Paris Connection Bridal

Reviews 3

JE

Jennifer Panko

I purchased a sample dress through Marie and Paris Connection last week, through the preownedweddingdresses website. She was responsive and professional throughout the buying process. Once I received the dress, it didnt fit (not even close) even though my measurements (taken by a professional seamstress) and her posted measurements were the same. It must be a dress style/body type incompatibility issue, which was surprising for me since I had tried on so many dresses at local shops and knew this dress size and style should have fit. I did this pre-buying legwork so I was adequately prepared to buy online, so I could avoid this very situation for both the business and myself. Before contacting Marie, I had a professional seamstress look at the dress to see if there was any way it could work, and she confirmed there wasnt without taking it apart and drastically changing it. I didnt know what Maries return policy was at the time (Later she told me it was on the ad for the dress, but I dont remember seeing it and she did not mention it throughout the buying process). Regardless, I thought if I shared my situation, explained that this was some weird thing where it just didnt work despite doing all the homework and that I was in this crazy tight timeframe, she would be understanding. And so I did. I talked to her on the phone for half an hour, most of that feeling like I was talking to a domineering, all-business person who wasnt really hearing me. She would continually talk over me, at times saying she wanted to help me, but refusing under any condition to take the dress back. I offered to pay her $100 for any inconvenience as well as refund the $20 for her shipping and send it back in the exact same condition and packaging (all this within a week of ordering it). I explained to her that my wedding dress budget was now tied up in dress that didnt fit and I only had weeks to the wedding, so not enough time for me to sell it and buy another. So now, no dress and no money to buy a second dress. Her response to my situation and my offer with the return was repeatedly: "Absolutely not". She offered to exchange (I had started here asking if she had that dress in a size up that I could exchange with?) and she offered dresses that were $3-500 or more in cost (which I couldnt afford) or a couple dresses that were totally different in style (which wouldnt work with my situation-- I was going to ride a horse). She offered to email the designer to see if there was lace I could buy for the now needed drastic and expensive modifications (if they were even possible), but that was the extent of it. There was nothing I could offer or say to change her mind. Maries willingness to exchange the dress was appreciated, but it wasnt for the same product/dress or price point, so it felt like an empty gesture. I understand that stores have no return policies so they can stay in business, but as someone who has grown up in a small family business and continues to be a part of one, I feel that rules should help guide the overall operations of a business but at the end of the day, people should be treated like people and sometimes situations should be responded to dynamically. Considering the sensitive nature of the wedding business-- these customers are in a stressful and special time in their lives--it seems reasonable to assume that these business owners would be more understanding. Additionally, this was an online transaction, and buying "sight unseen" means there are other variables that should be accounted for in store policies. In my opinion, good businesses, especially small, locally-owned ones, should have more heart and when appropriate, flexibility, when dealing with customers. Its what makes them special, what makes us want to support them. In this buying experience, I felt like I was just treated as a source of profit. We have enough strong-arming, cold-hearted businesses/corporations in our lives.

AS

Ashley Eagles

Well..... What can I say, my Fiancée has been looking at the perfect dress for our wedding later this year and came across Paris Connection Bridal online, as they are a stockist for the particular dress she wants. Living in the UK with sometimes extortionate prices, we decided to look into sending some of our custom across the pond to the good old US of A. After-all, the customer service is USUALLY much better than we receive here in the UK and generally this is the country in which we happily spend most of our disposable income, for this exact reason. Well... I wanted to share our experience with the whole World and what better medium to use than Google! Thanks Google for this fantastic Opportunity. My better half had been communicating for a few days concerning the dress she was looking at with Marie (what a charming lady she is - thats sarcasm by the way - something we Brits are great at). Having ironed out some of the finer details with Marie via email over the last couple of days, my Fiancée thought she was building a relationship with the above and had views on ordering the dress over the phone for her to collect in person in a few months time. Unfortunately, she had been unable to respond for the last day or so due to work commitments and a family emergency. You can imagine how she felt, when to her dismay, the following email came blasting across the USA and Atlantic faster than Concorde could of in its day (this is verbatim by the way): "Would you be bothered if I never acknowledged your requests and never answered your questions ? What was your purpose ? Anyway i do not appreciate being used and taken advantage of It is rude and disrespectful All you could have said is thank you for your time but I no longer am interested Marie" So.... Let this be a warning to you girls out there that are considering this shop as your place of purchase for your big day. Do you really want to deal with people like this. The mistake Marie has made here is assuming that she was being ignored. We are honourable people, just like most Brits. We are not time-wasters and feel somewhat upset and let down. Fortunately we Love the USA, youre a great nation with great people, however one or two bad eggs like this let the side down. It happens everywhere, but I couldnt let it ride without sharing. Beware.

CO

Courtney Hendrickson

I found Paris Connection online after searching for wedding dress shops in San Francisco and added it to my list of places to try on dresses with my family. When the day came, I went to several dress shops and was extremely unsuccessful before arriving at Paris Connection, and I can’t tell you what a relief it was finding a boutique store and owner like Marie. The hug she gave me, my mom and my sister immediately made us feel right at home. Right off the bat, I noticed that there was only one fitting room, and that I had the entire shop to myself. For the first time that day, after several other poor wedding dress shop experiences prior, I actually felt important and special, like a bride should when trying on the most important dress she will ever buy. When we told her what I was looking for, she grabbed every single dress she could think of that even remotely fit the description and put it in the fitting room. I never felt like I was in a time slot, that I could only try on so many dresses, that I would make her feel bad if I didn’t like it, etc. because Marie felt like family from the moment we walked into her shop. After I knew I found the dress I wanted to buy but felt to anxious about committing, she let us put the dress on hold with a deposit, one that if we didn’t end up buying the dress could be used towards anything in her shop (jewelry, veils, petticoats etc.) so I never felt pressured. Less than a week later, I showed up at her store after hours on special request so I could try it on again. Not only did Marie stay late for me, she let me try the dress on and hang out in it until I finally bit the bullet and bought it. After the purchase, Marie kept me in the loop about the delivery of my dress constantly. When it arrived, she was extremely flexible in scheduling all of my alteration appointments. Every Time I knew I would get to go into Paris Connection I was absolutely elated, and not just because I was going to try my dress on but because I would get to hang out with Marie. She is fabulous, her collection is gorgeous, and I felt like the most beautiful girl in the world on my wedding day in her dress!