I can’t believe I’m saying this but I found my dream wedding dress with some of the most special humans in my life at a place that has always made me feel seen and welcomed.

Over the weekend, I returned to Samila Bridal and Formal to find my wedding dress. I say returned because I have always known that when I was ready to find a wedding dress, I would only need to go to Samila. In high school, I remember hitting 11 different dress shops in one day in search of a homecoming dress and feeling beyond discouraged especially when store after store had absolutely no clue how to interact with a blind teenage girl who just wanted to have a magical high school dance experience like everyone else. Then in a last ditch effort, my mom and I wandered into Samila and I have never gone anywhere else for formal dresses. From the moment I walked in as a teenager, I have never felt more seen as a complex human who is blind, a fashionista, confident, and capable. Yasmin at Samila made me feel at home instantly and immediately communicated with me like she had only worked with blind people for years, describing where she was in relation to me, when she would touch me to adjust straps or hems, explaining color and texture of dresses, and all the while understanding my style with killer instinct. I got to feel normal at Samila when everything else around me in high school made me feel othered.

So this weekend, I made an appointment and requested to work with Yasmin again because for once in my life as a blind woman, I knew I would be embraced with understanding, ease, and enthusiasm. Yasmin and her team did not disappoint and my dream wedding dress experience came true in the best way. I can’t possibly express my gratitude to Yasmin and Samila Bridal and Formal for not only getting me in dresses that made me feel incredible, but for creating a space where I can be unapologetically myself.

PD: I’m standing holding a sign that says “I said yes to the dress at Samila’s Bridal and Formal.” Around me, my beautiful grandma, mom, cousin/bridesmaid, and best friend/maid of honor and trusty guide dog/ring barer stand with the huge mirror in the background

I had a great experience with Samila Bridal, their stylist Shea and their in house tailor. Samila had a good selection of wedding dresses in the style that I was looking for. Shea did a great job helping narrow down the selections from my family and find the perfect veil to fit my dress. Samila was also great in providing a realistic and accurate timeline of when my dress would be ready to schedule all of our fittings and tailoring appointments. Overall, the whole process went very smoothly!

Very fun and professional. Our bride to be was taken care of to perfection. Very helpful and made our bride and everyone else feel comfortable and relaxed and not rushed. Best bridal experience ever!!!

Samila was our 4th stop and if save the best for last isn’t real, then I’m not sure what is. To start, the shop is absolutely beautiful, additionally there was a lot of street parking available. I had booked my appointment the night before, and called the shop before booking to ensure my size range was available. The shop had requested that I browse their selection and choose a few dresses that I liked, and they had those dresses pulled for us when we got there. We were brought to the beautiful loft, where were had the whole upstairs to ourselves. Shea was fantastic, she really made the whole experience great for us. She was extremely informative, and made me feel very comfortable during the fitting process. The third dress I tried on ended up being the one! I had tried on a very similar dress at another shop, but the quality of the dresses at Samila are so much better than any of the others I had tried. I am so grateful to have found this shop!

If you are looking for an exceptional wedding dress experience, look no further than Samila Bridal! Samila offers a highly professional staff and shopping experience under the visionary guidance of Yasmin, Operating Partner. Coming for a bridal appointment with my nervous daughter, Yasmin made us welcome, asked all the right questions, and immediately honed in on several dresses that matched my daughter’s specific vision. Her combination of exacting professionalism, knowledge, and insight was extraordinary. We left with several ideal choices to pick among but more importantly, with my daughter confident that she could have a dress that made her feel beautiful. When she chose the one, the process of alterations and delivery was well communicated, reliable and joyful. Every member of the staff was highly skilled in their role, informative and enthusiastic about this wedding, this bride and this dress. The dress buying experience was transformed for my daughter from a stressor to a happy chapter in her wedding story. We will always be grateful.

I’m so glad I found Samila Bridal during my dress shopping. It was the last stop in a full day of dress shopping and I was exhausted. Shae welcomed my friends and me in and took the time to really understand what I was looking for and what other stores may have missed the mark on. She really listened and it was obvious in the dresses she pulled out for me to try on. Shae was such a joy to work with and made the experience so special. I love that Samila offers alterations in-house, I didn’t have to worry about finding someone else to hem and bustle my dress. The tailor was amazing and my dress fit perfectly. I highly recommend checking out Samila for your wedding dress!

I had an amazing experience at Samila Bridal & Formal. I did a VIB (Very Important Bride) appointment and the people at Samila created a comfortable and fun environment for me find my dream gown. They helped me envision, customize, order, and tailor a wedding dress that I absolutely loved. I highly recommend this bridal boutique to anyone.

Oh boy! This was a really fun, fast and great experience! Shea is the sweetest!!

For context, I’m getting married this fall, I have NEVER been to a bridal boutique (I was searching online), and I had been looking for a wedding dress since the start of the new year.

There was no dress that captivated me until I stumbled upon the designer Martin Thornburg. I 100% love their style! They are the only designer that caught my interest; props to them and their gorgeous skills!

I checked to see if their work was available in Seattle, and Samila had their collection! When I stumbled on Blaye I told myself YES. Yes yes yes! I called the moment I woke up and left a rather delulu voicemail for the Samila staff (eek sorry!).

I called again the moment they opened and spoke with Shea. Shea reserved the dress for me to purchase and pick up on the day of. There was no room for a fitting which was okay because I literally was so in love with the dress that I was going to purchase it no matter what.

After work I stopped by, Shea greeted me with such warmth and excitement! I definitely rushed after work, and it was a rather warm day so I was so sweaty and so tired from a 10 hr shift. I was not feeling pretty. I got there 30 mins earlier than expected. Shea told me the previous bride did not stay too long and had room for me to try the dress on. Despite not feeling not pretty, Shea was really sweet and encouraging. Truly, this experience was not what I expected; I originally planned on going with my mother and sisters but I just had to get this dress so I went alone. Everything decided last minute.

My excitement was very high that I really could not speak in complete sentences. Shea made me feel comfortable, took photos and was an overall cheerleader.

When I wore the dress I was extremely worried that I would not fit into it, but I did. I was taken a back. Truly the whole experience produced intense feelings of euphoria, and I believe I only stayed there for 25 mins?

Although my time there was short, I knew what I wanted and Shea made the experience extremely easy.

Thank you so much Shea, you rock! I’m EXTREMELY thankful for you!!

I had a wonderful time finding my wedding dress at Samila Bridal. I chose the VIB Experience with my mom and Maid of Honor, and it was so much fun to have the space to ourselves as I tried on dresses. I absolutely love the dress I chose -- it was exactly what I had hoped for, and I felt so beautiful on my wedding day. Samila Bridal's tailor also made sure the dress was a perfect fit. Everyone at Samila Bridal was friendly and professional, and I had a great experience. Would highly recommend!

I had the most incredible service at Samila with Shea! This was my very first bridal dress appointment and Shea was so amazing. She made my experience everything I imagined dress shopping to be! She was patient, listened to my needs and made me feel so comfortable throughout my appointment. Every dress I tried on was so beautiful and Shea really did a great job of picking styles that I asked for. I went to a couple other bridal shops afterwards and none of it compared to the experience I had with Shea at Samila. I would highly recommend going here, especially for your first time bridal dress shopping!