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I went to RK Bridal yesterday and I think it's a great place to start. You don't need an appointment and they have a zillion dreses! MANY are under $1000 I worked with Gilda and she was awesome! I'm 99% sure I'll be buying from her!.
@brklynmmbb: I second RK bridal. GREAT place and they have TONS of dresses as well as bridesmaids, mother of the bride, accessories, etc.
My recommendation is to go on a weekday morning if you can as I hear weekends get crowded.
I've also heard the bridal garden is really good.
I had a great time at the Pronovias flagship and I had a similar budget. Plus you get a glass of champagne while you shop.
@LGenz: Pronovias Flagship is fantastic too. And their dresses look and feel MUCH pricier than they are.
I never got a glass of champagne though. I went there twice.
A friend of mine did the running of the brides. She actually went a little later so she missed the big rush and there were still dresses. She got her dress for a steal! It's not crazy at all.
I second Pronovias! I got my dress there - it ended up being a dress that someone never picked up so I got it for 40% off too!
@brklynmmbb: I third RK Bridal! They have a HUGE selection of gowns at all price points, and they have bridesmaid and MOB/MOG dresses as well. Also, if you order your gown from them, you get a discount on all of your accessories (if you purchase from them), a free pair of shoes (if you like a pair that they have in stock, in your size, when you pick up your gown), and they will only charge a MAX of $350.00 for any and all alterations.
They also have a pretty large selection of discontinued/sample/sale dresses.
if you go, make sure that you get there 90 minutes before they close in the evening, because they stop taking people back after that time, to make sure there is enough time to get everyone in.
Demtrios at Macy's - I bought my gown for 1300. They took a few hundred off from the original price.
I went to the ROB in Atlanta. I went a couple hours later to miss the crush, no big deal. They have thousands of dresses and only a fraction of the people are actually buying since people bring an entourage. Some recommendations:
1 - Wear undergarments that you don't mind the entire world seeing--NO privacy. One girl wore a bikini, another wore a slip
2 - bring a full length mirror or you may have to wait in line to see in one
3 - most of the dresses were sample sizes--bridal 8-12 which translates into street 4-8/10. There were many dresses that were smaller and larger, just not as large of a selection
4 - bring at least one person with you. If you know someone knowledgeable about alterations, that is helpful. Since these dresses travel from city to city, some of them are a little beat up. If you know what can be fixed and what can't, that is helpful
5 - know your brands and prices, includng the second hand market. There are many good deals there but less expensive brands could probably be purchased elsewhere for less.
Good luck!
RK is great as a starting point, esp if you're not super sure what you're looking for. they are very no pressure there, and I worked with Jo, who is FABULOUS! love her!
and i cannot recommend the White Gown in DUMBO enough!!! it's a lovely little salon, the dress size range they had was impressive, and all of their consultants and seamstress are so so friendly and helpful and full of ideas and willing and patient. i probably went there like 4 times and they seemed to happy to see me even though i didn't end up buying anything there. they always seem to be having sales too and they are very good about telling you what they have or if they will get a paricular style for a sample sale or trunk show.
thank you!!! I am aiming to hit most of the above over my search, its daunting but i can't wait until i find my dress!! everything for me feels like its held at a standstill until i find it!
Don't count Kleinfeld out completely...I did the same thing and here's what ended up happening.
I bought my (first) dress at RK. 4 months later when it arrived in July, I HATED it. I went to Kleinfeld on a whim and JB was able to get the EXACT dress I wanted for under $2000. AND it was a rush order (I needed it by October!) It happened to be a Henry Roth trunk sale and my dress was $1600. I went to M&J Trimming (best store ever!) and made a sparkly belt for $80. I also got my veil at M&J for $200 (though I'm sure you could get a veil cheaper somewhere else).
I HIGHLY recommend shopping at Kleinfeld and particularly JB. She never made me feel bad for having such a small budget. She was a great mix of savvy new yorker and sympathetic mom :-) When I went to Kleinfeld to pick up my dress I gave JB a big hug to thank her. All the staff were just lovely from start to finish. JB also gave me a recommendation of an alterations lady so that I wouldn't have to pay the $500 minimum at Kleinfeld (in the end, I had her sewing on the belt that I had made so it ended up costing me around $450, but still cheaper than Kleinfeld).
You can see the belt I made and the dress in our wedding highlight video. We just got it and I'm still reeling with excitement!
Have any of the NYC bees been to Birnbaum and Bullock? They have a sample sale coming up and there's a dress of theirs I absolutely adore (based on website pictures), so I've made an appointment and am crossing my fingers that it's available in my size and deeply discounted. ;-) They have great reviews on Yelp, etc. but I'm curious if anyone has first-hand experience.
Update: I went to J.Crew on the weekend and it was great, not too much pressure and the prices were reasonable. Didnt find my dress though :( i have made an appointment at Provonias and Alexandria Boutique (in Queens) for this weekend and Birnhaum & bullock next week, so excited!! thanks all :)
I just booked an appointment at Birnhaum & BUllock as well! i saw one of their dresses a while ago on a blog and fell in love, so thanks for letting us know about the sample sale!
I'm starting my hunt this weekend too! Similar budget - under $2k.
I made appointments at Pronovias, Lovely Bridal and Birnbaum and Bullock. I'm also going to swing through RK Bridal because you don't need an appt. I've heard great things about all of them so I'm psyched!
@brklynmmbb: Glad to be of help!
@LizzieDee, please report back on Lovely.
Hi guys! I'm not sure if you're into the sample store thing, but the Bridal Garden is amazing! That's where I found my dress (went to Kleinfeld too). The best part is that all of their proceeds go to the New York City school system. The consultant I had was super knowledgable and sweet and we had a great time picking our own dresses. They have a lot of designer gowns and apparently they do alterations too (I'm in cali so I just brought mine back with me unaltered). It was only a couple blocks from Kleinfeld at 21st and 6th.
Another vote for RK! That place is amazing; went in this past weekend and walked out less than 2hrs later with my dream dress -- way under budget, too. Nicole was my consultant and she was fabulous. Gave her honest opinion about the dress, the designer, and the overall quality/price of the situation. I picked my 5 dresses, she picked a few more for me to try on, and wouldn't you know, "the" dress ended up being one of the ones she pulled!
I disagree with others though--you should know, if only generally, what kind of style you're going for. RK easily had as many dresses as the previous 5-6 shops I'd visited COMBINED. If I hadn't gone in with a vague idea of what I was looking for, I'd probably still be there.....
I absolutely HATED RK Bridal. I went first thing in the morning on a Saturday and I worked with the worst saleswoman. They had me pick 6 dresses to try on, but after I tried them on, the woman was basically like "Well, that's it." She said because they get so busy on the weekend, she couldn't spend any time with me at all, which I was so not expecting. It was awful. She said weekends at RK Bridal are really only meant for women who have already tried on dresses or know what they are looking for.
I bought my dress from Bridal Reflections in Massapequa, LI. It's about an hour away. They have a Fifth Ave store but they say that's for their higher-end designers. The Massapequa location has the sub-$2K dresses. I had a whole hour carved out for me, it was not rushed, the two women I worked with (especially Christina) were super nice. They have a pretty good selection, but they didn't have everything so my advice is if you want to try on something specific, make sure you ask if they have it!! Because they might not.
Hi girls, I had an awesome experience at Gabriella's (14th and Hudson) and at Lovely Bridal in the Village. The staff made me feel like a queen, and there was no pressure at all... my consultant at Gabriella's (Leah) actually encouraged me to continue shopping around and come back when I was ready to commit, and wrote down all the info for the dresses I liked so I could reference it. I loved my time at each shop. Heading to Designer Loft on Saturday and Kleinfeld for the sample sale on Monday.
@psudopoddy: I also went there and she was awesome. I think I worked with the owner. I should check out RK Bridal but time is running out. My wedding is in July and I have no idea what I want. I wanted a lace dress but they were not as stunning on me as I thought they would be. I've gone to POB and Pronovias and Amsale. Now I am facing the others. Maybe I will see you at Kleinfeld's on Monday OR at the Running of the Brides next month.
@psudopoddy: I bought my dress from Leah at Gabriella. I LOVE that place and they are SO amazing.
I actually talked to Gabriella herself last week and she suggested I get my dress altered at the designer's studio and that they would organize everything for me.
I went to Gabriella THREE times before deciding on my dress and they were lovely EVERY time!
Another recommendation for RK Bridal!! Went in to just poke around a try a few dress on, ended up buying one that day for almost half my budget. Great place!!
Going to Lovely this weekend! Hoping to find something but my mind is so cluttered with dresses I can't decide!
@AJoy77: I feel the same way. I have tried on way too many dresses. I didn't think it was going to be that hard. Um, I went to RK Bridal. I didn't really like their dresss though :(?
@Frog E.: I'm getting my dress from Birnbaum & Bullock for my wedding next month. Robert is fabulous. You are basically working w/ the designers, so they know everything about how a dress is made and how it should fit on you. The personal care and attention they give to their clients is unique - no hard sell. I checked out several other places before deciding on B&B and they were not nearly as knowledgeable about their dresses. I highly recommend checking out the boutique. Hopefully, you'll find something wonderful at the sale!
So i got my dress!! so excited :) I ended up getting it at RK Bridal!
Here was my review:
J.Crew Bridal Shop (Madison Ave): really sweet girl helped us out, saw a couple of nice dresses but not the one.
Pronovias: AWESOME girl helping us out (i forget her name). The dresses and salon were beuatiful and there was no pressure to buy. I saw one i really liked but i wasn't 100% sure (read: wasnot the one)
Alexandria Boutique (in Forest Hills): i went because they carry Casablanca gowns and i had seen one online that i wanted to try on. Sales girl was pretty useless, she tried to push me into a dress i really didnt like and tell me that i would have to pay a rush free. Needless to say i didnt get my dress there.
RK Bridal: i went on MLK day on Monday and in my hopeful mind i thought it wasnt going to be busy.. WRONG! i got there when it opened and almost had a heart attack when i walked in. Thousands of dresses, racks and racks of them! i had a minor panic attack before rushing to the back and signing my name. I was still waiting for my MOH at this point so decided to start scouring the racks to pick my 7! i eventually got the hang of it and eventually my MOH showed up to help me. Even though i was there when it opened i was still 10th on the list. I ended up having to wait for an hour and half or so before getting my own room to start trying. My sales assistant was Sabrina and she was AWESOME! we were with her for an hour and a half, she didnt rush us and the dresses i tried on were (yes a bit grimy) - but lovely, and a lot cheaper than anywhere else! I ended up getting my dress there and i'm in love its soooo gorgeous. it was on t he higher end of my budget but i don't even care, LOVE IT! it comes in May 9th so plenty of time for alterations.
Did anyone who bought a dress at RK BRidal do their alterations there? the reviews on line are scaring me!
Thanks for all your suggestions bees!!
@mallard: Eep, I bought my dress at the Birnbaum & Bullock sale! Amazingly enough, they had the dress I loved from the website in what turned out to be my size. Not quite as big a discount as I had hoped for, but still. :) You're right, the guys were really nice and I'm looking forward to doing the alterations with them in the future.
For anyone else who's going or thinking of it, there were a lot of dresses in 6, 8 etc. but not much in larger sizes (I'm a street 12 and saw only a few dress in 12 or larger). Worth checking out if you're in that range, though!
I wouldn't rule out Kleinfeld's right away...they have dresses under $2,000 and will work with you on pricing...Also maybe try Reem Acra, they have some GORGEOUS ones for around $2,000...I had reverse sticker shock with some of the dresses!
I tried demetrios at Macy's and the bridal garden. However, I ended up getting mine at Alexandra boutique in forest hills. Much better pricing!
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Hi bees!
Any recommendations for a great 'first place' to start your dress hunt in the city/brooklyn/queens? i really don't want to spend more than $2000 on the whole outfit (i.e. shoes, acessories, dress, alterations) so maybe Klienfields is out.. any suggestions???
Also i am thinking of doing Running of the Brides in Feb - am i crazy???
Thank you!