Bella Bianca Bridal Couture

Reviews 3

AZ

Az Menaz

This review is the opinion of myself and my friends and family who have suffered through this experience with me. Before reading this review I would like to mention that Bella Bianca was the ONLY nightmare I experienced during my wedding planning process. My wedding dress experience was literally a nightmare. We loved Erika, our bridal consultant. She was lovely and outgoing and pointed me to one of the brand new dresses they had just received in their store and I fell in love. I fit perfectly in the sample size 8 gown that they had. My only concern at the time which I was EXTREMELY VOCAL about was that the front of the dress was too open for my wedding. Erika ensured me that the designer (Anne Barge) was great and would work with me to make sure the edit would look tasteful and maintain the “essence of the dress.” Erika offered us a price for the dress that was only good until close of business that day. We felt extremely pressured but decided to move forward. In reliance on the expectations of fit and coverage, I proceeded with purchasing the dress and was very excited to wear it on my special day. Several emails were exchanged between Erika, Anne Barge and myself regarding the edits on the dress. I was not happy with any of the suggestions. Erika then suggested we order extra lace for the dress and figure it out at BB once the dress arrived – ensuring me we would find a solution. I trusted her and agreed to this. My first fitting was with Melissa (one of the stores owners) as Erika had left BB. Dealing with Melissa was an entirely different experience. She was pushy and rushed with me. I tried on the dress for the first time and was horrified. My cleavage was pouring out of the dress and I felt more like a cheap hooker than a bride. Not to mention the “edits” she suggested were distasteful and the entire essence and modern element of the dress were. The only person who thought I looked “Great” was Melissa. All of my friends and family were repulsed with what she was suggesting. I expressed my concerns to Melissa about the dress being SO different from the one I ordered in the EXACT SAME SIZE? Her response to me was unkind as she explained to me that the reason the dress fit funny was because my breasts had grown. I was LIVID. I tried the dress on at a different salon (again in a size 8). I tried the gown on and voilà - it fit perfectly again. I took photos and sent them to Melissa and explained to her that she was wrong. She had a much nicer tone this time.. It was explained to me (this time) that the cummerbund needed to be released on the gown for the gown to drop down to where it needed to sit. She offered to have it altered at her salon but honestly I had lost faith in her salon at this point. She gave me the name of a seamstress in St. Louis who was quite reputable and strongly suggested I take the dress to that seamstress only. The seamstress in STL took one look at my dress and point blank told me that what I needed to have done to the dress was not possible without ruining the essence of the dress. She was disgusted with the fact that BB sold me this dress with my particular initial concerns and also felt that the dress was not ordered in the proper size for me as it was super loose in some areas. I messaged Melissa to express my concerns and findings and to see if she can take back the unaltered dress. I clarified to her that the notion under which I purchased the dress with its ability to be modified to my needs without ruining the “essence” of the dress was promised to me at the onset and this promise was unfulfilled. I relied upon this promise to my emotional and financial detriment. Melissa responded robotically telling me that the dress was exactly what I ordered per my contract and that the offer to refund the dress no longer stood as I had taken the dress home. Melissa is definitely more about making money than making sure her brides are happy. She will not go above and beyond for you. The moment she has your money she will focus on the quickest way to get you out of her salon.

AR

Ariana Dillion Puentes Graham

In 2014, my sister got married and got her bridesmaids dresses from Bella Bianca and had a wonderful experience. Im getting married in September and decided to work with them again for my bridesmaids. This time around Im completely disappointed in my experience. On July 14th I went to pick up my bridesmaids Haley Paige jumper and discovered that one in came in the wrong color. On August 1st I was informed that the jumper would not arrive till 8/29 to the store. My bridesmaid lives in another state, so it will not arrive to her till 8/30, at the earliest. Im getting married on 9/22. This leaves around 2 weeks for alterations, which will need to happen since the jumpers have arrived almost 2 sizes too big for my bridesmaids. The error of the jumper arriving in a different color than ordered falls on the designer, BUT how the entire situation was handled reflects poorly on the operational and customer service skills of Bella Bianca. Below Ive outlined the reasons why: - I was the one that pointed out to my stylist that the jumper was the wrong color. They should have caught this the minute the jumpers arrived. Inventory is a crucial part of this type of business, why was this not caught sooner? It causes questioning on how they manage and track their inventory. - there was a lack of communication that occurred on their end. Over 2 weeks went by till I was informed when the jumper would actually arrive. Every time I spoke with my stylist I was told shed get back to me the next day with an answer, but received no follow up. I had to contact them between those 2 weeks to see what was going on. - no accountability was taken on their end till the last conversation I had with my stylist. When I first discovered the issue, just a causal apology given to me once by the manager. At one point I even voiced my disappointment and frustration to my stylist on the phone, but it was completely disregarded. No "Im sorry", no "I understand, no "this is what we are going to offer you for the inconvenience" was given to me. Finally, during the last conversation was when they expressed that they are sorry this happened and told me the jumper would be refunded. If youre big on proper customer service and the operations of a business be cautious in working with Bella Bianca.

KA

Kate I

Bella Bianca is a beautiful salon tucked away on Maple Street. I searched in many, many stores throughout Chicago for my wedding dress. Carrie was a delight to work with. She was patient and gave great advice. You can tell she has been in the business for years! Together we found the perfect dress. Since then, Cara has been very helpful with finding bridesmaid dresses and accessories. The salon itself is small, but comfortable and very welcoming. They do not do alternations onsite. Melissa and Natalie, the owners, remember you by name and treat you as though you are "the only bride." Go here if you want an experience of a lifetime! You wont be disappointed.