Bella Sera Bridal

Reviews 3

JO

Joan Welch

I completely agree with another posters comment about the first experience with Bella Sera being fantastic but after that everything went down hill. I needed to find a dress for a wedding and Amanda couldnt have been more helpful. I found the perfect dress and was told, because it was an in-stock dress, that it should be in shortly. After a couple of weeks when I didnt hear back from anyone at Bella Sera regarding the dress, I called and was told that it had been in for over a week. When I asked why no one had called, I was told that someone had called. Well, they had my cell phone and no message or any record of an incoming call was on my phone (I have a smartphone - theyre pretty good at recording calls from my experience). I put that aside and tried to set up a time for a dress fitting and was told that, no I needed to come in and try on the dress first, and if a fitting was needed I would need to schedule an appointment at that time. I explained to the woman that with my schedule that would be very inconvenient and that I would like to do it all at once if possible. She finally gave me an appointment on the same day I was planning to go but only after I insisted and explained my schedule dilemma again and again. Long story short, I went in to try on the dress and sure enough the dress did need to be tailored. Overall the fitting went well and I was scheduled to come back in a couple of weeks when the dress would be ready; my scheduled time was 10 a.m. I received the form with the time and seamstress (Janice). Two weeks later I arrive promptly at 10 a.m. and the sign on the door states an opening time of 11 a.m. I had scheduled this fitting around client appointments and needless to say I wasnt happy. I called to find out what happened and was told that, no my appointment was at 11 a.m. and not 10 am. Meanwhile Im looking at my form that clearly states 10 a.m. Janice, the seamstress, gets on the phone with me and tells me that no my appointment was at 11 - that is what she has written down. She then tells me that my form must be smudged or Im not reading it correctly. Im staring a the form - no smudges anywhere and I clearly see a 10 (not 11). She clearly doesnt want to hear that and insists that shes right - the appointment was for 11. Thank God for my co-workers who are also at this point looking at my form and telling me, no youre not crazy - it clearly says 10 a.m. I just want an apology for the inconvenience and a rescheduled appointment. Finally Janice tells me, oh, I see what the problem is. Youre in our computer system for 10 a.m. which is why your form is incorrect. I received a very half-hearted apology (if I can even call it that) and an insistence from her that it wasnt her fault. It was incorrect in the computer and she didnt enter it. Okay???? I gave up even trying to get her to see my point at all - the whole conversation just became ridiculous. I did receive a phone call from the manager, Amanda, who did apologize for what happened, and that did mean something. However, what did me in and why I finally decided to post this review, is that I went in to pick up my dress on my newly scheduled appointment day (I did confirm the time the day before just in case) and while I wont say that they were exactly icy, it was not the pleasant reception that I had received on certainly my first day or on the initial fitting day. No mention of the incident along the lines of sorry about the inconvenience you experienced, etc. They basically treated it as though it never happened. Coming from a client-services oriented field, I cant imagine treating any client/customer in this fashion.

A

A Private User

Somewhat inconsistent. I have purchased a bridesmaid dress there, when I was in my friends wedding. I had an overall positive experience. The dress was nice and appropriately priced. I agree with the comments about the seamstress. Not patient, and expensive. I think I paid 50 dollars to shortent the straps of my dress by 1 inch on each side. However, I still was really happy with everything. This is why I started my wedding dress search at Bella Sera. I came on a Saturday. I had an appoinment and was on time. There was no consultant available to work with me. I waited for about 30 minutes for a consultant. The salon is nice and comfortable, so the wait was not much of an issue. I came with a specific vision of my dress and had a photo as an example of what I was looking for. Although the design I had in mind was not of a typical bridal gown, it is not something that is exclusive to one designer or one store. I liked the fact that my girlfriends and I got to browse through the dresses and pull some of the gowns. However, the consultant that was working with us was also working with at least one other bride, and was MIA while we were pulling dresses for me to try. She was intermittently there while I was trying dresses on, and would at times help me zip up if she was around. At first we did not have a spot with a mirror, but shortly after I started to try dresses we were moved to a different dressing room with a mirror, by the window. At the end, I tried on many dresses and most of them were beautiful and flattering. One of them was a real option. However, I could not decide quite then, because none of the dresses were what I had invisioned. I asked for time to think about it. The consultant made a face and asked me why I needed to think about it, since the dress is beautiful and looks good. I did not make a purchase at Bella Sera that day. I purchased my dream dress 2 days later, on the spot, elsewhere (second bridal boutique I visited). As in any place Bella Sera has its positives and its negatives. If I had to do it all over again, I would not go on a Saturday, and I would ask for one of the owners to help me, as based on my past experience and on the feedback of others, it seems to make a difference when it comes to overall experience.

SH

Shelby Keys

Bella Sera is NOT reputable place to get your wedding dress. Words cannot describe how extremely awful my experience was. Ultimately I ended up having to buy a whole new dress. I bought a wedding dress back in November and it was a TOTAL re-make as it was ordered 2 sizes too large for me (I am a models size 4... an 8 was ordered!) We were told at that time "its easier to take a wedding dress in than let one out"... although we assured our salesperson I would not be gaining weight. At my first fitting - the seamstress said she could make the dress fit - no problem! At the second fitting - she said she would do her best - but she now told me the issue was my body not the dress - and she could fix a dress - not a body! At the third fitting I was sent out "to buy some boobs" from another bridal shop and return... Only to be pinned and re-pinned for a third time. It was clear at this point that they could not fix the dress they had ruined yet I was assured the dress I ordered would look like the sample dress I tried on- AND IT DID NOT. I ended up having to purchase a dress 4 weeks before my wedding at another salon. I called Bella Sera saying I would be picking up my dress and how sorely dissapointed I am in their service all around. Instead of even OFFERING to refund me the money for the mere alterations they are REFUSING TO GIVE ME MY DRESS THAT I PURCHASED. Heidi who is the owner hung up the phone on me! Instead of offering to rush order a new dress in my correct size, I am now having to go through the hassle of figuring out how the heck I am supposed to obtain the dress that I paid for AND OWN. In addition to that they are refusing to finish the alterations that I paid for and have receipts for. DO NOT GO TO BELLA SERA!!!