Gowns By Design Bridal Salon
| Category: | Bridal Shop |
| Address: | 6395 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, USA |
| Phone: | +1 717-697-5710 |
| Site: | gownsbydesignbridal.com |
| Rating: | 2.9 |
| Working: | 11AM–5PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–5PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–4PM 10AM–4PM Closed |
Location
Photos 1
Reviews 4
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Heather J
Caution, brides-to-be: If you find a dress here, be sure to discuss what changes may be needed for your dress to fit after alterations. Do this BEFORE YOU BUY!!! Also, make sure the items and dollar amounts are correct... They overcharged us $20.00 for my dress and had the veil and necklace they were demonstrating on our bill even though we hadnt agreed to purchase them. (They did refunded the $20.00. I was glad I had taken a picture of the price tag as proof) First, Ill say, the dresses are gorgeous and Debbie is a dream to work with. She helped me find my dress and was so professional and helpful and wonderful! The dress I purchased was a size 14 and needed to not only be taken in (Im a size 4) but needed the straps changed from off-the-shoulder to on my shoulder. (My new hubby is 62" and I needed to be able to raise my arms unrestricted.) Thats where the trouble began... My mom and I were assured that the dress could be altered to my needs. Over a series of 4 fittings, the strap placement was a constant issue. I made comments at each fitting about my concerns. At fitting 1. The dress was pinned by Jen, the seamstress, and we were told the straps wouldnt be worked on until the body was adjusted (makes sense...) at fitting 2. The body fit and it was suggested that the straps be narrowed to get them to sit higher. I agreed we could try that. At fitting 3. The arm holes were too tight to put my arms down, so it was hard to tell if they were improved or not. At fitting 4. I could put my arms down, but the straps were worse than they had been originally. They fell off my shoulder onto my mid upper arm! Jen then said she had never been told I wanted the straps on my shoulder. She dismissed my concerns saying "well, you wont be looking at it in the mirror all day, youll be enjoying your day". After reiterating that "enjoying my day" would need to include me putting my arms up, she gave some options. She said in order to have the straps where I wanted, the dress would need to be darted or the bustline pulled higher. The pinning for all the suggested ways to "fix" the issues changed the look of the neck and back lines in ways I didnt want. She was asked not to work on the dress until we could talk about our options. She disregarded our request and added material to the straps and made other changes to the dress, all without our permission, and was confused when I was upset at our next appointment. Long story short, had we been told what changes to the neckline, strap widths, back line etc would be needed to get the dress to function the way I needed, we never would have purchased the dress. Because we signed a no returns document at the initial purchase, they stuck rigidly to their policy. They declined our offer for us to pay the maximum alteration fee they quoted if they kept the dress and refunded the difference. (The dress had not had material cut yet and could be taken back to its original state, per Jen... They wouldnt have lost revenue and would have been paid for their time. I thought that was a win-win option, but they didnt.) So, I ended up with an unfinished dress I couldnt use and memories of the stress and money wasted from this experience. The work Jen had done on the hem and body was great. If you have a simple "size it down" alteration, Im sure the finished product would look and fit well, but if you are changing a large number of sizes or have curve ball (like a strap change etc) thrown in, make sure you are very clear about what will need to happen, or consult other seamstresses to confirm the change is do-able. Good luck ladies! Its your day, so follow your dream and dont let anyone compromise your needs!
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Phoebe Bowie
Terrible customer service. There are many reasons why I did not like this shop....the only thing I did like was their dress selection. The woman who helped me basically lied to me, and acted pretty snooty the whole time. I went with two of my bridesmaids, and this woman told us we werent allowed to take pictures, which I found strange because every other dress shop I went to was fine with pictures. Since I wasnt allowed to take pictures I asked if she could give me the name of the dress so I could look it up online to see pictures of it. She said she would give me the name after I came out of the changing room. When I left the room and went out to the front desk she told me she wasnt going to be able to give me the name of the dress until I bought it. This is absolutely ridiculous! The only possible reason they would not want you to take pictures or give you the name of the dress is because they are afraid you are going to go somewhere else and get the dress for a better price. And Im sorry, but if they have to use those kind of tactics to make you buy from them, then they arent worth it. My bridesmaids are very smart girls and one of them found the dress online within 5 minutes after leaving the store. I also found the dress at another shop, for $50 less, and this other shop also included free alterations. I would not recommend this place to anyone unless you are pretentious and like to be treated awfully. P.S. Taras Bridal in Camp Hill has an amazingly awesome staff. Im not getting my dress there, but they were so helpful and nice and HONEST, that I would recommend that place to anyone!
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Rachael Partain
When I walked in to Gowns by Design with only three weeks until my wedding and no idea what I wanted I was expecting things to be difficult, but the ladies at Gowns by Design made choosing my dress a wonderful experience. They helped me find dresses that were not only beautiful, but were perfect on me. They even squeezed in my alterations to make the dress fit like a glove. I went to five shops total, but nowhere did I feel so valued. I don’t often write reviews, but the service here was truly exceptional. I’m quite frankly shocked by some of the other reviews - the prices I saw were comparable to other bridal shops (it’s a boutique, you aren’t going to find David’s $99 special because the quality here is high) and the customer service was absolutely amazing. I had no problem dropping by without an appointment and not only did they bring in the dresses, but they helped me into them. They were never pushy, but helped me make a decision that I was thrilled with. My dress was PERFECT!
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E Paint
My mother, sister, and I stopped in about an hour before they closed, on a Saturday, without an appointment. Karen informed us that all of the dressing rooms were busy, but encouraged me to have a look around, telling me a bit about each designer, and what they could and couldnt order by my wedding date. As soon as a room was available she helped me try on a few gowns, giving me an honest opinion on which she thought were the most flattering (not just saying the most expensive one). We came back at a later date, with an appointment, and they were kind enough to stay open past their hours, so I could retry my favorites, even though I had told them I wasnt ready to buy that day. They are not bubbly and in your face at this salon, they wont push you to buy, the gowns are a bit more expensive because theyre made very nicely (but they will work to find something in your budget). I highly recommend them, and even if I dont buy my gown there, Ill be in for all of my accessories and alterations.