I really love the idea that Bella is focused on the bridesmaids. Everywhere else I looked offered bridesmaid dresses but were obviously more focused on the bride. I thought it was nice to go somewhere where the focus would be entirely on the girls. I loved that they had such a huge selection of sizes, colors, styles and designers.
I was able to book all of our appointments relatively quickly which was nice. The very first appointment was just with my MOH's and my Mom. Then I returned with just one of my girls, then both MOH's again, then all of the girls and my Mom, then one of the girls again. There is definitely a difference depending on the consultant you are working with. Grace is a dream to work with! She is kind, professional, helpful and just great all around! I wish all of our appointments could have been with her. She helped with all aspects of the appointment; colors, fit, clipping the girls, offering feedback, etc. There was another girl that was also pretty great, just not as friendly. Then there were a couple that had no idea what was going on. The dresses weren't pulled, they weren't clipping the girls, they didn't offer much feedback and they spent the time looking around or chatting and just left us to our own devices. I was grateful I didn't get one of those girls at one of our first appointments or it would have shaped my opinion and we might not have had as much knowledge on what was happening, the dresses and fabrics being offered or what to expect with the process in general. Grace fortunately set us up with all of that.
I will say that what the others have said is true, it is extremely frustrating to have your girls being stuck sharing a dressing room when there are other dressing rooms open. It makes no sense and my bridesmaids all complained about it separately. We were told another appointment was scheduled for that dressing room. It didn't make any sense though because the first time there were literally only my two MOH's trying dresses on so one of them could have gone in there and if the other party showed up, she could have easily jumped out. That party never even showed up so my two girls had to spend the whole appointment taking turns for no reason.
I appreciated that they offered the same color in so many dresses because I wanted my girls to all wear different dresses in the same color and there was definitely something for everyone. I loved all of the options.
My vision was a deep purple for the bridesmaids and gold sequins for the MOH's. The consultant at my own bridal boutique told me to make sure it didn't look prom-y. Grace seemed down with the idea. The girls tried them on together and it was exactly as I envisioned and I was so excited!!! Having all of the options definitely helped that vision become a reality. We went with Aubergine and Gold sequin!!! Gorge!
I'm glad we went back as often as we did because the second time I went with my MOH's there was a new sequin dress on a mannequin. They took it right off of the mannequin for us to try on and it worked out perfectly because we loved it and prior to that they both preferred the same dress!
I wanted to see the other color of gold sequin that they told me was offered so they ordered a dress for me in that color and had it shipped to the store so I could compare the two. That was very helpful because you definitely can't tell by looking at a screen.
As the bride, you create an online showroom and your girls can look through the dresses and vote for them. They will eventually place their order through there and once you double check everything and sign off as the bride, the entire order gets put through at the same time.
They do have certain specials on certain designers at certain times so keep an eye out for those!
None of my girls had an issue with being measured poorly and needing drastic alterations. They were all measured with their clothes on. I found it surprising when I got measured with my clothes on at my boutique but it appears that this is a standard practice.
This boutique is in the heart of Old City with plenty of parking and places to eat all around. The entrance can be a bit sketch if you are alone at night so be careful.
The bathroom is another thing that needs to be fixed. Something is up with the handle and there's a note but both my MOH and I at separate times were panicked that we were locked in there. Just replace the door...please!!!
Overall, I recommend Bella Bridesmaids! They have other locations so if you have girls that are out of state, they can go to the location near them and be a part of the process even from a distance!
Shout out to Grace, again! She was even very kind and supportive when I had a bridal emotional breakdown on the phone one time! read more