In January 2026, my youngest daughter and I went to Michelle's Bridal to try on dresses for my…read moreolder daughter's wedding, scheduled for late June 2026. We called ahead and made an appointment to try on dresses, and I made it clear when scheduling that we were looking for dresses for a bridesmaid and mother of the bride, as well as cocktail dresses - so we were potentially buying FOUR dresses. We were immediately told that there would "...be NO time to order anything" so we would have to buy off the rack. Ok, fine. We went in for our scheduled time, the woman looked us up and down, and pointed back to a small rack of dresses, and then waved in the direction of another potential area where we might find something. When I asked for our specific size, she kind of laughed and suggested that we would have to take whatever was available. The dresses were ugly last season dresses, smelled horrible, were ripped and stained, some even had busted zippers, and were all still priced over $600. We tried on two, and decided to leave.
The story goes even longer and the service gets even worse in terms of level of care and quality, I will save the reader from the absolute worst details. We even were walked down to the prom dress area, where the service was clearly centered to cater to that clientele. Bottom line is, we were judged immediately based on size, and sent to a back room with a fitter who really could have cared less about us. Needless to say, we bought nothing there. I will add that their quote about it being "too late to order anything" was absolutely wrong, goes beyond measure in terms of scoring this business for integrity and customer care. I ordered two beautiful dresses direct from a designer from her Spring 2026 line, received BOTH dresses within a week, and already have them in for alterations and it is only the second week of March. What's more, the formal gowns I tried on at Nordstrom, Macy's and Bloomingdale's far out surpassed Michelle's Bridal in terms of quality and price, by leaps and bounds, and we were treated better by the retail staff than by anyone at Michelle's.
The advice I would leave folks with, who might be considering Michelle's Bridal for their special day, is shop around. Just because they are the *only* bridal shop in this area, does not give them the right to judge customers, treat customers like garbage, and assume facts about the industry that just are not true. Do your own research. They should stick to their niche prom and homecoming crowd, who are willing to overpay for cheap, one-time wear dresses.
Such a shame, especially when there is a market for high quality wedding boutiques that offer high end customer care, even for the mother of the bride.
I vote NO for Michelle's Bridal.
