Novella Bridal

I bought my Pronovias wedding dress at this shop

I had such an amazing experience working with Novella Bridal. I had purchased my wedding dress at Trudy's and wasn't happy with the way the back of my dress looked after my dress came in. After searching for the perfect alteration place I brought my dress to Novella Bridal/Carol who made me feel confident that she was able to create my dream dress. From the moment I walked into this store I was welcomed by Katie who greeted me by my name (she has an amazing memory and always remembered my name) and took me downstairs to meet Carol. Even though I didn't purchase my dress from this store, they still gave me the best service and made me feel so comfortable.I highly recommend Novella Bridal for their amazing alteration work (Carol) and their customer service. Truly a great experience.

This is a hidden gem in the heart of San Francisco! I found my dream dress from Novella and paid $1000 less than I anticipated. They also beat the price I found at a different & dumpier salon. Carol is a fantastic seamstress and accommodated every crazy request I had. I went back for multiple fittings until everything was perfect and every time, the staff at Novella made me feel welcomed and beautiful. They don't carry a lot of designers like other salons, but the service is unmatchable. Clean, modern, and dresses I love - couldn't ask for more.

I didn't buy my dress here, but I had it altered here. Carol was amazing. She brought my size 10 sample bargain dress by Adele Wechsler to a size 2. She also made a custom overlay skirt and train in pure silk organza to make my dress perfect. Don't come here if you are looking for a bargain; come here if you have an expensive dress and/or need custom work done. I know that, as soon as you say "wedding" to any vendor, they jack up the prices like it's the year 2000, but the value per dollar for Carol's work was worth it. (Final tip -- ladies, consider a sewn-in bra rather than a strapless bra. Trust Carol on this.)

WOW! The professionalism of Carol at Novella Bridal stands heads above other salons, where people tried to play on the bride-to-be-insecurity. Carol was all business, not trying to sell me extra things or convince that I needed something that I clearly didn't want. She helped me figure out how to have the minimum amount of alterations done, and delivered the dress to my friend's waiting car on the day of the wedding - what a pro! This was the only bridal shop where I felt comfortable and not like I was about to be a victim of the huge bridal markup.

This place doesn't have the biggest selection, but they went above and beyond to make sure I looked amazing in my dress. I always felt comfortable and well taken care of. And the woman that altered my dress, Carol, does the best work.

I feel really bad; I really wanted to like this place. But it was not meant to be. I don't know if they are going through a transition or what, but apparently they ordered the wrong sample size (which was too small) so I couldn't even pretend to figure out what I was trying on. If I hadn't tried on some great dresses at other shops beforehand, I would have left crying.

I worked with Carol to do the alterations on my wedding dress. My dress needed significant alterations: it had to be taken in 4 inches in the bust/midriff, as well as other alterations for the sides, hips, and length. She was excellent - she quoted me a price ($500), and when I told her it was a little high for my budget, she promised that if it didn't end up being as much work as it might be (hard to tell, because there was complicated beading that might have to be picked out by hand and then re-sewn), she would charge me less. And then she did - total was $450, even though I had 2-3 fittings plus the final one. And this was for a lot of work, believe me, my dress had an asymmetrical ruched bust and midriff, and trying to get it to come out looking right when she had to take in so much was not easy. She helped me further by advising me to get a really good lightly-padded underwire bra that she would sew in, and would give me better lift than a traditional strapless bra (which basically just smushes your breasts down, rather than shaping them). She was absolutely right, and the added "lift" from the bra saved me money, because I didn't have to get the bust taken in as much! (BTW ladies, I highly recommend the Natori White Label Reflex Full Figure Bra and SPANX Slim Cognito Shaping Mid-Thigh Bodysuit combo.) Throughout the entire process, she always explained clearly what she was going to do and why, and she listened to my concerns and did her best to address them. She even called me in for a special extra fitting so she could fit a tricky part to my body perfectly, since she did not have a dress form that matched my (plus size) figure. The end result was fabulous!! I also often found that whenever I had a concern that she somewhat disagreed with, she ended up being right. For example, I thought the hem was a touch too short on the dress, but she noted that the dress falls a little once you wear it, and you don't want it to drag. She was right! She also took in the bust perfectly, I had a strapless dress and told her I wanted to be able to dance A LOT and not worry about it falling down or deal with tugging on it all night. Well, I danced for hours, and not ONCE did I pull, tug, or notice the bust moving at all (whereas I have some photos of some of my other friends who also went strapless, and in one case almost had their breasts fall out!). In all, I think Carol did a terrific job, was completely upfront and honest about the cost and even went out of her way to save me some money, got the dress done exactly when she said she would, and was a very good value for good quality work. I would recommend her without hesitation! My only (minor) complaint is that the shop is a little hard to find, there's no sign or anything out front.

Good customer service. Beautiful selection of dresses.