After visiting almost every bridal shop in the city and trying on well over 100 gowns, I have finally said yes to a dress! Here is my list of best and worst shops in the GTA… and who to avoid at all costs! Ratings based on staff, selection/dresses, price, location/space and overall experience.
My first stop was Vera Wang. I had always loved Vera’s dresses and needed to see if I could fall in love at first sight with one of these beauties…
Vera Wang (2/5)
Staff – Sweet older lady but not helpful. Wanted me to be prepared with a list of the exact Vera dresses that interested me. I had done my research but was also looking for some guidance and recommendations. It was my first time trying dresses on, after all! I had an extensive assortment of my “type” of dress saved in my Instagram – unfortunately this women who works in the fashion/bridal industry had never heard of Instagram!
Selection/Dresses – Absolutely stunning.
Price – High.
Location/Space – We had a hard time finding the store because the entrance had been moved to the side of a building. It was nice enough inside but the dressing area was quick impersonal – just a curtained room with a chair outside for one of my accompanying friends to use.
Overall Experience – OK.
Next stop was Dina Alonzi to look at some Lazaro dresses…
Dina Alonzi (2.5/5)
Staff – Friendly but absolutely no help. They asked me my budget and what I’m looking for and then turned me loose in a room full or gorgeous dresses and asked me to pick out what I liked. Obviously fell in love with the most gorgeous dress, the dress of my dreams, the dress that made my mother cry – only to be disappointed when I found out the price was over 3 times my budget. Rookie mistake.
Selection/Dresses – By far the best.
Price – High, but not the highest, as I was soon to find out.
Location/Space – Not close, but not too far. Easy to get to by car and accessible by TTC. Lots of pay street parking. decent sized, private rooms if you are coming with one person – any more than that would be too much. Busy even during the week days.
Overall experience – I liked the store and the dresses but not the price and the lack of guidance from the staff. OK.
The rest becomes a blur, with nothing measuring up to the gorgeous Lazaro dress that I fell in love with…
David’s Bridal (2.5/5)
Staff – Made an appointment but still had to wait half an hour. The woman who helped me was lovely, listened to what I was looking for and came to me with helpful suggestions. I should preface this by letting you know that the only reason I wanted to visit this store though was for a specific White by Vera Wang gown that I wanted to try on. I called in advance and they had the dress in my size! I was so excited but when I got there, the nice saleswoman kept bringing in other dresses and not the one I wanted to see. Finally she told me that the dress I came for was being tried on by another bride and she didn’t want to take it off to let me try it on. In the end, the other bride decided to buy the dress, even though it was 2 sizes too small and was going to have a corset back sewn in to accommodate. As disappointed as I was at the time, I now understand that it just wasn’t meant to be.
Selection/Dresses – Tons of dresses available in a variety of sizes, available for purchase off the rack. This is a great option for some people, but for me, I want to be the only person who wears my wedding dress. The White by Vega Wang line had fabulous, affordable options and many OK styles. Nothing really stuck out in my head though, besides the Vera dress.
Price – Very affordable
Location/Space – Easy to get to by car and TTC. Lots of free parking. Didn’t like the change area. Felt like I was at Old Navy in my tiny little cubicle change room. Communal waiting area for family and friends allows for bringing large groups, but you also get the reaction and feedback from strangers who also happen to be in the waiting area. Very cute that they ring a bell though when someone buys their dress.
Overall Experience – Helpful staff, affordable options. Good overall.
L&J Bridal (0.5/5)
Staff – The staff were not very helpful and offered no suggestions. I told her what I was looking for and she said they don’t have anything like that. Didn’t suggest anything at all. In an effort to make the trip not be a waste, I tried on a couple random dresses anyway. Found one I liked somewhat, even though it wasn’t what I was looking for but when I called around, found it was over $1000 cheaper elsewhere.
Selection/Dresses – Nice dresses, but not the most variety in their stock.
Price – Very expensive. I decided to come here to see if the Lazaro gown I loved would be available at a cheaper price since this shop was out in the middle of nowhere. It was not. It was actually $1,400 more expensive than at Dina Alonzi.
Location/Space – Very far. Pay parking on the street. No clue if or how one would take TTC to this location.
Overall Experience – Not impressed. Over-inflated prices, mixed with lack of customer service and poor location left a bad taste in my mouth. Would not recommend this place unless you live in Brampton and don’t care about throwing money down the drain.
Becker’s Bridal (4/5)
Staff – Kind, helpful, offer suggestions, not pushy. The only thing I wasn’t overly thrilled with is we were limited to selecting 5 gowns to try on.
Selection/Dresses – Lots of selection, great variety of designers. Very nice.
Price – Competitive pricing and a variety in price points.
Location/Space – Convenient, easy to get to from DVP, lots of pay street parking, close to TTC. Small private change rooms, then walk down the hall to show your friends/family in another public room.
Overall Experience – Very good.
Mona Richie (4/5)
Staff – Very kind, helpful, offered great suggestions, went above and beyond running around to find alternatives, but put on the pressure a bit to buy ASAP even though I had almost a year until my wedding date.
Selection/Dresses – Lots of dresses by inexpensive designers. Nothing really stuck out in my head or left a memorable impression.
Price – Very competitive pricing, flexible, offer discounts.
Location/Space – Convenient location, small dressing rooms, not private dressing space.
Overall Experience – Good
Moda Monti (2.5/5)
Staff – Friendly enough in the store, but they told me that they would call back when a dress I wanted to try on came in and they never did. I followed up a couple of times and they assured me they would call me when it arrived but after 3 months and no call back, I gave up on them. Also don’t love when salespeople stay in the changing area with me.
Selection/Dresses – Not exactly my style, but they had a few dresses that I was interested in trying on.
Price – Competitive pricing.
Location/Space – A bit far, not accessible by TTC, not street front. Great private changing area behind a huge curtain with lots of space for family and friends.
Overall Experience – OK
Amanda Lina (2/5)
Staff – Staff was kind. Spoke Italian in front of me instead of English. Suggested things that were not what I described
Selection/Dresses – Not exactly what I was looking for but they had some OK dresses. Nothing memorable.
Price – Seemed competitive and affordable.
Location/Space – A bit far, no TTC, free parking. Not a private area to show dresses to family/friends.
Overall Experience – OK
Ritché (4/5)
Staff – first salesperson who helped me was amazing. She was so helpful, sweet, accommodating, made suggestions… Unfortunately she ended up leaving the company and they gave me a new salesperson who was rude, unprepared and cold. Both times I came to try on a dress with her, I waited over 15 minutes for her to go pull the one that I was coming in to see. It would have been nice if it was ready to go and she didn’t keep us waiting. She also argues with my bridesmaids. Almost ruined the whole experience and made me go elsewhere. Luckily another staff member stepped in and took over to salvage the appointment.
Selection/Dresses – Great selection. The only place in the city to get the dress I loved.
Price – Comparable pricing with other bridal salons. Will try to work out a price that works for you.
Location/Space – Great mid-town location. Easy to get to. Free parking. TTC accessible, large private dressing rooms. Only problem is that there are lots of stairs. It was very difficult for my grandmother to get up to the bridal are on the second floor and no one offered any help.
Overall Experience – Very good (except the one poor salesperson)
New Bridal (0.5/5)
Staff – No one helped. Walked around alone.
Selection/Dresses – Not one single dress that I liked. Didn’t try anything on.
Price – Who knows.
Location/Space – Far. Not TTC accessible. Small, tight halls make it difficult to look in pairs.
Overall Experience – Not good.
Sposaitalia (0.5/5)
Staff – Pushy, don’t listen to what I want, offer crazy solutions like buying 2 dresses, cutting them apart and combining them into one. The saleswoman would not take no for an answer. Had to fake that I lost my notebook just to leave!
Selection/Dresses – Horrible. Everything was covered with sparkles. Not my style at all.
Price – No idea. Didn’t stick around long enough to find out.
Location/Space – Not too far, TTC accessible, free parking but terrible horrible inside. All dresses are hidden inside floor to ceiling sliding mirrored closets. In order to look at the selection, you need to get inside the dark closet and shift through the dresses. Very claustrophobic people should definitely stay away! Dresses are also up stairs so it is not accessible for older people or people with mobility impairments.
Overall Experience – Worst. Stay away!
Felichia Bridal (2.5/5)
Staff – OK. Hard to get ahold if them to book an appointment. This was the only place I was helped by a man. I didn’t mind but I know some people might not be comfortable bring zipped up by someone who isn’t a woman. He was helpful in making suggestions. I felt a bit rushed.
Selection/Dresses – Nice selection of good quality dresses but nothing stood out to me.
Price – Seemed like they were decent but not as low as other stores.
Location/Space – Easy to get to, easily accessible by TTC, street pay parking. Inside was very plain – small dressing rooms side beside with communal showing area.
Overall Experience – OK
White (5/5)
Staff – Amazing, helpful, listen, suggest,
Selection/Dresses – Great selection of gorgeous dresses, beautiful designers, unique styles. Amazing.
Price – A bit on the high side but worth it for what you are getting.
Location/Space – By far the nicest location in the city. Cute old house in Yorkville. Easily accessible by car or TTC. Lots of pay parking lots in the area, as well as free street parking on nearby streets. Amazing dressing rooms that I would love to have as a space in my own home! Offer water and snacks in the room. Lots of space for family and friends. Privacy when changing behind a changing wall.
Overall Experience – Amazing.
Ferre Sposa (3.5/5)
Staff – OK. Helpful pulling dresses and offering suggestions.
Selection/Dresses – Lots to choose from. Great variety. Nice dresses. A couple I actually liked a bit.
Price – Not bad.
Location/Space – Easy to get to by car or TTC. Street pay parking available. Private dressing area behind large curtain in the middle of the store. Chairs for family and friends.
Overall Experience – Good.
Jealous Bridesmaids (N/A)
Staff – Didn’t actually visit this store – just spoke to them in the phone but they seemed super helpful and sweet.
Selection/Dresses – Don’t know about selection but they had dresses that I was looking for and offered to order in what they didn’t have.
Price – Competitive. Offered discounts over the phone.
Location/Space – A bit far but easily accessible by car or TTC. Street pay parking available.
Overall Experience – Good.
Superior Bridal (1/5)
Staff – Rude salespeople. Took over 6 weeks to get an appointment even though we were available weekdays as well. Always using the excuse about how busy they are with other brides. Don’t make you feel like you are a valuable customer. Talk down to you. Argue. Make unnecessary comments about “not getting their samples for free – they pay for them” when I asked if they had a specific dress by a designer they carried. Not willing to do alterations that I wanted. When I asked about simple changes (such as adding an insert to make a see-through dress less see-through), was told no – they would not do that.
Selection/Dresses – Good selection but hard to browse. You need to go in knowing exactly what dresses you want and let them bring you each dress. I had my list and was brought other suggestions too which was OK with me but you are forced to leave the choosing up to the salesperson. Found two dresses that I thought might possibly be my dress but didn’t want to go back and buy from them.
Price – The best in the city. Very affordable.
Location/Space – Far out in Markham but free parking available. Worst change rooms by far. I was brought upstairs to change in a hall way with my cousin watching. No private change areas or curtains for privacy. Was told “you should have worn tights under your jeans”. The second time i went back I was lucky enough to be put in their “private” change area, which has no door or curtained area either, so people wandering around the store can watch you changing, along with your family and friends.
Overall Experience – Terrible
After trying on hundreds of dresses with no end in sight, I ended up finding my dream dress online one night. It was perfect – had everything I was looking for and came in under budget! I called every shop in the city that carried this designer but no one had it in stock yet, as it was from the 2013 collection. After patiently waiting almost 2 months, my dress finally arrived at Ritché! I couldn’t wait to get in there to try it on and when I did, I was just as in love with it in person. I was finally able to end this five month journey and said yes to my dress!!!
xxoo
R
Bluest Wedding Blog 