My Kleinfeld experience

I pulled one lace dress that was NOT what I wanted, but the closest I could find, and she took it to my dressing room and told me where to go when I was done looking. My mom and I figured "ok, if they don't have what I want for my price, let's just look at the more expensive ones to see if we can find something." So we went to the two other racks and looked through them...I literally looked through EVERY DRESS in the store and not a single one was even close to what I was looking for. I tried that dress on just for the sake of going to a store and trying at least one on, but it was not cute. I guess it just wasn't meant to be there, but the selection was veryyy disappointing. Is what I'm looking for REALLY that uncommon or hard to find? I'm starting to get really bummed out now over the thought of having to settle on a wedding dress just because it is the closest I could get to what I want.

I am sorry you didn't find your dress. Have you tried on dresses in the past?

Rosie...you have a little bit of time so don't worry you wont have to settle for a wedding dress! You will find the dress of your dress I am sure of it you just need to go and try on dresses and see what style you really like on you! It may be different than what you envision. I know my dress what not what I pictured falling in love with but I did! No worries Rosie you will find a dress you love!

Yep! I've gone to around 7 salons. I found a dress that I like a lot (Ruby by Maggie Sottero), but nothing that I LOVE. Maybe I just won't have the "this is the one" experience that everybody else does. I just feel like getting Ruby would feel like I was settling. I'm getting tired of looking though...it's overwhelming to from salon to salon and not find what I'm looking for.

Wait she asked you what type of dress you were looking for, didn't want to see the examples you had and didn't help you look for anything?

Have you thought about maybe having your dress professionally made for you? Try on dresses, see what you like and dislike and have your dream dress made. It might save you the hassle and stress of looking for something that doesn't exist, but has to be made.

@ladylee... yeah that's what I've heard they do during those blow out sales... sucks but after all for the price cut I guess it's worth it

You got it, ladylee. I felt like I was in David's Bridal (sounds obnoxious of me to say, but it's true)! She didn't have ANY other suggestions...helped me look for about 2 minutes, until she told me they wouldn't have what I wanted for the price I gave. No "but we DO have this dress, and this style might look good on you" or anything like that. When my mom and I went to the dressing room, she was in there with her other bride (they had 2 each today) who was trying on a $6000 dress. Guess that's why she gave up so fast with me.

Rosie it sounds like my experience at DB. I would never spend my money at DB because of it, let alone drop at least 4 times the amount of money at Kleinfeld (or anywhere) if their customer service sucks! Blowout sale or not, customer service should always be the priority. I'm sorry you had such a lousy time! I would recommend going to small boutiques and seeing what you can find.

Yeah..I'm hearing alot of non-happy experiences at klienfelds..I think TLC is just ruining people lives/stores & personal reputations/etc..

I went there with my friend for her to look at dresses and was not even impressed with their regular service. The woman we worked with was not very good at finding what she was looking for either.

I really think they are over-hyped. I am sure you will find something you love.

Take your time and go lots of places. I went to literally dozens of stores in 3 different states!! Took me months. I thought I was going to have to settle on one that was "close enough" but then I found THE one and it was magical! Take your time and have fun with it...you'll get there

I am so sorry to hear about your experience. I went to Cincinnati Briday and Formal, the largest store in the country... yes bigger than Kelinfeld and they had a ton with the top price of $15k. All the ladies in the store where great. Can you hop on a flight to Cincy to look or a road trip? It would be a great story to tell your grandkids some day?

It's no big deal. It took me forever to find a dress. And I never cried. But I'm not the type of girl to cry over clothing :-). I think I went to every bridal salon in the DC area - including Vera Wang - before I found "the dress"

I went through the same thing! And this is why my mom made my dress. Have my mom make yours...lol..then you know all the money is going to the person who will make it by hand and not some greedy corporation! LOL.

I'm not a crier, either, MrsJoseph.

@jenn, I would if I could! haha

I think I've probably tried on over 60 dresses so I've seen myself in a lot of different styles and silhouettes...now that I've narrowed it down to what I KNOW I want, I guess I'll just keep looking, and looking, and looking. Thank you all for the encouragement...especially Laura..you give me hope! I think I need to take a few weeks off from searching to regroup, and then in May I'll put my game face back on.

What's your dress budget?

Budget is $1800, including the veil and alterations. The money is from bonds that my grandparents gave me at milestones in my life (birth, communion, confirmation, graduations, etc). They both passed away recently, so using their money for my dress is my way of having them contribute to my day. Here's a picture of the dress I've liked the most so far:

Have you looked at some of the online stores? Lots of us brides have had luck with Romanticgowns.com. They also have some brick stores if you really want to go and try some on.

This one might work. http://www.romanticgowns.com/collection/product-page.asp?SKU=GB1003

I wish I had kept a running tally of how many dresses I tried on...it had to be in the hundreds!! but it had a happy ending, I still adore my dress to this day almost to an unnatural point!! LOL remember you'll never get to do this again so milk it for all it's worth and don't settle on a dress you don't really LOVE!