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

My experiences at Davids were just as awkward and uncomfortable. I went on a Saturday afternoon as that was the only time my mom, FMIL, and FH step mom could all attend. My consultant was never around, helping 3 girls at once. My mom had to flag her down multiple times to get different sizes and eventually my mom just went and pulled more dresses herself because my consultant was MIA. I ended up buying a dress because my 90 minutes was up and I was stressed. I hate shopping. I hated trying on dresses. Luckily my sister/MOH was helping me put them on! I was also irked there are no mirrors in the rooms. I wanted to see the dress before I came out. Not to mention, it was such a busy day (obviously a Saturday is busy) but there were no chairs to sit in, the three moms had to all stand and other bridal parties next to us were staring at me and sharing their opinion as I walked out in dresses. Like I said, I bought one I thought I loved, went home and cried all night. I felt terrible for buying a dress I didn't 100 love and I didn't want to go back. I ended up making an appointment on their website to go back the next day (Sunday) at 11am, they then called me 30 minutes later and rudely told me they don't open until 12 and would have to squeeze me in. Why TF does the website let you book for 11am when they aren't open...regardless when I got there the front desk women were rude and asking why I was back if I already had a dress. I just had my mom with me this time and they weren't as busy. I tried on 3 more dresses. This time my appointment was only 60 minutes instead of 90, and I was so nervous and dreading being there in the first place. Honestly I hated my Davids experience but I love my dress and I didn't have a lot of money to spend on a dress (less than $1,000) so going to a boutique wasn't really an option. I'll probably never recommend them to anyone unless they need a dress on a budget.

I had the same experience at David's it was awful.. however I had already fallen in love with a dress a local shop by my house where I worked with the owner and it felt much more like on TV! I would say you should another place and try to have a better experience somewhere else so that you will love your dress that much more and not have this bad experience associated with it!

This is why I prefer the smaller boutiques. I think wedding dress shopping is stressful and it didn't hold up to the big fantasy I was dreaming of. I went to David's to look at bridesmaid dresses but they ended up letting me try on dresses. The inventory was extremely small but I did find one cute dress. I was not satisfied with the material. The lady ended up pulling a dress that the ugliest dress I've ever seen and a dress that literally was above my knees like one you could buy at Wal-Mart. The second place I went to was a family ran boutique and the customer service was amazing but my mom who bought my dress wanted to shop around first. The third place we went to has beautiful dresses but I didn't like any of them. Also the store owner was extremely sick and we ended up catching his illness. The four place had the prettiest dresses but the sales girl asked me if I planned to lose any weight loudly and in front of other brides while in a dress. My mom was offended so we went back to place #2 and bought my dress.

I'm sorry you had such a crappy experience with them. I went to what was supposed to be the best bridal boutiques in my county to find out they only have 7 dresses in store to try on but, "don't worry we have a whole book to look through that you can order from" the consultant was very rude to me and to my mom who was the only person I bought with me and who was paying for my dress. They only had one consultant on staff at the time. The second smaller boutique was supposed to be the best in the county my mom worked in. My mom and my son (he's 6) and I went. The manager was my consultant so I thought this one would go over better. My son sat patiently on the couch waiting for the consultant to pull dresses based off pictures I showed her until she asked my son if he wanted to come help her pic dresses for me to try on. Seriously?! She got him so wound up he wouldn't stop running around the store. The consultant picked ugly dress after ugly dress not a single one coming close to what I had showed her. I was stuck standing in a "fitting room" Wal-Mart bathroom stalls were bigger practically naked listening to her getting my son more and more wound up till I finally had enough got dressed, grabbed my son, told them i wouldn't be back, and left. I ended up making an appointment to David's bridal for me to find a dress with an appointment following for my mom to find one since she was moving to Texas two weeks later. My consultant was amazing. She pulled every dress I had pinned along with a couple that were blends of the dresses I liked. She helped me get in and out of the dresses unlike the other two places. She gave me a little grand entrance every time I came out of the fitting room and was quick to grab accessories when I said I felt like something was missing. I found my dream dress in 45 minutes. But for some reason for the appointment for my mom they switched consultants on me. I ended up with a girl who just seemed to have no interest in helping. I asked the lady at check in if we could switch back to the other consultant to which I was told no i was already assigned the one working with us. When I saw the one who helped with my dress i asked if her if we could switch to her helping and she said she'd love to help but the manager there doesn't allow the consultants to switch once it's in the computer. So we were in a bind. My mom had to pull every dress off the rack that she wanted to try. The only comments from the consultant were "that's a bridesmaid dress not a mother of the bride dress." The mother of the bride dresses looked like the ugly curtains my grandma had when I was a baby. I stopped in at 10am on a Tuesday to DB a couple weeks ago to look at flower girl dresses. When I walked in there was another bride and her mom picking up her dress that's it in the store. The consultants were standing around chatting and completely ignored me when I walked in. I had to flag someone down and they were of no help. All I asked was does this dress come in ivory. Was told give her a minute she'll check and come back even though she had her tablet in her hand. She never came back. I found her back over talking to the other consultant about her upcoming vacation. We ended up going to a little mom and pop shop the day after my David's bridal appointment and my mom found her dress. Everyone in the store stopped to offer us help. I go this week to check out her dress before they ship it to her in Texas for free. I'll be taking my bridesmaids there as well.

It just seems to me unless you get lucky with consultants and you're the bride they don't care about the rest of the bridal party at David's Bridal. And the bridal shop that got my son worked up now calls me weekly to try to get me to come back in even though i told them i found my dress.

I would try a different store, maybe a local boutique. They tend to have much better individualized customer service, or you could call David's and complain. I have seen other women on WW do that and they've apologized and put them with a new consultant.

I got my dress from DB (I'm a size 16w). First time I went the consultant knew nothing . The second time I had a much better experience.

That's basically David's for you. I had a similar experience there.

i got my dress from BHLDN, and it could not have been more amazing.

That sucks! My experience at DB was just okay. It felt rushed. The woman who helped me was nice enough, but she had me try on the ones from my favorite list and didn't make any other suggestions. I definitely had a better experience at my local shop but DB had more to choose from in my price range

I do think it matters which consultant you have at Davids. Mine was amazing

She had my pictures of the ones I had marked as my favorites. She helped me into every dress and didnt even ask my size and they all fit pretty good. We went on a Sunday and it was pretty busy.

I didn't even step foot in David's Bridal when I went wedding dress shopping based on the multiple terrible customer service experiences I had as a bridesmaid going there and when I went with a bride shopping. I tell everyone I know getting married not to shop in their stores! Worst sales associates and customer service hands down.

I really think this has mostly to do with the fact that you were at DB and little to do with your size. I heard so many horror stories about bad customer service at DB - especially considering it is such a large chain.

I specifically avoided it while dress shopping. I went to three local boutiques - two of which I was the only bride in there at the time and the third one Another bride was there - but I was in a private room upstairs and she was in a private room downstairs and we each had our own consultant. I only saw her briefly when I was being taken to my room.

I would definitely suggest trying again- at a local place. You will get closer to the experience it sounds like you were looking for.

ETA: I don't think there being no mirror in the room is that big of a deal honestly. Some of the places I went to had no mirror in the room and I ad to go out to the floor and see there. However - the fact that you had to do that without anyone there to help keep the dress closed is terrible and I am sorry for that.

I hate to rain on your parade but they are basically in their busy season now that lasts through may. They are packed on weekends. That is why they recommend coming in on a weekday. Also, the dresses they pull for you are very dependent on size availability and budget. If what you want is unrealistic for what you want to pay, they aren't going to bring it to you since most people won't buy over their budget and they make minimum wage until they hit ~$140/hour to make commission. Also, quit blaming the store/stylist for not having the dress you want to try on. It's not their fault, they get the dresses when they get them if they do at all.

Yeah, David's Bridal has pretty shitty service. I went there the first time and was so angry by the time I left that I vowed I'd never go back and I didn't. Went to a bridal shop locally and they were AMAZING! I suggest you try local bridal shops in your area or as far as you're willing to drive.

I am so sorry. I had an awesome experience there. I would def make a complaint. And I am not one to complain at all. Could you maybe go to another Davids Bridal near by? Try on the same dress and maybe a few more. I honestly tried on like 10 dresses. Some I picked some she did. I'm plus size as well. My lady was amazing. I think you just got a bad store. You deserve better!!

I mean... you got there before they opened and were mad you had to wait... and then you were mad you had to carry your own belongings..... those are silly things imo. It's a retail shop.

The person who opened the shop was probably not the same person managing appointments. They just opened ... give them a chance to get settled.

Not having any direction with the dresses, and not getting any help with trying stuff on just says you had either a half-a$$ed consultant or a very busy one. My consultant helped me with every single gown.... but I pulled all my own dresses too.

I just think you got caught up in those shows.... but those brides are spending $5-10K dollars.... you went to a dress chain.

Don't be discouraged. If you found your dress, be happy you found it!

I'm sorry this happened to you. Dress shopping is already stressful. At least you found some options you liked. I'd maybe make an appointment at a different store and request to try those dresses on specifically again. And maybe Yelp the store in advance to see if there are any associates mentioned by name in reviews as being helpful or fun to work with & request that person for your appointment.

I had a crappy experience at a David's here. I had gone in looking for one specific dress that I saw online. I didn't have an appointment since I just wanted to see the dress in person & planned on making an appt to come back and try it on if I liked it. But I walked in & no one greeted me. There were no other customers in the store while the associates were standing around the counter chatting. The entire thing was like pulling teeth trying to get help or an answer to my question. I stayed for a few minutes, tried looking through the racks myself, got frustrated and left.

ETA: I had a great experience at BHLDN since they treat the experience more like a boutique shop than a retail chain. I'd maybe try local boutiques as well as they tend to be more about personalized experiences

Sorry you had such a bad experience! I refuse to go to David's because I feel like you really get what you pay for there and I've heard nothing but terrible experiences! Every bridal store I've been to has also had cheaper, budget friendly options so I would highly suggest looking into those.

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. I went to Davids for my dress and had a wonderful time. My consultant was beyond helpful and friendly, and very mindful of my budget and my likes and dislikes. There was a mirror in my room (I think that's super weird your room didn't have a mirror!) and my consultant helped me into and out of all the dresses. I'm sure it wasn't as personalized as a boutique or something, but I had fun and thought it was a nice experience.

I'm sorry this was your experience. My advice would be to maybe use Yelp and find a store that can better assist you. I found the first shop I went to off of Yelp. They were great in that they let me look around first, pulled dresses I liked, and then after I tried on a few they suggested some based off my likes and dislikes. They also had a couch for my family to sit on and didn't pressure me into buying anything. They actually liked a much lower price dress on me. As far as trying on the dresses they handed them to me unzipped with me hidden in the dressing room and I would step into them. Then I would let them know when I was ready and they would get me zipped in properly with clamps. Another lower end store in a mall I just picked what I wanted, but they did offer suggestions when I asked. They had the same method of getting me into the dresses. After I got a feel for what I wanted, I actually ordered my dress from preownedweddingdresses.com and got what I wanted for a third of the price! My dress is brand new unaltered!

My experience at DB wasn't amazing but it was pleasant. I also went to a local boutique as well and had a much nicer, more personal experience, but the dresses were generally out if my price range. My second trip back to davids I knew what silhouette I was looking for and was more focused. I looked online for styles I wanted to try and called ahead to see if they had them in the store. They pulled 3 for me ahead of time to try on when I came in. The dress I purchased from David's was similar to the local shops dresses but in my price range. Davids doesnt give you the whole pampered experience like syttd, but i was successful when all said and done and being a plus size bride I was sweating the experience. I'm sorry your shop stunk. Definitely try a local boutique.