I'm writing this review because of the experience my friend's sister had with Jenna In White, and…read morehonestly, after hearing what happened, I'm glad I never purchased my own wedding dress here.
My friend's sister initially had a great experience. She found a dress she absolutely loved and was so excited about it. While she was trying it on, her family asked about adding a liner to the bodice. The salesperson told her that they could absolutely add one, that it would only be $60, and -- most importantly -- that if she didn't like it, it could simply be taken back out.
That information is what ultimately led her to agree to the liner.
When she received her dress, it looked significantly different from the dress she originally fell in love with. She was extremely upset, but she remembered being told that the liner could be removed, so she contacted Jenna In White and followed their recommendations for alterations.
The alterations experience was a disaster. The liner had apparently been incorporated into the structure of the dress, and the alterations ended up affecting the boning and structure of the gown. She was eventually told that the original boning had been removed and thrown away. The dress was no longer structured the way it originally was, and there were additional issues with the fit and construction.
On top of that, while she was being fitted, there were inappropriate comments being made by men in the alterations shop that made her extremely uncomfortable. She left in tears.
She eventually took the dress to another experienced seamstress who has decades of experience with wedding dresses, and the reaction was essentially disbelief at what had been done to the gown.
At this point, she went back to Jenna In White for help. She needed to see the original dress or a similar version so the seamstress could reference how it was originally constructed.
This is where I think Jenna In White really failed.
When my friend's sister called, she was told they were completely booked for the rest of the day and couldn't accommodate her. She drove roughly an hour to the store anyway -- only to arrive and find that there was essentially no one there and no appointments happening.
She spoke with Jenna directly and explained everything that had happened. Rather than feeling like Jenna took responsibility for the information her employee had given her, my friend's sister felt like her experience was being defended and minimized.
And THAT is the biggest problem for me.
I understand that mistakes happen. I understand that alterations can go wrong. But when you are a bridal shop selling a $3,500 wedding dress, your employees need to know what they are promising customers.
If the salesperson didn't know whether the liner could safely be removed, she should have said that. She shouldn't have confidently told a bride, "You can always take it back out," when that apparently wasn't the case.
My friend's sister made a decision based on what she was told by the person selling her the dress. She then had to deal with the consequences of that information being wrong.
And instead of simply saying, "We gave you incorrect information, and we're sorry. Let's figure out how we can help fix this," the experience became about defending the store and questioning what happened.
That is incredibly disappointing.
I had already heard multiple horror stories about Jenna In White, which is why I personally never purchased my wedding dress there. After seeing what happened to my friend's sister, I absolutely stand by that decision.
Brides spend thousands of dollars on these dresses and trust bridal shops with something incredibly important to them. If your staff doesn't know whether a modification can safely be reversed, don't promise that it can. And when your employee gives a customer incorrect information, take accountability for it.
The lack of accountability after everything my friend's sister went through is what makes this experience so upsetting.
