Davids Bridal horror stories?

I'm having my 2nd fitting in a few weeks, so I'll let you know!..but any bridal salon, not just David's will charge more than a local private seamstress shop..For every horror story there are probably a ton of positive stories though. But ya my dress was 99 and the alterations were like almost 200, but I wanted people that were experienced with my particular dress/wedding gowns in general..I went in the back room and they had a ton hanging there, they probably get more volume than a local shop when it comes to wedding gowns.

Take your dress where you feel comfortable taking it. I too am trying to decide where to bring my dress for alterations. I've been asking around for recommendations. E-mail your friends and family and ask them where they have had luck with alterations. Good luck!

I actually have nothing but good to say about my db experience...My seamstess was amazing! Although my bustle alone was 85.00, but I compared other places and prices are about the norm...

The last wedding I was in - the MOH decided to take her dress to a different seamstress. When she met with the DB seamstress the woman wouldn't listen and there was a lot of communication problems. She didn't feel comfortable with her so she took her dress and went elsewhere.

That is another thing I was thinking about. I know davids has experience with my particular dress and the other place may not, as it is exsclusively a davids bridal dress. My dress seems like it would be very difficult to alter how I want it, as it has alot of detail in certain spots.

And I did talk to the seamstress at davids before I bought my dress. And she didnt seem very helpful!! I kept asking for her OPINION for things and all she kept saying was 'whatever you want'. Also, she didnt speak english very well and I dont think she fully understood what I was trying to say.

Davids by me is not bad on price or service. However, I did find someone who said she can do it cheaper, but that doesnt mean Im saying anything bad against DB

Im also losing weight for my wedding and am not taking it to Davids Bridal to get it altered... I have heard too many bad things!

Personally, I would take it to your seamstress. She knows you and has worked with you in the past. David's is a franchise and you're not going to get the customer service you want. You've even had a preview of how you will be treated when you talked to the DB seamstress.

I bought my gown at David's but had another seamstress alter it for me and she knew exactly what needed done. I don't think David's would have thought to do what she did. I don't even think this should be a question. Go to your girl!

I had my dress altered by Davids Bridal for my Cousins wedding... I had a hem, and straps put on and it cost me 30.00... She had her wedding dress done there also, and it cost her 135.00 which included her hem, ribbing, and bustle. I will be having my dress altered by them... I have a pricing guide somewhere for them, and it was not that expensive.

Not everyone had a bad experience with DB. My alterations including my bustle cost under $100. My seamstress was great, I have no complaints. If you feel comfortable going to your seamstress then I would say do that. They have a list of prices for alterations and it gets pretty specific. It could be expensive if you need alot of work done, but I have compared and they are pretty neck n neck with other seamstreses. Good luck with your choice.

Part of the extra price at places like DB and AA are due to the fact that the woman that work there are insured. If anything happens to the dresses while in their care they are responsible for them. Also DB and AA will work to replace the dress/fix the issues if there are any. An outside seamstress who charges less may not be insured and if something happens, you may be scrambling last minute for a new dress.

That being said, I have no experience with DB alterations, but every seamstress is different and does different work, but I know my Aunt had problems with them with my cousins FG dresses for another wedding, and has asked that I don't get their dresses from DB.

If you are going to go outside of DB, make sure they are fully insured. You wont get a replacement dress, but they will have to pay to replace it.

@ Romona - thanks for the tip about making sure places are insured; never crossed my mind.

The only bad thing i have to say about DB is that when i picked up my dress i asked several questions such as "is beading included?" "is alteration included" And the lady replied "OH YES!" Well, when i called to schedule the alteration recently i reiterated these words and the seamstress on the other end goes: "umm... no. alteration is not included with the price of the dress." It upset me at first, but i guess it's really out of my hands since its not documented (and i dont know who i talked to that day, because i was too excited about buying the dress ) It's also a bit upsetting because i know for a fact that some beads around the zipper are missing, but hopefully since the dress is a good fit the cost of alteration wont be too bad.

Brandi, you're lucky. In DC/MD/VA They will not even alter a dress that you didn't buy from DB. They don't want to hold liability for ruining a dress that did not get purchased from their shop.

Each David's is different. I've heard good things about the alterations department at my store. However, I have a seamstress I've used for years for just about everything- so my dress is with her.

I think in general, it's cheaper to take the dress to somewhere other than a bridal salon- but there have been brides on here who got great deals on their alterations!

@ Fatima...Did you puchase the dress as a sample or did you order it? If you ordered it I would fight to have the beading replaced on the zipper for free with the manager. If it was a sample off the floor, then I would kindly talk to the seamstress about it, she may charge and she may not (it should not be that much, less than an hour of work), but the agrument from the consulant/managers will be that it was a sample and sold as is off of the floor, so I would bring it up with the seamstress...they are the ones that write the tickets.

So far my experiences with DB have been awesome. I went in twice for my dress and had the same consultant both times. She was great. Every DB will be different. I talked to an alterations specialist at the DB in my hometown last week while shopping for bridesmaids dresses. She gave me a price for everything. I showed her a picture of my dress and she told me the best type of bustle (which was in the mid-range of bustles). She made me very comfortable with everything and said it wouldn't leave the store until it was right and everything done there is guaranteed. I'm hoping the seamstress here makes me feel that comfortable. If she doesn't, I could always get it done back home. I'm a teacher and I'll going back home at pretty much every break this year to prepare for a long distance wedding.

I've considered going to another seamstress, but I'd have no idea where to start. DFW is huge!

I guess my bottom line is that I wouldn't leave my dress with someone who made me uneasy.