Getting a refund for ruined wedding dress

I am so sorry you're going through this, I would ask to speak to the owner if they still refuse I would slam their name on google, yelp, wedding wire

I personally would take them to small claims if the owner of the store is refusing any reimbursement.

However, do not write any negative reviews on them until your case is over. They can whine about "slander" in court and it could affect the judges ruling.

So dang sorry you're having to deal with this!

I think it depends on what the cost of the alterations were, whether you feel it is worth your time to pursue the issue in small claims court. Have you spoken to the owner? Whichever avenue you decide to pursue, if they refuse to refund your money, I would definitely negatively review them EVERYWHERE (yelp, google reviews, their website, their FB page, your social media pages, any local pages, every wedding website you can find (especially local bridal websites and social media groups).

View Quoted Comment Thank you again Cece! The owner is not speaking to me and had one of her associates contact me. She is denying she ever spoke to me or met me 🙄. It is truly disappointing as this is a well known store in my area. Everytime I have called or spoken to the owner she always told me she couldn’t talk because “she wants to get back to her bride”. The very first time we had issues I called with my mother in law and spoke to her, not even knowing she was the owner until we asked to speak to the owner and she said “I am the owner”. This time I didn’t bother calling and simply emailed all the pictures and explained why I wanted a refund and her associate texted me 😑

View Quoted Comment Oh wow. I would definitely be irritated if I got this text back. “ there is no other way to hem your dress beside this way”. That is just wrong wrong wrong. And even a beginner seamstress knows how to raise a lace trim. I would respond to her and include link upon link upon link of YouTube videos showing the proper way to hem a wedding dress with lace trim. And the fact that she not only does not take accountability for her actions and apologize for them, but actually tries to turn this around on you and make it about price is just shameful! I would respond in writing in a very professional manner. Make sure you cite facts (exactly who you spoke to, what was said, and the exact date and time it occurred), what you were promised, photos of what was delivered, and links to videos and articles that clearly prove there IS another way to hem your dress, which does not include damaging your property. At the end of the message, I would clearly state that you were told your dress would be hemmed without damaging the lace, and that is the service you paid for. However, that was not the service you received. And they can choose to either take accountability for their actions, or you will be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau (which you should anyway btw), and will also be filing a claim against them in court (where you will be seeking not only a refund for monies paid, but also additional money in damages and emotional stress on your wedding day, as well as court fees).

View Quoted Comment Just thought of something else… in addition to filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, you can also file a complaint with your local consumer protection agency. I believe both agencies will try to resolve the complaint

Wow unreal. These people have no business being in the wedding dress world! I would take this a step further and contact the dress maker to inform them how this salon treats their dresses for clients. Itight not do anything but maybe it will make the manufacturer pull their line from their store.


I would most definitely consult with a lawyer of your options. Did you have anything written about how the alteration process would happen? This is not quality work and I'm sure it's the reason no other seamstress would take this on. I'm short and needed my dress hemed, and it was made very clear to me all of the applicae would be separated from the lace then the dress trimmed and the applicae added back.
And that text wow! Sounds like all of the people of this salon need to not be in the customer service business.
I'm sorry this happened, I hope you were able to still enjoy your day.

View Quoted Comment I definitely will!! It’s just really SO disappointing. I went to “the store” to go to here and it was literally the worst experience of my life. Getting my dress should have been a happy and fun experience and literally as soon as I paid them it was pretty much like I wasn’t a bride anymore in their minds

View Quoted Comment I’m super short as well!! I was told the same thing. Nothing in writing, but that I wouldn’t lose any of the design because they would hem from the top and pull it up. But luckily my mom always takes random pictures and I have a picture of it being pinned in the store at the top and then how it turned out with the bottom literally being cut probably by scissors around the dress. My wedding was amazing but regardless the dress caused so much stress and they didn’t even take the time to hem it to the correct length I spent the whole night holding my dress up! I actually wore 4 inch heels for the hemming and 5 inch heels for my wedding and it was still too long I actually fell. I was tripping all over the place 😭

I know how much this sucks but I would just try to move on and enjoy your marriage