Did you concern yourself with what they are made of? Stainless, silver...will it tarnish? Does it have Austrian crystals, zirconiums, or just glass? Will they sparkle in the photos, or yellow in the future? Please tell me what questions you asked and the prices that went with their answers. LOL!
My daughter and I saw a really beautiful one that we are certain will look great with her gown. What if in the end it doesn't match though? Did you ever hear of a local store refunding the money within a couple of hours? When I was telling someone about it, I felt rather foolish that I couldn't answer any of the above questions. I only knew the price.
bride04
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
If the tiara is silver coated it can tarnish and you need to be careful how you store it (wrap it up tightly with cellophane). If it is rhodium plated it will never tarnish. I bought my tiara from glamgal.com , which I HIGHLY recommend. Ann was great to work with and delivery was very fast. I found the tiara I liked in my bridal shop, but I ordered it from glamgal for MUCH less than the bridal shop wanted. The return policy at glamgal is awesome. You can return/exchange tiaras. Actually the website says:
'A return for a refund is accepted for any valid reason, provided you let us know within 7 days of receiving the item(s). This is 7 day time limit is especially true if you order several items with the intention of picking one and returning the others.'
I would recommend ordering from glamgal. There are tons of tiaras to choose from, including those from well known designers. Mine is from Bel Aire. If the tiara doesn't look good with the dress you can always exchange it. I'm planning to order my veil from here as well. If you decide to order from a store, I would find out their return policy first.
LImom
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
Thanks. I thought it was an outrageous question. We're learning so much.....no pics before you order, no label in the gowns, that sort of thing. Sounds like you've done your homework on tiaras. I'm so glad I thought to ask. We'll definitely check into glamgal.com. All the best.
LImom
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
Bride04, do you know any manufacturer's names or websites to look at different styles. Glamgal.com doesn't show many but says to notify her if we find one we like. I have no idea who made the one we saw. Thanks for your trouble.
Misty
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
Bride04 is right on...Rhodium is the way to go so it doesn't tarnish and you'll also pay less than for silver. My tiara was rhodium plated and had all swarovski crystals. Most tiara's like this are a little on the pricer side, depending upon size and what not..they can start at 200 and go up to 1000. Mine was just about 600. (I know nuts, but my mom couldn't resist. lol.).
Mirabella is who made my headpiece, and they have a ton of styles on the site. They are gorgeous! The quality is impecable also.
Another awesome headpiece designer is Thomas Knoell. They are more expensive, but such amazing stuff. They have a store in Great Neck now also.
These places are by custom order, so I don't know how they fair with cancellations.
Also, buy based upon matching the beading/crystals on the dress if possible, and the style of gown. It's no fail really!
This was mine...
LImom
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
Misty, this is gorgeous. Did you work with a picture of your gown to be sure of the match? How does one have confidence when it is custom made in another shop. Of course there are no cancellations in that case. The one we saw was $350. I did think that was a pretty good price, considering it was a rather large one. Definitely it did not have as many beads as yours though. Now I need to get information on what it's made of. I appreciate everything you shared with me.
Misty
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
I ordered this the same place I got my dress, Kleinfeld. So I went in one day and tried my sample gown on with it. But, before I even put the gown on the girl knew which headpiece would match well based upon the style and beading. This was the first one she picked up. When I was looking, I brought the picture with me and many places gave me similar headpieces, I just liked the quality best on this one, and the shape was best for my head.
Would you be able to travel into Brooklyn? There is a store on Avenue U and East 9th that has only headpieces. They have some really gorgeous stuff, very reasonably priced, and they are very knowledgable! They match to pictures all the time.
I tried on a sample and Kleinfeld ordered it for me. I wasn't really worried because I heard good things about the manufacturer. I guess the same goes for when you order bridal gowns...you just have to go with your gut and pick what you love! But it doesn't hurt to have a little confidence in who you are ordering from.
LImom
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
I'm really not familiar with Brooklyn, which is why we never even made it to Kleinfeld's. The tiara we saw was at 'Elegant Bride' in Albertson. We weren't even looking. We spotted it in the window right after I ordered my gown. My daughter's gown is from Bridal Reflections in Massapequa. She will definitely see what they have and what they will charge. We just happened to see this one and it looks beautiful on.
luvsun27
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
I don't know too many specifics about my tiara...I know it's swarofski crystals. I got it on ebay...I couldn't fathom spending upwards of $300 for a tiara that I would wear for a few hours..I am having a hard enough time spending this much money on one day!!! I love it...it sparkles...what more can I ask for.
I second taking a look at Thomas Knoell. He customizes all his pieces. I just picked up my tiara. It is sooo beautiful!!! Sorry I don't have a pic. I did describle my dress and the look I wanted, then we tried quite a few styles and once I decided on one, we picked the stones. They are on the more expensive side, but I have not seen a more beautiful tiara anywhere and I looked around alot. Plus it is entirely customized. They are located on Northern Blvd between Manhasset and Great Neck. If you need more info FM me.
Edited to add - Do you live near Elegant Bride? That store is around the corner from me??
LImom
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
Funny...I live near Thomas Knoell - closer to Lord and Taylor actually. The one reason we haven't gone there is bec. it's a new shop. I always worry about new places disappearing over-night. Just one of my quirks. I will give my daughter all of your suggestions.
LImom
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
luvun, your tiara is indeed beautiful. Congratulations on a great find. Thanks for sharing the picture and the advice.
babybride
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
LIMOM- That Thomas Knoell shop is new, but he has been making headpieces for maybe 4 years or so. Since he made the one for his wife. He sells his headpieces at many stores, including Bridal Reflections in Carle Place - where I first learned about him as well as salons throughout the US. Good Luck!!
LImom
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
Oops, wanted to FM you.
Kathy116
Posted:
Member since
Re: My questions about tiaras...
Hi LIMom...I just wanted to give you Denise Leli's name. She's a vendor here on LIW, and I bought my tiara (one of my tiara's....when I purchased my dress a year ago, I bought a tiara on the spot, but then changed my mind, but had to suck it up...so now I have two) and viel from her. SHE'S WONDERFUL!
SHe has TONS and TONS of tiaras to choose from, and she's very very reasonably priced! She made my veils, and it turns out that the day of my dress fitting, my train was longer than I was told, so my veil didn't reach the train.
I called up Denise and was somewhat nervous because I didn't know if she could make a new veil in time for the wedding, and how much extra it was going to cost....
Well, she calmed me down, and said it'll be done in less than a couple of weeks with NO CHARGE! She's really a great person to work with.
