Thoughts and Opinions on David’s Bridal vs Boutiques

Hahahahaha no worries!

I had a $1,500 budget and I went to three different stores. I tried David's Bridal first, and it was a terrible experience. The sales woman barely even tried and I was heavily pushed into buying something or setting up another appointment even though I made it clear that I didn't want to. I then went to two other local boutiques, and had a much better experience. The first boutique had lovely dresses, but I didn't love the quality of the gowns for the price that they were. The second boutique (where I bought my dress) had tons of beautiful gowns in my budget, and they offered a 20% off discount if you bought the same day which turned a $1,700 dress into a $1,500 dress including taxes. I ended up with a Stella York dress but I also tried on Essence of Australia dresses (same designer) that were gorgeous and in budget.

I bought my dress from DB and had no issues. They were definitely salesman-like, but just bring a friend along to give a true opinion. They do have more expensive dresses ($1,000s), but my budget was around $500.

One of the last dresses I tried on was 'the one'. Luckily, it was in budget, but they did try to sell me on a $300 veil to go with it. Overall, it was a good experience and the employees were helpful and nice.

I had a great experience at DB. The store I went to was closing so they just took some rough measurements when I walked in the door and told me which sizes to look through. I picked probably 8 dresses to start with and my mom helped me try them on. There was like one consultant working but she was super helpful to everyone that was there - probably 10 people "rang the bell" which meant they got their dress but I didn't feel pressured to buy.

Most stores are the busiest during the weekend - if some near you have availability in the evening or you can go there during the day I think you will get the star treatment with undivided attention. Stores can't help it that everyone wants to go there on Saturday at 1pm.

I honestly felt more pressured at the smaller boutiques that I went to. I went to DB first and my consultant told me "this is your first shop don't settle try some stuff out and come back if you still want this one" I went to a few other smaller shops and when I said I was unsure if i wanted to commit to a dress they said "I guess that is fine, but just do you know if you come back we might not have the one you like" so I felt very pressured. I actually ended up going back to DB, had a different consultant but had a great experience and ended up getting my dress there!

I had an excellent DB experience! I did not feel pressured to buy anything. I tried on a ton of accessories and fell in love with some and she was 100% fine with me being like I'm not buying anything but the dress today. She listened to me and we didn't even try on more expensive dresses since I told her I wanted to start off with the cheapest first.

Anywhere that sells dresses is trying to sell. Period. They are of course going to want you to purchase there. I've heard stories about smaller boutiques putting the pressure on to buy that day as well.

My dress is from a small boutique that only carries eastern european designers and my dress was $865. It was a sample gown, I believe full price it would have been around $1,200. My budget was also $2k. I never went to DB because its so popular and I wanted something different. I'd shop around still.