What is with the prejudice against Davids Bridal?

I got my dress from db.the first time i went there for my appt there were extremely busy and my consultant was working with a few other ladies at the same time.she was nice but was definitely not very focused on me.i only tried on 3 i think.but i really liked one so i bought it.but after alot of second guessing my self i brought it back and they said they would exchange it for something else..which was great..but the same treatment on that day also.they were not half as busy that day but the staff was limited so the consultant was again working with several other ladies..i had to wait forever for and my mom had to track her down a few times..but i did find the dress.i love it and dont think it looks cheap..i think that when you go to a chain like that you are trading in customer service for a super cheap price..but for me it was worth the frustration to end up with a great dress and an even greater price..but if you want to have the complete dress experience cont.

I would not recommend my db in grand rapids mi,but i am sure some are better and some are worse. but if you want a reasonable priced dress and dont mind the customer service not being up to par then go for..just go in there with reasonable expectations of what kind of service you may receive..i am not getting mine altered there though..they are way to expensive compared to other shops is in my area for that.

I'm a DB bride as well and my experience was great!

I think most people start getting bad experiences when they go during peak hours. So, I say go there on week nights and avoid the weekends when possible. They are a lot less busy on the weekdays and therefore have less of a chance of treating you bad.

I'm a David's Bride and not proud of it. My experience at 2 different locations was horrible but I loved one of their dresses so I purchased it. Never again will I buy anything from them. Horrible experience. And I agree with whoever said they are the Walmart of the bridal salons ... hit the nail on the head.

I have to say I think it is SO funny to see peoples' hatred towards DB! I went to the most expensive stores in Boston, tried on $8,000-S15,000 wedding dresses, I bought a dress from a store now featured on TLC and it ended horribly!! Thank god for DB, I found the perfect dress...

I am not sure people's fascination with spending as much as they can on a dress they will wear for 8 hours, maximum? If you look amazing and feel fabulous, why does it matter where you get your dress from?

Please don't let peoples' views ruin your idea of where you want to get your dress...if you end up purchasing a dress from DB you will be happy when you have the money to put into a downpayment for a home

I think a lot of troubles begin with no one prepping them on what to expect in a store of david's bridal caliber vs a more personalized store. i was warned before i went into a DB that i wouldn't be the center of attention, that i might want to focus on dresses and pick out a few because often the salespeople can't just focus on one person at a time and i was fine with that. it worked out great actually because we picked most of the like 8 dresses i tried on and didn't need a lot of help from the salesgirl at all. like others have said here, if you go in with certain expectations, you can't shoot down a store if they don't meet those expectations. take a grain of salt with each review you read -- who knows how many bridezillas have walked through the doors of not only DB but even smaller boutiques? how many of their reviews are on yelp or wherever else? that being said...there are people who have genuinely bad experiences, and also those who have had genuinely good experiences. cont

I had a great experience because i knew what to expect and did my own thing pretty much after i signed in at the front, and i had a great time. i also had a great experience at alfred angelo when i went and i had a saleslady who focused all her attention on me, etc. complete opposites re: customer service but i enjoyed both stores. i also visited a local bridal boutique that was an authorized retailer of the dresses i initially wanted to get for my bridesmaids. that experience was actually the WORST of all 3. i had a lot of the symptoms of bad customer service that a lot of people at their DB had -- but worse. i wasn't even greeted, wasn't spoken to once -- even had a saleslady shoot me a dirty look when i was "in the way" of her getting to her customers. a simple "excuse me" would've sufficed. but hey...that's people, not the corporations itself.

My sister got her wedding gown from DB and it was beautiful. The day of consultant at her reception venue kept commenting on how beautiful her dress was and was so surprised that it was from DB (she clearly had negative views towards DB). I think they carry a large range of dresses and their quality range too. I do think they over charged for the alterations, but that is common at all bridal salons.

I did look at the DB dresses, but none really fit my style. They have a lot of different options though and they are more affordable.

A little offended by the comment that everything looks cheap. Bought my dress there and it does not look cheap. Many brides on here have had good experiences and have bought their dress at DB please do not generalize. You wouldn't like if someone made a assumption about your dress. Go to DB and make your own decision.

KBM I agree to the max...unfortunately I have seen plenty of cheap looking dresses that were not from Davids Bridal. Wherever you go, you can get cheap or expensive looking dressed. I don't even think you can tell I spent on the dress I will be wearing!

I had a very positive experience at DB. I was served promptly even when I did not have an appointment. I was able to see the same consultant when I came back for a scheduled appointment. She helped me to try on a variety of styles, and was able to show me accessories (veil, tiara, shoes) that would go well with my dress.

As far as quality, of course the fabric is cheaper than a dress from a designer store. But frankly, I think my dress is beautiful, and you can't be a $550 price tag. I have no desire whatsoever to purchase a $5000-$10000 dress that I'm only going to wear for about 8 hours. It seems frivolous and completely unnecessary.

I had both a great and an irritating experience going to them as a bridesmaid. I turned up half an hour before a forced early closing on the day of a hurricane, also the last day I could order and get the dress in on time for alterations before the wedding (communications between a long distance bride delayed me knowing about getting the dress any earlier) and got exceptional service. They found the dress I needed in a short time and the lady was very understanding when I wanted to wait for my boyfriend to show up (I was really nervous being there alone) She even went in the back and found shoes in the right height to show me how the dress would land on me, in case I needed alterations.

When I went to pick up my dress I had an awful time. The lady who "helped" me was rude, dismissive, and couldn't get me out fast enough. She didn't even ask if I needed alterations (I went to another place because she was so rude).

It all depends on the person helping you really.

As for the quality of the dresses, I only have the BM dress to go on, but I LOVE it. It's comfortable, fit perfectly with only minor modifications to the bust, and stayed on all night even though I've never had a strapless dress hold up my ladies before. The shoes were a little big, but they didn't have them in half sizes and inserts fixed that easily enough. If I had another event to wear the dress to I would again and again. I love it.

I received great service! You need to take each David's Bridal on an individual basis rather than lumping them all together.

Wow! I guess this is a bit of a hot button subject... I got my dress from there, and I think that it looks far from cheap. My experience wasn't bad. I made my appointment on a Monday night though, and I think there was only one other bride in the store. They actually left the store open for an extra hour and helped me choose my reception location. The woman helping me with my gown did hard sell me though. That is really my only complaint.

Personally, I think that spending so much on a dress is excessive, but we are paying for 100% of our wedding and plan to buy a house when I get back to NC. If you can afford it, I think that is great. However, please don't scoff at DB and make back handed comments like, "they are so cheap" and "you get what you pay for". Sure the dresses aren't made of the finest fabrics, no one said it was. Some of us have different priorities and budgets. That's all... Sorry, it kind of turned into a rant.

Nicole I couldn't agree with you more "some of us have different priorities and budgets". I decided I didn't want to go in debt or have any family go in debt over our wedding. And I would say that even though I am a bride on the budget my wedding and dress are far from "cheap looking".

I say, if you don't want people's opinions, don't ask for them.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. That's what the forums are for.

As far as people saying dresses were "cheap". I didn't read that any where. I read that some felt the dresses were cheaply made.

Basically, it is simple economics and mass market/designing/manufacturing. Quite often when you are making something in volume, and you are offering it at an affordable price for the masses, corners are cut. This can be true with jeans from Walmart v. a pair of fancy jeans. It also rings true w/ a dress from DB & one from a specific designer at a salon. Are all dresses from DB cheaply made? No. Otherwise Vera wouldn't have put out a line. Are all dresses made well? No.

My point, despite the quality and whether you view it poor or great, the beauty of the bride shines through in any dress she wears from any place she bought it.

I couldn't have said it better Carole!

I think every bride is beautiful in their dress! I just think the quality of manufacturing is what changes.

Woah! Carole and Marylin, I don't even know how you are taking my comment, but I do not think that it is how it was intended. At no point did I say that I did not value anyone's opinion, and I don't know how sharing mine is taken that way. I am still very interested in everyone's opinion either way as we are all different people living in different situations. Where I am, options are..err..limited.

Also, I never said that anyone on this thread called them cheap. It has been a theme on these forums well before I asked the question. I mean, compared to designer gowns they are cheap in price. There is certainly no doubt about that, and I am pretty sure that I just said that too. So, I don't understand why y'all are getting so... defensive?