In all honesty, I would not have had the wedding of my dreams if it weren't for the grace and kindness of the staff at David's Bridal Coral Gables. There were times my wedding could have been a nightmare, but by the grace of a few stellar employees there, they saved my dumb butt and we managed to pull off the wedding of my dreams.
Chapter 1 - Getting the dress.
I scheduled an appointment. It happened to fall on a sale weekend, but we went early and were attended to immediately by Arlyne. She was an absolute sweetheart and listened to our ideas, but most importantly listened to my mom when my mom said, "forget everything, we need to try this dress." And the first dress I tried on was the one I walked down the aisle in, although it took a miracle to make it happen. Oh, and as we checked out that day, we asked Arlyne about her recommendations for bridesmaid dresses, and her pick was a huge success!!! It looked good on all of my girls even though they ranged in size and skin tone. We went with the ballet colored dress. And it was very budget friendly. Also, pro tip, David Bridal will ship you the dress for free once it arrives in store. And that is what we did, and where the first problem started. I did not try on the dress until my alteration appointment a month before the wedding. FUTURE BRIDES, please try on the dress immediately to see if you need a different size.
Chapter 2 - The dress was too small.
When I tried on the sample dress initially, it was a huge size and Arlyne shaped it with clips to how it would look on my body. I wear a size 20-22 normally, but I ended up needing a size 24-26 with this model dress. A month before my wedding, I go to the Alteration department and try on the dress and it does not fit. It's missing several inches in the back. My mom nearly faints, and the seamstresses are suggesting things we can do, but no matter how we slice or dice, it's missing a lot of material for my arms and back. The angel that is Laura looks in the system and agrees to exchange the dress as it is new with tags for the only remaining dress in that style which was a size 28. It was a miracle and we agreed immediately. She even went ahead and exchanged the corset we bought there for the correct size I needed. Laura, I can't thank you enough for helping this plus size bride out and making her dreams come true. But there was still much work to do and many prayers to say. The dress had to arrive on time if I were to have it down the aisle.
Chapter 3 - Thank God for the skill, speed, and kindness of the seamstresses Zonia and Pilar.
We received the dress a week later and they got to work immediately. It took 2 rounds of alterations to get it just right. And we managed to get the dress ready the Monday before the wedding, only there was a glitch in communication that invited disaster into the chat. We were told to come by Tuesday after 2pm to try on the dress and pick it up. But I called 8 times that Tuesday to see what would be the best time to come in, and the system was down. No matter how many times I called or what department, I couldn't get through to a human. I had to stay late for work, so as soon as I could, I went over. And in the drive over, I called one more time because I saw the store was going to close minutes after I would arrive according to Google, even though Yelp said the store closed 2 hours later. I called and freaked out because not only would they close, but the seamstresses wouldn't be there Wednesday or Thursday, so I did melt down, and the manager and seamstress Zonia went above and beyond the call of duty and decided to stay to help me out when they didn't have to. Honestly, I can not thank them enough for hearing my desperation and helping me when they didn't have to. I think that makes all the difference because any other store would have closed the door and told me it was a me problem.
So to the staff that helped me out time and time again, thank you so much. You made my wedding dreams come true and I pray the universe blesses you with all that you deserve, hopefully raises!
P.S. My mom and I happened to browse the clearance section of the store after the second dress trial and we found the most beautiful wedding dress in clearance for the second part of my wedding!!! I had spent months looking for one that didn't fit the bill, and it was like God put it in our path, it was absolutely perfect.
Don't sleep on David Bridal. It definitely makes all the difference to go with an appointment, try things on immediately, communicate with staff about appointment times and their schedules, and to check the clearance section! read more