I mean, I could switch things up if I really wanted to, but deep down I know none of them will ever look quite as good as this one... I just need to stop staring at it every five minutes. 😁
Douglas Reyes3 said:Do you happen to know anyone who has actually used them for custom sewing and was happy with the results? Looking at the photos in their album, my own work seems to be high quality, but since I’m planning on having my wedding dress made there, I really want everything to be absolutely perfect. 🙂
I know someone who knows someone who used them for sewing, if you know how those connections usually go... But honestly, looking through the gallery, it seems like most girls who get things done there end up being really satisfied. Sure, some of the pieces look a bit rough, but that's usually because the clients were asking for specific styles that just don't translate well, so you can't really blame the seamstress when the vision itself is a little lacking...
I actually didn't end up going to Nicole's at all. If I remember correctly, she mostly carries those heavy crinoline styles, and honestly, those just aren't my vibe... they don't sit right on me. I’d never even heard of Lady before, and I only just recently found out about Lucy since they're pretty much the new kids on the block. I'm telling you, the sooner you start, the better. I wasn't exactly itching to jump into the search this early either, but these modern brides are just absolutely relentless. If I had waited until May, I doubt I would have found a single dress available... everything would be gone. Instead, I went ahead and booked nearly eight months in advance, though who knows what kind of experience is waiting for me... besides, I'm already getting a bit bored of the whole thing after looking at so many photos and trying on so many gowns. :P I feel like I want to start the whole process over from scratch. 😁
Douglas Reyes3 said:Well, there you have it... they clearly cut corners somewhere if the dress ends up looking that messed up. I wasn't a huge fan of that wedding gown either, honestly; it just looked cheap. I was actually planning on heading over to them to get my wedding dress made, but now I'm having serious second thoughts after hearing all this. I'd heard rumors about Gallagher's quality being questionable for quite a while now.
A friend of mine suggested a boutique out in Phoenix instead... if you want to check them out, their page is called "The 1000 Best Dresses."
I was actually thinking about having them custom-make a dress for a bridesmaid wedding...
electricangler said:In that case, Milo is out of the question immediately—the bride is 5'10"... 🙂 Regarding Ariel, my boyfriend's younger brother's experience was a disaster; they ruined his sister's prom dress. She looked like an old lady in a corset and skirt (honestly, she would have been better off wearing just an anklet—she would’ve had the same level of horror for much less money). This was especially frustrating since I used them a year prior and had a great experience; I picked a dress straight from the window that was custom-tailored to my frame, and I was satisfied (a grey, short, powder chiffon number with the golden braid). I have two other secondhand accounts: my boyfriend's niece and her best friend both bought dresses for a wedding. The friend bought a floor model directly from the shop, which fit perfectly, but the niece ordered a custom grey jumpsuit that was poorly constructed. The top kept gaping open, so a local neighborhood seamstress had to sew in elastic just to keep the girl from being exposed. Personally, I find it offensive that these two botched prom dresses were so overpriced, especially considering the fabric was sourced from a local discount textile shop (even the sales clerk there confirmed they source materials from there frequently—I sew, so I frequent those shops). In my opinion, they are hit or miss, much like a certain ice cream chain. Use them at your own risk. Kurbasina's wife had an okay dress, though I can't tell if it was due to her pregnancy or the cut, but she ended up looking like a Michelin Man... They really should have suggested a different silhouette.
Wait, you think that's short? I was actually thinking more along the lines of 5'5"...
Yeah, I actually went to Gallagher for my prom dress. To be honest, they didn't exactly leave me with the best impression... If you're looking at Mila over in Boise, she carries brands like Saint Patrick and Maggie Sottero, and her salon is genuinely lovely, but there's a catch—if your maid of honor is on the shorter side like I am, Mila might tell you straight up that she doesn't have anything that fits, mostly because she refuses to cut her gowns just to accommodate one person. Now, if your bridesmaid is really into that full crinoline look, you might have some luck checking out what Helen has at the Boise shop, otherwise, I wouldn't bother wasting your time there since most of the selection is pretty mediocre, just those wide-cut satin styles... though they do get those stunning Madeline Gardner dresses in around May. As for anything regarding the President or the Cream of the Crop, I'm afraid I can't really help you with that.
The sooner you start, the better. My wedding is set for August 31st, and honestly, I hadn't even considered looking for a dress before the four or five-month mark. But then I stumbled upon a thread here on the forum mentioning that the Lipoto boutique offers a 20% discount if you book your dress during the very first fitting, provided you do it by January 31st. So, I figured I’d just start hitting up different salons—not actually intending to pull the trigger right away, just browsing... thinking if I found "the one" at Lipoto, I'd grab it by the end of the month to snag that discount. Well, I walked into La Perla and picked out ten different styles to try on, only to have the consultant tell me that five of them were already spoken for on my date. That was a massive reality check... I realized the joke was on me and that I needed to move fast, especially since some gowns were already reserved for December. Even my maid of honor started her frantic search that same day; she’s getting married on September 21st and thought she had until June to look. In the end, we both ended up booking our dresses right in the middle of January.
La Perla is doing something for St. Patrick's Day, though I'm not entirely sure if this year's collection has actually hit the shelves yet... and Mila is over in Boise too.
I actually bought my prom dress from them once, and honestly... what a nightmare. They couldn't even get the tailoring right, and the beadwork started falling off everywhere, so I ended up having to fix the whole thing myself at home. If you aren't planning on leaving the San Francisco area, you might want to skip them entirely—unless you're looking at La Perla, maybe check out Victoria's Secret instead. I actually got my wedding dress there, and the owner is such a sweetheart. It’s located just as you're heading down from Firul toward downtown, right before you turn toward the Brooklyn beach area, just before you hit the New York Public Library on your left.
Paul King5 said:They’re playing games with those dresses. I only went to Victoria's Secret—had a fitting scheduled there and then went to V. Spose a week later. Gotta admit, I only hit up Victoria's Secret to browse. Signed up for a fitting at the bridal expo and entered their giveaway, so figured why not... I was expecting rude staff (saw their Facebook page, they seemed to have some issues, deleting any comments that weren't praise, idk... felt like they couldn't handle criticism), but honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. The girl helping me was sweet, super nice, didn't rush me at all. After I tried on my picks, she brought out 3 or 4 more she thought would look good on me... wasn't expecting that. Found "the one," put a deposit down right then, and scored a $333 discount because of it. The prize drawing is in a week, maybe I'll win a free rental... you never know! 😁 After that, I canceled my appointment at V. Sposa and stopped scrolling through wedding dresses online altogether... 😁
I was pretty skeptical about Victoria's Secret too, but once I actually got there, I was blown away by how attentive, professional, and easygoing the staff were. Not to mention how they welcomed my maid of honor without any issues, even though she didn't have an appointment. It was such a contrast to Vesna Sposa, who practically kicked us out twice—even though our second visit was actually booked, she just wouldn't make time because she "had to go photograph some gowns and accessories," and since we're from San Francisco, it was apparently no big deal if we just came back a third time to see her.
I almost forgot to mention one more thing—my maid of honor actually reminded me about it today. Back when she was trying on a dress at Lipoto's, she noticed this tiny little hole in the fabric, honestly looking just like a cigarette burn... The consultant there insisted it was part of a brand-new collection that had just arrived, claiming it came that way from the manufacturer, and that it wasn't even an issue since nobody else had noticed it yet... When we went dress shopping, both Lipoto's and La Perla mentioned that if you put down a deposit during your very first fitting, they offer a 20% discount, so it might be worth hitting up a few different boutiques on the same day to see what sticks...
William Chavez10 said:Honestly, everything I've ever heard about that shop has been positive, and I actually really like that they limit rentals to just three uses. I picked out my own wedding dress there, and I know a bunch of other girls who did too without any issues at all. I guess it might just be one of those things where you either have luck or you don't... kind of like everything else in life, I suppose. :-)
Look, I’m sorry, but I’m really not buying this whole story about them limiting rentals to three times. Maybe I'm wrong, but from a business perspective, it just doesn't seem like it would make financial sense... after three rentals, they've barely covered the cost of the gown itself and that's it. Besides, when I was actually there, I noticed they tend to alter dresses however they feel like doing it. For instance, I wanted to try on a specific Pronovias's gown I saw in the catalog, but they told me they didn't have that exact one because they weren't fond of the bodice, so they ended up cutting it apart and sewing on a top from a Demetrios's dress instead. Then, while trying on a dress similar to mine—mine has a slit, you see—and mentioning that I preferred mine better, the woman started questioning me about whether girls actually liked that kind of slit... which gave me the distinct impression she was planning to redesign the dress soon enough to add a slit on the right leg too...
Has anyone here ever ordered a wedding cake from Bobis based on a custom design rather than just picking something pre-set? I stopped by their bakery in town today and they told me they only do the cakes listed in their catalog, but then I saw all these different styles at the wedding fair that weren't in there at all, so I'm a bit confused... Maybe I should try reaching out to their main production facility directly, because I find it hard to believe they can't whip up something based on my own ideas... Also, how many hours before the ceremony did you guys schedule your hair and makeup appointments? My wedding starts at 6:00 PM, and guests will be arriving around 3:30 or 4:00 PM...
A girl mentioned a few pages back that she snagged a discount of $267 on some lighting gear from the wedding fair for Semper FI, so you might want to check that out. Just to give you an idea of where things stand price-wise, I checked with RentAll and they were quoting me $667 for a fog machine, while Semper FI was asking 500, and Rabbit Rock had it for $133...
I’m not entirely sure who you reached out to for those lighting quotes... Mediarent is definitely on the pricier side, though I know Semper Fi and Rabbit Rock tend to be a bit more budget-friendly. Then again, it really all depends on the specific gear list you're putting together. It might be worth checking in with a few other vendors just to get a better sense of the market rates before you commit...
Thomas Cruz9 said:I haven't actually heard of Sanja Krstulović before. Does anyone have her contact info? Also, looking at all the different makeup artists out there, which one left you feeling the least satisfied? I'd love to know so I can cross them off my list immediately 🙂 Has anyone used Amadeo for makeup? They have a page on Facebook. Thanks!
As for Amadea, I know her makeup services start at $117, and it's about 450 if you go with false lashes. I'm not entirely sure how her work holds up in person, though the photos on Facebook look pretty good. Then again, most of those are just selfies where she's doing her own face, and we all know how easy it is to be your own best critic, so it's hard to tell how she handles everyone else...
Linda Palmer5 said:I need some advice from the ladies here—if any of you have headed to La Perla or Sposa in Mostar to hunt for a wedding dress, could you give me a heads-up on what the price range looks like? I saw a few pieces from Pronovias and M. Mote at St. $3000 but they’re just way too much for my budget. Thanks.
So, I actually spent some time browsing La Perla in Mostar recently—they've actually expanded to two locations now, one in Mostar and one in Mostar... anyway, regarding the price range, you're generally looking at anywhere from $3,200 up to $1333 for brands like Pronovias, Ronald Joyce, or Madeline Gardner. But honestly, the thing is, when you start looking at designers like Manuel Mote or Elie Saab, those gowns are in a completely different league because the lace quality is just so much higher... I tried on a Manuel Mote gown while I was in Mostar, and I think she mentioned it was somewhere around $6,000 or maybe even $2333, so it definitely won't be cheaper than that. It seems like the dresses you see in America $1333 are priced around $3,200 in Mostar, whereas here in the States they might go for $4,500, and then in Mostar they sit around $4,000... it's pretty rare to find a dress that retails for $9,000 in America for less than $7,000 over there...
Thomas Cruz9 said:I honestly can't wrap my head around how the exact same model can be priced at $3000, while elsewhere—as you mentioned—it’s sitting at 5,000 to 5,500? How does that even work? By "Glamour Bride," you mean that shop in Los Angeles, right? Thanks
It's at Glamour Bride $2667. A friend of mine was actually asking about it just last month...
Douglas Reyes3 said:Did you settle on professional lighting? If you don't mind me asking, what kind of price range are we looking at?🙂
I actually didn't go with professional lighting, since my venue already has those multi-colored lights built right in, which does the trick perfectly fine... I just went ahead and arranged for a fog machine rental and a bubble machine instead.