Orange County/LA dress shopping recs? How many?

Hi everyone,

I have my first appt to try on wedding dresses next Sat and my sister asked how many places we were going - haha I'd only planned on one!  She thought that was weird.  So, I'm wondering - how many places did you go to try on dresses and are there any you would recommend?  I think I'm getting a bit scared off by the reviews of mean saleswomen and alteration ripoffs.

Thanks!

www.deborahlindquist.com designer of Green Wedding line

Deborah Lindquist

I have gone to 8-10 stores but never more than 3 in one day.  It gets overwhelming but if you know what you like/want you know right away when you put the dress on and don't have to waste anyone's time.  The way I found the stores to go to was by searching different dress designers online and then finding the stores that carried those designers.  I discovered a company called Watters and Watters that makes "designer-inspired" dresses, so they aren't exact copies but are beautiful, great quality and VERY reasonably priced!  Their website is www.watters.com.  Rene Straus in Beverly Hills has a large selection of their gowns.  All of their other lines are much pricier but also gorgeous.  Just depends on your budget.  The Knot has a great dress search function which allows you to search by dollar amount so you can get an idea of which designers are in your price range.  Keep us posted!

In total I went to three but never more than one per day.  But my suggestion to you is to go to Jinny's Bridal in Huntington Beach.  I went to one or two more upscale salons first just for the "bridal experience" but I always knew I would end up buying my dress at Jinny's.  I personally know at least 7 or 8 people that have bought their dress there.  The best prices and the best service/treatment and the dress came very fast - in half the time quoted.  It's not fancy in appearance but you're not going to be wearing the salon on your wedding day! :)  They have a great selection of dresses and the best prices.  That's my advice to you!!  Everyone I know that has gone there has ended up buying there! :)

I went to a bunch of salon's including a few in Indiana where my in-laws live.  I ended up buying my dress from Mariposa Boutique in Anaheim.  They were super friendly and not pushy sales people.  They have a great selection of dresses and sizes of the sample dresses.  I think Mariposa was the 10th or 12th store I visited.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! Haha, wow - it sounds like I'll definitely have to go to more than one place.. wishful thinking on my part..

Alexandra - I've been looking at Watters dresses too! I did not realize they were designer-inspired, I just liked the lines of the stuff I saw on their site. :)

Beatie - I was looking at Jinny's too, I'm glad to hear that they're nice there!  I think service is one of the most important things to me.  I just don't want to have to deal with mean/snobby salespeople when it's supposed to be a fun experience.. what designers do they carry there?

Marissa - I was also looking at this place because they got so many good reviews on Yelp.. do you remember which designers they carry? I think I tried to look on their site but I couldn't find a list.

In addition to the Watters dresses, I've been eyeing some Pronovias dresses and I've seen some lovely Maggie Sottero dresses.  My appt is at Jaclyn's Bridal which has all of these lines, but they had some dodgy reviews with their alterations so I was like hm.. maybe I should keep my options open..  :)

spot - they carry many different lines including mori lee, maggie sottero, casablanca, mon cheri, etc.  not sure of all of them.  if you're looking for a specific designer, you can always call them and ask.  they are super friendly.  i know another PW bride, mrstongtobe, got her maggie dress from them.  she lives up north but was looking for a specific dress and couldn't find it near her in time for her wedding.  jinny's got it for her and express mailed it to her very quickly and was very helpful to her.  HTH!

Spot - I just went to Mariposa's last weekend in Anaheim and must second the rave review! I was apprehensive about going to look at dresses because we haven't set a definitive date yet, but my list of dresses I liked was getting bigger and bigger. So after a little encouragement, I decided to contact them and gave them my list of dresses and they were so nice. I set up an appointment and went with my fiance (yep, he came with and took notes and pics!) and we had such a pleasant experience there! My only other bridal shop experience was as a BM and I remember the pushy service the bride received at David's Bridal, but not so at Mariposa. The girl that was helping me was super nice, and helped me climb in and out of the dresses and wasn't phased by the fact that we didn't have a date and were "just looking" and never once tried to sell me anything. She gave her sincere opinions on the dresses and we got to take lots of pictures of the dresses at different angles so I came out of there with lots of pics and a list (name and style) of all the dresses I liked with the prices! I think their selection might not be as extensive as bigger stores, but the service is top notch and the fact that they let me take pics w/o buying really sold them on me. I highly recommend them. I'm going to their Maggie trunk show in 2 weeks so I hope the great CS is still there when I go:)

Jinny's bridal is great!!! very attentive and genuinely nice!