I actually bought my wedding dress here, but am still giving it one star as I kick myself to…read morespending money here.
I came here because they were having a sample sale. Weddings are expensive, wedding dresses are exorbitant, so any money off is a good thing. I also wanted to come here because there were gorgeous dresses displayed in the window. Gorgeous dresses + sale seemed like a good plan.
First of all, I filled out an online form via their website to make an appointment. I received no response, so emailed directly. I got a response asking what time of day I would like my appointment, but then never got a response to my reply email. I was going to write Kavelle off once and for all when my bridesmaid phoned and was able to confirm my appointment.
The day of, I arrived on time and rang the bell for entry, and waited. And waited. And waited. I rang a few times and spent quite a bit of time waiting before I was let in.
I was allocated Kavelle's mother as my dressing attendant and this is where things started going seriously downhill. She was uninterested, sullen and gruff, and so careless that she stepped on the train of several dresses I tried on. The dressing rooms were dark and dingy and they mixed up my dress choices with a girl in another room. As I was trying on dresses, she was snapping at one of the emplpyees, and was generally the exact kind of person who should NOT work in a bridal store.
In other stores, I'd had to wear white gloves before touching the dresses but here they didn't care how dirty your hands were or how much fake tan someone might be wearing (as evidenced by just how filthy my dress was when I got it). Additional carelessness was shown by the rip in the back of the dress which the drycleaner suggested was a result of someone stepping on the train. Surprise surprise.
I found a dress that I loved but to that point had had such a horrific experience that I didn't want to spend my money there. I tried to consult with my friend but Kavelle's mother hovered around us as though she expected I'd bolt with the dress.
I finally decided to take a leap of faith and buy the dress. When I went to pay, I was shocked to discover that they don't take credit or debit cards. This is a bridal store where most of the dresses are close to if not more than £1,000. Who has that kind of money just laying around? You've got to pay a 50% deposit in order to secure the dress and can pay the rest later but still I ask, who has the kind of money?? And surely they should tell people that before they get customers deciding that they have found THE wedding dress??
Unable to take out enough money to pay for the dress all at once, I had to leave it at the store and return at a later date to pay the difference. About a week later, The Man was in the neighborhood and I asked if he could pay the difference and pick it up for me. I called Kavelle to say he was on his way and could she please put the dress in a box so he wouldn't see it. When he arrived, he actually had to phone the store as, despite the fact they were expecting him, they weren't answering the door.
He informed me of all of this when he got home, and said that when he arrived, Kavelle pulled the dress off the rack and informed him that she would be putting it in a box so he couldn't see. She pulled it off the rack IN FRONT OF HIM. She effectively presented it to him as she told him he wasn't allowed to see it.
I was flabbergasted.
I remember leaving the store after just purchasing my wedding dress, almost in tears. It was such a negative experience, I hated the fact that I ultimately bought my dress there. I absolutely wouldn't recommend Kavelle to anyone. Buying your wedding dress should be a fun and exciting experience, you shouldn't be close to tears as you leave the store.
