Elegant Bridals

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After having previously tried on wedding dresses and receiving excellent service elsewhere, my stop at Elegant Bridals was the first horrible experience I had. Upon arrival, you are asked your bra size in order to wear obviously worn undergarments while trying on their wedding dresses. Additionally, their manager answered any questions I asked in an abrasive and rude manner. I do not recommend this bridal shop. You should be treated like a princess while you are trying on your wedding dresses, not as if you are inconveniencing the staff throughout the process.

When I first went to the shop in September 2013 I had an amazing consultant who dedicated all of her time and effort solely to me. I found a beautiful dress and I was very happy with the business.



Fast forward to February 2014 and I have a Saturday appointment. I specifically set up this appointment after a hair trial, so I could see my hair style AND my dress to shop for a veil that would work. The shop was very busy and the lady at the desk somehow managed to acknowledge 2 people that arrived after me (and were standing behind me) before me.



After I told her I came for my first fitting and to shop for veils she came back with the dress ready to go. I said I wanted a fitting, not to take it home. She was the one who occasionally helped me, while running to the counter and back. I didn't have a consultant specifically for me, despite the fact that I made an appointment weeks prior.



When I asked to try on the sample dress (for confirmation of the size, since mine fit differently) she sighed and said, "Uhh right now?"



Really? When else???



She came back with the dress and tried it on me. When she went to take it off, she also started unbuttoning the store-provided bustier in an effort to get in me into my own clothes and out of the door as soon as possible. She tossed me a slip to cover myself while she pretty much stripped me.



She quickly flung the door open and left while I tried to hide my nearly naked self. I got into my own clothes and left. Before I walked out of the door she asked, "Are you okay?"



I wanted to respond "What do you think???"



I found out later the rude woman was the owner. My consultant, Stephanie Ostot is INCREDIBLE. I highly recommend making your appointments with her and making sure your appointment is ONLY with her. When I made my appointment I requested her and they told me they would let her know. Come to find out that she was double booked and didn't even know that I had requested an appointment with her.

I went to Elegant Bridal the day after I became engaged based on a glowing referral of the shop and the consultant Tracey. I went just to take a peak at the shop but Tracey was up front, available and asked me if I wanted to try on some
gowns.

She sat down with my mother and myself to get an idea of what I wanted.
After the consultation we were taken to a large changing room big enough to fit a number of people. Tracy brought the dresses to me instead if leaving me to drown in a sea of organza. Needless to say I found my dress that day by the second one that I tried. A dress that I might add I would have never thought to try if not for Tracey.

Yes, I did try looking at other boutiques but the service was nothing in comparison. I would be left alone to figure out what I wanted to try on. Not only that, the consultant that was suppose to be there for me would be splitting her attention amongst numerous other brides. I was not important!!

Thanks to Elegant Bridal and Tracey for making me feel special and making the choosing of my dress memorable!!!

So, the wedding dress I wanted to purchase from Elegant Bridals was $200 more there than any other place I checked (I checked around 7 other bridal shops!), and the argument was that Elegant has better service than other shops, which I learned is not true. Here begins the crazy stuff.



The consultant (Tracy, who I believe may be in charge of the place?) went on to explain that other shops charge for storage, shipping, pressing, etc, and she said (with an evil laugh) "when they match our service, we'll match their prices." Lo and behold, EVERY shop I had talked to offered all these things as well (I called and checked after talking to Tracy), but didn't brag about them - maybe because they seem obvious? One girl even laughed when I asked her about that stuff and said "of course that's all included!". And the other places made no reference to potentially bad service at other shops, they only told me what they offer without referencing other stores. Tracy's attitude and sales pitch (which was basically saying that all other places will treat me horribly and try to rip me off) came across and weirdly defensive and desperate. When I told her that every other place offered the same services, she then claimed that I'll never get the same "commitment" from other stores. Huh?



In the end, I told her that I couldn't afford the extra $200 and I'd have to go elsewhere, and she said sarcastically "Well, good luck with that...". Wow... really?!? All this from a place that is very overtly Christian (to the point of being annoying), from the seamstress with "anointed fingers" and the "have a blessed day" on the voicemail, to the fact that I was told that some alterations "require more prayers than others." I'm not exactly comfortable with their prayer-based alterations system, but the negative/competitive attitude (sidenote: totally hypocritical based on their whole "Christian" deal, right?) is what pushed me over the edge.



For the record, had my experience been better, I would have considered spending an extra $200 for great service. Nope! Not for Elegant Bridal. Tracy absolutely rubbed me the wrong way. I can't speak about anyone else in the store, nor the store itself, as all this nonsense happened over the course of two quite long phone calls.

I loved my experience at Elegant Bridals. The consultant was friendly and worked with me as long as i needed (which was a LONG time cause i'm so picky) to find the perfect dress. They were wonderful about getting the alterations done after i bought the dress and steamed and pressed it for me for my bridal portraits and all. They were so friendly and nice to me and even called after the wedding to congratulate me! They are the best bridal shop in Augusta for sure, MUCH better than Davids Bridal where I felt like one of a million brides while trying on dresses right next to many other brides.

Very pleased! I actually enjoyed the fact that i didnt have the pressure of looking through dozens of dresses to find "The Perfect Dress"! I got to explain what i was looking for and bring in pictures of dresses i had seen that i liked! The staff was extremely friendly and made the process so fun! I would recommend Elegant Bridals to anyone getting married :) I believe Elegant Bridals went above and beyond "the norm" to make my day extra special and worry-free!