My wife spent a very long time trying to perfect her wedding outfit (as most wives to be probably do!) She tried to get everything in a budget in order to save up for our house deposit, which is difficult when you want to look perfect (which she did!) She found the perfect veil at the Bridal Emporium on Fore Street. The veil had been used in the shop window, which is where she saw it. It had a few crystals and beads missing, and had a small hole in it, so she managed to negotiate £20 off the price tag. She then proceeded to buy replacement beads and crystals on ebay, and expertly repaired the veil for under £3 - it looked amazing on the big day! read more

I am not having a terribly good experience with the Bridal Emporium. The alteration of my dress has been delayed considerably and their customer service is woeful. My dress arrived in April ordered in good time in October 2011 and initially (during the sales process) their staff were helpful. 3 days after I ordered the dress I called up to say that I had looked at the sizing and they had not taken my height into consideration. I was told at this stage that these dresses come in one length only (something I understand is not entirely true) and that it would have to be shortened if necessary. I had a fitting in April and as anticipated the length had to be altered. I was told that this was a 'complex' alteration due to the dress I had ordered and was quoted a price way above what I had been told on alteration cost at the initial sale (more than twice) but I took it on the chin. I was supposed to have a second fitting and at which I was led to believe I would be able to take my dress home if it was okay on 31st August. I was called a few days before this to change the date of the fitting to 13th September. This despite the fact that my wedding date was looming at 22nd September. I received no real apology I was met with a quite arrogant attitude but hey ho. I called on 12th September to see if I could have the fitting earlier and was told possibly not because their seamstress may not get in on time to start the alteration. What? This had not been started already? The upshot of it is I am really on the countdown to my wedding it is in 10 days time. I have to make a trip to Exeter from Plymouth tomorrow for a fitting where my alteration is pinned. I dread to think how long it will take them to finalise the alteration if all is okay (and I'm not holding my breath here) will it be in time for my wedding on 22nd September? And when you speak to staff it is implied that you did not understand the process of fitting / alteration. My fault? I think not. This business really needs to shape up. Shocking service and I am really regretting choosing them over local companies. read more

This review is a follow up to my previous comment to let people know that my dress turned out ok in th e end. I found the initial service in the shop was great, really helpful and friendly. However, the fitting and alterations were a bit of a nightmare. I was expecting the dress to be completed for my final fitting 2 weeks before the wedding but it wasn't, this was partly because they hadn't moved the panel at the back. The following week it still wasn't right and I was told my bra wasn't right (no mention of it before) and I got the impression that it was the wrong style of dress for me. I then got charged for extra alterations, I had no choice but to pay as my dress didn't fit and it was so close to the wedding. 4 days before the wedding it was finally done. it was very stressful and to be honest it spoilt the dress for me as I didn't feel it was as perfect as it should have been. I wouldn't say don't use the shop I would just say get your alterations done early! read more

My overall experience of the bridal emporium was disappointing. I ordered my dress with 3 and a half months notice and then received a phone call to say that a rush cut needed to be done which would cost £ 50 extra otherwise it couldn't be guaranteed to get here in time. I was not offered the dress in a shorter length which I later found out could have been an option. I was quoted £125 to take the hem up if I used their seamstress. I had to call the shop to find out if it had arrived after the projected delivery time and was told it was in. When calling the shop the phone was answered rather abruptly without even a 'hello' just saying that they were busy, what's my number and someone would call me back. Very unprofessional and quite rude. When trying on the dress in the shop the lady did the buttons up on the back for me. I paid and took it to a private seamstress to make the alterations the next day. On closer inspection the seam stress said that the elastic for the buttons had been stretched and it looked like the dress had been tried on more than once. Some of the elastic holes were hanging by a thread and all of them needed reinforcing. There was also an inch of stitching that hadn't been done properly that needed repairing on the front. My private seamstress was fantastic and quoted £30 to take up the hem ( rather than the £125 the shop wanted) I would advise anyone to really check over their dress before paying and taking it home to make sure it is in perfect condition ( unfortunately I didn't do this) and to source their own seamstress for any alterations needed as you could save yourself a small fortune). read more

The only positive experience here was the friendly staff member who afforded us the service. The building is an old building which is in a sad state of repair. The decor in the bridal rooms was dreadfully dated and the walls housed lots of badly patched holes. The room smelt of damp and obvious leaks were prominent in the corners of the ceiling and walls. The carpets were ill fitted, worn and dirty with patches of some sort of spillage on them.The actual gowns are old stock with very few fresh modern ideas - nothing designer or with a wow factor. In the viewing area there is only one big mirror, not an opposing one to enable you to see the back of the dress- we were offered a hand mirror to reflect!! The dress podium was a small box that had been patch carpeted. We were told we could not take photographs of the dresses on the forthcoming bride as it was the shop policy that taking photos of their "designs" breaches copyright. Seriously they shouldn't be concerned with design copyright when they clearly advertising the internationally obtainable labelled dresses on their website. We asked the question but the poor lady who served us was after all only abiding by shop policy. Taking all the above into consideration we wouldn't give this shop the privilege of our custom. It is not an experience I would recommend to any prospective bride. read more