Worst bridal shop ever. I ordered my daughter dress in May of 2023. Was told it would arrive four months before the wedding in July of 2024. I called in April they said manufacturer had not released the dress yet. Daughter called May 2nd, they said manufacturer had not released the dress yet. I called the manufacturer they told me that they had the dress but could not give me any additional information, they agreed to call the store for me to see what was going on. After a week manufacturer said she could not get owner on the phone and suggested I contact another bridal shop to pick up the dress, which also meant paying for the dress again. (I had already paid for the dress in full) Drove form my home in New York to the dress shop in Andover to speak with the owner, she was not there and her assistant got her on the phone. I told her I would like to schedule a call with her and the manufacturer as someone was lying. Was then informed that they no longer do business with this manufacturer, I asked how long to get the dress once it is released. She said it would take a week. Then had to argue with the store to make an appointment to pick up the dress. Finally got an appointment for two weeks later. Dress was shipped the following Monday. On Wednesday before our appointment the owner Gretchen called my daughter and told her that she was the only one allowed in the store, if her family called she would call the police. My daughter was in tears when she called me. She said Gretchen was yelling at her and extremely rude. I called the police and they told me I could be excluded from the store. But if they gave my daughter any problems to call them. What kind of bridal shop owner takes away the experience of a mother seeing her daughter in her wedding dress for the first time. Additionally now have to scramble to find someone to alter the dress in the next six weeks. Stay away from this shop. Read the reviews. read more

Outstanding store for mother of the bride dresses! I found a beautiful dress for my daughters shower next year, and also a few other off the rack outfits for the wedding weekend. Although I had already purchased my mother of the bride gown elsewhere in New England, I saw many gorgeous gowns at this store. They were just as lovely as the one I had found.. Donna was wonderful, friendly and knowledgeable! I got so much attention from start to finish - it was very much appreciated at a very busy store on a very busy Saturday ! Kudos to this wonderful boutique and stylist, Donna.. read more

I had the best experience buying and altering my wedding dress at Cristina's! Taryn was expert at working with me to navigate their extensive inventory to find the perfect dress for me. She listened to my feedback after every dress I tried on before bringing me more options that better fit my vision. They also have a great selection of bridesmaid dresses for every type of wedding. And my mom found a stunning mother of the bride dress within minutes. Cristina's gets my highest recommendation, and you need to try it! read more

Cristina's - both dresses from Cristina's! - Bridal Near Me - Andover, Massachusetts

Cristina's (now Boston Bridal Atelier) was a wonderful breath of fresh air after being at two other bridal shops in the Boston area. My stylist, Emma, was warm, thoughtful, and energetic, and made me feel very comfortable voicing my opinions on different dresses. She encouraged me to try on numerous different styles in order to get a feel for what I would like. I do not normally wear strapless gowns and without her encouragement, I would not have seriously considered one. I was also impressed by the size of the store and the large area upstairs used to try on the dresses. While I did not end up finding my dress here, I had a very pleasant experience and I would shop here again. read more

Well I wish I would have paid more attention to the bad reviews. Please do not go here. I bought a dress off the rack and they kept it for repairs. Namely the clasp and the zipper were broken. When I picked it up weeks later, they tied a string through the broken zipper and just removed part of the clasp. When I picked it up I had them check and confirm the zipper had been fixed. The owner said, "yep, it's fixed!" Nope, it's not! There is a ribbon that hangs off the back.... this is my wedding.... and I could tie my own ribbon in place of a zipper. The dress also smells of BO. Even the most affordable places will usually clean a sample dress after you buy it. (for example VOWS cleans any dress over $1,000). My dress was WELL over $1k. They never said they would clean it though, so that's my problem I guess. I was supposed to take this dress home with me this weekend and I'm so, so sad. They ruined such an exciting memory and moment for me. I will warn everyone I know in person and on the WWW to avoid this place. Expensive dress and horrible service. Lots of nice places around, no need to mess with a place like this. read more

Cristina's - Cristina's idea of "fixing a broken zipper". Tie a piece of ribbon on it. - Bridal Near Me - Andover, Massachusetts

Cristina's was a great experience. I went at 5 pm on Wednesday night, and we were the only appointment in the whole store. This was great! If you can, I recommend going during the week at night. Our stylist spent over 2 hours with us (which I know is out of the norm because on the website it states the appointments are 1hr to 1hr 1/2). During this time, I got to try on a ton of dresses, and really focus in on what I wanted. I've been to about 4 other bridal salons, and I had good experiences at them, but not like Cristina's. I didn't think the dresses at Cristina's were any more expensive than any other store I have been too. Cristina's does have some higher end designers but also has a wide array of prices. I ended up getting my dream wedding dress and I cannot wait for it to come in. My stylist was incredible (I forget her name now...) but she was very attentive and listened to what I wanted to achieve. read more

I loved my experience at Cristina's! It was my first time ever trying on bridal gowns and to say I'm obsessed with bridal gowns is an understatement...so this was going to be no small feat! They had a really great selection of designers and had dresses for all budgets. I wanted to have fun and try on every fabric, shape and neckline to get the full experience and narrow down what I wanted. My mother and grandmother were unable to come due to health issues so I was already pretty emotional. Alexa, my amazing stylist was so patient, so easy going and just so knowledgeable! She really made this appointment a blast for me and my family and just was in my corner the whole time. We cannot speak more highly of Alexa! read more

Cristina's was the first bridal shop I went to, and I didn't need to go to anymore! The staff was wonderful, openly took my thoughts of the dress I wanted and found the dress of my dreams! It was exactly what I envisioning and fit my body type perfectly. I will definitely be going to them again for another event! read more

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I am getting married in 3 months and originally said yes about 7 months ago at another bridal boutique and instantly regretted the style i picked for myself (I had a dream dress in mind when I got engaged but never tried it on). After months of sitting on it, I just had to hunt down my dream Hayley Paige dress and bite the bullet. I called Cristina's (in a panic mind you) explaining my situation and wouldn't mind possibly purchasing the sample dress if allowed. Chris was SO nice over the phone and insisted me to come in ASAP to help me. I arrived at the salon and Chris ran over to hug me and had the dress hanging on display for me. Mind you, I was an emotional wreck going into this, thinking this would never work out. Her open arms really made me feel at ease and eager to try my dream gown on. Donna, our consultant greeted us and put me in my gown. I almost started crying, THIS was the moment I waited for. She was so sweet and accommodating. I should also mention, I'm not too sure if I got a legit 'appointment' due to my circumstances, but they treated me amazing. I only tried on this one dress and knew it was mine. Not only did they sell me an EXTREMELY clean sample gown (some of you may know, some sample gowns can be NASTY), but she gave us a huge discount to help ease our stress of buying 2 dresses AND mentioned they will spot clean and steam my dress. I also appreciate the in house alterations, something my former gown store did not offer. The seamstress was able to come right up to our appointment and guarantee that she could fix the dress to fit me perfectly, before I even bought the gown. For the reviews stating her gowns are expensive, yes, they are couture gowns only, they carry exclusive designers that are not offered elsewhere, like the store i originally got my dress from. All in all, really incredible experience here after a really stressful couple of months. Thank you Chris and team for saving my wedding day! read more

Love all the staff there. They really are helpful and make great suggestions. Very friendly staff. Not only did my sister get her dress there a few years ago but I also just got mine there as well. They are really helpful with sticking to knowing what you like and don't like. I couldn't have been more happier. The bridesmaids section staff is great as well. They all really go above and beyond with making sure you get what you want and love. I would recommend all who are getting married to go there. read more

Cristina's was a very weird experience. We had an appointment for 3 bridesmaids and when we arrived it was awkward. The staff looked at us like we had mutant disease. Once we got situated, they were not very helpful...they have only one size which makes it extremely difficult to know if you even like the dress. Also, the dresses on the rack were dingy and from circa 1982. PS: They don't let you bring champagne. read more

Horrible service. Place is very run down. Unprofessional. Don't bother. The salesperson was not at all warm or welcoming. Could not wait to get us out. We went to another salon and had a perfect session. Not rushed, staff were friendly and so helpful! Christina's probably should close. read more

I am sad to report I would never go back to Cristinas. I purchased a mother of bride dress . with much confusion over the alterations that were done the dress was cut and the train was removed ( reason I bought this dress was the train ) . they allowed me have the dress on the rack that I tried on orginally . alterations done quickly and they looked it . I needed the dress took it and sadly the pictures show this was not what I had dreamed of . I read more

STAY AWAY AT ALL COST!!! The worth consumer service ever. they took my daughter's measurements, they decided to order her a size 4 dress keep it in mind that my daughter is 4'10" and 88 lbs. i told them that 4 would be very big, they insisted on size 4 would fit perfect. Surprise, surprise not only the dress was too big( like I expected) they refused to do anything about it. I had to take it to a tailor to get it fixed or remade. it cost me $150 to get fixed. read more

It saddens me that people have had negative experiences here. I LOVED working with them. I bought my wedding dress, mother-of-the-bride, and all the bridesmaid dresses at Cristina's. They were very forthcoming about certain brands struggling with delivering on time. I know they were struggling to find seamstresses to come back after they reopened due to anxiety about COVID, my bridesmaids and mom had no issue finding alterations elsewear. Maria who did my alterations did absolutely beautiful work and my dress was perfect in every way. They are a small business struggling with the same things many small businesses are. Thank you Cristina's! read more

Dealing with this dress shop has been horrific from start to finish. Incredibly rude staff, terrible alterations and awful communication. My dress broke the day of my wedding and they have zero care that I actually couldn't even wear it after pictures. I essentially was told this is my fault since I lost weight. They did not take ANY ownership that they sold me a dress that couldn't be altered the way I was promised. I asked to speak directly with the shop owner and was told NO. Im working directly now with the dress designer to see if she actually cares about customers because this place does not. read more

Boston Bridal Atelier formerly known as Christina's in Andover is a place to AVOID at all costs. I had been warned, but in the beginning it seems like everyone was nice and my daughter found a dress she loved. All was going well until 1 week before the final fitting. They called my daughter unexpectedly to find out why she was not there for her fitting. She told them it was scheduled for the following week. Apparently, the seamstress was going away and they claimed they called my daughter and she agreed to change the appointment. NO CALL WAS MADE TO MY DAUGHTER. We have the phone records to prove it. As a surprise to my daughter I was flying in her maid of honor, her sister, for the last appointment, so I was on top of when it was scheduled. Upon on arrival the staff at the shop was rude. There was no acknowledgment of their mistake and worse they blamed us, insisting they made the call. I asked to see their records to prove it and they were unable. To make matters worse, we had to run to the store from two hours away, to have the fitting that day and to leave with the dress. While the seamstress did a wonderful job, I will never work with this shop again! read more

I had to call in my measurements for my bridesmaid dress since I live far from Cristinas. "That doesn't make sense." Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. Now granted, I'm not skinny but somehow, not being a nudist, I've found clothing companies perfectly able to dress my non-sensical body. I was asked what size I was in regular clothing. I told her a ten. "Well, I'm a ten." said the person on the other line, almost indignantly. I was put on the phone with someone else, who told me they could order the largest size before going into the plus sizes which were more expensive. My patience had run out at this point, because I had been being nice and because their job was to help me fit a dress to me, not to make me feel fat. "Fine, I'll just starve myself starting now and we can cross our fingers!" I said, my sarcasm seemingly lost on them. Wait, it gets better. I go pick up my dress (because I have to order it from this store, even though they were super-rude to me on the phone). I walk in around 3 pm and proceed to stand there for five minutes. The woman, who seems like the owner is in the middle of a consultation so I don't interrupt. She finally looks up at me impatiently sticking up her index finger. "Someone will be with you in a moment." Yeah, I kind of figured you wouldn't leave me standing there indefinitely. A nice younger worker comes from the back room and she chats with me a bit while she looks for my dress. As she hands it to me, she says "Do you want to try it on?" I looked her square in the eye and said "No, I want to get out of here as soon as humanly possible." I might have imagined it but I think she looked like she agreed. Cristina, I might not be a bride but somehow, even with my misshapen body, I might get married someday. It really does pay to be nice to everyone who walks into your store. I certainly wasn't expecting you to drop everything and serve me; I know you're a small boutique. But you made me feel like my body was subpar and acted like I didn't matter right to my face. No one deserves that. You've got a great younger lady working there who was my one reason you get a star from me at all. I'm not a negative person but to those of you thinking of using this store, please note how your bridesmaids may be treated. read more

I went here to look for bridesmaid dresses with my two sisters - (who both have THREE kids, it was also IN A SNOWSTORM) It's pretty hard to gather all of us in one room being that they are busy moms. With that being said, we went to Christina's because both of my sisters went here for their bridal gowns as well as bridesmaid gowns when they were married! I guess things have changed. A woman called me earlier that morning to confirm my appointment, yet when I showed up, the woman at the desk had no idea who I was. When I told her my name and asked if my two sisters were here she said no. I went downstairs to start my search only to find my two sisters there already searching! WE WERE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE STORE. There were also a gaggle of workers everywhere but clearly too busy to greet, help or pull dresses for us. They were very good at staring at us and scolding my sisters children though. I went in specifically to buy Amsale dresses for my girls and they are not cheap- I will NOT be purchasing from Christina's because of the horrible service we were given. I told the owner as much and she gave me a half-hearted apology and went on her merry way, I guess she was in a rush to teach her staff how to give attitude. She clearly doesn't need the business! I can't believe this place still runs with this kind of service. read more

Mehhh... is a good way to describe this. I came to Cristina's for my first-ever wedding dress shopping experience. I live in California so I came with my mom while I was home for my cousin's wedding. I didn't realize how not-great my experience was until I had another, better shopping trip elsewhere. We got to Cristina's when they opened and everyone was very polite and welcoming. We were taken upstairs to a large room full of gowns and took a seat to discuss what I wanted. The attendant was very focused on budget. I understand that money is a big part of buying a dress. A lot of gowns are insanely expensive and you wouldn't want to try on a gown that you LOVE and find out it's $4,000 over your budget. Having said that, I felt that my attendant was too focused on price. Being told something is out of my price range as I'm just flipping through a rack makes me feel like a peasant. The main room of the second floor is mostly gowns over $2,000. As my mom and I walked to each section, the attendant would tell us, "oh, those are all over $2,000, but these over here aren't." It IS possible to find a dress out of your price range and just pick out the detail that you like, without trying it on. Being my first dress shopping trip, I wanted to look at everything available. We were told to pick out 4 dresses. Most of the ones I found were in the secondary room which was where the lower-priced gowns were held. I found a few there and tried them on. Each gown was nice and I picked out what I liked and didn't like. One part about the whole experience that I did like was that she realized what I liked from all the dresses and remembered a gown that someone else had ordered in to try on and didn't like. I did love the dress and contemplated getting it, but my mom wanted me to go elsewhere, just to see what was out there, and I'm glad I did because once I said I wasn't going to get it that day I felt VERY pressured. The attendant was very pushy about trying to get me to commit. During the session there was another issue, too. The pedestal we were using apparently had some carpet missing from a corner. Not only did it seem to tear one of the dresses, but it also took a giant chunk out of my toe. Fortunately my mom got my toe bandaged up before I got blood on anything. Our attendant called downstairs and asked someone to bring up something to patch the carpet. Instead, a guy named Steve came up with a bandaid... His solution for the stand was just to turn it. I was surprised at this considering how high-end this store seemingly was. As I was leaving, I ran into Crisitina who asked me if I had found a gown and I told her that I did but I would be going to other appointments and would possibly come back. Her immediate response was, "well dresses go out of style. Some stay around for a few years, some for only a year. These DESIGNER dresses aren't always available." I found this extremely pretentious and told her that I wouldn't be waiting that long if I did decide on the dress. Her response was to ask if they took measurements, to which I said no. I felt so uncomfortable with this interaction that I actually chose to wait out in the rain for my mom to pull around then to stay inside and listen to her tell me about DESIGNER gowns. I'm not a designer kind of person. I like easy, simple, and off-the-rack if I can. Another thing that irked me was how often the attendant kept saying, "you won't find this many gowns ANYWHERE else." I'm sure she has pride for the store, but she was so condescending about it. Like if we shopped somewhere else, we weren't going to find the right dress because Christina's had SO MANY more. More dresses doesn't mean the right one is available. Later in the weekend I went to another store and had the whole place to myself. The attendant was wonderful, didn't even mention price unless I asked (but stuck to my budget that I had mentioned in an email before visiting the store), and encouraged me to try on as many dresses as I liked (not just four). THAT was how a dress shopping experience should go. read more

OK... so I held off writing this review because I wanted to give myself a chance to calm down a bit... but after seeing pictures of my friend's wedding recently, I feel my initial feelings about this place still stand (I was a bridesmaid and our dresses came from here... seeing pictures reminded me of my disaster of an experience). My personal experience with Christina's is based solely on their customer service via phone and the actual dress which I had shipped to me, since I was one of the few in the wedding party coming in from out of town. Both my friend (the bride) and I called in my measurements to the store. Apparently, the measurements I had given them put me on the borderline for their dress size scale. Luckily, my friend had warned me that they planned on ordering the larger size to be safe... not a good idea. In theory, yes, it's safer to get the larger size, because you can always alter it after the fact. However, The size they intended to order was the same size as the sample dress I had tried on... and it was definitely too big. So, when I called to put in my order and take care of payment, I made sure to mention and get confirmation that they would order the smaller size. I even called back again to be sure everything was correct. Problem solved, right? If only... A few weeks before the wedding, I receive the dress in the mail. My excitement to try it on came to a crashing halt when I discovered it was the wrong size. Seeing as how I didn't live in the area, I knew I'd have to take care of alterations on my own since there was no time to send it back. If this had been the only problem, then it may have been forgivable... I mean, maybe somewhere along the line they confused the size I wanted. But, the same thing happened to my other friend in the wedding party. When she called to complain, they said if she could prove she intended to order the other size then they might cover alterations... but since everything was done over the phone, neither of us had this record. For the price I paid for the dress, I expected more... instead I had to pay another $50 for last minute alterations. So much for giving the customer what they want. To their credit (and the only reason I have more than one star), the girls that interacted with the staff in the store got dresses that looked and fit great. I just wish the customer service for those of us unable to get there had been a little better and that they would have at least listened and given me the size that I had asked for. Moral of the story? ...I guess be sure your wedding party all lives in the area? read more

For an upscale bridal salon, you would expect top notch customer service, courtesy, and excellence. After all, they pride themselves on being "experts" in bridal and bridesmaid attire. I found the staff to be pretentious and rude. One bridesmaid was ordering her dress, they caught a glimpse of her ring, then spent the next 20 minutes kissing her a** about buying her wedding dress there. The other bridesmaids were ignored, treated flippantly, and with disdain. They state they only have the sizing chart of the designer to go off of. So when you are measured, they look at this sizing chart and tell you what size you "are". The dresses tend to run very large. While some bridesmaids dresses fit well, there were a handful of us who received dresses that were, indeed, several sizes too large, or several sizes too small. Cristina's refuses to admit their mistakes, blaming the bridesmaids for "inaccurate measurements" "lost or gained weight" and the icing on the cake is when they hotly inform you that the BRIDE signs a contract with them saying she understands that they do not "guarantee" sizing. In other words, if your dress that you order, with their "expert advice" is vastly too large or too small, you are on your own. I found them really difficult to deal with. I do find it heartwarming that Cristina herself donated so much attire to the Sixteen Candles charity, and with that said, I never had the pleasure of dealing with her directly. Her staff, however, needs a major, major overhaul. And because of them, I will never recommend this place to anyone. read more

Place was absolutely packed, and there was one small room for 6 of us. They only had sizes 10 or 12 (which is really a 6 or 8 in real life), even though most of the group wore larger sizes. I was told this was the norm, however this is my third time doing the bridesmaid routine and I've never encountered this before. I had to try on every dress for the whole group since I could fit into the samples. They never came over to help, except to get dresses out of our room that someone else wanted. I think this was not because of poor customer service but the volume of people in there--- the women we did speak to were very nice, when we could get their attention. They kind of rubbed it in our faces to some of the bridesmaids that they had to order such large sizes in order to fit. The gentleman explaining this to us was not very subtle about it. read more

I did not end up purchasing my dress here this past fall but I had a really odd experience that I wanted to document. While the selection was good and the price points were fair, the sales rep that assisted me really rubbed me the wrong way. She made a very derogatory about my hometown and insisted that since I was from this town that I needed to look at a certain type of dress (I think she used the words sparkly or "blingy"). At first I thought I had misheard her or taken her comment the wrong way, but my 3 bridesmaids approached me independently after my session to also express their shock and dismay at what had transpired. I'm sure you could try to find a nice dress here, but sales reps at Bridal stores are supposed to make you feel better about yourself- and I feel terrible after leaving their store. read more

Cristina's offers 2 different experiences depending on whether you are looking to purchase bridal or bridesmaid / party attire. You can do marginally better on prices than those that are available here but you get peace of mind that they aren't going to lose or mess up your order or alterations here. Bridesmaids - If you are shopping with your bridesmaids, this is a great place to start & end your search. Cristina's carries so many samples and so many lines of dresses, the selection I have found to be the most comprehensive in the N. Boston / Metro West area. It is a low pressure sales environment which may sometimes seem aloof, but after visiting Cristina's to make purchases more than 9 times for several weddings (including my own), I find this preferable to the stores where the consultants hover. I know several women in my mom's demographic (mid 50's - early 60's) who have purchased dresses for cruises, children's' weddings, and other formal occasions here. When you have a question or want to place an order I have never had a problem finding someone to help. Of course if it is midday on a Saturday, obviously the place will be a little crowded and you may need to wait. Cristina's is open late 2 nights during the week too, for less crowded but convenient browsing. The thing to remember is you get to choose your level of service, overly attentive staff are not forced upon you. Brides - For bridal gown shopping, appointments are required. A variety of dresses in a wide range of price-points is available. Prices are clearly displayed and the staff is knowledgeable about the designers as well as options for each dress (color, fabric, delivery time lines, etc.). Cristina's has a GREAT on-site alterations staff. They can provide many services to tweak the dress of your dreams (for a fee). I have found the costs for the alterations to be average to high end for the area but the workmanship is excellent. I actually purchased my wedding gown here way back in 2005 but cold have done better on the price. I bought here for convenience and confidence in their seamstresses. There used to be a slight discount if you purchased the same day as your appointment, but this is no longer offered. They still do a discount if you buy on your first appointment but the discount is no longer a credit to the price of the gown but a credit toward shoes, veils, etc.). Discounts on Mothers' dresses & bridesmaids dresses are provided if you purchase your gown here. This info. is only current as of 1/2009. read more

This is where I said YES to the dress!! They were the only bridal place in MA that carried a specific dress I wanted!. i was all giddy inside because they had it and it was love once I put it on! the staff was really helpful and friendly. I didn't get the snooty feeling as some people warned me about. I didn't feel overcrowded, the salon is very pretty and well lit. Overall great experience and I'd recommend it to others read more

I love Cristina's! My first appointment was on a weekday afternoon so I had the bridal boutique to myself. I was paired with Deborah who has been in the business for over 20 years, and she was my angel! I had been to other bridal boutiques and never got the quality of service I was looking for. I work for Nordstrom- I'm all about the customer experience! Deb sat me down and asked all the right questions. Since I had tried on gowns before, she let me grab the ones I thought would be right. Once we were in the dressing room she told me to try on the one I liked the most first, which turned out to be THE dress! I tried on all of the other dresses I brought it, but nothing else even came close. Deb then clamped the front of the dress so that I would know how the back would look like, something no one else had done. Cheers to you Deb! read more

My experience with bridal consultant Sarah this past weekend was amazing! Not only was the shop lovely, immaculate, and intimate, but Sarah made me feel COMPLETELY HEARD! My initial impression was that she is fashion savvy (beyond bridal!) and has a pleasant demeanor... within minutes of speaking with her, I knew I was in good hands. She was knowledgeable, and she listened to what I was trying to achieve (and trust me, I was throwing out a lot of different adjectives to describe the look I was going for). She asked excellent questions that guided us in the right direction, and she had all the answers. She made me feel comfortable with trying something that may be slightly outside the box while still respecting every "hard no" on my list. This is the mark of a true style professional (if you ask me). She was a "consultant" rather than a "sales person". Even the dresses she pulled that I liked least still hit the nail on the head in terms of what I described I was looking for. How is that even possible?! Brides, I can't put this more simply: the service Sarah provided was top-notch, and you all deserve to experience it for yourselves. Also worth noting, the other consultant at Cristina's seemed very friendly and helpful, so I can confidently say this boutique hires intelligently. read more

Some spend their late nights online looking at scantily clad ladies doing naughty things. I spend mine ogling taffeta and silk rosettes. Or at least I did until yesterday when I found my wedding dress at Christina's. Anyone who knows me knows that in order for me to make a decision about anything, I feel the need to know all of my options. Because if I don't, then I always wonder if there was something better out there that I didn't see, and I stew about it and constantly talk about it and it gets pretty annoying. : ) If I get buyer's remorse about ice cream flavors, I shuddered to think what would happen when finally deciding on something to wear for the 'big day'. So back to Christina's! I enjoyed the fact that they let you look through the dresses yourself, as opposed to having an appointment where they only pick out what they think you'll like based on a description of what you think you want. You still need an appointment no matter what if you want to try anything on. They let you pick 6 and then based on your reaction to what you picked once you try them on, the consultants help you find other dresses in the inventory that might suit your tastes. A happy medium between the pushy "let me tell you what you want" at Kleinfeld's (I've never been but I've watched a few episodes of Say Yes to the Dress. No thanks...) and the bland self-serve "I feel dirty that I'm trying on a blatant knock off polyester dress" experience of David's Bridal. Though I found my dress here (a gracefully elegant Alvina Valenta dress that was quite a bit more than I was hoping to spend....yay for a 90 day window to pay off the second half of the total), I'm not giving the store 5 stars because it was a bit pushy. Thankfully, my fiance is a salesman of sorts so I'm well versed in the techniques that people use to try to win you into a sale. As I entered slight deer in the headlights mode realizing that a large financial and emotional decision was upon me, standing on a pedestal, veil tucked in my messy ponytail with my maids of honor gazing up at me, I was very very grateful to have them there. I appreciated that the store salespeople took the time to work with me and really dedicated my appointment time to helping me, and if I was a bridal consultant, I would certainly enjoy getting a commission on a nice gown with a nice girl that's not a bridezilla : ) I asked my maids of honor for their advice and we made the decision together. Before I knew it, I was back in my street clothes signing paperwork saying "what just happened?!" Now what will I do with my evenings? No more obsessing over dresses? Sadly I made the mistake of going online to look up the model number and realized someone was selling a sample dress, the very same one, in Texas for like 800 less dollars. But, I'm firm believer that if you get good service somewhere and you have a nice experience, that can be worth the money to put it toward the people that helped you, even if you could get something cheaper elsewhere. I contemplated attempting the Running of the Brides in February, but I really liked being able to make this decision in a quiet shop with friendly people, with my maids of honor there by my side as opposed to pawing through gowns in a warehouse, elbowing bridezillas left and right attempting to trample me. All in all I would say Christina's is worth the trip. They have less expensive gowns (up to like $1800) in the front room and more expensive in another. I had to torture myself by looking in both even though my budget required the front room, and ended up with one in the more expensive one (surprise...haha). The nice part was I got to purchase the sample gown for about 25% off. I was hoping for more off of it but what can I say? The salesladies are good at what they do. So yeah. Super long review (sorry impatient readers!). But overall Christina's is very nice. Christina herself talked with me which was a nice touch, though as an owner she has to be the best salesperson of all. If you can alter a sample gown to your size, I say definitely ask for it no matter where you go! read more

5 bridal boutiques and a Starbucks later my mom found Christina's by accident because she was in need of her morning coffee and in Andover she didn't know her way around but she can Always find a Starbucks and there it was the a bridal meca with my dress inside waiting to join my winter wonderland. We walked in without an appointment and asked if we could just look at some dresses and though they were really busy preparing for a party at their store that night the gladly grabbed a wonderful young girl to come and help us and look at some dresses. I thought I had found the "one" but being my third dress shop of the day I was so overwhelmed I just wasn't sure so we made an appointment to come back the next day and I gave myself the night off. The next day I came back to Christina's refreshed with my parents and future mother in law and I did find "the one," it's a good thing I came back too since it was a different dress that I hadn't seen the day before. The staff was wonderful, I dealt with the owner when buying my dress because he wanted to talk to the designer about the beading on the dress and how it would be affected by my lack of height. It all worked out and I had an amazing experience at Christina's and I would recommended them to any bride looking for a dress anytime. The icing on the cake, while I was finishing my order, I heard the owner talking about how he was giving a dress to a solider who was coming home to get married but couldn't afford her dress. I will certainly get future dresses here if I have events that I need a formal for after hearing something like that, these are the kind of people I want to give my business to! read more

I went to Cristina's to find a wedding dress, and the experience started pretty well. I found a dress that my sister, my mom, and I all really liked, but I told the consultant that I wasn't ready to commit and needed to sleep on it. She told me that because of where I found the dress in the store, she "couldn't promise it would be here tomorrow" and that if I wanted it, I needed to purchase it that day. (In retrospect, this doesn't make sense, because I wasn't taking that physical dress; they were ordering one for me.) Feeling pressured, I agreed and bought the dress and a matching veil. However, on the way home I realized I really didn't love the dress, so I called (within an hour of leaving the store) to see if I could cancel the order. They said no way. Part of their argument was that if they canceled the order, they would be on the hook to order one Maggie Sottero dress that month. But being that that is one of the main lines that they carry, I can't imagine they would have trouble selling another one in the next 30 days (if this was even true at all). After going back to the store the following weekend to see if anything could be done, they finally said that I could have store credit for the cost of the dress, but the veil I would have to keep (no explanation as to why they couldn't have canceled this order when I originally called). Now having a very large store credit, I brought my five bridesmaids to the store to use the credit for their dresses. The experience at the store wasn't terrible, but when the dresses came in a few months later, they were huge on each girl. The consultant had measured everyone and recommended what size to order, but now my bridesmaids are looking at super hefty alteration bills. I know it's safer to order up a size than to be too small, but the girls are swimming in these dresses! All in all, I would not recommend Cristina's. They have made what should be a fun experience extremely stressful and more expensive than it already is! read more

Surprised at reading some of these reviews. Maybe I got lucky but I had an AMAZING experience at Christina's. It was 2007 and my (then) boyfriend mentioned that maybe we could get married on our upcoming trip to Las Vegas for my Dad's 60th birthday. Hell yeah, was my response, although you'd better propose properly After a "proper" proposal - asking my aforementioned dad - with a ring and all sorts of nice words I had just 3 months to figure everything out. The finding of the dress started out pretty terrible: Priscilla's of Boston: You're getting married in 3 months and you want to come in and try on dresses? I don't think so Yolanda's (now closed I think): We're going to ignore all of the pictures you've shown us and keep bringing you terrible fishtail/strapless dresses with way too many ruffles. Abbey Bridal in Andover: 3 months you say, we'll just bring you every dirty, stained, falling apart sample for your to try on and then leave you unattended for 20 minutes at a time despite the fact that you're the only person in the store [this was SO disappointing - I had been coveting the dresses in Abbey's window for years and was so excited to finally have a reason to go in] Madeline's Daughter was pretty good though. Anyway, I can be a bit of a control freak, like to know all my options and plan etc so I loved getting 6 little rings and being able to "tag" 6 dresses that I liked. Christina's has two rooms, if I remember correctly one had dresses less that $3000 and the other is dresses over $3000. Of course I should have stayed OUT of the $3k+ room but a few hours later my Mom was handing over her credit card for over $4000 for an amazing Jenny Lee wedding dress. The dress was a new sample and had to have quite a few alterations which they did for me. The seamstress was lovely, didn't speak much English and was somewhat horrified at my first fitting when she saw the glittery 4 inch high red-soled Christian Louboutin shoes I was wearing. Seamstress: "No! Must be wearing wedding shoes". Me: "Hello -we're getting married in Vegas and when will I ever wear kitten heel white satin shoes again?" Sorry - that was kind of long - in summary: - I loved the selection they had - It's cool to be able to actually look through dresses - The person who helped me also picked out a couple of dresses that she wanted me to try - They didn't act like a lot of the other stores that were kind of rude about the fact that I needed a dress in 12 weeks - Alterations were great Oh - and they have some kind of arrangement with "Night & Day" lingerie around the corner. I was able to get a bunch of different If you go, walk around the corner to check out wedding lingerie at Night & Day and then go to Yama for some excellent sushi (must have the Celtics Roll - mmmm) read more

Alterations department sucked!!!!! they do what they want and over charge!!!! they dont listen they have to much pride. I will never go back!!!!!! read more

The staff is so nice and extremely helpful - they spent over an hour with the bridesmaids trying on dress after dress and offering honest opinion. However, the prices are extremely over priced. The dress I chose was $240 in the store... I found it for $125 at a reputable online retailer. read more

I shopped all over, and then found my "mother of the groom" dress at Christina's. The dress was perfect, and the seamstress was fabulous. My only negative was the sales person I had there, who seemed a bit distracted and/or lazy. I actually found the dress on the rack myself when she said we had exhausted the possibilities. I asked for a different sales person on my second visit when I decided about the dress, and she couldn't have been more helpful. They even matched the price I found online, which was slightly less expensive. You don't go to Christina's for a bargain, you go for selection and service if you are looking for a particularly special dress. I am now returning for a dress for my second son's wedding. read more

Stay far away. They have a nice selection of bridal dresses however the customer service is horrible and just beyond rude. I was warned from a few friends to not go here and I should have listened. Do yourself a favor and stay away. And DO NOT get your dress altered here. They just cannot get it right. read more

Staff is so friendly and wonderful! I even met the owner, Cristina, and chatted with her. Lovely gowns. They are the only bridal shop that carries Hayley Paige in Massachusetts. Highly recommend buying a gown here. read more

Cristina's is a beautiful salon with gorgeous gowns but I definitely felt misled and pressured while searching for my bridal gown there. Their website says their bridal gowns start at $750 and while my budget is nearly twice that, I found maybe one or two dresses under my budget. I began trying on dresses (which weren't even the style I wanted given they had only one v-neck dress even close to my price point) and when I wasn't reacting favorably to any of them, the attendant offered to grab one of a completely different style to mix it up. Well, I put on her selection and instantly fell in love with the dress. That is - until she told me it was 3 TIMES the budget I told her I had to work with. I was so mad that she broke the cardinal rule of wedding dress shopping and put me in something there was no way I could afford. It quickly ruined the rest of the appointment since nothing seemed good enough after that. She spent the rest of the appointment trying to convince me of the reasons I should buy it and not tell my fiance about the price difference until I got so overwhelmed I broke down in tears and left, empty-handed. If you have a bigger budget, they had some stunning dresses in there worth checking out but I would never recommend them to someone working with a budget less than $2,000. read more

Great shop in downtown Andover for getting your bridesmaid dresses. The even have their own seamstress on site to measure for alterations. Slightly pricey, but worth a look. They also carry mother of the bride dresses and actual bridal gowns, but we didn't look at those when we visited. read more

BRIDAL GOWN review: After trying on about 50 dresses at a total of 7 bridal salons, Cristina's finally won out--for not only having THE dress, but also having good service and a beautiful store. I ended up a little frustrated with the original store where I found the dress, so I looked on the designer's website and found Cristina's as an alternative. I called all the local stores, but they were the only ones who said they'd fit us in on an hour's notice (or less...). We rushed up to Andover and they were ready for me to try on the dress. When I had doubts, Liz even let me try on another one or two to be 100% sure that I'd made the right decision. Lots of dresses--organized by designer, which I found helpful. The sample sizes seemed to be mostly 10's and 12's, but some designers made 12's so small that I couldn't even fit the dresses over my hips! So it's kind of hit or miss. They also have a great selection of accessories, including a lace bolero that I fell in love with. I ended up ordering fabric from the dress company to use the same lace for the bolero as was in the dress, and it cut the price in half (at least) from the one in the store. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear that news. There are 3 mirrors in the bridal area upstairs, and you have to use your assigned one. It's kind of nice that it's a little more intimate with your family/group, but I felt guilty for accidentally using another person's mirror before I knew. Prices: we were told that if we bought the dress on the first visit and paid a 60% deposit they'd give us 10% off, or if we paid 100% they'd give us 12.5% off. We ended up getting the bigger discount with the smaller deposit. That made a big difference, though, even after tax. You also get a discount (10%) on bridesmaids, flower girl, mother of the bride dresses, and accessories once you have purchased the bridal gown there. Service: I already mentioned getting in on last minute, which was great. But I was also pleased that the guy there (steve?) was so accommodating with my nerves. I loved the dress but had to ask--what if I wake up tomorrow and feel like I chose the wrong dress? He offered to wait until noon the next day to order the dress. (He ended up ordering the dress, and I have no regrets, but I had to ask...) I guess you can also use the $ toward another dress in the store if you find yourself in that situation too late. I can't say anything about alterations yet. I do know that they will let you go in to try on the dress without an appointment if you are scoping out accessories or (in my case) trying to decide details about your custom made lace bolero. They said I could try it on whenever I wanted and get the seamstress up then. Overall, very happy with them. Beautiful selection of bridal gowns, very kind service. read more