Brides by Demetrios (San Diego, CA)

After visiting about 7 different bridal shops in LA County, I decided to drive down to San Diego just to be sure that I was picking out the right gown. When I got to the store I looked around and it was very different than any of the other bridal salons I had been to. They carried only the Demetrios lines and had practically every style ever designed. I had picked out about 6 or 7 gowns from their website to try on, but I ended up trying on about 10. My assigned sales associate was Greta, she was very sweet and extremely helpful, and she also had exquisite taste. She not only helped me pick out my gown, but I also ended up buying my tiara, veil and petticoat from her on my second visit. I ended up getting 20% off my bridal gown because I paid in full, and Greta also gave me 10% off my veil since I purchased so many things from them.

The dress I purchased was from their couture line and was told that it would take 6 months for it to arrive, but it arrived in only 3.5 months. Since I lived in LA and didn’t get a chance to drive down there for a month and a half they were so nice about it and just kept it there for me until I had time to go pick it up. They were also very helpful when they offered to ship my petticoat, veil, and tiara directly to house so that I could save myself a two hour drive.

I totally recommend checking out Brides by Demetrios before you make your final decision about your dress. Besides the hundreds of Bridal gowns, they also have tons of Mother of the Bride, Bridesmaids, and Flowergirl dresses, as well as shoes, jewelry, and accessories.

The only thing I was not too pleased about was the lady who did my alterations, I had VERY minimal alterations and I didn’t like the way she had done them. I had cups sewn in but they were not placed under the lining, also I wanted to add gatherings on the dropped waist with a beautiful appliqué to match the ones on my dress, but the gatherings were done however there was no appliqué. It also cost me $350 to do these minimal alterations. You are not obligated to have your alterations done there. I recommend you have them done somewhere else.

This is where I purchased my dress and I had a great experience- it was the 2nd bridal store I had visited! I'm not sure if they require appointments, but the day I went there I went as a "walk-in" with my sister and they gladly greeted me and immediately set me up with a consultant who was gracious and was so pleasant to work with. She asked me to explain the styles I liked, where my wedding was going to be, what I didn't like in terms of styles and materials- all the important things that should be considered. She allowed me to look through all the styles and select anything I'd like to try on, while she also looked through to choose styles for me as well. Also, there was a trunk show scheduled for the afternoon of that same day, but it didn't stop them from allowing me to choose any of the dresses to try on that were to be in the show! So with a room full of options, I knew I found THE ONE from the first dress I tried on. I walked out and I could tell from my sister's face that she thought so too! And since it just happened to be on the day of the trunk show, I got 15% off!!! The lead time for my dress was 6 months, but it came in within 4-1/2 months. It looks great, fits great. I did not use them for alterations. My only glitch (why I did not give 5 stars) is that when my dress came in, I didn't even know because the phone number they had down for me was one digit off (so its a good thing I called to check up on it)!

I was really nervous to try on dresses and going to Demetrios was my first time shopping for a wedding dress. I really didn't want to be pressured into buying something right off the bat, but I knew I had to start somewhere.
Zita helped me try on dresses, and she was wonderful. She made my sister and I feel very at ease and she was super helpful with trying lots of dresses on. She explained each dress in regards to my body frame and gave me lots of time to try on different styles! I ended up buying a dress just because I did not want to have to do this all over again and I found an excellent dress at a price that was thousands of dollars less than I thought I would have to shell out!!! They were also having a sale and I got 20% off! Zita was so nice! This is a great place for nervous brides who don't want to feel pressured or unwelcome!

UPDATE: I was called only a couple weeks after I purchased my dress. It was ready to be picked up! I couldn't believe how fast that took!
So I drove down to San Diego to pick it up the following weekend. Once I got there they told me that the dress came in but they had to send it back because it didn't come in the way I ordered it. Originally the dress was a trumpet skirt and I paid for alterations to make it a-line. I thought that they should've given me a call to tell me not to make the trip from LA to San Diego once they figured out what happened!
Now I've been waiting a couple months for the altered dress and not holding my breath. I figure the original dress came in so quickly b/c they have a stock room in another city full of original designed dresses.

I loved it there!!! I accidently saw this bridal store while getting lost finding another bridal store lol... I didn't even have an appointment and they were sooo nice and helped me.. Rosa knew what style i wanted and helped me try on the most beautiful dresses.. and from that first visit i found my dress =D

This shop carried tons of Brides Maid dresses offered at affordable prices. What I liked was most of the dresses came in several colors so I didn't have a problem finding what I was looking for.

This was the second shop I visited in San Diego. My MOH and I selected 8 dresses for me to try on. By the 2nd or 3rd dress, our sales person, Greta, said that based on the dresses I picked out, she had one I might like. I loved it!!! It was a sample for the Spring 2008 collection. I got 20% off for paying in full. I was quoted a 5 month waiting period for the dress and the dress came in 2 months EARLY!

Not sure if I'll do my alterations there. But am very satisfied with the service and selection there.

Alterations:

Alterations were pretty pricey going through Demetrio’s. They didn’t really inform me when buying the dress how expensive the alterations were actually going to be. I paid $150 to add extra length to my dress (I’m tall) and then another $100 to have it altered shorter when it arrived, the extra length comes a standard 6 inches long. I was very upset about these extra alteration fees.

Bridesmaid's Dresses:

Dresses were very pretty, but when we received them, one of the girl’s zippers broke the first time she even tried it on. It had to be sent back to be repaired and that took quite a bit of time. They were also on the pricier side.

easy to work with, knowledgeable, fair pricing

We received 20% off our dresses and they were very helpful for my bridemaids that were expecting babies.