duped brides....

I am proud to claim that I am not one of those. I feel sorry for young (or older) brides and their families that get suckered in to blowing a ton of cash on wedding gowns. Here is a summary of my experience:

I was already a bit apprehensive walking in to a shop entitled "M***'s Bridal Designer Boutique" and for a good number of reasons. First, they want you to have an appointment - totally understandable. Then, when you arrive, they have you first fill out the form with your info including your budget for the gown. I under shot their prices and she politely corrected me stating that their dresses start at $1299. Ok, I say, I'm OK with that.

Then, they leave your family and friends to sit in the waiting area while you are whisked away with a stranger in to the dressing room. There, she has you strip to your panties (no bra) and throw on a robe (god knows when it was last washed) The assistant then gets a general idea of the styles you want and out she goes to make her selections. Pretty standandard, I guess, to this point. She comes in, dresses you like a princess - necklace veil and all (even though I said NO veil) and parades you out in front of your family. The shock value alone wins everyone over for the first dress.

So, you ask for a price range..."well, that depends on what all you have done since they are custom made" and that is the end of that. So I have it narrowed down to two that I like, but I want a second opinion from a girlfriend that couldn't make it that day. I ask, "well, what's the price difference between these two..." and get again "that all depends on the fabric you choose and the changes you make" Hmmmm still no usable info.

I leave promising to make an appointment and come back with my maid of honor to make a decision.

I call in a few days, ask the style of the dress (searching for it online of course) and inquire on the price. I'm immediately passed to the owner/designer of the store and gown and still given no info. I set my appointment and come back in a few days.

I spend 2.5 hours trying on dresses to be sure I have found "the one". I ask about the price again...still no answer. The one girl breaks the unspoken rule and whispers "did you give them a budget when you made your appointment? (yes) Well, then I'm sure Dorothy stayed as close to your budget as possible. If someone gives us a budget of $1300, we're not going to pull a $4000 dress and have a bride set on it only to be dissapointed." OK, with that answer, I'm feeling better. After all, the dress I chose was the VERY FIRST dress Dorothy pulled in for me to try on and it was beautiful on me, she had to have chosen wisely and stayed near my budget, right? The owner, well, until I commited to the dress, she had no time for me or my questions about the possible changes.

I make an appointment to come back in a few days to make final arrangements (needed one more night's sleep on it)

I come in on Saturday with parents, mom's checkbook and bridesmaid in tow. The girl rushes me in to the dressing room practically rolling her eyes, obvisouly not wanting to put the dress on me again. After I'm in the robe, she says she needs my lisense and credit card to start the processing (mind you, still no price is given). So, I march out to my family in my dirty robe, and sit down to gather the necessary info. Mom pulls out her license and says she plans to pay by check. Dorothy takes this info and trods off (um, I'm still in my panties and robe...) She comes back to explain that it is only credit, no check. Mom is getting a little irritated but dad sits there calmly, very unusual, but mom still hands over the credit card. Dorothy finally comes back and herds me in to the dressing room to lace me up without a word to my parents. I come outside, show Dana, she tells me it is beautiful and change nothing. Fine, agreed. Without a second to spare, Dorothy chimes in, "ok, lets get you measured now" (christ, what's the rush?!) I'm in, I'm naked and I'm measured. "ok, all set, go ahead and get dressed", comes from Dorothy. I get dressed and come sit with my family...feeling like "I wonder if the results are negative or positive" what a weird expereince, am I at the hospital or something?

We sit for a while....no one is talking to us. I jokingly asked my mom if she filled out a credit check authorization while I was in the dressing room (knowing that my parents have excellent credit and tons of cash in the bank) ....She's looking uncomfortable and unhappy. Dad is patient, again, I'm impressed with his behavior. Dana's over there taking mental notes to report back to Rob and telling me it's time to get the hell out of this mess, she doesn't trust them and the services sucks.

New girl finally comes back and asked me what weekday is best for fittings. (still no price or fabric discussion) She comes back again with clipboard and cards. She takes a seat next to my mom to review the page. Mom's eyes are searching...uh oh, she found the numbers. $2850!!! The dress alone was $2500. Uh, hello! that is no where NEAR the $1200. To top it off, THEY HAD ALREADY RUN THE CHARGE ON MY MOTHER'S CARD!!!! How dare you charge her account without telling her what amount you are charging! I started shaking my head NO! No way am I wasting that kind of money for one day! Rob would be devistated. I would regret it. Mom didn't want to tell me no, she wanted me to be happy, if I pressed it, she would have paid it. The service was horrible BEFORE they got my money, can't imagine what it would be like AFTER they were paid.

I made them refund her the money right then and walked out. How ridiculous can you be? I've been asking you for 3 weeks what the price was. How dare you waste my time, and your's you idiot!

I can only imagine that they do this with young girls and their mothers, get them to fall in love with the dress and make it impossible for them to turn it down regardless of the price because their heart is so set on it and that is what the visualize on their wedding day.

Sorry sweetheart, I'm not that girl. I work for a living and know the value of the dollar. Now, that doesn't mean you girls are stupid if you spend it, you have that right on your wedding day and I am not judging you. I'm just saying, if they won't give you the amount in the beginning and you are not willing to spend unlimited amounts, get the hell out NOW.

So, I'm going with dress choice two that I know looked great on me and I can find it for a quarter of that price online and not flinch every time I look at my fabulous wedding photos.

I slept great last night, by the way, for the first time since the shopping started.