BM Dress Dilemma

So my MOH, one of my BMs and I all have agreed that we love one particular BM dress. We saw it at Macy's Bridal where it was over $200, but it's available for almost $100 less on www.houseofbrides.com.

Do you think we should order them through Macy's or do it on the web? Are there reliability concerns that I should have about the website? Or, can I give my girl's the option to order online or to buy in Macy's if they want to. When you buy BM dresses in store, do you have to tell the store in advance how many BMs you have so that they can expect them coming in?

Thanks guys

Try the Wedding Center in Commack. I found my dress at Macy's and ordered through them for a few hundred dollars less.

I also ordered my bridesmaids dresses through them. If you go for your bridesmaids ask for Stacy, she was awesome. She was so nice even though I was difficult .

I think they can even give you a price over the phone.
HTH

I would order them online to get a better price but NOT from House of Brides - I've heard too many people call them 'House of Hell' so I would personally be leary of ordering from them (I'm sure other brides have had great experiences, but I would be nervous).

Try Pearls Place or just google the name and style of the dress to see where else you could buy it. Also, call RK Bridal and ask them what the No Frills price is for that dress.

Good luck!

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Posted by MrsQ-in2007

I would order them online to get a better price but NOT from House of Brides - I've heard too many people call them 'House of Hell' so I would personally be leary of ordering from them (I'm sure other brides have had great experiences, but I would be nervous).

Try Pearls Place or just google the name and style of the dress to see where else you could buy it. Also, call RK Bridal and ask them what the No Frills price is for that dress.

Good luck!

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No Frills price?

You should order all of the dresses at the same time from the same place so they have the same dye lot. Different orders can be placed in different dye lots, resulting in color differences that can be visible to the naked eye or in photos.

I read some mixed reviews about House of Brides on The Knot. Some people were happy, some not so. Those posts are no longer there--archives are swept out periodically.

I have heard pretty good things about NetBride, another Web discount retailer. In fact, I learned about NetBride from Web site of Denise and Alan Fields, who are the authors of Bridal Bargains. They also run a message board that discusses many of the online retailers. I got a quote from NetBride but didn't end up buying from the company (didn't carry the dress I wanted). The staff there was reasonably responsive.

I got my BM dresses from Pearl's Place over the phone. It's a brick and mortar store in Louisiana. My BM dresses were 33% less than retail and came on time. I'm very pleased with PP.

GL!

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Posted by BoxOfRocks

You should order all of the dresses at the same time from the same place so they have the same dye lot. Different orders can be placed in different dye lots, resulting in color differences that can be visible to the naked eye or in photos.

I read some mixed reviews about House of Brides on The Knot. Some people were happy, some not so. Those posts are no longer there--archives are swept out periodically.

I have heard pretty good things about NetBride, another Web discount retailer. In fact, I learned about NetBride from Web site of Denise and Alan Fields, who are the authors of Bridal Bargains. They also run a message board that discusses many of the online retailers. I got a quote from NetBride but didn't end up buying from the company (didn't carry the dress I wanted). The staff there was reasonably responsive.

I got my BM dresses from Pearl's Place over the phone. It's a brick and mortar store in Louisiana. My BM dresses were 33% less than retail and came on time. I'm very pleased with PP.

GL!

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WOW! Thanks for the advice!! Did you just have your girls use whichever tailors they wanted near them? And also, how did you figure out your sizes? Did you just order the size they'd wear in any dress, or did you have them actually try on a sample in another store nearby?

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Posted by Jess125483

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Posted by BoxOfRocks

You should order all of the dresses at the same time from the same place so they have the same dye lot. Different orders can be placed in different dye lots, resulting in color differences that can be visible to the naked eye or in photos.

I read some mixed reviews about House of Brides on The Knot. Some people were happy, some not so. Those posts are no longer there--archives are swept out periodically.

I have heard pretty good things about NetBride, another Web discount retailer. In fact, I learned about NetBride from Web site of Denise and Alan Fields, who are the authors of Bridal Bargains. They also run a message board that discusses many of the online retailers. I got a quote from NetBride but didn't end up buying from the company (didn't carry the dress I wanted). The staff there was reasonably responsive.

I got my BM dresses from Pearl's Place over the phone. It's a brick and mortar store in Louisiana. My BM dresses were 33% less than retail and came on time. I'm very pleased with PP.

GL!

---

WOW! Thanks for the advice!! Did you just have your girls use whichever tailors they wanted near them? And also, how did you figure out your sizes? Did you just order the size they'd wear in any dress, or did you have them actually try on a sample in another store nearby?

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Also - how did you work that out payment wise? If the BMs are paying themselves, did they each call the store with their own credit card and place an individual order?

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Posted by Jess125483

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Posted by MrsQ-in2007

I would order them online to get a better price but NOT from House of Brides - I've heard too many people call them 'House of Hell' so I would personally be leary of ordering from them (I'm sure other brides have had great experiences, but I would be nervous).

Try Pearls Place or just google the name and style of the dress to see where else you could buy it. Also, call RK Bridal and ask them what the No Frills price is for that dress.

Good luck!

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No Frills price?

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RK Bridal sells dresses two different ways - Full Service or No Frills.

When you buy Full Service, you pay a higher price for the dress and they will give you a cap on alterations (I believe it's $65 on top of the higher price for the dress).

When you buy No Frills, you pay a cheaper price for the dress, but are not allowed to have alterations done at their store - you'd have to find your own seamstress to fix the dresses. Personally I believe the big savings is worth it since you are likely to find a great seamstress elsewhere.



We ordered my BM's dresses through RK's No Frills program. I got two of the same dress and one of another style. The first two already came in without any problems and the 3rd dress should be in next week.

I agree with the pp's. Definitely check out Pearls Place and RK Bridal. My girls got their Jim Hjelm dresses from PP - they were awesome to deal with, their prices were considerably cheaper than anywhere else, and the dresses arrrived within 2.5 months.

I would definitely avoid HOB - I have heard way too many horror stories about them.

Decision making and trying on
Some of my BMs were local to me, others were OOT. I had narrowed down my finalist dresses and circulated a list to the BMs and gave them time to try them on at stores local to them. I had final say in the dress, though.

My MOH, mother, and I actually tried on samples at a regular brick and mortar store just to see how it would look on live bodies.

Sizes
Each manufacturer will have its own size chart with different bust, waist, hip, and hem-to-hollow dimensions. A lot of the online places will simply e-mail you the size chart of a manufacturer you ask for. I don't think it was PP that e-mailed it to me, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

I e-mailed the size chart out to the BMs and asked them to confirm their sizes before placing the order.

Tailor
Yes, the each used tailors and seamstresses local to them. The discounted price of the dress plus alterations still was less than retail.

Payment
I placed the order with PP on my credit card and was reimbursed by the BMs because it was easier that way. I'm not sure what the policy is on different credit cards.

GL!

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Posted by MrsQ-in2007

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Posted by Jess125483

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Posted by MrsQ-in2007

I would order them online to get a better price but NOT from House of Brides - I've heard too many people call them 'House of Hell' so I would personally be leary of ordering from them (I'm sure other brides have had great experiences, but I would be nervous).

Try Pearls Place or just google the name and style of the dress to see where else you could buy it. Also, call RK Bridal and ask them what the No Frills price is for that dress.

Good luck!

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No Frills price?

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RK Bridal sells dresses two different ways - Full Service or No Frills.

When you buy Full Service, you pay a higher price for the dress and they will give you a cap on alterations (I believe it's $65 on top of the higher price for the dress).

When you buy No Frills, you pay a cheaper price for the dress, but are not allowed to have alterations done at their store - you'd have to find your own seamstress to fix the dresses. Personally I believe the big savings is worth it since you are likely to find a great seamstress elsewhere.



We ordered my BM's dresses through RK's No Frills program. I got two of the same dress and one of another style. The first two already came in without any problems and the 3rd dress should be in next week.

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WOWWW, I love it!!!! My BMs are from all over, so I think they'd much prefer to use their own seamstresses. Do they ship the dresses to everyone's house or do you have to go pick them up?