Bella's Bridal & Formal

ere were tons of other brides there all looking through the racks and I was very overwhelmed since I didn't quite know what I was doing. If it's not your first rodeo, go for it. If you'd rather have a more intimate experience, go on a weekday.

e. I made an appointment for all of us to be there. The store was incredibly busy and even though we had an appt we still had to wait over an hour to get serviced. Then to make matters worse they lost my bridesmaids measurements and weren't very apologetic about it. They were more like "well its happened before". It was very upsetting and inconsiderate...especially when 2 of my 4 bridesmaids live out of town and weren't able to just come back to get measured again. So glad I found bridesmaids dresses somewhere else and in time.

consultant!!!

ed all my requests. Great selection of beautiful dresses and reasonable prices!

alterations process.

d the exact style I was trying to portray for my wedding and really delivered. The staff was extremely friendly and went over and beyond!!!! Definitely recommend!!!!

my sister. We had tried making appointments at 2 other stores. One said they were closed the entire week of Christmas and the other ended up having a water main break and their store was ruined. It took me a while to find Bella's because I kept confusing them with Bella Couture (who was closed all week). When we called and made the appointment, they were extremely helpful. The day of our appointment, there ended up being a huge storm and they kept the store open late just for us because we couldn't go in until my sister got off work. We were the only people in the store and they were fantastic, letting me look around and try on whatever I want. They even picked out some great dresses for me to try on and perfect accessories to complement the dresses. I would definitely recommend going to Bella's Bridal and Formal, they were wonderful to work with and made my first wedding activity a great one!

sale--just look at the mannequins in the front of the store and you will see what I mean. The customer service is the worst that I have ever experienced, anywhere (I can not stress this enough!). Go to Bridal Bliss in Homewood if you are looking for a small town feel. If I could give Bella's zero stars, I would. After you spend $2000-3000 on a dress, you would expect that the customer service would be great, but you have to work for attention in the shop if you have already bought your dress (getting alterations or looking for accessories). I would not recommend this shop to anyone, ever. You can stand at the counter for 20+ minutes without receiving help. The customer service is the worst I have ever experienced, and the representatives are unbelievably rude. Save yourself, don't go here. They will sell you the wrong size, purposely making you pay more for alterations; its a scam.

contact with me since the very beginning. It's hard to shop being a plus size bride but they have a great selection for us. I was getting my bridesmaids dresses from another shop but after such excellent service I decided to get them from Bella's as well. I would recommend this place to any bride looking for great dresses at reasonable prices.

ctly the nicest either. It was an embarrassment for my bridesmaids. However, one of the managers was super sweet to my family and I when I had my fittings and talked to us throughout the whole appointment. So there were good and bad experiences here. The seamstress was GREAT! She could get my dress hemmed and completed in an hour! The prices are good. Typical pricing for a nice dress that doesn't look cheap.

when picking such an important dress! My brides always look beautiful in their gowns!

dream dress! They were very helpful and took me in even though I didn't have an appointment. I would definitely recommend them to any brides looking for a dress!

es in Birmingham. We actually stopped by without an appointment and were lucky that they had one associate free to help us. The store was very reasonable and accommodating – and Carol, the owner, is superb! I really felt special :) I had such a great experience buying my wedding gown from Bella's that I decided to buy all my bridesmaid dresses from this store too! They give all upfront information about rush orders and costs - sent color swatches to me in Florida and everything! Nobody in my wedding is even from Hoover!! Bella's has been amazing to work with so far and I would highly recommend working with them! They really think about YOUR experience and YOUR worries and all that they can to make the shoping experience wonderful.

e big day even more perfect! I highly recommend Bella's!

prom wear all within the same shop, the girls seem to be over run. Nevertheless, they were all super sweet and helped throughout the buying and alterations process.

to check out the prom dress section just in case there were any white dresses since the whole prom section was only sale for 50% OFF!!! I agree and started searching. We found 3 in my size. Two of them were too prom-ish but the third was perfect. It had jewels all over the waist and showed off my back. The bottom of the dress was straight down and flowy so I decided to ask the lady to alter it by adding a layer of tool. A week later, I went in to get my dress and it was done to perfection. Just the right amount of flare and bling. It reflected my personality perfectly. I'm very grateful that the sales associate showed me the 50% OFF section and even more grateful to them for allowing me to buy a veil off the rack. They normally don't do that (they order them in) but since my wedding was fast approaching, they made an exception! :)

big day. And for a very reasonable price. They worked quickly and it only too two visits. One to drop it off and get it pinned up, and then to pick it up. It fit perfectly!

make sure you bring at least two people with you to help you shop and get in to the dresses, otherwise you're going to be up a creek. Some of the dresses aren't in that great of shape because everyone is shopping on their own and don't know how to get in and out of the dresses by themselves. In the dressing rooms you don't have pedestal to get on so if you're short (like me) you feel like all the dresses swallow you up. There's one or two pedestals in the back you can get on to see what the dresses look like when they're the right height, but you have to share them with everyone in the shop. But I found my dress, so I can't complain!

able and very friendly. I found my dress in just an hour and a half (and it was one that my consultant picked out for me!). Their alterations people are the BEST (and inexpensive). After just two fittings, my dress fit like a glove! I was so pleased with everything and highly recommend them! The owner is one of the sweetest ladies in the business and truly cares about the happiness of her customers.

s exactly how I had envisioned this process from start to finish. Beautiful gowns, lovely staff, perfect atmosphere...highly, highly recommend!

n with an entourage of my friends and mom, and I had a very nice and helpful assistant that helped me try on 7-8 different dresses. She was extremely patient and sweet about finding veils to match each dress, and laughed along with my girlfriends while I pranced around in each dress. It was a great experience, and I actually ended up buying the dress that I had originally gone in to try on. The dress came in on time, and they had done such a wonderful job with the measurements that my dress needed NO alterations at all when it arrived! Talk about stress-free wedding dress shopping! My bridesmaids all ordered their dresses from Bella's as well, and to my knowledge almost all of them had good experiences as well. Their dresses looked great, and alterations were done quickly and accurately. I know that my MOH had a bit of a rough time with Bella's - for some reason her dress was ordered incorrectly, and then alterations were a huge hassle, but ultimately she was able to get a discount on her dress because of all the trouble that she went through. Overall, I would recommend this boutique to anyone.

when searching for your wedding dress!

igner up on line (Essense of Australia) and at the time there was only one shop that sold there dresses in AL and that was Bella's. So, I called them and they said they had the exact dress I found in the magazine and I was sold. I lived about an hour away, but my mom lived about 3.5 hours away from the store. So, I wanted to wait until my mom could drive up and go with me try it on bc I wanted the whole mom/daughter wedding dress experience. So a month or so goes by and we finally decide to go try on the dress. I call Bella's and set up a appointment and tell them which dress I want to try on and they confirm that they still have the dress there. Well, the day finally arrives and we go to try on the dress. We get there and they are obviously very busy and we didn't get help for about 20 min. I am walking through looking at dresses and I can't find "the dress". Finally, a sales consultant comes to help and they spend like another 15 min looking for the dress. I am about to cry. 35 min of my appt was spent looking for the dress that me and my family just drove approx 3 hours to see. They finally find the dress and it turns out the sample had been sold.. So, it was right in front of me and I couldn't even try it on bc another bride had already put money down on it. I was devastated. That is why I gave them 4 stars. I was told twice they had the dress and twice that if I came I would get to try it on and they end up selling it. But, despite all my negative emotions I decide to make the best of it and try on other dresses. I stick to the designer I love and try on probably 5 or 6 dresses. Nothing is impressing me bc my heart is still with the other dress. The sales consultant brings me one last dress and I try it on. I am in love. Finally, I can look at the other dress and the one that I am wearing and I can actually say that I like it more! It was nearing the end of my appt and they were still extremely busy, so I was feeling the pressure to make a decision. I decide to wait and while she is undoing the dress my heart is breaking (for the second time in a day). I tell her to stop and that I can't leave without saying "yes to the dress"! It wasn't the experience that I was hoping for when I left that morning to try on dresses, but Bella's ended up having the dress for me. Every other time I went to try on my dress for alterations they were AMAZING! They weren't near as busy, so they were very attentive and the dress was altered perfectly. My dress was a hit at our wedding and I can't quit staring at it in our pictures!! The ladies that work there are truly nice ladies and are very good at their jobs. Otherwise, I may not have ever found my dress!

ould pick it up and wrapped it for me in a sheet and put it in my car so my fiance wouldn't see it. 5 stars especially on service, my dress and invitations were my favorite part about getting married, besides the groom of course!

e of the delay. When I contacted the store owner to make her aware of my HORRIBLE customer service experience related to not only my dress but ALSO my 6 bridesmaids dress I purchased from there all she did was make excuses for her staff and told me that normally doesn't happen. She did not accommodate me in ANY WAY and I will NEVER refer ANYONE to their shop. The ONLY shinning light in that store is Kris. She was the ONLY PERSON in that store that truly had my best interest in mind and bent over backwards to help me once she returned to the store!

them!!

and not the ivory I was looking for. I had to change linens, decor, etc. and the invitations had already been sent out in ivory as well as the flower girl's dress ordered and my shoes bought. They blamed it on the dress manufacturer, but did not do much to relieve my issues of it. Still turned out beautiful, but just watch out. Also, they lost all my bridesmaids' information several times and could not keep it together. Embarrassing for me and my bridesmaids.

to pick it up. Great service.

inally came in, I showed up for the first fitting and again, I had trouble getting help from someone in the store and then once I did, it took no less than 20 minutes to actually find my dress. Almost every time I visited, this store seemed strapped for knowledgeable employees. Besides the customer service issues, the dress I ordered came in perfectly even though I ordered something outside the regular stock. The selection of dresses was decent but not great but they can order outside what is stocked in the store. The seamstress who does alterations (Susie) was phenomenal.

y bought my dress, but looking around, they seemed to have a good selection of bridal dresses as well.

rything there. . . bridesmaids dress, tuxedos and mother of the bride all at this shop. The staff was always friendly and helpful. I felt like a princess everytime I went in. I would definetly check this store out before you shop elsewhere.

eason. She was very snotty and condescending. The ladies in alterations however are unbeatable.

we order it in another size, etc.). Other than that, they were very sweet and the alterations lady did a fantastic job in taking my dress from a size 10 to a 2. I highly recommend them.

s are not going to have a ton of 16 samples in store. And to be honest, Bella didn't have a TON either, but what they had was good. Check this place out. The people that work there are nice and the dresses are gorgeous. The price was a little more than I wanted to spend. But the dress was beautiful. Picture perfect really.