See the main blog at http://thebridalblacklist.blogspot.com/
I would like to welcome you to the Bridal Blacklist. Here we will discuss and list all of the bad vendors in the bridal business. I will only provide factual information found on vendors and also repost stories from others who had poor service or bad experiences from their bridal professionals. We do not attack vendors and/or service providers in the industry without due process and we ask that the service or vendor in question to reply to complaints or issues. This is a place to give a service to the future brides to be on what to expect and not to pass judgement or make defaming remarks to any business and/or individual.
Our rules are simple. Please be considerate towards others and do not directly attack an employee or service provider personally verbally or threaten them in any way. Do not provide personal information on any service provider or employee of a vendor. Keep the language to a PG level. Do not promote your own business. If any of these rules are broken, you post will be removed.
We hope this becomes a valuable service.
Thank you,
Jane
We get mentioned on Xomba:
Kleinfeld Bridal Getting Bad Publicity!
Kleinfeld Bridal has lately been getting bad publicity from dissatisfied clients. The blog The Bridal Blacklist has had comments from clients giving their bad bridal experiences, ranging from bad services to snobbish attitude from the staff.
Maybe a look at the site might help you or a friend if you are planning for a weeding.
Tietheknotbride.com is a front for Fatasiabride.com
Tie The Knot Bride, at http://www.tietheknotbride.com is an internet cloak front for Fantasia Bridal and Cocktail, at http://fantasiabride.com .
You should always be concerned with web retailers that hide behind a fake name when trying to sell you your wedding gown or bridesmaid dress online. This only spells trouble.
Tie the knot bride is not an authorized retailer of any of the dresses listed on their website. If you were to get a fake or have a problem, the manufacturer and/or designer would claim that it is a fake and wash their hands of now your problem since they do not authorize this company to even sell their dresses.
But you should not worry about this. Their return policy is fantastic, see below:
All sales are final and we are unable to cancel any orders once placed. Due to the special nature of our products, we can not exchange or refund under any circumstances. Also note, once an order has been placed, our manufacturers are unable to make changes or cancel any orders. Therefore, please be sure your specifications (color, style, size, quantity, delivery, etc.) are correct before placing your order.
"So, don't worry about your money, you wont see it again."
Fantasia Bridal and Cocktail is not an authorized retailer of Jim Hjelm Occasions bridesmaid dresses.
Reviews:
Terrible!Posted by taracat4 on 2008/02/22
For having 10 people in a bridal party you would think the staff would have been more helpful! They were very rude and would not reveal the designer names, sizes were limited and quick to rush you out the door. Although slightly cheaper then other boutiques in the area the $15 is well worth going elsewhere!!!
Horrible ExperiencePosted by Kayla151 on 2007/12/11
Going to a bridal shop is supposed to be fun and exciting. Instead it was stressful and Fantasias made me feel unwelcome. They cut the tags out of the gowns and refused to tell me who the designer was. I was barely allowed to touch the gowns. I'm not a large woman yet everything was too small to try on so the sales women simply held the gown infront of me... I could go on but I think you get the point.
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 8:37 AM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: fantasia, fantasiabride, tie the knot bride, tietheknotbride
Buyer Beware, If The Deal Is Too Good To Be True, It Probably Isn't A Deal!
You can't buy a fabulous gown on Ebay for $15.37!!
There are some amazing deals on wedding dresses on Ebay.
Some are bona fide bargains, some are cheap imported "knock offs" of designer gowns. Don't risk being disappointed when your dream gown arrives and it isn't what you are expecting.
Ebay is over run with wedding gown listings that are imports from the far east. They are NOT the manufacturers of the original wedding dresses you've seen in the bridal magazines and the bridal salons. They are not from the same factories as the original gowns. They are offering "knock off" dresses at dirt cheap prices, with HIGH shipping fees. The quality is inferior, the fit is inferior, the designs are either outdated or modified from the original. I've seen a couple of "knock off" dresses and was amazed at what was being passed off to the Ebay customer. Words can't describe what we've seen. Well, we CAN describe our thoughts, but this is a family forum. ;)
The sellers use photos from the original designers catalog or web site. That is a violation of copyright laws and agains Ebay's rules as well. You are led to think that the gown is a Bonny or a Maggie, but you aren't getting anything close to the original other than an unaurthorized photo.
Many of the major bridal manufacturers police the internet for unauthorized photos. Maggie and Mon Cheri are vigilant with their designs and photos as are many other bridal manufacturers. If the original manufacturer finds a knock off of their design, they'll have the auctions taken off Ebay. If you ordered from that company, you risk NOT getting your gown or not getting the protection from Ebay on the sale.
Most of the major bridal manufacturers have copyrights on their gowns and laces. They persue the copyrights vigorously. They employ the designer. The designer creates the original design. The design team and the marketing team test market the gowns. They employ models, fashion stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists and the top photographers to showcase their designs. The manufacturers makes the gowns, they either own their own factories or are contracted to a factory. The marketing team steps in to market the gowns. The company owns the rights to the gowns, designs and photographs. They use fine fabrics, they have the fit perfected and they market the gowns themselves. Their factories DO NOT market gowns. They are offering you the best and their name is at stake.
The knock off artists are stealing the designs, the photos and the hard work of the major bridal manufacturers. They are churning out a look alike dress with less embellishment, inferior fabrics, inferior fit. You not only pay a large fee for shipping to the USA, you are also liable for customs fees once your purchase hits the USA. Customs fees are nonnegotiable. You pay or you don't get your gown. Add that onto the bargain price, and ask yourself, "Am I saving money?"
Don't expect much from a $29 wedding dress.
I saw a group of wedding dresses priced at $29, they were copies of Sweetheart gowns we sold in the 1980's and early 90's with a few modern gowns thrown in. Their feedback was good, but their feedback was from selling swords. Not one was from a wedding dress. Hmmm.
You get what you pay for! If you buy a dress for $29, you get a dress worth $29.00!
The fabric may be thin low grade satin that wrinkles or thin organza that is used in the cheapest prom dresses. It WILL wrinkle and be very difficult to press or steam. When you steam acetate satin, the steam will leave spots and water rings on the dress that you can't remove. Good quality bridal satin won't leave water spots. Cheap organza will wrinkle and crinkle and "bubble" and you can't press it out. Its in there for life.
The beading may be heat applied or the sequins may be caviar beading, heat applied silver dots instead of hand sewing of the beadwork. You won't get Swarovski crystals, you will get plastic beads cut to look like crystal, but they won't have the shine and sparkle of fine Swarovski crystals. If the beading is sewn, it may be machine done, its put on by a chain stitch. If you shed one bead, and the entire bead area will come loose. They may also use large faux pearls which take up more area instead of mini pearls and mini sequins which give off a more delicate look to the gown. The embroidery is generally large and garish instead of petite and detailed. Or they may employ large battenburg embroidery with large cut outs which was popular in the 90's and not being shown in today's bridal collections.
The bodices may not be properly boned to stay up in a strapless gown. You need boning in the bodice of the gown to keep it up and in place. Strapless gowns SHOULD have a good inner foundation BUILT INTO THE GOWN to keep the gown up and to enhance the bust line and slim the wasitline. Some designers even build in an elastic inner waist belt to slim the waist and to keep the gown in place when you move. If the foundation isn't built into the gown, the best bra and tailoring in the world won't keep the gown up. It will droop and make you look droopy and dumpy. Dress tape won't solve the problem. We had a group of short bridesmaids dresses that were very lightweight come in without boning and we sent them back. They looked HORRIBLE on and we couldn't make anyone look presentable in them. The dresses were very lightweight. If they were satin, they'd be unwearable without the boning in the bodice. Translate that into a bridal gown.
A quality gown should be properly lined in bridal satin and include some sort of built in fullness if its needed for the dress to flow properly. Some cheap dresses have the thin acetate lining and in white or ivory, its completely see through. If you purchase a chiffon gown, make sure its lined in bridal satin or you'll be transparent in the light. Straight slips are difficult to find, crinolines can be expensive. A quality gown will make searching for lining slips an unnecessary headache.
A revered bridal manufacturer told our group that not all sewing factories are created equal. Some do a great job of sewing, some are horrible. The good ones are contracted to the major bridal manufacturers if they don't own their own factories.
Are you willing to gamble that that your wedding dress will be what you envisioned? You are gambling if you don't know anything about the manufacturers reputation and have seen the quality of the goods they are producing.
OK....so you are only going to wear the dress for a few hours. Why spend the money? Hello...this is the most memorable dress you will ever buy in your life. You will be on display in front of your guests. They WILL remember your dress and you will have photos of the dress to show your children. I never understood how people can spend thousands on photos, invitations, liquor and flowers and then wear expect to scrimp on the attire.
YOU ARE THE BRIDE, its your day. You deserve to look fabulous! And you can without busting the budget....please read on!
And now for the good news....
There are GREAT deals on wedding dresses on Ebay!
Look for bridal salons closing out their sample stock.
Look for bridal salons having a clearance sale. We all need to clear out our racks for new gowns we are expected to purchase twice a year.
The late summer is the time a lot of manufacturers discontinue their gowns. Some of these gowns are only a few months old. If we can't reorder the gown, we sell them at discounts. Huge discounts. We have to clear our racks to make room for new stock that we are required to buy. YOU WIN! I've seen a lot just discontinued gowns on Ebay and the prices are phenomenal!
Look for gowns from a cancelled wedding. Its sad, it happens and their loss is your gain.
Look for gowns from a closed bridal salon. A friend of mine just closed her bridal salon. She is selling her gowns for a $49 opening bid. The wholesale cost on these gowns is 10 times that much! There are similar deals on Ebay!
There are good quality replica gowns in the market. They are "inspired" by the original design, they look similar but are not exact. DaVinci makes gowns inspired by a major big box national bridal retailer. I've also known of major manufacturers who do replicas of very couture gowns for select stores and you can barely tell the difference...except in price.
Look at the sellers feedback. Its there for a reason. Contact the seller if in doubt. Ask questions. Remember, if its too good to be true, it's probably NOT a deal.
Some Complaints about Alfred Angelo from Brides.Com
original Post: Alfred Angelo
If you are in the Pittsburgh area you definitely need to know about the problems we encountered at trying to prepare for my sister's wedding!
We went to the Alfred Angelo store in Monroeville, PA to look for gowns. My sister found her "perfect" dress and the "perfect" bridesmaid dresses. We ordered our dresses nearly a year in advance and the dresses came in. When I got my dress (I was a bridesmaid), I tried it on when I got home, only to find that the zipper was broken. I called the store and got the comment that "it would be you, wouldn't it?" (Great way to start out, huh?) So I drove an hour and a half to the store and back to drop it off so they could "send it back to be repaired." A few weeks later, I had to drive back to the store an hour and a half to pick up the dress and back an hour and a half. Had that been the end of the problems, I wouldn't be writing this today.
So, my sister, the bride, had to schedule her alterations. She lives out of town and they told her that they only do alterations on Wednesdays and Thursdays. She had to make a big deal of it before they finally scheduled her in another store that had weekend hours for alterations. My other sister and I were the only bridesmaids who went through Alfred Angelo for our alterations. Little did I know that they only do the pinning and measuring for alterations in the store. The dresses were shipped to Florida to be altered. We were scheduled to for a final fitting two days before the wedding. When I changed jobs and I was unable to make it at the time of my appointment, I called the store to reschedule for earlier in the week and was told it wouldn't be a problem. When I drove out to the store, the employees acted as though they had no idea about anything I was talking about, and NO DRESS! So, they made the concession that they would have it express shipped from Florida to arrive the next day and then overnight it to my home. When I called to check in the next evening, I was told that my dress would not arrive at my home the next day as promised because, "Honey, FedEx is done for the day." So, I asked the DISTRICT MANAGER if my dress had come in and she told me it had arrived in the store in their last shipment of the night. I told her I would be coming in the morning to get my dress (another 3 hour round trip drive) and we would need to discuss what the store would be doing for me. She said that would be fine, not telling me she would not be in the Monroeville location that day. So, I drive BACK to the store and I go in and the person who promised to ship my dress to me by that day said, "I thought we were shipping your dress to you." Well, since it didn't come in early enough to ship to me, I was there to try it on and take it home so that I could make it to work on time. So, they go back in the back and guess what--NO DRESS!!! So, after being lied to by the District Manager I have determined that I will never deal with this company again! I am still waiting for my refund on my alterations and money for my zipper...I spoke to the store manager and the district manager who have still refunded my credit card for the alterations as promised and they said that I could also get a whole $25 for my troubles with the zipper---not to metion the 12 hours of my life I lost trying to rectify their screw ups. I'm still trying to reach the customer service department----IN TEXAS!--but I keep getting the message "Your party is not answering, please try your call again later. (As though I couldn't already figure that out!!) We're sorry but your call will now be disconnected." I guess that's the story of the company....I am still waiting, nearly 3 months after the wedding is over, for my issues to be resolved...I just keep getting passed around from person to person....
I will bring any new details that surface!
Moral of the story is: If you're hoping for everything to go off without a hitch for your bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses then Alfred Angelo shouldn't be at the top of your list. I would pay more somewhere else if I decide to go with Alfred Angelo for my own wedding.
Message was edited by Moderator on Sep 14, 2007 4:36 PM
re: Alfred Angelo
I had the same issue as a bridesmaid in Texas from Alfred Angelo!!!!! IN 2 DIFFERENT OCCASIONS!!!!
The first occasion: My friend was a maid of honor in a wedding that I was also a bridesmaid in, and about 1 hour before we took pictures, her zipper broke about half way up her dress. We had to SEW her into her dress!!!!
The 2nd occasion: Another wedding we were in, my friend went in for her alterations on her AA dress, and as she put it on the zipper broke... luckily she had see what happened in the other wedding, and vented at the AA alterations lady so that it wouldn't happen again.
But seriously, now that I'm getting married, there's no way my bridesmaids will be wearing AA dresses. Jim Hjelm, here we come :)
re: Alfred Angelo
One of my roommates from college also went through AA, only at Ross Park. She also had a multitude of problems surrounding her dress and her bridesmaids dresses....
re: Alfred Angelo
Oh, that's so frustrating. I wasn't involved in my friend's wedding planning as I moved to NYC before the wedding, but I do know that she didn't get her bridesmaids dresses through them, only her wedding dress. Maybe I should email her to see if she actually had any problems with them.
Also, I think I am going to have my seamstress reenforce the zipper and some of the beading on my dress when I take it for alterations. And I hate the look of conventional BM dresses, so my bridesmaids are wearing dresses from JCrew.
Anyone out there have problems with JCrew BM dresses?? Please let me know, so I can stop my poor BMs from spending the $200!!!
re: Alfred Angelo
In addition to the dresses not being in on time, my sister, who was also a BM, had issues with fit. She had her baby a month before the first fitting and by the time the wedding came, the dress was too big. Since we didn't get the dresses until about 1PM the day before the wedding, there wasn't anything that could be done.
I think that if you are set on an AA dress it is best to go with a privately owned shop and pay more than to even deal with the hassles that the AA stores and customer service create.
Good luck everyone in your search for the perfect dress! I hope that you all find the dress that completes the most important day of your lives!
re: Alfred Angelo
I'm starting to get scared now. My BM dresses are Alfred Angelo's. I ordered them from a privately owned boutique though. The same one that I ordered my gown from (Which is an Allure). They won't come until mid-October though. But after reading through this thread, I'm starting to get nervous!!!!
re: ALfred Angelo
KMAC11 -- I too am starting to get nervous after reading this thread! My wedding is in 2 months and both my wedding dress and the BM dresses are all AA. Although, like many have said before, if you deal with a small, local boutique, it shouldn't be so bad. I live in FL and found a small, private boutique near my home with only 2 women that I deal with. They were very helpful and VERY thorough when it came down to ordering all the dresses. I would guess (like everyone else,) that it was entirely the fault of the people at the shop that she dealt with. It was obviously their incompetence that screwed things up all around. If the order is put in wrong to begin with, then it's only down hill from there. I feel quite confident that I won't have any issues, but I guess I won't be too shocked if I do. Also, I have a close friend doing my alterations for me since she is a seamstress by trade. So, finding someone close (or even a seamstress near you that you can trust,) will certainly help. Good luck to anyone using AA!! Hope all goes well for you. Sorry to those of you that had bad experiences. :(
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 8:34 AM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: Alfred Angelo
The Curvy Bride at www.thecurvybride.com does not exist
The Curvy Bride at http://www.thecurvybride.com is offering wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses at prices below actual cost. That means great savings for you, if you actually get what you want.
Here are a few things we have found out about this fantastic site that seems to offer dresses below cost:
We have checked and they are not authorized retailers of any of the name brand gowns on their site. This would make sense if the prices of the dresses are below the actual cost. Which in turn tells me that they are FAKES. Just because they show a picture on their website of the dress, does not mean that is what you are going to get.
We have also noticed that there is no physical address on their site. Just an 800 number. We tried to track the number and it seems to be a cell phone out of Texas.
We also looked at the term of use page and noticed that there seems to be a rick of loss and that the company says to you "Tough Shit, you go fight it out with UPS or FedEx": RISK OF LOSS All dresses and other items purchased from TheCurvyBride.com are made pursuant to a shipment contract. This means that the risk of loss and title for such items pass to you upon our delivery to the carrier.
Also noted that the CurvyBride seems not to be even registered with the state of Texas or has a federal tax ID. This means, there is no recourse if you buy and get nothing. No one to go after. They basically do not exist. This company can be a 14 year old kid who is operating out of South America taking credit cards and tosses your order.
"Any Damaged Items are your fault not ours"
Damaged Items: Your merchandise will be carefully inspected by us before it is shipped to you. If you find any flaw or damage you think was missed during our inspection, you have 2 business days from the time UPS delivers to the designated shipping address to notify us that you would like us to re-inspect your merchandise. You must return the item to us at your expense via Priority Mail. We will re-inspect your merchandise. If a defect or flaw is found, we will contact the designer and have them expedite a replacement or repair, and you will be refunded your return shipping charges. If the item is found to be non-defective, the item will be returned to you and you will be charged for the shipping to return the item to you.
Finally, you have got to love the return policy. Check out number 4 with the 50% restocking fee.
Wedding Gown Return PolicyAt TheCurvyBride.com, we want you to know that there are experienced wedding fashion consultants ready to assist you. We want to give you all the help you need to make the right purchase the first time. If however, your gown arrives and it is not the gown you expected or wanted, you can return it to us within seven days of its arrival. We only accept returns on wedding gowns that have not been altered and have not been worn. Discontinued gowns cannot be returned. We cannot accept returns on custom sized gowns (size 16 or larger) or on gowns that have been customized by the designer for you. In order for your return to be accepted, we ask that you follow these steps:
You have 2 business days from the time UPS delivers to the designated shipping address to notify us that you would like to return the gown. Please email us for your return authorization number.
You need to contact us before you return them and we will give you a Return Authorization Number to write on the outside of the box. Any gown returned without a Return Authorization Number will not be credited.
The gown must be in brand-new, unworn condition with all of the original packing materials. The gown cannot be altered. The gown must be in perfect condition - no dirt, no make-up, absolutely perfect and clean!
There is a 50% re-stocking fee (based on our in-store list price for your gown, not the discounted internet price) and we require that you pay shipping to us plus shipping to us and from the manufacturer. There is no re-stocking fee for consignment gowns. Consignment gowns are 100% refundable with shipping back to us. Carefully re-fold the gown and be sure to wrap it in plastic to prevent the gown getting dirty on its way back to us.
We must receive the gown within 7 days after we give your authorization to return. If we do not receive your gown within 7 days, no credit will be given. Once we receive your gown, inspect it to be sure it's as perfect as when we shipped it to you and confirm that we have received it within 7 days of issuing return authorization, we will inspect it and notify you of the amount of credit we have made to your original method of payment. There is a 20% restocking charge for consignment dress returns. Shipping costs are non-refundable.
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 10:26 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: curvy bride, the curvy bride
Netbride.com AKA Rush's Bridal
Some reviews of netbride.com AKA Rush's Bridal
Rush's Bridal (612) 343-9333
927 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55402
Please note: We thow out all the bogus articles written by the staff and/or owners of Rush's Bridal trying to save the image of the store. http://www.netbride.com/ known as Netbride is the same store so beware of the service.
Rush's Bridal (Bridesmaid's Dresses) - Dresses were beautiful, staff was somewhat helpful, and shipping was on-time. The only complaint was from the bridesmaids and a pretty standard one - the dresses were ordered way too big and cost a ton for alterations.
08/20/2007
I purchased my gown at Rush’s. The ladies there were very pushy and snobby. They had a wonderful selection of gowns as well as bridesmaid dresses. I also purchased my veil and hair comb there as well. I had a great experience and would recommend anyone looking for gowns or BM dresses to check out Rush’s.
by swmmer608 09/25/2007
I had to go and pick out the dresses I wanted to try on. I guess I would've liked it more if they would've started pulling some once they knew what I was somewhat looking for. They didn't pressure me into buying a dress besides reminding me that if the one I liked was bought then I wouldn't be able to come back and try it on again. She also told me it was fine to buy the dress and it was at least two sizes to big and get it altered. I am not a dress-sewer but I feel like that is just a little too much to get altered. Another negative about this boutique is we weren't allowed to take pictures. That really turned me off because then I have to remember what I look like in all these dresses in my head. The person helping me was a little rude but not pushy. I would not auggest this place to anyone.
Avoid It
09/02/2007 Posted by sixx82
Rush's was the third store in the Twin Cities I went to and was my worst experience. They are very strict on only allowing you to pull four gowns at a time - this means you have to keep waiting for them to hand you a gown, you have to hand yours back, and then you have to go back out time and time again to get more dresses. Did they think I was going to steal one? What was with the strict policy? I found the customer service to be lackluster and didn't feel they had anything exceptional in their selection. They do carry some of the higher end lines, but it was such an uncomfortable experience there from start to finish that I was glad to leave.
Not a Fan
By katy m.
I felt like they had limited dresses and my sales lady was very pushy. She kept bringing me styles I did not want. I did not have a good experience and I wish I didn't go there. The only positive is that I liked one bridesmaid dress there, but I plan on purchasing it elsewhere.
Posted 03/02/08 Printable Version
Totally tacky but good dress selection
By Lindsey J.
As I walked up the stairs into Rush's I was met by a slightly disappointing atmosphere. With they highly unattractive carpet, cheap looking decor, and distasteful color scheme I wanted to turn right back and leave. I stuck around though and found that they had a large variety of dresses and a helpful staff, however the distasteful furnishings and poor use of the space got actually quite annoying. The lighting in the fitting room was terrible and all the rooms and dress racks were so close together I felt smothered and unrelaxed the entire time. I would recommend Rush's to anyone who is looking for a good deal, however, be prepared to be turned off at first glance.
Posted 03/01/08 Printable Version
Rush's Bridal
By ROXANNE S. Insider Expert
Earlier this summer, I had an unpleasant experience at Rush's Bridal in downtown Minneapolis on Nicollet Mall. I had just gotten engaged. I'm still glowing. I was so excited to take my lunch hour to go look at dresses for the first time with a good friend who will be in the wedding herself. We climbed the 2 flights only to get told that we would need an appointment to even try on a dress. From their ads, it makes it seem like you only need an appointment to try on dresses from the "special racks". Well, knowing that I probably could not afford those racks anyway, I didn't make the appt. After all, this was a quick look see. I only intended to try on one or two dresses, just to say that I can do that now! Because I really am engaged and I never dreamed I would ever get married. I was very disappointed. All I could do was look and there were at least 6 open rooms. I didn't want any assistance, all I wanted to do was look.
PROS: Selection was decent CONS: Bad service. Not willing to please a customer.
Posted 08/31/06 Printable Version
staff is not very helpful By Yauheniya N. Insider Expert Rank: 2,394
I called this store ahead of time and asked what the best time to visit would be (when it's not too busy), considering the fact that I needed assistance. I never got a direct answer and decided to visit the store anyway. When I got there, it wasn't busy at all - but no one acknowledged my presence and I had to ask for help. All I got was a finger pointed at "stuff you may like" - and when I was about to ask a question, no salesperson was to be found. Rush's may have nice selection, but in my experience, customer service was unacceptable.
Posted 09/06/05 Printable Version
Not the Best!
06/05/2007 Posted by jennyj251
This is the second bridal store I visited and did not have good luck. I did not have a sales lady helping me and the staff just talked with each other. I did not find what I was looking for and did not have the best experience. I would not advise people to check this store out. Not a fan...
Cons: Poor Service, Parking Issues
Not the Best Service
05/20/2007 Posted by tristycat
I could take or leave going to this store again. The service was mediocre and I could not find a dress in my price point. I had better experiences elsewhere. Not reccommended.
Cons: Poor Service
The customer DOES NOT come first at Rush's
11/01/2006 Posted by blg6
It seems that Rush's prefers not to do business with brides having an "alternative" wedding. A very dear friend of mine has chosen to have a small, intimate wedding because this is her second marriage; and because it is a destination wedding. She inquired about ordering a beautiful bridesmaid dress in ivory through their website, only to receive an INCREDIBLY rude response. She was told, (1) That Rush's DOES NOT sell bridesmaid gowns as wedding gowns. (2) If she insist on ordering one as her gown she would be charged $100 extra to order it in ivory. (3) She would not be given a bridal appointment, but a bridesmaid appointment, where it was alluded that she would not receive the same time and attention as a bride who would spend more money. We have since found serveral other stores that sell many of the same lines of bridesmaid dresses throughout the Twin Cities. All of which, by the way, were mortified when they heard this story. All brides should HEED THIS WARNING: As you plan your wedding you will undoubtedly make many concessions...but DO NOT let a retail establishment treat you as anything less than the queen preparing for the ball!!!
Pros: None
Cons: Customer service
Was NOT Impressed
10/11/2006 Posted by beaches28
I was not a huge fan of this store. I am a plus size woman and could not try on any of the samples in my dressing room. The sales lady kept bringing in size 8 dresses and would insist that they would fit. I am a size 16 and knew they were going to be to tight. The sales lady kept pushing me into trying on these sizes. By the time I left the store I was in tears. I was really hoping to find a dress there, but with my experience there, I will never be back.
Cons: pushy sales people, not helpful
I was very unhappy with rush's bridal
06/01/2006 Posted by nbblondie1
i went to rush's bridal because the first wedding store went bankruped we lost our down payments and dresses. we went to rush's they had the same wedding dress, brides maids, and flower girl dresses we ordered the dresses. A few weeks later we got the dresses. everyone picked up their dresses we got them all together and every dresse was a diffrent shade we brought them back colors were ok but their were oil stains all over the dresses we brought them back 2 more time i had 1-1/2 weeks left until my wedding (500 guests) they offered to send the dresses back 1 more time not guarentee anything i told them no i wanted my money back. we ended up buying the dresses off jcpenny's rack in roseville and had to get alterations done in 1 week. I was very angry and upset after dealing with rushes
Cons: no dresses, unhelpful, customer service
Angry Consumer
01/06/2003 Posted by emilysolson
The bridal consultant that I delt with @ Rush's was not helpful. She did not ask what I wanted. She gave us a dressing room in a back corner room. My sister had a splint on her left hand, making zipping dresses very difficult. She didn't ask if we needed help, and didn't ask if I wanted to see a veil or a headpiece. She did not appear to know or care about what she was doing. We became very angry after 10 minutes. On our way out we saw that the dressing rooms in the front were 3x the size of ours. Here is a tip for Rush's Bridal: Make sure your staff makes customers feel welcome, and get rid of the two back dressing rooms. I would have preffered to wait for a larger room than to be treated like my buisness was not wanted. Angry Consumer
Pros: Location
Cons: Service Poor, Atmosphere
Unanswered Prayer
11/26/2002 Posted by mull0218
I wanted to make an appointment or at least talk to a human voice about what kind of thing I was looking for, but the phone went straight to an automated recording talking about the store hours. I called on a Tuesday afternoon when it was supposedly open, but no one ever answered the phone. Rush's has now lost business because I couldn't get through to anyone there! How frustrating!!!
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 9:46 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: bridal prom save, bridalpromsave, rush's bridal
Fairytale Visions is NOT an authorized retailer of its brands
Found out today that Fairytale Visions at the website http://fairytalevisions.com/ is not an authorized retailer of its brands they claim to sell.
I spoke to many of companies of the designers listed and found they have never heard of Fairytale Visions and do not list them as an authorized retailer. After further investigation, Fairytale Visions does not have a physical location and only operates with an email and phone number.
Please be aware, if you order from this company, you may not get what you paid for. Prices we have gotten from them are way below the industry average which clues me into beliving that they are not what they are.
Here is a list of what they claim to be retailers of:
Gowns:
Anjolique
Aurora D'Paradiso
Bellissima
Bonny
Casablanca
Da Vinci
Demetrios
Eden Bridal
Joli
La Sposa
Marys
Moonlight
MoriLee
Nicole Michelle Maternity
Private Label by G
Pronovias
Raylia
San Patrick
Venus
Bridesmaid Dresses:
After Six
Alexia Designs
Alfred Sung
Bari Jay
Bill Levkoff
Dessy
Eden Maids
Jim Hjelm
Jordan
Mackenzie Michaels
Marys
Moonlight Me Too
Mori Lee
Nicole Michelle Maternity
Raylia Designs
Venus
Flower Girl Dresses:
Bill Levkoff
Bonny
Eden Flower Girls
Jordan Sweet Beginnings
Mary's Cupids
Rosebud
Venus
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 2:17 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Melissa Sweet and Priscilla of Boston available at David's Bridal
Actually this is not new news, but I am getting sick and tired of brides telling me that, "Oh, I am looking for a Couture Wedding gown from someone like a Melissa Sweet or something from Priscilla of Boston".
This is so sad to hear how little many of these brides-to-be actually know, so here I am, to set the record straight.
David's Bridal back just a few years ago, just before they were sold to the May Company (Burdines) in 2000, bought all of the 20 or so Priscilla of Boston stores. The history seems to be a little shakey since on the Priscilla of Boston website makes mention of only being purchased by the May Company in 2002. Either way, the May Company held both David's Bridal and Priscilla of Boston at this time.
According to the Priscilla of Boston website in 2005 they joined forces with Melissa Sweet. But it seems that history again may have been altered becaus May Company was then aquired by Federated Company (Macy's).
Federated then hung David's Bridal, After Hours, Priscilla of Boston who at that time ownes Melissa Sweet out to dry and up for sale to whoever wanted it for about 1 billion. In 2006 Leonard Green & Partners bought up the David's Bridal, Priscilla of Boston and The Mens Warehouse bought After Hours.
So, in all this time you thought you were getting a Couture Melissa Sweet or Priscilla of Boston gown from top designers, and actually you are getting David's junk dresses all along. Do not believe for one minute that the quality of these once high end lines have not gone el cheapo. Its just like Ford having its hand in Jaguar, Chrysler soiling the image of Mercedez Benz, New Coke, The remake of Cure's famous Lovesong, or even the remake of Tears for Fears Mad Word, and the Scooby Doo Movies with real people and a computerized Scooby, not to mention the Garfield remakes.
While we are on the subject of David's, lets not forget that they bought the rights to use Oleg Cassini, who never made a wedding gown and died only a few years ago. And lets not forget the made up name that sorta sounds like the real designer name, Monique Luo (Monique Lhuillier)
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 5:38 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: david's bridal, davids, galina, melissa sweet, monique lhuillier, monique luo, priscilla of boston
Bridaldiscounters.com A.K.A. Rush's Bridal at 888-88-GOWNS
Here we go again with another BAD bridal store. So bad that they have to pose on the internet as a different company.
Rush's Bridal
927 Nicollet Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55402(612)
343-WEDD (9333)
Linda@rushs.com
or
BridalDiscounters.com
927 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402 USA
888-88-GOWNS (888-884-6967)
lara@bridaldiscounters.com
Since most of you are not living in the Twin Cities A.K.A. Minneapolis, MN you may not have ever hear of Rush's Bridal. Well you may know them as Bridaldiscounters.com or even the by the phone number 888-88-GOWNS. The website at www.bridaldiscounters.com states that they are "America's oldest factory direct bridal mail order company" which is quite different that the image they try to portray at www.rushs.com as "Where beautiful weddings begin...". So my question to them is, why the deception? Why the two fronts? So, then I ask, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM? So here we go with the complaints:
Avoid It
09/02/2007 Posted by sixx82
Rush's was the third store in the Twin Cities I went to and was my worst experience. They are very strict on only allowing you to pull four gowns at a time - this means you have to keep waiting for them to hand you a gown, you have to hand yours back, and then you have to go back out time and time again to get more dresses. Did they think I was going to steal one? What was with the strict policy? I found the customer service to be lackluster and didn't feel they had anything exceptional in their selection. They do carry some of the higher end lines, but it was such an uncomfortable experience there from start to finish that I was glad to leave.
Not the Best!
06/05/2007 Posted by jennyj251
This is the second bridal store I visited and did not have good luck. I did not have a sales lady helping me and the staff just talked with each other. I did not find what I was looking for and did not have the best experience. I would not advise people to check this store out. Not a fan...
Cons: Poor Service, Parking Issues
Not the Best Service
05/20/2007 Posted by tristycat
I could take or leave going to this store again. The service was mediocre and I could not find a dress in my price point. I had better experiences elsewhere. Not reccommended.
Cons: Poor Service
The customer DOES NOT come first at Rush's
11/01/2006 Posted by blg6
It seems that Rush's prefers not to do business with brides having an "alternative" wedding. A very dear friend of mine has chosen to have a small, intimate wedding because this is her second marriage; and because it is a destination wedding. She inquired about ordering a beautiful bridesmaid dress in ivory through their website, only to receive an INCREDIBLY rude response. She was told, (1) That Rush's DOES NOT sell bridesmaid gowns as wedding gowns. (2) If she insist on ordering one as her gown she would be charged $100 extra to order it in ivory. (3) She would not be given a bridal appointment, but a bridesmaid appointment, where it was alluded that she would not receive the same time and attention as a bride who would spend more money. We have since found serveral other stores that sell many of the same lines of bridesmaid dresses throughout the Twin Cities. All of which, by the way, were mortified when they heard this story. All brides should HEED THIS WARNING: As you plan your wedding you will undoubtedly make many concessions...but DO NOT let a retail establishment treat you as anything less than the queen preparing for the ball!!!
Pros: None
Cons: Customer service
Was NOT Impressed
10/11/2006 Posted by beaches28
I was not a huge fan of this store. I am a plus size woman and could not try on any of the samples in my dressing room. The sales lady kept bringing in size 8 dresses and would insist that they would fit. I am a size 16 and knew they were going to be to tight. The sales lady kept pushing me into trying on these sizes. By the time I left the store I was in tears. I was really hoping to find a dress there, but with my experience there, I will never be back.
Cons: pushy sales people, not helpful
I was very unhappy with rush's bridal
06/01/2006 Posted by nbblondie1
i went to rush's bridal because the first wedding store went bankruped we lost our down payments and dresses. we went to rush's they had the same wedding dress, brides maids, and flower girl dresses we ordered the dresses. A few weeks later we got the dresses. everyone picked up their dresses we got them all together and every dresse was a diffrent shade we brought them back colors were ok but their were oil stains all over the dresses we brought them back 2 more time i had 1-1/2 weeks left until my wedding (500 guests) they offered to send the dresses back 1 more time not guarentee anything i told them no i wanted my money back. we ended up buying the dresses off jcpenny's rack in roseville and had to get alterations done in 1 week. I was very angry and upset after dealing with rushes
Cons: no dresses, unhelpful, customer service
Angry Consumer
01/06/2003 Posted by emilysolson
The bridal consultant that I delt with @ Rush's was not helpful. She did not ask what I wanted. She gave us a dressing room in a back corner room. My sister had a splint on her left hand, making zipping dresses very difficult. She didn't ask if we needed help, and didn't ask if I wanted to see a veil or a headpiece. She did not appear to know or care about what she was doing. We became very angry after 10 minutes. On our way out we saw that the dressing rooms in the front were 3x the size of ours. Here is a tip for Rush's Bridal: Make sure your staff makes customers feel welcome, and get rid of the two back dressing rooms. I would have preffered to wait for a larger room than to be treated like my buisness was not wanted. Angry Consumer
Pros: Location
Cons: Service Poor, Atmosphere
Unanswered Prayer
11/26/2002 Posted by mull0218
I wanted to make an appointment or at least talk to a human voice about what kind of thing I was looking for, but the phone went straight to an automated recording talking about the store hours. I called on a Tuesday afternoon when it was supposedly open, but no one ever answered the phone. Rush's has now lost business because I couldn't get through to anyone there! How frustrating!!!
There was only one good review, but we believe it was posted by the owner.
Information found on Citysearch at http://twincities.citysearch.com/review/5573478
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 7:53 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: bridaldiscounters, rush, rush's bridal
Who is Perfect Bridal ?
Don't be fooled by low prices on the web. Here is one great example called Perfect Bridal who is offering gowns way below the manufactures suggested retail price. The problem is, do they really exist? There is no physical address of a location on their website. The designers they mention have not ever heard of Perfect Bridal, except for complaints that they are offering the gowns below MSRP. A nice looking picture on the website from the Better Business Bureau on Perfect Bridal, which is not a company of the BBB. Is this a bogus image? The the image is a fraud and a fake, what about the gowns? I feel like I am in lower Manhattan looking at a ROLODEX watch or a GOCCI handbag.
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 7:51 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: bbb.org, fake, fraud, msrp, perfect bridal
RK Bridal
Rk Bridal
(212) 947-1155
318 W 39th St New York, NY 10018
RK BRIDAL...HORRIBLE..>WORST EVER...RIP OFF..UPDATE Edit Review? By jillian c.RK BRIDAL was horrible.....A NIGHTMARE...Gilda was a nice salesperson, but they are very pushy...They pressured me into buying my gown. It was exactly what I wanted and they took advantage of that. She pressured me to get it too soon, and when I went home, I found it on HOUSE OF BRIDES.COM for $350.00...when I just bought it from RK BRIDAL for over $1200. Talk about a rip off....I called them immediately because of their no frills, will beat them by 5% policy...well that is only if you didn't purchase it already...they need the info ahead of time...they hadn't even processed order yet and they wouldn't budge....PLus they ordered my dress about 6 sizes too large, and then I found out that the minimum alterations is $350....they order TOO BIG on purpose to make money on the alterations...I will be pissed if the dress looks funny because they have to take it in..I even contemplated cancelling the order, eating the $500 deposit and ordering from houseofbrides, only to find out that if you cancel your order, they still charge the remaining balance of the dress to your credit card....what a RIP OFF...please save yourselves the trouble and go somewhere else...they aren't worth it....I feel horrible that I got taken advantage of. Since I wrote this I have picked up my dress. I had to wait 45minutes to be taken care of, only to find them searching for my dress.. AND IT WAS RIPPED....someone wore it, it was dirty, and the jacket that comes with it was sliced, torn, damaged.... Also I ordered 2 yards of satin fabric, to make a sash, and it wasn't two yards at all, and there were two huge chunks taken out of the fabric, like someone took fabric for a swatch. The owner REED, wasn't helpful and did nothing to rectify the situation. He won't replace the fabric, which they said was going to be $40, and was over $100, or the jacket to the gown. He was RIDICULOUS and NOT GOOD AT CUSTOMER SERVICE OR SATISFACTION. I froze my credit card payment and will not be paying them for the damaged merchandise. They have officially ruined my wedding!!!
Posted on 5/25/2007
by jillian c.
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 11:03 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: new york, rk, rk bridal
Pearls Place
This page is about bad experiences with the store pearl's place, in metairie, la.In my opinion, the store has bad customer service and doesn't get alterations right very often. Additionally, their prices aren't all that great. For some reason, people flock to the store, when there are other alternatives. For example, my wife got her wedding dress at a store on Magazine Street for the same price as it would have been at Pearl's Place, minus the $600 "service fee" they charge you, for doing basically nothing.I've looked around the internet, and from what i DO see, bad experiences are common. Pearl's place themselves even link to their page at the better business bureau. I was curious, so i looked at the list of all bridal shops in new orleans, to compare complaints (here) What i found was interesting. Most of the "complaints" against pearl's place had been resolved, but none of the other bridal shops had anything close to the number of complaints that pearl's place did.I'm putting this page up to help people. Getting married should be a joy, and places like Pearl's Place really take away from that joy. If you have a choice, go someplace else. Stores on Magazine (especially Mimi) are NOT THAT EXPENSIVE. Don't let the location trick you into thinking you can't afford it. Instead of being in a crowd of people waiting 30 minutes for customer service, you'll end up with little wait, one-on-one attention, and alterations that are done on time, right the first time.
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 10:58 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: lousianna, metairie, new orleans, pearl's place, pearls place
House of Brides
I am about to snap!!! Brides truly beware!! The House of Brides store in Oak Lawn is a joke. The store manager Lucille Smith is a joke and has no concept of customer service or customer satisfaction. I called the store in December of last year to set a date for my girls to go into the store to get measured for their dresses. The associate Alma gives me a date of Feb. 25, 05 to come in to get the dresses back by mid June. Well, today is June 20th, my girls have no dresses and they don’t have a ship date to give me. After calling several times I went into the store and spoke with the Lucille. Lucille who was supposed to return my call twice during the week tells me that my dresses could arrive the second week in July (2 weeks before my wedding). At that point I asked for the corporate office information and she gave me her stores website. I have called this store everyday for the last 4 days and at the end of every conversation I am told that I will get a call back. I have yet to get a call back from a House of Brides representative. My next step is to call a lawyer & the Better Business Bureau. I followed all of their instructions and did what I was told in order to get my girls dresses back as promised by mid-June. Right now I am so outraged that I can see red!!!!
posted 06/20/06 by Hosanna
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 11:25 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: house of brides
House of Brides
I ordered my wedding dress from HOB May 2 and litteraly less than 24 hours later the money was out of my account. I did recieve the first e-mail letting me know that my order was recieved and now when I check it, it says it has been processed however there is no tracking number available. I've tried calling the customer service line 3 separate times (once I woke up at 8:45 just so I could call at 9 when it said they are open and was still put on hold for 25 mins and never once spoke to anyone because "they were all assisting other customers".) I have also written several e-mails and all this just to get some confirmation that they have submitted my order to the manufacturer. I still have yet to hear from anyoneFor anyone who has ordered their dress online.. Did you even get your dress? Was everything with the dress fine (ie: right size & color... Not dirty, I read on another site that a woman recieved a dirty dress)I checked the better business bureau before ordering my dress from them and they have a satisfactory rating. After not being able to get ahold of anyone I searched just their name and have found about 150 separate posts with numorous complaints about them. So I'm sitting here in tears wondering how in the world I am going to either get my dress or my money back. I swear that if I do not get either I will be taking legal action (luckly my fiance is a lawyer).Anyway, if anyone has any information on if they got their dress or how I may go about actually talking to someone I'd appreciate it. Thanks so much!
posted 05/16/06 by Gage
Posted by TheBridalBlacklist at 11:23 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: chicago, house of brides, illinois, internet bridal
Hey, we need your support. Vote for Cartoon Matilda for 1st dog. Election news to come. Read our blog or join the blog group "Vote for Cartoon Matilda" in the pet section.
Have a great week.
Remember, Cartoon Matilda, her Barack is as good as her bite!
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to you No, that was NOT some poor animal caught in a leg trap...that was SANDIE SINGING!!!! Impressive eh? Have the best one ever!
Thank You for adding us, have a great day :-) We hope you enjoy our webpage & share with your friends. Capturing life's great moments forever on DVD...We make special memories last by creating DVD montages from your personal photos for weddings, new babies, birthdays, holidays, business, vacations, promotions, special events, etc..... www. memoriesthatneverfade. com
A True Soul Mate There will be times when someone special will walk into your life & a bonding of the spirits will take place. This means that both people are compatible, & that their inner spirits are harmonious with each other. Because of this, a kinship is started first, followed by deep inner emotional feelings for each other, all because the spirits are harmonious. At this point we say that we have an attraction for each other, or that the chemistry is right
Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you've never shared with another soul & they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes, dreams, goals & everything that will come to you in the future.
When something wonderful happens, you can't wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you, when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful.
There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are
Because you are our valued myspace HOT PICKS friend, we would like to offer you a special discount for our May 22 HOT PICKS event in Los Angeles. This discount is $10 off the regular ticket price.
We only have 50 promo tickets available, and the offer is first come, first serve! :)
