Thoughts and Opinions on David’s Bridal vs Boutiques

I went to DB before I went to a local bridal shop. FB had an okay selection but looking forward I’ve seen the dress I wanted to buy posted soooo many times , it wouldn’t change anything but it would make me feel less unique. Also, DB definitely pressured me to buy. Like they had me try my favorite on one more time and I’m like “yeah I really really like it!” Next thing you know my helper plus the manager and a couple other helpers gather around like “are you saying yes to the dress?!??” Lol I’m like “umm no, I just like it”. Felt very pressured to buy but glad I didn’t.

I went local next and it was such a comfortable experience, no pressure, listened to me and let them choose what I wanted to try on. Her shop is by appointment only so it was just me, my mom, MOH & my daughter. I loved the experience plus I got an $1800 Allure dress for $400 because the dress was being discontinued. Dress was $400 cheaper than DB.

I say try iut David’s Bridal but also look into a local boutique or 2

I got mine at DB online. It is a beautiful tulle ballgown by Zac Posen, and it was on sale for $300 (originally $1450). I really didn’t want to spend too much on my dress, so I feel very lucky I found it and I absolutely love it! Honestly I think it’s gorgeous and I can’t imagine getting a better quality gown somewhere else. A lot of this wedding stuff is a racket, playing on brides’ emotions to get pricier purchases (in my opinion). My advice is to stick to your budget and don’t settle unless you feel fabulous in your dress, regardless of where you buy it. BHLDN has great sales too. From what I can tell, the more “designer” boutiques don’t have better quality gowns than the higher end ones at DB.

I've seen it said by many brides that they had a bad experience at David's Bridal but I had a great experience! Super friendly consultant who never tried to push me, beautiful gowns in my price range and many great quality options! I got my dress from there at $450 but there were more options there in the $200 range as well.

I would definitely prefer to buy from a bridal boutique. I've only worn BM dresses from DB, but the quality wasn't great for the price and the customer service was lacking. I would also much rather support a small, locally owned business over a chain.

I would absolutely never buy my wedding gown from DB. This is my wedding dress we’re talking about - a once in a lifetime purchase. DB is a bridal superstore and I feel you get the level of service as you do at any big box store. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Big box stores are great for your everyday needs, but for something as special as my wedding dress, I wanted an intimate, personal shopping experience.

I went to a boutique where I had a private dressing room and my entourage had a large private viewing room with comfy couches and chairs. They served us champagne and I felt so special. All of that and my dress still came in under budget.

That being said, my bridesmaids will actually be trying on dresses at DB because of their wide array of colors and their affordable options. DB does have some beautiful dresses and is a great option if you’re trying to keep costs down. If you have a budget of $1K or more, I highly recommend a personalized experience at a small, local boutique.

Not a fan of DB at all. The quality is iffy, they are over priced on their “designer” gowns, and they have very questionable business practices. Look for a Stella York, essence of Australia, mori Lee, allure etc boutique. The first 2 in particular I think you would like. However don’t expect champagne, at least where I live that’s banned in most places because of an incident of drunken driving.

I actually bought my dress and my bridesmaids dresses from DB, I actually went a few times and tried on dresses, I definitely thought they were cheaper than boutiques and had just the same amount of styles and quality as boutiques, personally. But really you can feel pressured to buy anywhere. They are sales people trying to make a commission off you, but like I said that’s every where. I mean you will know if it’s the right dress and you won’t feel pressured! Good luck!

I went to davids bridal with two friends, our consultant was excellent despite being double booked. She did pick out a number of dresses which were on the whole the look I wanted, but none of them felt right. Plus I kept getting complements on how the dresses looked but not how I looked in the dress so I axed the selections. I went to a second hand shop when I went home for Christmas with my mother and bought a dress. It was conceptually what I wanted and my mom said both the dress and I were stunning. That was the only one anyone said that about a dress so I went with it. Plus some boutiques in the Nashville area were more sale oriented than davids bridal in my opinion

I went to Davids Bridal because I had a smaller budget, there are plenty of dresses though over $800. My budget was about $1000. I did find a dress and I'm really happy about it but I really didn't have the best experience. My sales girl was MIA the whole time because she was helping other people too, and at the end of the appointment she tried to pressure me to buy or leave. It was also a very crowded day, no chairs for the moms to sit in because everyone brought large parties. I understand weekends are busiest but that was the only time we could go. It definitely wasn't the best experience, I felt like I didn't get any help or attention and I didn't feel like a bride.

If you can afford a dress from a boutique, go to one of those, but I couldn't. So while I was disappointed with my experience, I love my dress and am still happy I'm not spending a ton of money for a dress I'll wear for a few hours.

We went to David's last year for my best friends wedding dress and it was absolutely terrible. They were jam packed and our consultant was of very little help. We walked around and pulled some dresses ourselves but after discussing what she did and didn't like about the dresses the consultant never went to pull anything which I was surprised by thinking she would know there inventory better than us. Every botique we went to they had her step into the dress, at David's, everything when over her head and you could see the caked on makeup all over the inside of the dress from all of the girls that had previously tried the dress on, not to mention they smelled of BO. It was only me and her mom at the apt. with her and we had to stand because there wasn't enough seating with some of the other brides bringing 10 people with them. It was also 1 stage with like 6 fitting rooms so everyone was staring at everyone elses bride and some of the comments were just nasty. We felt like cattle... get in, buy something, and GTFO.

We did have mixed experiences at the boutiques too, but they were overwhelming more positive experiences. One place only carried itty bitty samples and they made no effort to tug the skirt of the dress down over my friends hips but everywhere else, if it was a tight squeeze, they did everything the could to get it to look as good as possible, we had our only little (semi) private area where we didint have a million people judging her in the dresses, and they listed to what she wanted and help find the perfect one.

When I went looking in December for mine I skipped David's all together. We hit 3 boutiques, one we found out later was new to bridal (previously just prom dresses) and it was obvious. They kept pulling dresses with things that I had explicitly stated I didn't like (after trying it, I tried to give every style a fair shot) and they carried very little in my size (12/14) but the other 2 places were amazing. One place I ended up working with the owner and she was fantastic! I almost bought a dress but knew we had another apt. the following week at a place with more inventory. The last place listed and after only 5 dresses I found mine. We tried on a few more just to make sure but I just kept thinking about that one. All of the dresses were clean, everything I wanted to try on was at least close enough to my size that I could get the jist of what it would look like, and they were so patient.

I would go with the smaller shops 100%, they appreciate you so much more from my experiences.

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Wait...what? A wedding dress color was banned because of a drunk driving incident? I'm intrigued.

I went to a local small store and ALL alterations were included with dress cost. My coworker use DB s d said she paid almost as much for alterations as she did her dress.

Personally, I hate DB. I found their dresses to be hot, stuffy and itchy. I also didn't like the sales staff. She brought me 3 dresses and when I wasn't a fan, she told me she didn't have anything else I would like.

I had a $1200 budget.

I went to a boutique and found the most perfect dress for me. They offered a discount first you bought something at your first visit. Making my dress only $1300.

I had a terrible experience at DB. The lady had no idea what she was doing and was rude. I’m a size 12 and she refused to let me try most of the dresses on. Every other place I went to would let me and we just wouldn’t zip it up. She was on her phone when she wasn’t making rude comments to myself and my family. She did not care if I got “the dress”, she only cared about making the sale. KQuality was definitely much lower there and with them closing, I wouldn’t take the chances of maybe not getting my dress. I was able to find a beautiful dress with beading and lace for $1200 at a local shop. I would definitely keep looking.

View Quoted Comment Ummmm no. Champagne as in booze.

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Oh my Lord...I got this post confused with another one asking about gown colors. Just ignore me.

Whether you’re pressured to buy or not 100% depends on your attendant at the store. I had a LOVELY experience at David’s bridal. My attendant helped me in and out of EIGHT dresses and didn’t pressure me to buy. I was overwhelmed by choices and couldn’t make a decision, and she helped me take pictures of the dresses I liked and the tags so I could find them again if I wanted to come back. She was so helpful and not at ALL pushy. I ended up calling back a week later and ordering one of the dresses in my size over the phone (had to make sure I spoke directly with the woman who helped us out in store to make sure she got the commission from the sale!)

I think you’ll find pushy/not pushy people anywhere lol. I don’t think David’s bridal is more likely to have that than anywhere else

I had a wonderful experience with DB. I bought my dress online and brought it in for alterations. The attendants were helpful and friendly. Also my dress doesn’t feel/look cheap, stuffy, scratchy, or whatever else people have said (maybe they just chose non-flattering dresses 🤷🏽‍♀️) My bridesmaids and I recently went and had the same experience. We tried on all kinds of styles and had about 3 attendants helping us make selections. We had a really good time!!!

I think it just depends on the staff. But rude staff and pushy sales folks are everywhere. I wouldn’t allow other people’s experiences to define yours. Have your own experience, make your own decision.

1. This dress is beautiful especially on you!!

2. David's Bridal is not closing (unless your specific store is)

3.I went to 4 boutiques and I have also gone to David's Bridal 5 separate times and aside from one time (we new what we were getting and didn't need any help but the lady "helping" us was rude AF but the manager took care of it pretty quickly) we have had absolutely excellent service! I am a plus size bride and felt so beautiful! I did purchase my dress from David's Bridal and I just received it in! I think it is comparable in quality to the other boutiques I went to.

4. Oh yeah and you have to pay extra for "Champagne service" and most anywhere. For a dress you where once I would not get caught up on designer names.

I shopped at DB first and almost walked away with a $1400 dress. I the went to a small boutique and walked away with a designer dress on a sample sale for $1000. The dress I got was a million times better quality than the one I found at DB.

But on top of price & quality, my overall experience was much better at the boutique. At DB, the attendant kept bringing me dressed that were the exact opposite of everything I wanted. I picked out 6 dresses that I specifically wanted to try, and she just wouldn’t bring them to me. She kept bring me other dresses that I didn’t even bother trying on because I hated the look of them. I get that they try to get you into something outside of what you “think” you want, but if I’m turning away ball gowns because I hate ball gowns on me, don’t keep bring me ball gowns!

Also, the shop was too busy. I had 10 other families staring at me and commenting when their brides were changing. It was not a very special moment for me. The smaller place was much nicer. The lady listened to everything I said and based on my feedback, she suggested a dress I normally wouldn’t have tried on. That’s the dress I ended up falling in love with. It wasn’t on sale but she could tell I loved it. She said if I bought a new one she could offer me 10% off, but if I wanted the sample dress, she’d give it to me for $1050.

It was the perfect experience.