I met an Ella Blu salesperson at a bridal fair and had already eyed a Maggie Sottero gown from a magazine. I get a call from the saleslady a few months later and she's SO excited to tell me about a trunk show happening the VERY NEXT DAY and how... the store had the "ENTIRE LINE" of Maggie gowns. I booked my appointment and stayed up all night doing my research deciding which 4 gowns - yes they only let you try on 4 - I'd try on. I come prepared with the names and styles of the 4 gowns I wanted to try on. Surprise Surprise - they had a handful of gowns, at the MOST 15 gowns. :( They didn't have ANY of the dresses I wanted, nor did they have them labeled by the style name. I asked to try on a fit & flare type gown and the saleslady tried to talk me out of it, explaining how my hips were too wide and that dress wouldn't flatter me (GEE, thanks, that's just what a bride wants to hear)! I tried it on anyway and since she wanted to make a sale she did her job of "OOOooing" and "awwing" (which she did on EVERY dress) and I picked it, in DIAMOND WHITE, and ordered my size. She said she'd call me when it arrived and because my wedding was so far away, I asked if they'd store my dress until the date was closer to the wedding. Saleslady swore she would keep it safely stored. When we paid off the gown, they asked us to take it home. I reminded them of the agreement we had with saleslady and of course because of liability concerns should the place catch on fire or flood, they informed me they couldn't store my dress. I unzipped the bag & found an IVORY gown! I brought in my accessories and the white vs. ivory was VERY noticeable! The manager said she had sold me a sample gown and I was buying it as is and that that's why I was given a discount. Remember I was the one that received the call from the saleslady about previewing the entire line? About the trunk show? About how I HAD TO buy that same day? Never did she mention SAMPLE and I wasn't about to wear Ivory! My mom & I raised hell (rightly so) and finally they agreed to order a new gown for me. I've read online about how dresses take forever to arrive (MONTHS). My gown arrived in 2 days (and no I didn't rush order it). This seemed sketchy, but I chalk it up to that style being a "Priority" gown. I was thinking I'd gotten a fake dress ALSO because if you go to the Maggie Sottero website it says you're supposed to be given a certificate of authenticity with the gown you purchase. I was never given one, and when I asked for it, they gave me a blank certificate to the wrong designer. When I asked for it again they said they'd thrown them all away because no one ever cares for them (as if I was making some HUGE unreasonable request). I never got my certificate.
ALTERATIONS:
I paid $350 for a bustle and for my dress to be hemmed and for some cups to be sewn into my gown. The cups were not sewn on securely and my bustle broke not even 5 minutes after being bustled. :( The hem was slightly higher than agreed upon.
If I had known this would be my experience with a -high end- bridal boutique, I would've taken my business elsewhere, even if it meant paying more for travel! They made everything seem SO sketchy!
Oh did I tell you my dress was labeled wrong? It had the tags of one designer sewn on the dress, and the price tag had the name of another designer. I'm telling y'all - this place is just sketchy to me!