Warning... This is a very LONG post.
I went to try on wedding dresses yesterday with my father and sister. We went to just take a look. I had the idea of having my wedding dress made. My roommate had her dress made and it came out BEAUTIFUL! It fit her body perfectly. She was very happy with the way it came out and the price was great too.
So my dress shopping experience wasn't the way I always thought it would be. Maybe I've been watching to much Say Yes to the Dress or something. I had an appointment for 11am in Northridge. I showed up just a little bit before just in case I needed to fill anything out and to browse the store a bit. The store didn't open until 11am so I stood outside the store with 3 other brides. 1 of the brides didn't have an appointment and the other bride did. They opened the store around 11:05am. The bride that didn't have an appointment walked inside the store before me and she told the lady in the front that she did not have an appointment and that she wanted to try some dresses on. The lady had her fill out paper work and then told me to do the same. She didn't ask me if I had an appointment or anything. The other bride who had an appointment had been taken into the back already and now the girl without an appointment was being taken into the back while I just sat in the front. I'm getting annoyed. Another lady approached me and asked me what I needed. I told her that I finished filling out the paperwork and that I had an appt at 11:00am. She hands me a magazine and tells me to choose dresses that I like. I explain to her that I already have pictures and style numbers for the dresses I liked. I pulled them from their website. She looks at a sheet of paper and tells me that my appointment today is with Barbra. The store called me the day before to confirm my appointment and left a message telling me I had an appointment with Barbra. The lady then gets on the phone and I over hear her saying that she is the manager. When she got off the phone she complains to me about whoever she was on the phone her. I ask her if the first lady who was up here happened to be Barbra because if it is she is helping someone else (the non appointment Bride) try on dresses. I pointed out who I was talking about and she confirms that yes, that is Barbra. So basically Barbra is helping a walk in with dresses not the Bride who scheduled an appointment with her over a week ago. I'm getting even more annoyed. The manager is now trying to figure out what to do. She sends another worker to check on Barbra and see what she is doing. She explains that Barbra is helping a bride find a dress. They go back in forth for a minute and I'm annoyed now so I jump in and explain that I'm supposed to have an appointment at 11am with Barbra. The worker finally leaves and comes back and starts walking me to the back. I try to ask her whats going on and she seems like she is now getting upset with me for asking questions. She is also trying to hurry me up, which I didn't like.
She tells me to put on a corset and walks away. I wasn't sure if I'm supposed to get undressed at this point or just put on this corset. I had to ask her if I should take my pants off ? I had no clue what was going on. I didn't know if she was going to walk around the store with me or what! She finally comes back with a few dresses that I had showed her. I'm also trying to explain to her that I need sleeves. That I'm a LDS bride. She just doesn't get it. I explain that I need to be covered up and she tells me that they can't do that. I explained that I would get alterations somewhere else if needed but that if she has anything with straps or sleeves that I would like to try it on. She seemed like she was getting annoyed with me and made me feel like I was being too demanding, I tried to explain again that the reason is because I need to be modest and it would be easier to build sleeves on a dress that already has straps of some sort. She brings me strapless dresses and I try some on. They were beautiful! They really were but I knew that it's not the way the dress was going to look like in the end. I had to try to imagine how it would look like after I get it fixed. Some of them would be hard to fix and others would just look like a completely different dress.After a few No's I was in the dressing room with her and she seemed to be annoyed with why I said No to the dresses. She then made a comment about how I'm not going to find a dress here because they are all going to be like the other dresses. I was offended by it because the tone and look on her face almost made me feel like she was telling me that I'm wasting her time. I asked her if she would please bring me the two dresses that I had pictures of that had sleeves. She seemed like she didn't really want to bring them. Almost like it was a waste of time but I insisted. She explained that one of the dresses was only for plus size brides so she wouldn't be able to bring that one but that she will get the other one.
When I put the dress I requested on, I loved it :) So now I'm torn between two dresses. I tried them both on and she started being nicer when I gave her credit for finding the dresses even though I'm the one who found it and insisted she bring it. I felt that I needed to make her feel good so that I could get the help I wanted. I just wanted it to be a good experience especially since my father was here for it. I asked for the pricing on the two dresses and it was about a $1000 difference. I noticed that the less expensive dress (#2) would also need the least amount of alterations and I would be able to wear it inside the temple. The 1st dress would need to have more alterations and that it would also ultimately change the complete look of the dress. It was more of a dramatic dress. I was scared that in 10 years I would look back and say " WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!". Almost like the puffy sleeve dresses I've seen. So with the decision made I asked her again on the price and she explain that because of the sale that was extended for today only it was $50 off. Keep in mind that I had received an e-mail that morning that said it was extended for another week. She tells me that this dress might be discontinued and that she would double check. She comes back saying that it's not being discontinued and that it was actually $100 off of the sale tag but that the sales ends today!! She made sure I knew that they received an e-mail that morning saying that the sale was going to end that day.
Before I made my final decision I had a few more questions. It took a while for me to get the chance to ask her since she started helping 2 other brides. So she is now dressing a total of 3 different brides.I'm confused about the appointment situation. I don't understand how I get time taken away from my consultation for other people who didn't even make appointments. I made an appointment over a week ago. All I wanted was one hour with a dress consultant. She finally makes her way over and I get to ask her my questions. What if I change my mind? How long do I have to cancel the order and what fee's would I have to pay? She said that I can cancel at any time. The dress comes in 2 different colors and I was torn between the two. She said that I could order it in one color and if I decided I want the other color instead that I could just order the other and return the one that came. She explained that I would have no fee's and that if I just decided that I want another dress that it would be no problem! I told her that I wanted the dress. I was really excited and made my way to the front to get rung up by the manager. She starts ringing me up and I sign and then she hands me the receipt after the transaction is over and says okay this is a final sale. I look at her and ask her why? I explained that I had asked the consultant about this and she said that I could change my mind and exchange it if needed. She looks at me like I'm crazy and asked me if I was having doubts about the dress. I explained that yes I was. I was torn between two dresses and that I wasn't sure which color to choose. She told me thats not possible and then proceeded to tell me that the consultant was wrong and that basically there is nothing she could do about it. I told her that if that were the case she should have informed me before the transaction was finished that this was a final sale. She then told me that this dress is final sale because it's being discontinued. I told her that the consultant told me it wasn't being discontinued. I'm starting to get upset because no one in the store know what they are doing or talking about!!! She finally says that it's okay. That if I needed to she would exchange the dress in case I change my mind later. I had her write it on the receipt.
When I got into the car I decided to call the bridal store in Monrovia. I wanted to double check on the price and the sale. I felt like I they were trying to trick me and that they had been lying to me. While on the phone they explained me that the price was correct but that the sale would not be over for another week. That they were also e-mailed in the morning with the extension. I was so upset with them. They had been lying to me so they could make a sale. I just didn't want to deal with it anymore. If I were to walk back into that store I would have gone off. In the end I was happy with the dress. I felt good about it after I got home and show my roommate. Don't get me wrong though. I will be e-mailing Davids Bridal and letting them know how awful my experience was at the location. While on the phone with the Monrovia store I noticed the difference in costumer service. They were so nice and helpful on the phone.
Now I wish I could put up some pictures but I'm afraid Jorge might take a look and see it. I will post some of a two dresses I ended up not getting.
I did like this dress a lot but I felt I liked it more as a fun dress rather then my actual Wedding dress.
This dress was really busy up top. I also didn't like the way my body looked.
In the end I'm happy and excited for my wedding dress. I'm so happy I found it and I can't wait!!
