I found my Maggie Sottero wedding dress at My White Wedding, which took me by surprise because (1)…read moreit was only my second stop on my first day of shopping for dresses, and (2) I hadn't expected to find anything in such a small boutique. My White Wedding is one of the tiniest shops I've ever been to (with the dressing area taking up nearly an eighth of the entire space) but Rebecca, the owner, has a decent selection with a trained eye for couture. My experience with her was fine, though certainly not the best. She is eager to say things like, "We do a really great job here" or "We know what we're doing" to get you on board with a sale but came off feeling pushy instead of warm. I ordered my dress in March for an October wedding, assured that it would come in by June or July, but it didn't come in until early September. The entire time, I received nary a call or any extension of reassurance from Rebecca, and anytime I called for updates, I was only told that it was on its way. Finally, when it arrived in early September, I was the one biting my nails nervously and calling to remind her that I needed to make appointments for alterations, and only then were we able to get the ball rolling. If I hadn't been on top of my game, I don't know that Rebecca would have reached out.
Alterations appointments are only done on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which made things a little difficult to schedule, and since I really only had a month to get everything done, we had to really squeeze the appointments in to do at least three visits. The cost of alterations, of course, is an added charge atop the cost of the dress and I really had to haggle things down with Rebecca to bring the total amount down to fit my budget. Later, when I decided to add sleeves to the dress, there was an added cost of $179. So be aware - anything and everything you want to do with your dress will run you a pretty penny.
Rebecca has partnerships with several folks, one of which is Eileen, who does all alterations. She was a true highlight of my experience with My White Wedding - sweet, patient, and expert with her work. She not only trimmed down my train extensively (a risky endeavor but my dress had a train that was too long for my taste) and made it look like it hadn't been retouched at all, but she was able to use the lace she cut out to add seamless straps after studying a picture I showed her of what I wanted. In the end, the dress turned out better than I could have dreamed. Rebecca also works with a hair and makeup artist and she tried to get me to have a trial with her during my earlier visits, but after reading some reviews on this Yelp page of her substandard work, I cancelled my appointment.
If the wedding dress selection is already trimmed down, really lower your expectations for bridesmaids dresses and gowns for mothers. There are two or three racks of both, and the selection was quite poor. My mom was searching for her own dress for the wedding and quickly decided to go elsewhere because she could only find one or two that was "just okay", and both of them ran well into the three-hundred dollar mark.
I feel torn about recommending My White Wedding to other brides. I loved, loved, loved my wedding dress and I adore Eileen, so I feel confident that anyone who finds a dress here will be in good hands with her, but I wasn't nearly as keen on my dealings with Rebecca, who made the experience feel cold, businesslike, and the nervousness of waiting to hear about my dress was certainly something I could have done without. If you plan on making a visit or if you've already purchased a dress here, I'd advise you to really be on top of your game so that your special gown will be ready on time.
