5 Bridesmaids from different states--alternative to David's Bridal?

Actaully the one I went to are nice and my wedding party is all going to Davids bridal. I however got my dress at Alfredo Angelos, thats another store thats all over the us.

My girls are all going to DB as well (Virginia, Connecticut and Ohio)

Hi Sharron. I had a similar situation. My BMs were coming from NC, NJ, VA, IL, and PA. I also heard horror stories from DB, but went with my one of my local BMs and MOH anyway to look for their dresses. Great experience. We had no trouble and the ladies are all able to order from their respective stores. So far I've had no problems.

My MOHs will be getting their dresses from Alfred Angelo. Also, if you have local wedding boutiques in your area, your BMs can send their measurements in to the boutique and have them available there for pickup. I did that in my sister's wedding. Hope that helps.

Depending on the store you're dealing with and the comfort level of your bridesmaids, you don't need them to have a location near them. The store I'm dealing with will order the dress as long as they call in with their measurements and a CC number (best to have another bridal salon take the measurements / most will do this free). You can then have the dresses shipped to the bridesmaids for alterations.

I honestly think DB is alrgith. Unless you want them to wine and dine you (some brides expect too much is what I'm saying) you should have no problems. Yes, they may work with other brides while working with you (usually you are trying on dresses that have been picked out for you so you hardly notice) and will suggest some dresses out of your budget but I wouldn't say DB is horrible. Plus, if your BM's are out of state, they may be your best bet. Good luck

I had bridesmaids everywhere, and instead of going through DB and forcing them to wear matching dresses, I told them to wear black cocktail dresses of their choice. Then I gave them shawls to coordinate with teh wedding decor. They loved it so much that my SIL did the same thing at her wedding last weekend.

My experience with DB was ok. They almost ordered the wrong dress for one of my girls, but I caught it.

You can pick a designer and then look on their website for locations. Some designers like Mori Lee, DaVinci, or Maggie Sottero have boutiques all over the country that carry their line.

I had a great experience at Db, the girl was working with me, and the girl right beside me, and it worked out fine. I barely noticed the little bit she wasn't with me.

I ended up going to with alfred Angelo for my dress though and had an equally good experience there. I love my dress so much!

The only fabric they had at DB when I was looking was satin which I didn't want and we have 5 girls in 5 different states too! We ended up going with Mori Lee because they had retailers within half an hour from every girl. I'd take a look at other dresses you like and see if they're sold by all your girls. We chose 7 different styles that all have the same bottom but different types of tops and they really appreciated it. Can't wait to see them all this weekend!

We had fabulous service with DB. My MOH was in California, and the other two BMs were here in AZ. All of us had really good service. It probably helped that we didn;t need alterations, but it really depends on the consultant at DB more than the store itself. We were all lucky enough to get great consultants.

If you or your BMs have bad service at one DB then I would definitely suggest seeing if they could possibly find another DB in their area, or even just switch consultants. I have also heard great things about the Alfred Angelo stores (as mentioned in posts above), although I think they are slightly more expensive.

You also might try finding a dress at a department store with locations in all of the areas, or maybe even just giving them a color, length and material if you don't want matchy-matchy dresses and having each BM find one that suits them personally, regardless of the store. I have seen this done in alot of pictures and the end result can be just as good.

Macy's, JC Penny, Nordstroms, Lord & Taylor.

A department store that has formal dresses would be my suggestion.

Thansk everyone--that helped aleviate some of my worry! I'll take a look at Angelos nad some of the other, but if that doesn't work, I'll send my ladies to DB and if it's bad....pick another store or consulatant as suggested.

I went to DB for my dress and all my girls went for their dresses. 2 are in NC, one in IL, and we have 2 stores here. Received great service at every one

JC penny still does BM dresses!

I think you get less attitude from DB about BMs than you do with bridal. The reps probably figure BMs are less likely there to "play dress up and waste their time."

A department store may work, but sometimes they don't always have the same things.

I've had luck with DB and I live in AL. Dessy(dessy.com) has stores across the country. Bari Jay does too.

My experience was pretty good at DB; i just came prepared with the dresses (and style #), i wanted each girl to try on. we were in and out in a little under an hour AND they let us bring champagne into the store even though we didn't get their dresses from there, we definitely had a fun time.

Mine are from diff states too (Fl, NYC, and PR) I chose the convertible dress from henkaa.com and just gave them the link and since it is one size nobody should have a problem buying it.

I havent had any significant problems as Bride and then in the past as a BM. My main issue has been with the constant "sales" calls to buy shoes, guest books, etc.

However if you are really against it just pick a popular designer and then find out which boutiques carry the line - just make sure all the different states do.

My bridesmaids were mostly out of state also. I just went into a bridal store in my area, chose the dress and had them order them from bestbridalprices.com. Bestbridal prices actually has a store in the midwest, but they do a lot online also. they were great to work with-had my bridal party set up and took the name of each bridesmaids, they could order the dresses either online or by phone and just had to specify my name. then, they were shipped to them at their home. They just got their alterations done wherever they chose.

FOr measurements, I just asked them to go to a nearby bridal store and get measured, I recommended they choose a store that carried the designer, since they would have the measurements/sizing for that designer and could recommend a size.

My other option was to just set it all up at a local store and have the girls call in and order their dresses and then just have them shipped to them. Going the route I did though ended up being cheaper.