I am no married, not even close in fact, but I am a woman and therefore I do enjoy a sneaky squiz…read moreat wedding gowns. Thanks to Gwendolynne in Fitzroy my wedding has already been completely mapped out (just need the groom...) Gwendolynne is an actual person and she has been sculpting gowns for nearly 30 years now. Her spectacular wedding dresses have won awards all over the world and have been featured in every fancy magazine you can possibly think of. You won't find any frou-frou princess dresses here, but truly stunning and detailed gowns for the modern bride. Very fitted, lots of beading and something you won't see on any other bride strutting down the aisle this season. This boutique is a must-see for any budding Bride, but unless you're coming on a weekend you should certainly call ahead - Gwendolynne is often by Appointment Only.

Everything needs to improve here, the sales people are pushy and rude and have no sense of…read moreprofessionalism. My dress arrived two months late which I can't even use and I need to somehow sell. They said I grew 10 INCHES around my waist - which I will own if true, though somehow this isnt evident in any other clothing and current tailor has confirmed Im well within the average for the dress size size. The other wedding dress I ordered is also the same size and fits easily. I'm now 4 weeks until my wedding and there isn't time to order another dress, even rush ordered and this is because of them and how late the dress came in. Luckily I purchased a back up dress when this boutique first started giving me the run around. Avoid like the plague. Search reviews about them on Google and Melbourne Facebook wedding groups. Believe the bad ones, I'm convinced the good ones are old (as my friends did go here years ago and had good experiences) and all other good ones are probably fake or friends of staff. Common theme that everyone raises (and I experienced) is that their dresses arrive months later than what they say and brides are then pressured to use their in house alteration service - which is ridiculously marked up. Even many tailors/dressmakers in Melb corroborate this and have had to help so many brides who are stuck with short deadlines due to this boutique. I've honestly received better customer service from chat bots. If you don't want to ruin your bridal experience, don't go here. I can't re-do my first bridal dress shopping experience with my friends and family and the dress they will see me in is not going to be the one they had an emotional reaction to, but atleast this is a lesson learnt and I genuinely hope this helps someone else avoid this place - atleast until they learn to conduct themselves more professionally.

My daughter had an appointment here. Found a dress she liked but wanted me to come and see it first…read morebefore deciding. Encouraged to put down a $100 deposit told if she changed her mind over the weekend or I didn't like it she would be refunded. She was told that if she didn't put down a deposit the dress which wasn't released officially yet would be shipped to another store. She called them on the Monday morning to make an appointment for the Wednesday afternoon. Was told the dress wasn't going anywhere. And there was no rush to make the appointment that week. She was honest and told them she had more appointments that next weekend. She found her dress at a different shop. Because of this they back pedalled and said no refund. The shop attendant was quite rude about it. My daughter had tried to speak to her first. I called later to see what I could do. She told me she was the manager when I asked to speak to the manager. I have no idea if she is the manager but her lack of professionalism and the way she spoke to me did not sound like manager material. I had a friend who over heard the phone call and said to me after if she ever spoke to a customer like that when she was a bank manager she would ahev got the sack. I then called the other store as I was hoping the two shops were owned by the same owner. To which they are. The lady I spoke to there was lovely. She couldn't guarantee a positive outcome, however she did try. Unfortunately we have not seen a refund of my daughters deposit. $100 is not a lot in the grand scheme of things but on her wage it is a lot. I'll be giving my daughter the $100 so she is not out of pocket Future Brides DO NOT be pressured into putting down a deposit unless yiu are 100% sure you have found the gown of your dreams. If you still want to look around then go look elsewhere. All bridal shops keep a list of the gowns you liked so when you go back they can pull up your file.

I found a beautiful dress at Le Chateau Blanc Couture for my wedding. The female staff were…read moreextremely helpful and friendly. I would advise all future customers to be wary of shop management. 1. Excess surcharge if you are paying by credit card which is unnecessary, especially if paying by Visa. 2. Do not use their recommended tailor. I had a terrible experience paying over $200 for tailoring (shortening hem and train) which was dodgy. The tailor had my dress for 2 weeks and was reluctant for me to come pick up my dress! (I was due to fly out of the country that week). When I finally did go to pick it up, she rushed me out of her house without letting me examine the dress and proper consultation. I get home and I re-try on the dress and it's clear that the hem was not taken up enough as discussed. In a panicked state, I call my local tailor who offered to fix ASAP. I then contact Le Chateau Blanc management the following working day and complained. Claude, shop owner, was extremely unhelpful and even turned the situation around blaming the customer. No apologies. * The cost of my dress was $1000 off the rack. * I paid Le Chateau Blanc Couture $200 to tailor my dress. * I am now paying another $250 to fix the tailoring. I have paid half the price of the dress to tailor my dress and management still does not take responsibility. I have called a number of times without response from Claude. Highly NOT recommended.

I had the most wonderful experience shopping for my wedding dress!! I went into Le Chateau blanc…read morecouture in Sydney road Brunswick with no intention of purchasing my wedding dress that day. Claude (the owner) was patient with me, as a portion of my wedding party was late for my appointment. I had my matron of honor, sister and my Mom there with me. My intention was to try on some gowns to get an idea of what I would really like. After telling them about the dresses I had in mind, they suggested some additional gowns and then let us select some more dresses. I had a price limit in mind and I informed them of my budget. When we selected the additional dresses, we got so wrapped up in the moment that we weren't very mindful of prices. As you can imagine, I tried on "the dress" and it was twice my budget. Claude worked with me on the price, offering me a very generous discount (something that would NEVER happen at a chain bridal store)!! they never pressured me into my purchase, giving me plenty of time to think about it and even offered to give me a day to think about it. I happily purchased my dress that day and couldn't have been more ecstatic. The staff were extremely helpful, professional and friendly. They made my entire wedding gown purchase an experience I will never forget.

From its name, you sort of get the gist that this is a craft store but what you don't get is the…read moreextent to which these guys go to make craft and DIY so much fun and easy. Even if you've never been good at craft, this store will transform you beyond your belief with its easy to follow craft kits. My favourite includes a nine drawer storage unit which came complete with everything I needed to get this beauty on the display shelf. It now holds my buttons and other craft bits and bobs. This is my favourite go-to craft store when I'm looking for a new project to get creative with, without burning a hole in my pocket. There's something just so satisfying about creating something all by yourself from scratch and this magnificent store helps you do that (without making you feel dumb). They also have craft classes so you can go from first timer to expert in no time at all.

This stationary/paper/craft shop is a scrap-bookers dream come true…read more Rock Paper Scissors offers an incredible range of papers in all sorts of prints, textures and thickness. From exquisite white card with a hint of sheer metallic, to a bright circus striped piece- this store really does offer exactly what you need. They have an incredible display of examples, giving you lots of ideas for your own projects. Every time I'm in this store it just makes me want to make something unique and creative (just like their examples). Rock Paper Scissors is the perfect destination for all things wedding. There are set packages of themes and styles you can choose from, or you can chose to create your own from scratch. They have an entire shelf-full of formal papers, where extras such as mini pearl stickers, diamantes, flowers, stamps and much more can be purchased. Thanks to Rock Paper Scissors, majority of my wrapping paper/party invitations and cards are all homemade with love. If you think you lack creative flare- don't worry, Rock Paper Scissors offer in store workshops. Dates and details are advertised on their website.

Be very cautious when using this service. The gown design is beautiful and the business owner…read morepresents a professional front. But unfortunately the dressmaking process and communication is very poorly organised, and resulted in me seeing my dress (incomplete) for the first time 3 weeks before my wedding. The dress at this time was unfinished (sleeves needed to be added, too long-couldn't walk without tripping), so alterations had to be made. This was still not complete 3 days before the wedding when I picked up the dress (there were still dressmaking pins in it where it was to be taken up!). Due to time constraints the dress was never finished. Although the dress looked lovely on the outside, I couldn't walk without tripping and the whole process was very stressful. There was no fault admitted and no apology. We were charged full price. Care advised.

When my friend told about Lookbook Bride, I was a bit sceptical. Not any more! And what a wonderful…read moreSuri creative couture wedding gown they have designed for me!! They custom-made it for me and that was picture-perfect. I simply love it! Thanks Lookbook Bride!