After a few other visits to bridal salons in Philadelphia and NYC, I called VanCleve to make an appointment to view a specific Anna Maier dress. While I didn't end up with that dress, I did end up with an awesome Pronovias dress that I am still obsessed with, even months after the wedding. Thank you all for making dress shopping so easy - being big chested but tiny, shopping was tough but everything came out perfectly. I thought alterations were a bit costly, but as it turns out, friends of mine paid far more at other salons, so in the end, I feel they were actually reasonable for the amount of work performed. read more

Adorable wedding boutique! I went there with my Mom and my sister. Excellent variety in designers. Abby was awesome. Cheery, patient, helpful, very good listener, and she gave honest feedback when I asked her for an opinion!. I had a few ideas of what I knew I liked/didn't like. She helped me find the dresses in my budget that met the criteria. She also encouraged me to try a few others that I ended up loving! I've now selected and purchased my dress, but we're definitely going back to Van Cleve to look at MOB dresses. read more

After visiting quite a few bridal boutiques, I made an appointment at VanCleve to see if they had anything that might catch my eye. The staff was incredibly attentive and listened to my requests, while also encouraging me to try on a few options that I may not have otherwise. I was fortunate enough to find my dream wedding dress there (which was very different from what I always assumed I would wear): a blush pink, ruffled A-line gown by Watters. The seamstress did a wonderful job with the alterations, and even made the custom sash that I wore. Waiting almost 9 months for my dress to arrive was certainly not easy - but it was worth the wait and a wonderful experience all around. My mother was also able to find an evening gown there for the wedding, and it is absolutely stunning - I am definitely going to borrow it! read more

While I did not end up getting my dress from here, I had a great experience with Ann Marie. She was polite, friendly, and attentive. She found beautiful gowns within my budget and really understood the look I was going for. The staff is professional, warm, and the store is beautiful! I highly recommend any Philly-area bride checking out Van Cleve. read more

The entire experience dealing with this group has been a nightmare. If you (and your bridal party) want a headache on your hands, and to overpay for it, you should definitely shop here. I don't know that they understand the meaning of customer service, nor can they conceive of the fact that people don't live within driving distance of them. I highly recommend not dealing with a place that has by appointment only hours. It means that they won't be able to fix the mess that they've made by their disorganization and lack of follow through. read more

Gorgeous dresses on every rack! Plus they have an amazing staff that make it their priority to find you THE dress that'll make you feel gorgeous on your big day. read more

I decided to use Van Cleve after I discovered that the dress I fell in love with online was available there. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by Joy who said she'd be taking care of me for the day. She reviewed my printouts and notes and then quickly picked out half a dozen gowns while my sister and best friend each grabbed a favorite. Joy immediately made me feel comfortable after I told her I was nervous. And she told me it was going to be fun and her nurturing manner really put me at ease. Even as I took my time, tried on different gowns, veils, changed jewelry and her next appointments rolled in she stayed with me and took her time. I ended up going home that day with my wedding dress and veil and it just so happened to be a dress that Joy had picked for me. I love it and loved working with her. This was the good part. Now for the ugly. I also purchased my bridesmaid dresses from this this location as well as my mother having purchased her mother-of-the-bride gown. The experience working with Van Cleve as time went on got worse. I live out of state from the salon b/c my husband and I moved a little after we got engaged. Calling the store and expecting to get any service was a joke. The women were always rushing me off the phone, not offering details of when things would arrive and if I had questions regarding swatches or other details they were always very short with me and rude. I really started to get frustrated. Not only had I myself and my entire wedding party (8 girls total, plus my mom)spent a lot of money in their store but I did not live close by and I could not stand that they couldn't be more understanding. As time went on, I had a conversation with the manager because I was so frustrated and she apologized ...blah, blah, blah. My point just fix it. Things started to get a little better but I think what put the big hammer on all of this was that they gave me my wedding dress in what appeared to be a pink trash bag. Not a garment bag but the cleaners type of sleeve, bag. Let me tell you, that my wedding dress was half hanging out of the bag and when we carried it into my hotel room the night before my wedding we had to have two people carry it so it wouldn't drag all over the floor like a piece of trash. Nice job, Van Cleve. I would not recommend this vendor. There are so many other places you could find a beautiful dress and be treated with more respect and better service. The only thing saving this place is that Joy was awesome to work with thanks to her I ended up with the dress of my dreams. read more

I haven't reviewed yet, and it's better late then never. I got married in April of 2014. I came to the shop and ordered my dress in July of 2013. They told me it was going to be made custom at the designers shop so it should be perfect. The dress was TWO MONTHS LATE. I DID NOT GET IT UNTIL MARCH!!!!!!! The dress was a disaster. The lace was uneven on both sides of the chest, the beading was a mess and not symmetrical. The main design was off to the side and not in the middle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They mailed the dress to me since I lived far out of state and they sent it to me like that!!!!! The dress, measured on a size 2 person, was like a size 22. Dolly patrons chest plus mine coulda went in the top. The waist was sooooo high too!!! They offered to alter it if I drove up there. I couldn't drive to get it fixed then to pick up I was working and getting a wedding ready!!!!! They said sorry and mailed me a 100$ check to "put towards getting it fixed". The dress still looking at pictures is a mess. DO NOT GO HERE AT ALL. read more

I came here with my fiancee who was looking to try on a particular bridal dress during one of the weekend trunk shows. (Yes, I am a male, no that does not invalidate my opinions on customer service.) After discovering that the building with the big "Wedding Pavilion" sign does not actually have bridal wear and it's the neighboring estate, my fiancee found the exact dress she was looking for in her specific size. Upon requesting permission from the staff to try it on, we were met with a very blunt no. They were only accepting customers by appointment that day. This is an acceptable policy in itself, however their uneven enforcement was not. Not 15 seconds after denying our request the customer behind us in line aksed to do a full fitting without an appointment. The greeter said that was fine since one of service people had just finished anther appointment early. This all happened while my fiancee and I were within 10 feet of the greeter. I was completely ignored by all staff throughout the visit, absolutely unacceptable for any customer service. I am not sure why my fiancee was declined from trying on a single dress in her size when someone asking shortly thereafter was approved for an entire impromptu fitting, but it is unjust and simply rude. The greeter then told us that the dress we wanted to see would not be available after today, but still tried to make us an appointment for later in the week. Maybe just a bad day there, but there is no way any company can justify such poor service; they will not be recieiving any business from my wedding. read more

Ann Marie at the Wedding Pavilion was truly a wonderful help. Though I did not get my dress there, I was pleased with the service we received. She was very knowledgeable and always had the right questions to ask me about each dress I tried on. read more

I cannot say enough nice things about the Van Cleve Wedding Pavilion. I visited about 6 shops and my best experience by far was here. The women who work there are so patient and nice; I never felt like I was being pressured or sold to. Even after making a dress decision, Ann Marie was more than willing to let me try on another gown I saw when I started feeling some dress regret. I can also vouch for Kim in their alterations department who is incredible. In the end I decided to completely customize a gown I purchased at a not-for-profit store, and since Van Cleve does custom gowns, I knew that's where I should go. Kim has been so fun to work with and has done an amazing job on my gown so far. She understands my vision and is always happy to make changes when I ask. At other salons I felt super rushed, like I was being talked at, and always the focus was on getting me to walk out with a dress in hand. Van Cleve is a completely different experience and I would recommend them to everyone. Whether it's bridal or just another formal affair, they have a wonderful selection and will help you have a great time finding the right dress. read more

Let me begin by saying, although I liked my dresses, the experience was not very acceptable by my standards.and very very costly, I ordered two dresses for our son's wedding, one for rehearsal dinner and one for the wedding, Beth was the sales associate when I ordered the dresses and she was very helpful and pleasant. However, when it was rime for fitting, she no longer was at Paoli store. I had scheduled an appt and a few weeks in advance and assured the dress would be in the store. On my drive out, I received a call from Lacey saying the one dress did not arrive and might be in the mail. Fortunately, it did arrive . I had my first fitting with Vera, she was very nice and in fact said to me, "she basically I have to remake the dress." Why, because they measure only your waist, so although I can wear a 14, for some reason they ordered a 22. Literally, I could have put another person in the dress. Yes, i did loose 20 pounds , but even without that, it was wrong size. The dress had a hour glass fit with flutted bottom at hem. However, when I tried it on, I looked like a little kid going to a party with full dress. It had to be taken on all over. note just shoulders but actually in top middle. down and waist raised. I have a wonderful seamstress that we have used for years and in her words" they should have measured all other points, not just waist. So bottom line is, it cost me another $650,00 for alternations on top of the cost of two dresses which was $2500.00. My advice, despite their contract that puts fear in you if you ask for another size, know that you are in for a big alteration bill due to their measuring procedure if you do not ins insist on a better measuring . In addition to the above, when I picked up the dresses, I was amazed that there was not a zippered bag but rather cheap pink plastic bag, Also, after i left and over an hour alter, they calle dmd to say they forgot to out my jacket and wrap in the bags. Would you not think they should have delivered it to my home. Of course not. Finally, their policy of 100% payment upfront at time of ordering and also at first fitting for alterations, just makes one think, about their concerns and lack of trust. read more

I am a professional in the wedding industry, and I ultimately decided to purchase my dress at VanCleve. I had been to two other stores and felt really overwhelmed by the fact that they did not have a large selection of dresses for those of us who wear size 12 (street size 12, bridal 14-16) so I left feeling like I was destined to never find what I was looking for, or worse yet, anything that fit at all. I'll mention that I had a pretty precise vision of what I wanted (plain, no beading, classic), and I communicated this to Abby at the beginning of my try-on session. She listened to what I wanted, and threw in a couple that she thought would look great (and I happily took her advice and was really pleased with the sizes they carried for us curvy girls) - but we never got to them, because the second dress I put on was the winner - exactly what I wanted. I am having a custom piece added to the dress and am looking forward to working with them on the design and tailoring of that as well. A great experience - definitely go on a week day - the first place I went was on a weekend and I went on a Monday to VanCleve - highly recommend a week day when it's much quieter (it's worth the day off from work if you can swing it). read more

I am truly not the type of person to write comments on places I go to, but I cannot let what happened to my mother go unsaid. My sister had purchased her dress here a few months ago. This past Saturday we made the 2 1/2 hour trip down to shop for bridesmaids and mother of the bride dresses. The first appointment was for the bridesmaids dresses. They suggested making two appointments so that the bridesmaids could have all of my sister's attention and then once our appointment was finished, my mother would have her appointment. Our consultant, Lacey, was very nice and helped us pick out our dresses. Towards the end of our appointment they suggested that my mom go upstairs and meet with her consultant and start pulling dresses while we finished getting measured for our dresses. When we got done we went upstairs to find my mother by herself looking at dresses. I asked her if she had tried any dresses on and she said no. She said that she told the consultant what her budget was and the consultant told her most of the dresses were over that. My mother still wanted to try some dresses on to see what type of fit/style she would like and if she loved a dress she would be willing to stretch her budget. Well apparently this consultant didn't feel she needed to pay attention to my mother because she just walked away from her. She also insulted my mother by telling her "maybe you should try a second hand shop to find your dress." Let me make one thing clear, I am not above anyone or anything. I shop in consignment shops myself, but my mother said this woman's tone was so belittling. As we were looking through the racks for some dress that might fit my mother's style, the owner came upstairs. She told the consultant that she needed to stay with her appointment. She told her that my sister bought her dress there and that we just bought four bridesmaids dresses. (this shouldn't matter, the consultant should give you attention, sale or no sale) Well I'm hoping this consultant did not know I was with my mom or that I was not close enough to hear, but sadly I was. She turned to the owner and in response to the owner telling her to pay attention to us she said "they can't afford anything here." At that point I immediately said we are leaving and told my famiy and friends we were going. As we were leaving the owner came over and apologized for the lack of attention we received. I told her it had nothing to do with that and turned and walked away because I did not want to say anything I would regret. As we were walking out my sister could not believe how horribly my mother was treated and went back in to address the situation. The rest of our party took my mother outside where she began to cry and apologize because she felt she embarrassed us. We of course were not embarrassed and felt that the only person who should be embarrassed is the consultant. I truly hope that this is not the norm for your consultants behavior. This wonderful day was completely ruined by one person's words and actions. I can assure you that had my mother's appointment been first, we would not have purchased our dresses there. In fact, we are talking about canceling the order because we are that upset about the way our mother was treated. She was never given a chance to even try on a dress, let alone purchase one. The owner did call my sister after we left and apologized again and offered for my mother to come back in and pick out any dress at their cost. Although this was very kind offer, my mother refused it. She was truly so insulted that she did not want to step foot back into the store and I really can not blame her. We actually decided to go to another store and purchased a beautiful dress for our mother there. Whenever I think about this day I continue to get so worked up. I will not stop talking about this experience, but sadly, not for good reasons. read more

Van Cleve has a beautiful selection of dresses and I was so happy to find the perfect wedding gown there. HOWEVER their alterations were terrible. They were already way overpriced compared to other places, but I figured its my wedding dress I want only the best. WRONG. I had three fittings. The dress was a little big on me when it came in and the seamstress informed me she was going to have to take it in a little on both sides. Despite the fact that I lost weight between my first and second fittings it was so tight at my second fitting after took it in that the clasp kept bursting open and unhooking and it was uncomfortably tight to the point of not being able to breathe. When I expressed my concerns she told me it looks great this way. When I went back for my final fitting the seamstress who worked on my dress was not there and the woman that helped me had no idea how to bustle. Needlesstosay the bustle also turned out all wrong and I needed to go in for a last minute fitting two days before my wedding to make sure they got it right. The day of the wedding the hem was too long and I was constantly stepping on my dress. While Van Cleve has some beautiful dresses they have some terrible seamstresses. Steer Clear! read more