved every dress she brought me, she was incredibly patient and also offered her own opinion, in a kind manner. The store also wasn't crowded at all when we went, but it was on a Friday. Anyway, just wanted to give it a good review, I personally had an excellent experience there!
Trudy's in Campbell was crowded, yes, but totally AWESOME! They have two sections - Bridal and Special Occasion. Both areas have a wide variety of choices in resonable prices. And they offer cupcake samples from a local bakery and water, too! I first went to my appointment in the bridal section and my consultant chose 10 dresses based on my photos. None of her selections was more than $1000! That was pretty awesome considering I expected all salons to try and get you to purchase the most expensive dress. I left really liking 1 dress, but on the way out, decided to step into the special occasions side to take a look myself. I'll admit, this was more my style - I like looking around myself and "pre-screening" what I try on, ya know? Anways, I found a dress nearly identical to the one I had tried in the bridal section, but half the price! (Likely becuase the word wedding wasn't directly attached to it.)
Though there were appointments for people in that section, too, a consultant was more than willing to let me do my own shopping and even saved a fitting room just for me to go back and forth into.
Trudy's was a truly fantastic experience!
BTW - The staff at Trudy's size you up when you walk in. If you dont look like you're going to drop $$$$ on a gown and a huge bridal party they will treat you like sh*t. I tried going there twice, walked out both times and will never be back. I had the money to spend but because I'm not white, upper class, I got treated very poorly.
I also received terrible service at Bay Area Bridal. I am pretty sure my consultant was with at least one other bride at the same time as she kept dissapearing mysteriously. On top of that, they were about an hour late for my appointment. We sat around waiting for about an hour.
I found my gown at Elegant Lace. The store does look shabby - it ain't Kleinfeld's. Ask for Ta'cara. She listened to what I wanted, and kept pulling dresses based on my feedback. I was never pressured into a sale, in fact I had 4 appointments (2+ hours each) before ordering. She did try and push the custom changes by Allure, but I ended up finding a gown that had what I wanted without changes. There is one lady (red hair, didn't catch her name, might be the manager) who did my measurements who was absolutely dreadful. The owner is a bit harsh as well. Ta'cara was a great bridal consultant in a sea of frumpies. The girl who helped us with BM dresses was also very nice.
@ Jo Jo Bananas - Wow! I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. :( I'd like to say, for the record, I'm not exactly white (1/2) and certainly not upper class, but I was treated very well. I even came in that day with beatup sneakers (but I was carrying shoes similar to what I want for wedding), a t-shirt, and my hair was in one of those lazy messy buns like I just stepped out of the shower (b/c I had). I certainly didn't look like anything special is my point. I'm glad you had a better experience at your last shop though.
If you like simple and classic gowns, then it is Amy Kuschel all the way. I found my gown there and have been really impressed with their customer service. In my opinion, you can't beat a gown that is made to your measurements, and a bridal salon that includes alterations in the cost of the gown.
I recently made a list of all the dress shops that I visited and was really surprised (and a little sheepish) about how many places I had actually visited! My momma is a saint for going with me to all these places! :D
1. J'Aime Bridal - Pleasanton, CA
Nice and clean place, I went on a Sat morning so there were three other girls trying on dresses, which I kind of liked because it took the pressure off a little bit. I appreciated that they had a lot of 800-1000 dresses. The salesgirl was pleasant.
2. Blossoms - Pleasanton, CA
They seem to do TONS of prom dress sales, so there's always a lot of teen girls buzzing around, but I personally think that they just add to the energy, in a good way. So don't expect a really serene environment! They have a lot of Jasmine, Casablanca, La Sposa, Mon Cheri. If you come here, they're pretty upfront about giving you a 15% discount, so ask! I came here three times (i know...), and every saleswoman was pretty nice and unintimidating.
3. Glamour Closet - San Francisco, CA
I loved this place, and Maddie was SO nice. Surprisingly honest, she was very very patient and sincere, which I always appreciate. I think they spray the store with pixie dust or something because it always smells like rainbows and unicorns in there. One thing I ultimately was weary of was the unknown alterations costs of trying to alter a sample size down to my size. Also, they come into the dressing room with you, so make sure to wear something that you won't be embarrassed to be seen in!
4. Sterling - Pleasanton, CA
I completely forget what brands were there, but they had quite a few dresses for ~ $550, which is nice. The salespeople are nice, but I can see where the guy there might make you feel slightly uncomfy.
5. Paris Bridal - San Francisco, CA
The woman who owns this place is very nice, and her shop is all windows and hardwood floors, so it's lovely. It's kind of in the boonies, but it might be worth checking out. Ask her about her sample gowns! She has some winners for $700 or so. Though I was kind of surprised how she threw her gowns around, she just toss them on the floor and behind boxes and things.
6. Jeremy's - San Francisco, CA
At any given time, they'll have a handful or so of bridal gowns, so it might be worth calling in to see what they have. I tried on my first Monique Lhuillier here, a really pretty sheath dress for 50 bucks that originally sold for, who knows! On a whim, I bought a dress for 39 dollars that was originally $3800, but it's not really my style. The point is, you might find some hidden treasure here!
7. Bridal Expo - Foster City, CA
I guess this is the Bay Area's version of Running of the Brides? Not many girls came, and nothing really too impressive here - there seemed to be tons of $249 dresses that were half off their original price.
8. David's Bridal - Milpitas, CA
The saleswoman was okay, everything was okay, but I was a little surprised by how much some of their stuff was. I also really wasn't a fan of wearing their gross tried on a million times heels and the gross crinoline skirt. Also, don't give our your information! I convinced them that I'd rather not fill out the card until I actually bought something from them, and I succeeded at giving them my "sweepstakes" email, so now their horrible horrible spam just floods that account.
9. Margene's - Oakland, CA
Vicky was really nice and very patient. A small little store, I found something that I would be okay that was $600 or so; I have no idea what brands they had. She also seemed to have lots of sample gowns upstairs.
10. Janene's - Alameda, CA
She has a good amount of sample gowns, nice ones! The only sadness is the new sample gown prices aren't marked on the tag, only the original pricing, so you kind of don't know how much it will be until you ask. Also, Janene is a little blunt and very matter of fact, which I found kind of off putting because it also comes off kind of condescending.
11. Rin's Bridal - San Carlos, CA
Lots of Pronovias and Enzoani gowns! The saleswoman was accommodating considering I had basically called fifteen minutes before to see about an appt. Their sample gowns are only 10 or 15% off the list price though, which seemed kind of meager.
12. Novella Bride - San Francisco, CA
A nice big airy dressing room! A fair amount of sample gowns, lots of Jasmine, Watters, Pronovias, and other stuff (I dun remember). Saleswoman was nice.
Haha now that I've looked at the list, I'm kind of embarrassed to see how many places I visited. Chalk one up for indecisiveness!
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Hi ladies!
I am in the SF Bay Area and looking for places to shop for a wedding gown. I'm looking for places that you might recommend from anything budget to high end. I'm keeping an open mind (and an open budget for now) to absorb everything and get an idea.
Any city, anywhere in the bay...Thanks!
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