Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

Karen62794 Posted: May 17, 2002 11:15 AM

Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

Hello All,

I'm going to start looking at wedding gowns in June and I have a few questions.

1) I know I have to call to make an appointment. If I want to start in June, how far should I call ahead to make an appointment? I am planning on going during the week when they are less crowded.

2) I'm going to bring pictures of some dresses that I like. Is it possible to call a salon ahead of time and ask, do you have Designer XXX Style # XXX?

3) Anyone have experience with Bonaventure (Garden City), Bridal Garden (Bethpage), Baldwin Wedding Center, Lillette's, Renate's, Bridal Suite of Huntington or Patchougue?

Thanks for your help!
Karen

Marnles Posted: May 17, 2002 11:26 AM

Re: Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

Hi-
From my experience, you don't need an appt. EVERYWHERE, but definitely call to make sure. If you call one to two weeks in advance, you should be fine. You can call to see if they carry a particular designer, but depending on how busy they are, they may or may not be able to tell you style #s over the phone. If they are empty, I'm sure they can. But they will probably say to come on in anyway, because you may find something very similar to what you're looking for.

I didn't visit any of the salons you mentioned, but I did go to Beautiful Bride and Lynbrook Bridal, and had good experiences at both...wound up buying at Lynbrook, because they had the exact dress/designer I was looking for.
Good luck!!

Annie02 Posted: May 17, 2002 11:29 AM

Re: Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

If you are going to go during the week, I am sure a couple of days ahead is fine to call for an appt. Some stores did ask if I brought pictures, I didn't but I'm sure that can't hurt. Don't forget to try on other styles as well, sometimes things that are nice in pictures don't work for you. From the stores you mentioned , I looked in Bonaventure. That was the first place I went to, and the woman there was so helpful. I did not wind up buying mine there, but they have a good selection, and if this matters to you, they have many reasonably priced gowns. Definitely check it out if you can.

Suzanne Posted: May 17, 2002 11:33 AM

Re: Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

Bonaventure in garden city is a really nice store.. the sales ladies are very helpful...i got a bridesmaids dresss there last year..i think you should only have to call a couple of days in advance.. and if you call during the week then they should definatly tell you if they have a certain style in store...

angie3 Posted: May 17, 2002 11:40 AM

Bonaventure, etc...

I am quite familiar with Bonaventure as I work very close to it, i know 2 people who got their wedding dress there (and were happy) and i am going through them for my bridesmaids dresses as well. Their nice. They don't have the biggest selection of wedding dresses but they do have some very pretty ones in the $1,000 to $2,500 range. Their service so far with my bridesmaid has been very good. As for calling the salon in advance to find out if they have the styles you are interested in, some salons prefer that you do this so that they can have the dresses ready for you. It also helps you plan which places you want to go to and when, i.e. you wouldn't want to do two salons back to back that both carried the same designers as it could be a waste of time since you would be seeing the same dress twice. As for how far in advance you need to call the salon well that depends on the salon. For instance when I went to Kleinfelds i couldn't get a date until about three weeks after the date I was calling. You should also be aware that there are some salons which will charge you a fee for canceling your appointment with them on short notice (Kleinfelds was one of them). I got my dress at The Wedding Salon of Manhasset and so far my experience has been wonderful. They have been very sweet and helpful so far and the salon itself is very pretty. Good luck! PS - I do not think you even have to schedule an appointment with Bonaventure but i am sure it is better if you do.

IrishTracy Posted: May 17, 2002 12:11 PM

Re: Bonaventure, etc...

I've called places a day before & got an appoitment. If it's a Sat that you need ask them if they have any appoitments available. They just might! GOOD LUCK

stacedz Posted: May 17, 2002 12:16 PM

Re: Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

I used Bridal Suite in Centereach for my gown and the girls gowns. They gave me 10% off on the girls since I bought my gown there. The service was good. DEFINITELY go during the week, I did that and it was so nice and then I went during the weekend for the girls and it was a madhouse! I did make an appt. a few weeks earlier. Not every place has certain designers so I would definitely call beforehand, esp. if you are interested in a certain gown.

Good Luck!

I bought the first dress I tried on and came back to it after a few others, they say you just know and I did!

Stacey

sp4747 Posted: May 17, 2002 07:59 PM

Re: Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

I am ordering my dress from Bridal Garden in Bethpage, they didn't carry the dress that I wanted but was able to order it for me at $200.00 less than anywhere else. Lillette's has a good selection with helpful staff. Renates did not have a good selection and what they had they only had sizes 16 and up that I could try on. Its kind of hard to get an idea what it would like when you have a back of clothespins. The Baldwin bridal center I didn’t care for, I was there for 20 minutes when no one else was there and no one wanted to help me, plus the selection was very small. Bonaventure was a great place, I would have ordered my dress there but the price was better at Bridal Garden. Their selection of headpieces is the best I have seen so far. Believe me I saw quite a few, I went dress looking for 5 weeks every Saturday and brought one of the first 5 dresses I tried on. Also the Bridal reflections are great too, the Massapequa store has a nice selection at less price than the Carle Place. Wherever you go I would call a week ahead to make an appointment. GOOD LUCK!

Wendy Posted: May 18, 2002 12:06 AM

Re: Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

Please do not use Bridal Suite of Patchogue. I used them for my wedding gown and my daughter's maid of honor dress. Everything was wonderful in the beginning, but it seemed that once they moved to the larger store that they are now in, everything was a mess. They forgot to order my headpiece and veil(which I had ordered 1 1/2 years before the wedding) and when they finally got around to it after several badgering calls from me, the manufacturer had gone out of business. I was originally told that the veil had been ordered but found out a few weeks before my wedding that they had forgotten about it. They also lost my daughter's gloves (finally found them a week before the wedding!). The alterations on my dress and my daughter's dress were done incorrectly resulting in my dress being too long and me constantly tripping over it and my daughter's dress ripping in half where they had done the alterations. To top it off they overcharged me by $65.00 for alterations and I had to fight to get it back. I would stay far away. This applies only to the Patchogue store. I have no experience with the other Bridal Suite stores, but have heard good things about Centereach. Best of luck in your search.

VickiC Posted: May 18, 2002 12:31 AM

Re: Advice on searching for wedding gowns (long)

I would also stay away from Renates. My FSIL got a BM dress there for another wedding and the alterations were awful. The dress didn't fit her right at all, and the people were rude.

I had a good experience at Lillette's, but I ended up ordering my dress from Princess Bridals in Farmingdale.