12 replies to this topic

[lauriex]

..I was in town with my mum on Saturday, we decided to have a girly afternoon, get our hair done, go for lunch and coffee It just happened by chance that I spotted BM dresses in the exact colour that I am looking for as we walked past one of the wedding dress shops in Belfast. Me and me mummy crossed the road just to have a look, we had to be buzzed into the shop (for some reason they kept the door locked) once in, the girl who had opened the door for us bombarded us with 20 questions all in one go. She was not going to allow us to look at the dresses that were of interest. I said to the girl, please, I just want to have a look at one particular BM dress, I don't know what style/shape/length/sizes etc I need, I am just interested in the colour. Then she said something which I thought was very odd: 'But I have to talk you through the dresses.' i.e talk me through every dress I didn't want to see and neglect the one I did want to see! She wouldn't let us near the dresses to have a look. They were hung up in a weird way, they looked like school kids queuing in the playground for class, you couldn't see the dresses, only the one that hung on the front of each row. The girl had to squeeze herself down each row to pull out dresses we wanted to see...odd much?

There was another woman behind the counter, she got on our case next. She was quite bossy and rude. She asked me if I had looked for a dress yet and I said no. She was like 'well, when is your wedding?' I was like, 'ehhhh not for another year and a half yet!' she rolled her eyes and went 'well you really should have your dress sorted by now.' I mean...SERIOUSLY!?!?! Why on earth do I want to have my dress bought 'n' all!? I might not like it this time next week!!! I felt as though she was having a go at me because I hadn't been wedding dress shopping yet, I don't want to go wedding dress shopping yet, Im losing weight and I know that if I try things on in my current size I will not be happy with anything. She also kept on saying that the colour we're after is 'EXCLUSIVE TO US, YOU WON'T FIND THIS ANYWHERE ELSE....' Which turned out to be a load of rubbish as I spotted the same colour BM dress in a wedding shop 5 mins up the road from this one!

All in all, my first experience in a wedding dress shop was shockingly bad, it put me in bad form for a while. Has this happened to anyone else? I was so shocked - notcool.com!!!! I hope this doesn't happen again!!

[ElmoGrace]

There are some shops that have amazingly rude staff. You sound very unlucky with this being your first one - but I visited one with one of the BMs to try on dresses for her. I found a lovely one - in my price range, in my colour, but when i asked if I could photograph it and photograph the label they had a massive go at me about photos not being allowed and that if I wanted the others to see it I would have to bring them with me too. To conclude I will never go back there, as they didnt offer to write down the details of the dress of say where I can find a picture of it!
But then on the flip side you will find dress shops where all they want to do is help you - they will suggest things you havent thought of and be really really friendly.

[MrsBoucher2B2012]

I had a similar experience, they were bossy, rude and very very pushy. I ran for the hills and didnt look back.
The shop where i have brought my dress is the complete opposite, the woman i dealt with was friendly and fun. She made me feel relaxed and showed me loads of dress similar to what i described some looked terrible on others were okay. Then when i was getting a bit fed up of trying on dresses i told her to pick something that she thought would suit me and she picked a stunning dress. went back a few weeks later to try it on again and brought it.

Hopefully your next encounter with world of wedding dress shops will be a bit more relaxed and happy.

[MrsC2Be]

I think I've been very lucky, I've not had a bad experience. I've been in several shops, both for myself and for my BM's. All have been lovely and friendly and couldn't do enough to help me. The lady where I've bought my dress was so great that we've decided to go with her for the BM's too. I must admit, I've always been with someone else (either mum or bm) and we're all quite strong-willed so a "we just want to look for now" means that and if someone starts to pester, we either ignore them or repeat ourselves lol I don't deal well with pushy sales assistants!

I've heard the photo thing before, I think it's something to do with people taking photos of designer dresses and getting them made themselves on the cheap. I know my friend had a similar issue, but the friend who'd gone with her just did stealth photography on her phone anyway. However, I've never come across it before myself. Must be so frustraing!

[SeptemberBride]

The shop I got my dress from, the staff were amazing and so so helpful, but another shop I went in to try a dress on, had to make an appointment even to get in the shop, I tried on one dress, and quite liked it but the woman in there was like 'how will you be paying the deposit'..........it kind of shocked me and to be fair even if it was the right dress I wouldnt have bought it in that shop.

There is also another shop near me where you have to take proof that you have booked your wedding before they will let you make an appointment to try dresses on!! x

[Becky]

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience! Definitely don't go back, they do not deserve your custom! Good service makes such a difference, I'm sure you'll find other shops which are far better. I've been quite lucky - all the ones I've tried in the past have been really helpful and friendly.

Hope you have better luck with the next ones you try! xxx

[lauriex]

hey ladies

thank you all so much for your replies...It was nice to read that some of you have had good experiences in these shops - this gives me positive vibes about my next attempt at looking for BM dresses and of course a dress for meeeee!

I was so shocked at my experience; I will not be going back, I've never been treated like that in my life! Told my OH what happened..He said that they can shove their dresses where the sun doesn't shine (well, in words a tad naughtier than that!)

[lauriex]

SeptemberBride, on 03 October 2011 - 08:15 AM, said:

There is also another shop near me where you have to take proof that you have booked your wedding before they will let you make an appointment to try dresses on!! x

say whhaaaaattt!? You have to proove you've booked your wedding!? So, what happens if a bride to be goes in just to take an excited peek at dresses? Wonder what they would say to her? ...Ehhhh sorry, you're not eligible to look at or try on our dresses as you have not set a date.....


sounds naff dunnit!? x

[lauriex]

ElmoGrace, on 03 October 2011 - 06:03 AM, said:

There are some shops that have amazingly rude staff. You sound very unlucky with this being your first one - but I visited one with one of the BMs to try on dresses for her. I found a lovely one - in my price range, in my colour, but when i asked if I could photograph it and photograph the label they had a massive go at me about photos not being allowed and that if I wanted the others to see it I would have to bring them with me too. To conclude I will never go back there, as they didnt offer to write down the details of the dress of say where I can find a picture of it!
But then on the flip side you will find dress shops where all they want to do is help you - they will suggest things you havent thought of and be really really friendly.

it amazes me how these people run their businesses, how can you make money with the attitude 'the ruder I am, the more money I make..' It doesn't work for me!
I have heard about the picture thing before, some shops are just antsy about you copying dresses, getting someone to make it for you - takes business away from them! Its nuts! I am going to take a trip down to the shop where my mum had her wedding dress made, she was a lovely girl. Fingers crossed she can get hold of or make BM dresses in our colour!!!

[Becky]

Sounds like an excellent plan!

I hope you have nothing but lovely experiences when you go shopping for your dress to make up for those rude women!!

[lauriex]

thanks Becky those wenches in that shop won't ruin it for me and my BMs!

[MrsMay2011]

I'll echo the others... I went to a really good shop and a terrible one...on the same day!
I went to the good one first. It was my first time trying on so they gave us free rein to pick out lots of different dresses. Afterwards the woman said "do you mind if I pick out some for you", which she did, and every one was stunning on. A good dress shop will have experience to know what will suit your shape and guide you to it in a non-pushy way. There was a clear favourite, made of slipper satin. As I was getting married in NYC we asked how it would travel, and the woman told us slipper satin would crease easily so we'd have to make arrangements to get it steamed once there if I chose that one.
We then went to the second one. We had an appointment but were really early so had a cup of tea in a coffee shop literally underneath the shop. As we were leaving the coffee shop, 8 mins before our appointment at 2pm (I remember as I checked the time when they called!) I got a call from the shop demanding to know where I was, and was I going to be keeping my appointment because there were lots of other people they could give it to didn't I know. I walked in door *as* I was on the phone to them, nearly 10 mins early BTW, and their attitude changed immediately to complete fawning! This shop was much posher than the first, plush decor and we got offered glasses of wine and nibbles, but the staff were dreadful in comparison. I tried on a dress that looked awful on me, me & BM both just laughed but the woman said that it might look better in ivory (than white) - she would have actually let me buy that dreadful dress! The clincher came when I tried on the same dress that I had liked in the first shop. My mum said something along the lines of 'but you'll have to get that steamed when you take it to NY' the woman immediatly said 'Oh NO, that will travel WONDERFULLY, it'll be fine' Lies!!
So, don't worry, you will find the shop for you (if not already at the place your mum went ) and remember, posher is not neccessarily better!

Go to the right shop and wedding dress shopping is awesome, believe us!

PS I've never understood the no photo thing - surely if you *were* going to get a copy made, pics are readily available on the websites??

[lauriex]

Bloody hell!! Your experience was bad with that second shop MrsMay2011!!! Some shops are just ridiculously run. I reckon I will stick to the shop that my mum used. She is an amazing lady. When my mum was having her dress made, she like the top half of one and the bottom of another - it wasn't a problem for the dress maker, she was able to concoct both into the one dress. The end result was so gorgeous, attention to detail was second to none. I haven't tried on any dresses yet, i have a year and a half to go, so I plan to start looking after the new year. I. have no idea what I would like so I need to get ideas!

Im losing weight first, until then I'll not try anything on!! I will keep positive about the wedding shops I am looking forward to the exp of trying on beautiful dresses, some of those posh shops are so stuck up and plain nasty - my mum discovered another one in Belfast!!! So, SHOPS TO STEER CLEAR OF COUNT: 2!!!!