Catherine Simms Bridal

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible. Spare your time and aggravation. The 1 star can go towards Jessica, because this salon doesn't deserve any. Jessica, however has amazing customer service and super helpful. We ordered bridesmaids dresses from there and it was a nightmare. The girls waited 3.5 months to come in. they were suppose to be Ashley & Justin... open back, red lace (claret) with black lining. Instead 40 days away from the wedding we got wine/Merlot/ dresses with beige tulle and black under that. the open back wasn't the same cut and the dresses were about 4 inches shorter then sample dress and they were all 2 sizes TOO small (mind you they had all been measured there). I went in and spoke to Karen (who I later found out was the owner), about the mess. She is the WORST!!! my fiance and I went back in and spoke with her. I had him talk so I would not break down and cry like a psychopath. she insisted the color was in deed the designers shade of red, it wasn't even close. she finally after much arguing went and got the swatch sample.... not the same color, she claimed it was. then I showed her a picture of the red dress they showed me from the beginning because they didn't have the swatch ... not even close. she claimed it was just the lightening. then I pulled up the dress on the designer website and showed her the "color" on there... not even close. then she finally guess, "oh I kinda see it, what do you want me to do? you'll have to leave, and I'll call you when I get ahold of someone and see what we can do!" I told her we weren't leaving until this was figured out today. we asked her to call the owner and not once did she say she was. we are 40 days out and have legit no dresses that fit or are right. we drove 45 mins to get there to not getting it figured out and drive back another time. She freaked out! she then said, I'll give you a refund without any hesitation (thank gosh). we were taking up too much of her time and she had someone waiting and didn't want to deal with it. we told her we would look so see if there was something else there that they can rush order. we picked out two dresses and asked her. she said she would call and ask. literally a minute later comes back and says, "there is nothing I can do, they can't get it here until a month after your wedding. but here's a check for your money back. you should just go to David's or van maur." I was fuming... she didn't even try to see if they could get another dress in. sad to see a small business fork over a grand and not even bat and eye. as we were walking out she said in a bitchy sarcastic tone, " send me pictures of what you find (as if we were never going to find anything)." deposited that check right away, cause I was afraid it was going to bounce.... then went straight to David's bridal, picked out a specialty dress (not a fan of their bridesmaids dresses) and the total for all 6 dresses ended up costing us $4 more than what we originally paid AND we got the dresses in a week. It was truly ment to be. The dresses from David's were awesome and matched our theme perfectly. Moral of the story ... Karen is awful and would never trust her shop to order my dress or the girls dresses!

When it comes to her wedding, every girl wants to be treated like and feel like a princess. At Catherine Simms I truly got the royal treatment in preparation for my wedding. I was able to try on basically every dress in the store, and throughout this experience I was assisted by the staff. I found my dream dress thanks to the pleasant and experienced girls on staff. After ordering the dress, I was still able to make visits to see it before alterations because I just couldn't wait. At Catherine Simms I felt like family. I would recommend this boutique to any and all brides!

I cannot express how much I love the ladies at this boutique. I looked for weeks for my dress and they found me the most beautiful dress for the perfect price. they have been there every step of the way and not just for my wedding dress but for my bridesmaids as well. they are by far the best people I have ever got the privilege of meeting.

Got my wedding dress from Catherine Simms Bridal and couldn't be happier! I went to at least 20 boutiques looking for the perfect ballgown dress that was appropriately priced, i found Catherine's bridal via google search. Jessica was super helpful and was responsive to communication via email. She made it a great experience even though the dress I wanted was discontinued so I had to buy the sample dress. The boutique was able to clean the off the rack dress for me, take money off since it was recently discontinued and alter the dress from a size 14 to a size 2. The seamstress does amazing work and listens to your vision. I can't say enough good things about this boutique. I'm sad that I can't wear my wedding dress again because it was perfect and fit like a glove. Thank you Catherine Simms Bridal!!

I stumbled upon Catherine Simms bridal while I was out browsing bridal gowns for the first time. I can't say enough about this bridal shop.. not only was the staff personable and welcoming, but they called be my name every time I came in (I never had an appointment, I just stopped in). Many other bridal shops I visited didn't seem to have time for me and didn't take their time getting to know me. I had no idea what I wanted or what would look good on me, they were able to get me in a gown that I absolutely love and had never seen anything like it before. I highly recommend Catherine Simms Bridal. Great selection of styles and sizes and very reasonably priced.

The store is small and it gives each bride a much more personal experience, I preferred this over every other store experience. Each time I was there I did not feel like I had to interrupt other people to find what I was looking for, they have always been very accommodating and honest. I showed them a picture of the dress I found somewhere else but did not trust that store they immediately founds something just like it and even better!

My consultant/stylist (Jessica, I think) there was amazing! She was so nice and she was the only one working on that busy day, but it didn’t feel like I was ignored or anything. She had two of us trying on dresses and she was very attentive to the both of us (so it seemed. I can't speak for the other bride though)! They have some pretty dresses, although they do have a smaller selection, but overall, amazing amazing customer service!!!

I arrived 20 minutes early for my appointment to try on wedding dresses in August with 5 additional ladies with me. We were the only group in the bridal salon and received great service and attention from Louise. She made me feel like a beautiful bride-to-be, provided her professional opinion on the dresses, but wasn't hovering or pushing the sale, either. She (and my ladies in-tow) pulled dresses that were in line with what I was looking for. She listened and was very personable, asking about my fiance and the proposal. I ended up finding THE dress here, the first one I tried on! It is a beautiful and elegant gown from the Catherine Simms Private Collection, and was the dress on the mannequin. Louise got me a great deal on the dress as-is, and has been in touch with me about the minor repairs needed on the gown. I am looking forward to my dress fittings and continuing to work with this great bridal shop.

Overall, Catherine Simms Bridal was great. They had a nice variety of dresses to try on, and their dressing rooms were nice and large. The people were friendly, but less warm than other bridal salons I had been too. They were very accommodating though, as I was running a bit late to my appointment because of traffic. I was the only bride in there at the time trying on dresses which was really nice to have full attention. They were a little weird about letting you take pictures and telling you designers. But they did have all prices clearly marked which was helpful when trying to stay in a budget. I found the perfect dress and it came in within 2 months. Violet, their alterations lady, did a fabulous job altering the dress!! It was a little pricey, but she did such a great job I would not have wanted to go anywhere else. They are currently transitioning to a new store, so they are crammed into a temporary location. But don't be alarmed they will still take care of you!

I was writing for David Tutera's It's a Brides life, and sadly I did not have the same experience that I would have liked to have had. I was set up for my appointment and when I showed up on the day, the assistant had no idea that I was coming, even though I could see my name written in the schedule book. The dresses that were shipped in for me to try on were still sitting in the box in the back, instead of being taken out of the box to "air out". Once we did find the dresses that I was going to try on, I pretty much did all the work from there by myself. The consultant barely helped me get into the dresses, but I do have to say that she did get me to try on some dresses that I probably wouldn't have chosen to try on. In the end, I did find my gown, but being a blogger, my circumstances are different and I didn't have the luxury of going to another bridal salon. If I had, I would have high tailed it out of there quickly. It should be noted that I did not pay for my gown, so I can't really comment on the value.

My sister got both her dress and bridesmaid dresses here- we loved them! So I returned for my gown. I worked with the owner to pick out the perfect dress and found it in just 4 options! The seamstress there is PERFECTION. She seriously works magic! The only thing is- she is only available Tuesdays and Thursdays... living in Milwaukee and Working full time made this very difficult, but we made it work. Overall, but get gorgeous dresses in a very reasonable range and working with the owner is amazing!

The woman who helped me try in dresses was amazing. I wish I could remember her name. She took what I said about each dress, and brought a new dress to meet what I liked. I fell in loved with my dress. I went back to the same place to look for dresses with my mom. This time, the service was less than acceptable. We had to track the lady (a different one) down to help us and I ended up accidentally pinching my mom with the clip cause the lady went to sit behind the desk. However, I give this place four stars for service because of the original lady, and the tailor. The tailor was amazing! My dress was very intricate and she did a great job. It fit absolutely perfectly and I never had to pull it up as I wore it! (It was strapless)

Very helpful staff! They remember you by name! Dresses are beautiful there! Also got the bridesmaid dresses here!

Very nice and helpful!! Were very accommodating with my situation and made my wedding dream dress come true!! Very highly recommended!!

What a great experience with Catherine Simms! Staff is friendly and patient, the store is lovely, clean, and well-organized and smells fantastic!

I had a wonderful experience at Catherine Simms Bridal. The staff was always so nice and helpful. I ended up purchasing both my dress and my bridesmaids dresses here. My dress was a floor sample that had been marked down so I was more than thrilled at the price. They kept my dress for me at the store and let me come in and try it on with my accessories whenever I needed to. I had my bridal alterations done here as well and couldn't be happier.

The ladies at Catherine Simms took such great care of me and my bridal party throughout the entire wedding planning process. The seamstress worked magic to have my dress fit to my body perfectly. That was quite a challenge since I'm on the short side and the length needed to be taken up quite a bit!

First and Foremost, let me say that my dress was absolutely perfect, and it was exactly what I wanted. Now, that being said, I still would not suggest Catherine Simms if you like to be able to contact them easily. Their hours weren't great and even when they were open, it was very hard to get a hold of them. We were going to order a bridesmaid dresses through here as well, but they never sent us the color swatch for the dress we were interested in. We ended up going to another small shop that was able to give us the swatch on the spot and were very accommodating.

The ladies at Catherine Simms were so great. They made my dress shopping experience fun and relaxing. And the seamstress was wonderful! I loved my dress!

Jessica helped me find the perfect dress, was there whenever I needed to check on anything, got my dress in way ahead of schedule and was great help when we had a last minute bridal party change!

This store is wonderful. The atmosphere is relaxed, the staff is extremely helpful and the dresses are beautiful. And it smells so good! I unfortunately didn't get my bridesmaid dresses here, but I found my wedding dress here for an amazing price and it was perfect.

I spent a little more than I'd planned, but my dress was amazing. The staff is super helpful and NOT AT ALL PUSHY. I've seen other stores push add-ons and the staff here did not do that at all. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

I got my dress at Catherine Simms Bridal and ws very happy with the whole experience. The staff is extremely supportive and helpful. They even helped me match my wedding jewelry to my dress! At one of my final fittings I wasn't entirely happy with the fit. I left feeling a little uneasy, so I called them back and asked if I could come back in and try it on again. The lady I spoke to said "This is your wedding dress, you have to be 100% happy - please come back". They redid some of the altering and my dress came out perfect.

I am not a tiny person and shopping for a wedding dress was nerve racking. Jessica made me feel so comfortable. She helps you into the dress which makes you look and feel amazing. Many places will let you fend for yourself and it is very deflating for your self esteem. I chose a very low cut dress but the tailor was able to fashion a seamless piece of lace to make the dress more flattering, and no could even tell it was "after market" neckline. PERFECT! Also, great selection of wedding and bridesmaid dresses.

I was very pleased with my epxerience at Catherine Simms. I purchased an Allure dress from here. This was my first stop for trying on dresses, and after going to 2 more shops, I came back here to buy the 3rd dress I tried on. They are a smaller boutique than some of the large shops, but they have beautiful dresses that are affordable. I also had my alterations done here, not having gone anywhere else, it's hard to compare. They did seem a bit pricey, but I think they all are. I also got my bridesmaids dresses from here, and they were very helpful with sizing and placing orders. I would highly recommend this shop!

I loved the selection and help here. I found a ton of reasonably-priced dresses here. They were modern and beautiful. The only problem I had with them has to do with the seamstress. She decided to take a month-long vacation right when I would have needed her services so I had to end up using someone else for that.

I got my wedding dress from Catherine Simms and had no issues. I loved the dress, it fit and looked beautiful. For personal reasons, we had to move our wedding up 3 months. I had already ordered my dress as well as the girls. When I asked if we could rush the bridesmaids dress, I was told that was not an option, but the dresses should come in on time. It has been almost three weeks since my wedding, and no phone call about the dresses. Boo to you Catherine Simms.

I love Catherine Simms Bridal! My bridesmaids purchased their Bill Levkoff dresses there for my wedding in September 2011, and we all had a great experience. I originally went in by myself to look at dresses for my bridesmaids, and the salesperson Jessica was extremely friendly, gave honest me honest opinions and suggestions, and even helped me find the bridesmaid dress that I saw online and thought would be perfect, which ended up being the dress we chose. I called about 6 or 7 other bridal shops to compare prices, and Catherine Simms had the best price by at least $30 (even more at some shops) for this bridesmaid dress. Jessica was great through the ordering and alterations processes, and she always made me feel welcome when I stopped in the shop with questions or concerns. The dresses turned out beautifully, and my bridesmaids looked wonderful on the wedding day. Definitely visit Catherine Simms if you are looking for a wedding gown or bridesmaid dresses - it is a wonderful shop with a nice selection, friendly salespeople and great prices!

Catherine Simms took great care of me as I was searching for my perfect dress. I had been in two other shops by the time I went, and the difference was immeasurable. This bridal store is much more personal...I really felt as though they cared about ME rather than just the sale.

This place has a wonderful selection of wedding gowns. Jessica was so helpful with everything and the seamstress did a wonderful job altering my dress!

Karen and Jessica are great! My dress was beautiful and they were very very helpful!

This place was amazing. The staff was extremly friendly, they have great hours and even better prices. No one I talked to could believe that my dress cost under $1,000. They thought it was a $3,000 dress! I would recommend this place to anyone and everyone for the wedding dress.

I had seen this store many times since I live minutes from it, so when it was time to start dress shopping I knew I wanted to check it out.I ended up finding my bridal gown before I got to this store but we did get the bridesmaids dresses here and couldn't be happier! I had 3 bridesmaids and a jr. bridesmaid and each dress was perfect when it arrived. The staff was very warm and helpful and the store itself is very intimate feeling. On our wedding day the girls received many compliments on the dresses and I absolutely loved how they looked!

Catherine Simms did a great job with my dress! They were very helpful when I was trying different dresses on. The only problem I had with my dress was that my bussell didn't work correctly on the day of. They had great customer service when at the store.

This shop was the 2nd shop I visited, first in IL so I don't have much to compare to. HOWEVER, after hearing horror stories from friends, and hearing the comments of those who came with me, I cannot recommend Catherine Simms Bridal enough!!! Jessica was the woman who helped us and she was so sweet, made the whole experience pressure free, AND picked out the dress I chose in two dresses!!! She was very honest about what may be additional charges which made it seem that she was as concerned as I was in racking up the fees (for example I wanted extra beading on the top of the dress and she warned me it may cost more). Also, the dresses there are designer dresses that are beautiful and there is a huge selection of all styles AND they all seemed to be under $1,000!!! I was super impressed with every aspect of my experience there and am so grateful that I went there first!!

Found my dream dress there. It was a Sottero and Midgley and the only shop out of a handful that I checked that carried my dress. The sales ladies and so nice and not pushy in the least because of this non salesy practice I decided to have my bridesmaids order their dresses from there also. I absolutely recommend this shop to anyone shopping for a bridal gown.

From the moment I walked into Catherine Simms I had a great experience. They are punctual, flexible, friendly, and will assist brides in any way they can. They made the experience of buying my wedding dress WONDERFUL. I couldn't have been happier!

I absolutely loved my dress....and hadn't seen one like it anywhere else. We loved our initial consultant who ended up moving away during the fitting process but everyone else was extremely helpful and nice. Would go back again. Alterations were a bit expensive.

Catherine Simms Bridal in Naperville is a must-see if you are looking for your wedding dress or for bridesmaids' dresses. While I was shopping, I encountered many stores where the dress might have looked great on the hanger, but the words "what was this designer thinking?" didn't even begin to describe how it looked on me. And I have a decent body! It was very difficult for me to choose which gown was the one at this bridal store as I tried on gown after gown that screamed elegance, class, and just enough beading and/or lace. However, in the "off the rack" section, my eyes were immediately drawn to the dress that was clearly the one. A beautiful Mikaella dress that was Chantilly lace from bust to toe, with rouching along the waist that included two fabric flowers at the side. The champagne color and delicate lace was so feminine and understated, it didn't need beading or rhinestones to catch the eye. When it came to alterations, the standard fee was around $250 (which was half again the cost of the dress, since it was off the rack and I had a coupon for $200 off!). They asked me to come in around 5 weeks before the wedding date for my first fitting, then again two weeks later. When I came in for what became my second fitting, the dress was horribly low on my body, and I did not want any mishaps with a strapless gown! They fixed it very quickly though, and it was ready to go at my third visit. The seamstress did very good work with the lace. I also noticed a very nice selection of bridesmaids gowns, but we did not use them for the girls' dresses because they didn't have the style I wanted. I would recommend checking our their selection nonetheless. Do NOT overlook the "off the rack" section here, and if you can, use a coupon - I easily saved $1,000 on my dress because of these two tricks, and I could not have imagined a more beautiful gown. It was by far my favorite detail of our summer 2010 wedding! :)

I found my gown and bridesmaids’ dresses at Catherine Simms Bridal and could not have been happier. While the shop is small, the selection of gowns is large, and the prices were right for my budget. I would recommend making an appointment, as they only take one or two appointments at a time. But this was nice because I received excellent, attentive service. I basically had the store to myself, and did not have to wait to try on any dresses that others were trying on. The staff is very friendly and not at all pushy (unlike staff at some other shops who are only interested in making a sale). They were very knowledgeable about the gowns they have and helped me find exactly what I wanted. After I ordered my dress, I even received a no-pressure call from the shop to remind me when I should order my bridesmaids’ dresses so they would be in on time. I ended up ordering my bridesmaids’ dresses from Catherine Simms, too because I was so happy with the selection and the service. The seamstress is great, too. I really wanted a sweetheart neckline, but the gown I purchased could not be made with one through the manufacturer, so the seamstress made it into one. The only other alteration I needed was the bustle, which turned out beautiful. My bridesmaids and I all looked great for the big day, and were very pleased with Catherine Simms!