I purchased my wedding dress from Dublin Bridal and was referred to this shop. I worked in a bridal salon many, many years ago and know that most shops work with seamstresses that are very good and have extensive knowledge of wedding gowns. My wedding was in October and was told that it was important I don't start the process after July. I made an appointment in July and had my first fitting. Everything was great and I felt like Paulette was very knowledgeable. I didn't need a lot done to my dress but there were intricate details that would take some time. Maybe I have been out of the game too long, but my total was over $600. I was very shocked and was told that if I didn't pay in full the dress couldn't be touched. I didn't mind paying in full but after we left that day things took a turn. I had a final fitting appointment scheduled for August but after being sick and having some scheduling conflicts it was pushed to September. When I arrived at the shop Paulette brought out my dress in the bag and then she told me, "Sorry to disappoint you but I haven't even touched your dress." She told me since it was a busy time of the year, she had so many dresses to do and needed to get them done. Again, I have been in the wedding industry, so I get it and know timelines get pushed but was slightly worried since I was only 3 weeks away from my wedding. She told us to come back a week later and it would be done and ready to go. I also was told for the trouble my dress would be steamed for free, I can't believe shops charge for this service after you pay so much for alterations. I showed up ready to see the final product and was told that she only was able to do the underlining and some of the bustle had not gotten to everything else. We are now less than two weeks from my wedding, so I started getting worried. She also mentioned she would be hand sewing the lace on the hem back on by hand and I can't imagine that is a fast process. My worry was that this was going to be a rush job and the final product was going to look that way. My dress still needed the bustle completed, taken in at the bust, the off the should straps tightened, a sash sewn on, hemmed, and steamed. She told us to come back that Saturday and the dress would be completed and steamed and the next time I would try it on would be my wedding day. The panic started to set in because she assured me a week prior it would be done, now she was only giving herself 2 days to complete all that work. My dress was not only expensive, but I had it custom ordered and all I could think of was it looking botched or like someone rushed to fix it. Unfortunately, with a little over a week to go I had no other options on what I was wearing, and it really stressed me out. I wasn't going to leave it to chance and wait until my wedding day to put the dress on, my luck something would be wrong and the day of is not when to find out. One week from my wedding when we were told to pick it up and it would be ready to go, no surprise but it was not ready. My mom had to go pick it up since I was at work but when she showed up she was told there was some sewing still left and to come back in a few hours. She texted me to let me know and I felt like I was going to have a panic attack at work. How could it still not be done? When she returned, she had to wait for it to be steamed but eventually left with the dress. I tried it on when I got home, and it fit fine and looked good.
It is disappointing that my dress had been at that shop for a few months and was ignored until the very last second. I hate to think if I was an out-of-town bride or had a destination wedding and this last-minute stuff didn't work. I also didn't like the fact that the last thing I need to be stressing out about as a bride is the only thing, I am wearing that day. I had no plan B. When I spoke to my married friends many of them told me they paid half of what I paid and had just as much work done and got their dress back in a month or less. At the end of the day one week from a wedding I think is cutting it too close, what if things weren't right? It would have given me no time to get it fixed. I kept hearing about other brides, but nothing makes someone feel like they aren't important like being told other work is taking precedence to yours. And I know its busy wedding season, but it angers me to think I went through the right process of starting early to avoid this and this is how it turned out. read more