Disappointed in my Wedding Dress Shopping Experience...Anyone else?

She doesn't put me in a room, let me sit, and I am still lugging around my purse and jacket. She pulls the couple dresses I found during the wait that I wanted to try, leads me to my "room". There is a sticker on the door with my name...spelled wrong. She doesn't say anything to me. I ask what to do, she said I can do it alone or if I need she can help, that all the dresses pull over the head. Ok, I go in and try a dress on alone. I am plus size so of course the sample doesn't zip, but there was no help, no clamps like you see on tv, and of course there IS NO MIRROR IN MY ROOM so I have to walk into the middle of the store to look at myself with the whole back of my dress open and my shapewear and body on display... I'm feeling super uncomfortable but focus on the dresses. I find 2 I love from what I had her pull, thank godness, because my stylist never pulled any other dresses! No suggestions, nothing from my list of favorites, nada.

Well I think I found my dress, but I am just so disappointed...I had it built up in my head that it would be special. I've had better, more personable customer service getting an oil change...I just felt pushed aside and of course that made me feel bad about myself. Would a thin bride have had the same crappy experience? And also, I am feeling bad because I am now feeling self-centered and spoiled for expecting more, like I am being a bridezilla. Did anyone else have this mundane, borderline bad experience or did you lucky brides have an experience like you see on tv? With the comfy chairs and the sweet consultant and the clamps and help and feel special and bridal?

I'm sorry that you had such a disappointing experience, more so, if it was your first time looking for a dress. It really sets up a sour taste for the whole thing. Wedding dress shopping is extremely emotionally charged, that made it difficult for me because I secretly want to be the princess. Lol! I found that with dress shopping, it's a lot like going to a restaurant. David Bridal is like an Appebees or something like that. It's a large chain store that serves a lot of people a day with a moderate price range. They don't have a lot of extras so your experience hangs on your attendants. If you have someone excited ,It can be fun but it's a basic affair. My trip to David Bridals was much like yours but I know another Bride who had an great time.Higher end shops have more extras like champagne and personalizing attention but are bugget killers. I found the best mix of price and attention is small home town shops. They often take the time to get to know who they are working with. :> Hope planning gets better!

I had almost the exact same situation at David's. Like I thought this was a copy and paste of my post from a month ago at first haha. She did help me into dresses but it took like 20 minutes each because she laced up every single one and the only dress she suggested for me had a bunch of details I had already said I didn't like on other dresses. By suggestions of a lot of lovely ladies on here I ended up going to a (outlet) bridal boutique and had an amazing experience and found my dress

I went to David's Bridal first as well. I had a wonderful attendant first thing in the morning on a Saturday at 9am, and she had only been working there 6-8 months. The person checking me in was a little rude though.

The place I got my dress from is a small local shop. The dresses were higher quality and the attendant was the owner herself, and she and her family have owned the business for almost 30 years. They had a piece of fabric to go over the back of the dress where it zipped up if you were plus sized, that way you didn't look at yourself in the mirror with all the fat hanging out the back. It was a wonderful experience and I ultimately bought my dress and my bridesmaids dress from there. The owner now knows me by name, and she knows my MOH too, who was with me when I chose and got the champagne. She always chats with him when she sees him at his work and says how awesome he is. I got a ballgown for about $1300, compared to the ones I liked at David's for about $600. So price was HUGE but FMIL was also paying and insisted on what was nicest on me and what was the best experience to come back for fittings too, and we much prefer to support small local businesses ANY chance we can, especially really good ones!

Then the last place I went to is a county FAVORITE and we heard SO many great things. We had a nice attendant and they had those big couches and champagne and everything the shows say it should be, but the place was chaos. It took over half an hour into my appointment for the stylist to get to me because her previous one ran late, then they couldn't find any dresses that I was asking for in the style I wanted. I was left standing alone in a large curtained room with a giant mirror looking at myself in my nude underwear and sweating profusely because it felt like 100 degrees. The attendant was also very sweet and kind, but I could tell she was just stressed as all hell. She also wasn't a huge help putting dresses on like the two other places I tried, like she was very careful not to touch my body at all vs the other two locations doing everything they could to make sure the skirt was right, my boobs and bra were shaped, the back was pulled or clipped tightly, etc. The dresses were all kind of frumpy or sad, and we had to share mirrors with other brides, so there were two HUGE families who made comments every time I walked out in a different dress with the back rolls all hanging out. They claim to have many higher sizes in samples, but half of the ones brought to me couldn't fit over my head or shoulders. She did the whole "paper doll" thing, but I wasn't going to buy a dress I couldn't see on my body even in the wrong size. I think I tried on three dresses in a half hour before I said, "I think I'm done here," after about half an hour. I just wanted to not be naked anymore really.

So I was lucky at 2/3 places in one day, but that third one SUCKED because I had such high expectations. Keep trying! You'll find a place and a dress you love! Don't lose hope!

I'll also note that I took my bridesmaid to David's as well. The attendant that day was much more harsh and straightforward. I now know that bridesmaids only get help if they actually need it. I struck up conversation with the attendant to find out she used to work in a very serious government job and switched to David's after burning out. That explained why she was so stiff and blah, but it still felt kind of uncomfortable since she didn't have her heart into it. Not that I expect every bridal place to be totally gung-ho about every single bride and wedding, but I do like workers who are cheerful and friendly.

I will also give the David's I went to credit. Most of the dresses the attendant gave me were too large rather than too small, but I think that will depend on what style you're looking for too. I've heard several people who went to the same location as me who had horrible experiences like yours too. It sucks.

I didn't have a good experience at David's bridal either. It was my first appointment anywhere and I told my stylist that I wanted to try on all different styles, so I could figure out which one I wanted (I had NO idea). But she brought me almost all ball gowns. I had picked out a bunch in the beginning that she said she would bring me throughout the appointment, but she only brought like 2 of my choices and the rest were her "recommendations". So I tried on probably 6 ball gowns and an a-line when she tried to push me to buy something or leave. So I left and never looked back.

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I'm sorry that your experience was like that! My experience at David's Bridal was awesome. The consultant pulled a ton of dresses based on what I liked and helped me into all of them. I ended up buying a used DB dress online that was very similar to one I tried on in the store.

As a thin bride I had almost the same exact crappy experience. I had about 10 dresses printed that I liked and I don't think I actually tried any of them on because she had me pull my own dresses as well. I couldn't find any of the styles I printed so my girls and I pulled about 6 that we liked on the hanger. I had a way better experience at AA and I got my dress the weekend before they closed

I'm sorry... this is why (among other reasons) I clearly stayed away from David's!

I'm sorry you had a bad experience at David's. My own experience at David's wasn't that great either. My consultant was horrible. None of my favorites were in the store (although their website said they were) She said that they would be in the store but not yet. Fine. I tell her to just bring similar dresses. She proceeds to bring me ball gowns and just big poufy dresses. I explain that I'm having a casual Sunday afternoon wedding and I want a dress that fits that. More ball gowns and a few mermaids, after saying absolutely no mermaids. She was also 35 min late and then gets huffy when I tell her I will be staying 35 min over to make up for that. I ended up getting my dress at a local shop and although their seamstress was atrocious, the consultant was lovely and the actual picking the dress was a positive experience.

My first experience at David's bridal was not as bad, but not great. I felt like she didn't really have any interest in hearing what I wanted. My second time, 3 weeks before my wedding when I needed a dress last minute, I went to a different David's bridal and they bent over backwards to help. Meanwhile at the local bridal boutiques I went to, the first one I stepped foot in, I showed her dresses I liked, she said she didn't have any of those and basically told me to have a nice day. My MIL basically begged her to help us and all she put me in was complete opposite styles from what I was looking at. The boutique I purchased my dress from, the sales person was harsh, almost coming off rude, and the seamstress yelled at me multiple times about how I was being difficult and the dress is challenging to alter for my body. Customer service has nothing to do with the store, unfortunately it has to do with the individual and the manager. Best of luck in your search! Hopefully you can find someplace to give you the best experience!

This sums up my experiences at Davids Bridal and why I chose not to even look for my wedding dress there. When I went to look for a dress to wear for my FSILs wedding, the "consultant" was bringing me size 4 dresses when I told her repeatedly that I'm a size 6 or sometimes 8, never a 4. Her response was "but I love this dress! It looks nice so it might fit"... ooookay. I left there quite angry.

I highly recommend going to a boutique store. I went to two and while I didn't enjoy the first store because the consultant was inexperienced, I absolutely was treated like a bride at both. The second store where I found my dress was an even better experience than "say yes to the dress" because the consultant was so good at her job that I loved every single dress she put on me. I left there feeling beautiful and knowing I made the right choice. The consultant will literally make your experience so do not settle at Davids Bridal.

Morning is better or during a weekday between 9-5

My bridesmaids had the same experience. Consultant was helping others and was of no guidance or help with us. Never in a million years would I go in there expecting personalized attention. That's what small boutiques are for, in my experience.

*Raises Hand*

Same experience here! Let me say, I went into David's Bridal with low, very low expectations and they certainly met them. The "consultant" was helping another bride in addition to me and also a wedding party looking for bridesmaid dresses. Your experience was the exact same as mine. The consultant talked to me in the aisle of racks for 1 minute, asked me my pant size, and asked what dresses I wanted to try on based on what I had been looking at for the past 10 minutes waiting for my appointment to start. She brought the dress to my fitting room and disappeared. My mom was helping me in and out of dresses and trying to clip them the best she could so I could get a general idea of what they looked like. There are no mirrors in the dressing rooms and yep, you get to walk out in middle of everyone to see what you look like. There was at least 15 people looking at me every time I walked out from other appointments.

You shouldn't have to go during the weekday to get personalized attention and at least help in and out of the dresses. I'd rather pay double for the dress and not have my poor mom helping me in and out of every dress.

I had a great experience at David's. It was a super busy Saturday but I went with one friend who helped me pick and get on everything in our tiny room with a small mirror. My consultant at least grabbed all the dresses I wanted and brought them to us and brought clips and checked in, but we came prepared to do it ourselves. Plenty of people were there with their entire families having "the experience" but I just wanted to see what styles worked for me and get out. I almost bought a dress from there that was exactly the style I wanted, but my friend felt like the satin looked cheap and persuaded me to wait. We went to another private boutique where I spoke to the owner who assured me they had stuff in my size, but turns out they had sold every sample in my size of dresses I wanted to try on. Rather than squeeze me into those, the consultant picked out dresses the opposite of what I had described. I tried on one, hated it, and refused to try on more. She then suggested a go to a plus sized salon that would have samples in my size 16. I went, I loved it, I tried on everything, I found my dress, I cried, and I was there alone.

Go somewhere else. Call ahead to make sure they have things in your size and budget, even though they will lie to get you in the store. Take someone close with you for help and support and buy them lunch or dinner or something.

That's terrible. Sorry you had a bad experience. She should have been more friendly and helpful. I went to David's as well and luckily had a very friendly and helpful girl. She recommended some dresses, helped me get in them and clipped them if they didn't fit right. I hope your next experience is better and ehat you deserve as a bride.

Oh, and we went for bridesmaids dresses on another weekend day and the consultant helped us find everything in the right sizes, which was nice, but then she kept insisting that my one bridesmaid was a size 2 instead of size 0 and kept bringing her size 2s. We finally persuaded her to bring a 0, which fit. At which point I was like, buh bye. My girls were a little pissy too, kept commenting on how gross they felt and how ugly the David's dresses were, and how they would pay more for a higher quality dress, until I pointed out that I had to buy a David's bridesmaids dress for both their weddings, that cost exactly the higher price they were talking about being willing to spend. Then they both shut up. We went with Azazie and they were thrilled with their dresses.

I am so sorry you had an awful experience! But don't give up. I would recommend a bridal boutique in your area; see what dresses you liked during the appointment, find the boutiques that carry that designer, reach out to them to find that particular dress and size (if they don't have it, see if they can order a sample).

Boutiques, especially during non-rush times, are very personable and enjoyable (at least in my experience)! Plus it's supporting a local business, which always is nice.

Your stylist should allow you the option to pick what you like as well as offer you some suggestions. Don't give up hope! Just tell their management your experience and be like "well they lost my business!"

Good luck!