l'atelier couture bridal boutique

Wonderful custom dress!!! So helpful!!

I happened to find my wedding dress at L'Atelier Couture during a sample sale. I love their gowns, but normally could not have afforded anything there. I got incredibly lucky and the gown that I ended up falling in love with (even though I didn't think I would love it because it was very different from what i thought I wanted) was marked down incredibly. Kathy, who is their seamstress, did a great job on the alterations. Pressing is $100, and then what I had done was about an additional $275. I caught an error in the math (i was double-charged), and they fixed that. Amanda is amazing, as is Madeline. The store is great, they make you feel special, and I was incredibly lucky to have found a dress at their sample sale. I got loads of compliments on my gown, and couldn't have been more thrilled with my dress!

I went to L'atelier after two friends found their dresses there. You should make and appt, but that is the norm at the shops I looked at. This was the first bridal salon I made and appt at, but had been their with a friend to see her dress. The sales staff is amazing. Amanda and her staff take the time to get to know you, find what you want, and make sure that your "look" is complete. After talking to me about what I thought I wanted, my body type, what kind of wedding I was having, etc I got to walk through their closet and pull dresses I was interested in. They didn't let me pull anything that was out of my price range (which is great). The sales gal pulled one dress I didn't LOVE, and asked me to try it on first. It was PERFECT (and not at all what I thought would work on me). It was way out of my price range, but they offered to sell me the sample! Over the process of alterations and accessorizing, they were very helpful and listened to what I needed/thought. My dress needed substantial alterations and there were times I was unhappy with the rough draft, if you will. They listened without making me feel picky or demanding and at the next visit, it was perfect. The alterations were expensive (around $700) but the work was done well and their seamstress knew exactly what she was doing. I also bought my hair piece (large with flowers and feathers) which was incredible, and I got my earrings from them. Together, they really make the look. I gave them a 4.5 on value since the jewelry is incredible but fairly pricey. I would have loved to get a matching bracelet but it wasn't in my budget. MUCH better than my experiences at Pricilla's or the Wedding Shoppe (where I walked in and turned around and walked out due to terrrrible service)

I agree that the selection is excellent. I saw so many beautiful dresses and tried on a few. Amanda waited on me the two times I was there. She pulled a beautiful Jenny Lee dress for me the first time. I fell in love but I did not want to make a rush decision. I came back 1.5 months later and ended up buying that Jenny Lee dress. I live out of state and she was willing to ship it to me.

Eva went to L’atelier with one of her co-workers because her co-worker had set up the appointment for her, and thought it would be a great first place to see dresses. They went on a Saturday at 10am, and by 11am I had a call from Eva saying that she had found the dress she wanted. The dress, with alterations and fittings, would be almost $3300, which was a lot more than what she had imagined she would pay for a dress. Eva then went to David’s Bridal and one other store with her mom, but it was clear that nothing even compared to the dress she saw at the first store. We made a second appointment together, and I went with Eva to L’Atelier. I know there are superstitions and all about the groom seeing the bride in her wedding dress, but this was a wedding dress that also cost three months rent, and we had been living together for over three years. I was beaming when I saw her in the dress, I wanted to marry her in the dressing room. When I saw how happy she was to be wearing it, I wanted her to have it so much. The staff was really great, and they did a great job of getting the dress ordered and altered and ready. I think they knew how much the dress meant to her, and to us.


They took care on fixing Eva’s dress, mainly the length. It took them over eight weeks to get the dress, and then three more weeks of fitting and alterations until it was perfect. I think that is the average time. I was nervous for Eva on how the dress would turn out! My biggest fear was that someone would spill coffee on it, or that it would get lost. Everything was fine, I had nothing to worry about.

I agree that the selection is amazing and that it is a very nice, peaceful experience...at first.

I was waited on by Amanda herself the two times I came in looking for a dress. The second time I found the dress of my dreams (which I didn't think was possible). It turned out to be a sample sale dress in perfect condition and would require minimal alterations. Well, it was too good to be true! I found out I was pregnant four months before the wedding and called the salon to discuss my options. They had me come in to try the dress on with the seamstress to see what could be done. She thought it would be fine but that we should wait two more months to start the alteration process to see how, and where, my body would change. Again, everyone was calm and it seemed fine. Two months later I go back in to meet with the seamstress and Amanda and discover there is no way I will be able to wear the dress...especially since I was only going to get bigger. I had two options- 1) Try other dresses and order a new one, and 2) Alter this dress drastically (basically end up with an entirely new- short- dress). I tried several dresses and nothing was to my liking. So, after much reassurance from Amanda that this new short dress could be awesome I decided to go for it. Now, I did have one additional option NOT suggested by them. I could sell this dress and start my search from scratch. I should have done this. I went in one month before the wedding to start the fittings for the new creation (again, to make sure my body hadn't changed too much). At that time the dress was still intact...but this was the start of my nightmare. I knew there would be alteration fees but at that time I had no idea how much. AFTER the seamstress cut my dress in two she told me that while normal alterations run $500 and up mine would be $600 and up. This cost, on top of the high price of the original dress, was mind blowing. I could buy a beautiful cocktail dress for the alterations cost alone....and what I ended up with was a poorly fitting cocktail dress!!! I had always had someone with me at all of my appointments except this one. What could I do? The damage was done. Instead of saying anything right away I held my breath and hoped that things would work out. I had several fittings over the last month to try and tweak things here and there. The dress never properly fit my new expanding bust line and was more then a little inappropriate on my wedding day. Right before my final fitting I sent an email to Amanda explaining the situation and asked if we could come to a compromise on the cost of alterations. Nope! I was stuck!!! I went in for the final fitting and noticed the dress was wrinkly and asked if that would be fixed before I picked it up. The sales girl said she had already pressed it. I asked her if she would mind pressing it again and she said she would but not before giving me a dirty look. I did have someone with me that day and asked if I was just imagining the wrinkles and she said no that in fact she was surprised that this was how they had intended sending it home with me. At this point I let my future husband know the situation and asked his advice. He decided he should be the one to pick up the dress and make the final payment and talk to Amanda about the whole thing and see if he could reason with her. He is a much calmer person then I am even without taking into account my pregnancy hormones and the stress of planning a wedding. When he went in and asked for her he was told she was not there...even though her car was in the parking lot. He told the sales girl to have her call him when she returned. Needless to say she did not take responsibility for any of the mis-communication and actually implied I was lying. Oh, and she said she was shocked after all she had given me a discount. What!?! When all was said and done I paid $2,600 for the dress and an additional $150 for a head piece and $200 for a bracelet. I do think she gave me $10 off the headpiece as it was not in perfect condition due to the fact that it was the store sample. So, I guess $10 in the grand scheme of things is a blessing...right! The kicker is that the dress was not something I would have ever worn under normal circumstances. It was ill fitting and unremarkable for the cost (bridesmaids dresses look nicer). Oh, and the 'special' cups that were put in had to be removed before dry cleaning because they were not adhered properly.

PS
They actually tried to 'friend' me on Facebook!