I SAID YES TO THE DRESS (vendor reviews) - long
On Friday, at my third dress search appointment, I SAID YES TO THE DRESS at Kleinfelds!! Before i go into detail about the dress i'll give some other reviews.
Appt. #1 - Paradise Bridal - Patchogue
Decent selection for a small place. No time constraint on the appointment, which was nice. The salesperson was sweet but not very helpful in helping me narrow down styles and such. Overall an OK experience. Grade: B
Appt. #2 - Bridal Reflections - Carle Place (Eve of Milady Trunk Show)
I took my maid of honor (BFF) and wasn't expecting to find anything i really loved. Unfortunately I don't remember my sales assistant's name, but she was an older woman with an accent. She was great...very helpful and i was able to narrow down my style choice to a trumpet/mermaid. I tried on a BEAUTIFUL Amalia Carrara dress and loved it but couldn't pull the trigger without my mom seeing it. Made a future appointment at the NYC store for the next EOM trunk show. Very good experience and I would highly recommend it. Grade: A
Appt. #3 - Kleinfelds - NYC
The same day I made my Bridal Reflections appointment (the carle place one) I also made one at Kleinfelds for the Pnina Tornai trunk show because even before I was engaged, I always watched Say Yes to the Dress and loved the Pnina dresses. I took my 3 older sisters and my mother. My sales assistant was Camille (she's on the show), and she was amazing!!! I can't say enough great things about the whole Kleinfeld experience. The minute you walk in there, it is clear why Kleinfelds has the best reputation in the world. It has the biggest selection of wedding dresses in the world (seriously) and the presentation alone was incredible. Camille brought us to a dressing room and asked me about price point, styles, etc. I showed her some pictures and we went straight to the Pninas. She helped me choose a bunch, which i tried on and wasn't thrilled with. On the second round, she took me to the inventory room where we browsed the racks and picked a few Lazaros I had had my eye on. Again, nothing amazing. Then, Melissa, Pnina Tornai's assistant at Kleinfelds came in and we talked a little about what i was looking for. I showed her the Amalia Carrara dress I had tried on and loved at Bridal Reflections, and unfortunately they didn't have that particular style, but she left the room and came back with the most stunning, brand new Pnina dress i had ever seen. It was very similar to the Amalia Carrara but with different embellishment, neckline and corset style. I tried it on and everyone just looked at me in amazement. Wearing that dress, I felt more beautiful than i ever have. I was skeptical that everyone in my group would agree on a dress and was prepared to enforce my decisions, but thankfully everyone LOVED it, even my mom who doesn't usually agree with me on clothing styles. I went out to the main room and stood in front of the mirror and said YES TO THE DRESS! It was a great feeling...no crying, no overwhelming emotion, just happiness and excitement.
We discussed logistics and I decided to change the embellishment a little bit, as well as bring up the neckline a bit (it's a very deep V), and then Pnina herself came in and congratulated me and took my measurements. It was so great to meet her...I've worked in fashion in the past and she has been somewhat of an icon for me ever since I started getting into wedding fashion. We took a few pictures of my group with Pnina and Camille, signed some papers and put down the deposit. NOTE: i've heard from many people that Kleinfelds has a ridiculous alterations fee. This is so not the case. They charge a flat fee of $695 for all alterations. The bottom line is that the women who do the alterations there are the best of the best. I happily agreed to that fee and feel completely sure that they'll take care of everything perfectly. Grade: A++++
Camille, Melissa, Pnina and the whole team were so great that my mom and I are going back in January to get her dress made by Pnina! I can't wait to help her find one, and 8 weeks before my wedding I get to see my dress again :)
Sorry for the long post, but I hope it's helpful to those of you who haven't found your dress yet and want an amazing and memorable experience.
Appt. #1 - Paradise Bridal - Patchogue
Decent selection for a small place. No time constraint on the appointment, which was nice. The salesperson was sweet but not very helpful in helping me narrow down styles and such. Overall an OK experience. Grade: B
Appt. #2 - Bridal Reflections - Carle Place (Eve of Milady Trunk Show)
I took my maid of honor (BFF) and wasn't expecting to find anything i really loved. Unfortunately I don't remember my sales assistant's name, but she was an older woman with an accent. She was great...very helpful and i was able to narrow down my style choice to a trumpet/mermaid. I tried on a BEAUTIFUL Amalia Carrara dress and loved it but couldn't pull the trigger without my mom seeing it. Made a future appointment at the NYC store for the next EOM trunk show. Very good experience and I would highly recommend it. Grade: A
Appt. #3 - Kleinfelds - NYC
The same day I made my Bridal Reflections appointment (the carle place one) I also made one at Kleinfelds for the Pnina Tornai trunk show because even before I was engaged, I always watched Say Yes to the Dress and loved the Pnina dresses. I took my 3 older sisters and my mother. My sales assistant was Camille (she's on the show), and she was amazing!!! I can't say enough great things about the whole Kleinfeld experience. The minute you walk in there, it is clear why Kleinfelds has the best reputation in the world. It has the biggest selection of wedding dresses in the world (seriously) and the presentation alone was incredible. Camille brought us to a dressing room and asked me about price point, styles, etc. I showed her some pictures and we went straight to the Pninas. She helped me choose a bunch, which i tried on and wasn't thrilled with. On the second round, she took me to the inventory room where we browsed the racks and picked a few Lazaros I had had my eye on. Again, nothing amazing. Then, Melissa, Pnina Tornai's assistant at Kleinfelds came in and we talked a little about what i was looking for. I showed her the Amalia Carrara dress I had tried on and loved at Bridal Reflections, and unfortunately they didn't have that particular style, but she left the room and came back with the most stunning, brand new Pnina dress i had ever seen. It was very similar to the Amalia Carrara but with different embellishment, neckline and corset style. I tried it on and everyone just looked at me in amazement. Wearing that dress, I felt more beautiful than i ever have. I was skeptical that everyone in my group would agree on a dress and was prepared to enforce my decisions, but thankfully everyone LOVED it, even my mom who doesn't usually agree with me on clothing styles. I went out to the main room and stood in front of the mirror and said YES TO THE DRESS! It was a great feeling...no crying, no overwhelming emotion, just happiness and excitement.
We discussed logistics and I decided to change the embellishment a little bit, as well as bring up the neckline a bit (it's a very deep V), and then Pnina herself came in and congratulated me and took my measurements. It was so great to meet her...I've worked in fashion in the past and she has been somewhat of an icon for me ever since I started getting into wedding fashion. We took a few pictures of my group with Pnina and Camille, signed some papers and put down the deposit. NOTE: i've heard from many people that Kleinfelds has a ridiculous alterations fee. This is so not the case. They charge a flat fee of $695 for all alterations. The bottom line is that the women who do the alterations there are the best of the best. I happily agreed to that fee and feel completely sure that they'll take care of everything perfectly. Grade: A++++
Camille, Melissa, Pnina and the whole team were so great that my mom and I are going back in January to get her dress made by Pnina! I can't wait to help her find one, and 8 weeks before my wedding I get to see my dress again :)
Sorry for the long post, but I hope it's helpful to those of you who haven't found your dress yet and want an amazing and memorable experience.
