Mara

Oh my goodness do I love the gals at Mara. Not only did they order in the specific dresses I found online and wanted desperately to try but everyone was so patient and understanding and kind. The consultant even helped me troubleshoot my video call with family so they could be there to see my try dresses even with covid going on. I drove 2hrs to Charles City and it was worth it. No one rushed me or pressured me and everyone understood I had a vision in my head and helped my accomplish it. I don't know if its the same for everyone but they took such good measurements before ordering my custom dress that it didn't need alterations. They respected my time, my vision and me. they even helped me find the perfect veil and helped me get into my boots so I could see them with my dress (lots of fabric makes it shockingly hard to reach your feet). Love these people and recommend them to anyone frustrated with places that try to force you to like their limited selection.

Both my sister and I got our wedding dresses from Mara and can confidently say it is the best experience you could ask for! Both of my parents routinely suggest Mara to friends because of the unique and private experience we have gotten. I went to a couple other bridal boutiques and NONE of them measured up to the selection of dresses offered at Mara.

I can’t say enough about my experience at Mara!! I literally told Lori what I was in-visioning and she made it come to life! The knowledge and willingness to go above and beyond is out of this world! I can’t thank Tiffany and Lori enough!

Tiffany was super helpful in helping me find my wedding dress and my bridesmaids dresses for my sisters! The styles were perfect and fit our personality great. Plus, they have a unique bridal collection that makes one-of-a-kind bridal gowns!

I found my dream dress at Mara! It was such an amazing experience and everyone made me feel so special. I was able to try on all sorts of dresses with amazing help and a great selection! The people working here truly have a passion for what they do! Thank you so much Mara Team for helping me pick my dress!

Was about to leave the store without a dress and they brought out the one!

Mara is very client centered, offering assistance and guidance will your wedding party attire! LOVE their dress selections for brides & bridesmaids, as well as having sharp and great quality tux/suit options! Beautiful jewelry available to add the extra sharp to you bridal gown!

Simply amazing! Can't imagine anywhere else that is better! Tiffany and Lori were nothing less than the best -- accommodating, pleasant and there for YOU and whatever needed -- no pressure. I highly recommend Mara for any wedding needs, I would never refer anyone to anywhere else! Thanks for being wonderful, Mara!

They were so patient with me helping me find my perfect dress. They asked me what kind I was looking for and even though I didn’t have a clue, they showed me quite a few and I was able to try them on! It was a wonderful experience there.

Tiffany was so helpful and made us feel so comfortable and welcome! We visited other bridal shops in the area but we had to go with Mara for the excellent customer service that exceeded our expectations!

Tiffany at mara is great to work with! I love the style of dresses and sizes she has available to try on in the wedding boutique.

Mara is top-notch. From the kind and most helpful staff to the beautiful century home it resides in. No detail is left untouched. Tiffany and her staff make you feel like a princess while you are finding your dream dress.

This was the first place I went dress shopping and I found my dress right away! The inside is so cute and personal. They are very flexible with scheduling. I also got my dress in only about two weeks, it was super fast. I would recommend Mara for your wedding dress shopping!

Everyone is so helpful and kind! The owner was so patient while I tried on half the dresses in the store. I also found my dream dress and couldn’t have asked for a better shop to buy it from!

The moment I walked in the door at Mara Bridal I felt like I was their main focus. They make you feel welcome while finding you the gown of your dreams! I would recommend this bridal store to every single person! I tried on dresses at 4 shops before finding the perfect dress & having the best experience at Mara Bridal in Charles City, Iowa!

The associate I had at Mara was wonderful!! She was so helpful in finding my perfect dress! The staff was so nice and helpful in finding my needs and answered all of my questions and gave me the best deal for me wedding dress!

I had the perfect experience and felt so welcome! Loved my dress!

Personal, kind, knowledgeable, and lots of fun!

Thee most customer based fantastic service one would expect from a bridal boutique. Tiffany and her crew hold high expectations and it radiates through and through-from the first smile to the day you walk out with dress in hand, this boutique will not let you down!

Great people to work with and a great selection! Always very nice!

Friendly, flexible, and helpful especially for covid weddings like ours.

I had the best experience at Mara! We had our own private room for trying on dresses and were offered drinks right away. The dress I ended up getting wasn’t even a dress picked out by me, but instead by the girl helping me. In our time, she paid attention to the things I liked and disliked in the dresses I already tried on, and she found the dress of my dreams for me! Highly recommend Mara to every bride.

I was sooo happy to find my dream dress at Mara! They made picking out a dress so much easier then any other store did and also the rooms to try on the dresses are so cozy and create so much privacy for you and the people dress shopping with you! 100% recommend them! 🖤

Honestly cannot rave about Mara enough! They had sizing that actually fit people (I had been to other stores where dresses were sized zero) and they spent a lot of time helping me try on numerous dresses. I never felt rushed and they have a huge selection of dresses. I am very detail-oriented and liked parts of one dress and parts of another; they helped me combine the parts of the dresses I liked to create a custom dress well-under budget! They created sketches to help me visualize what it would look like and offered their expertise to help make my dream come true :) Right now are some uncertain times with COVID-19, but Tiffany at Mara kept me well informed on the status of my dress throughout the entire process. Super communicative and easy to work with. Did I mention they hand out drinks while you shop? :)

Mara made shopping for my bridal gown simple, memorable, and an experience I will treasure. The boutique is cozy and I was impressed with how well they utilized the space and created the perfect atmosphere for brides-to-be (Drinks? Yes! Bright rooms with comfortable seating areas? Yes! Patient and professional assistants who helped me try on about 15 dresses? YES!). I had a larger group and we were all so impressed with the selection of styles, sizes, and prices. Their truck shows bring in a wide variety of extra designers as well. Mara helped make a sometimes stressful experience easy and enjoyable for my entire party and I highly recommend visiting to create your own special bridal memories.

This place is amazing and a must go to when wedding dress shopping! The building is so cute and the staff extremely polite and helpful and they were so accommodating for my group. Lori was fantastic and really took into account all the things I told her I wanted and she found it!

Mara is a beautiful bridal boutique with a variety of sizes, not only smaller sizes and many styles if dresses. They have the cutest boutique in the back with clothes and other fun items not only for your wedding. The room I was in was spacious and roomy for my family and numerous dresses. I 100% recommend visiting the gals at Mara for your dress.

Mara as the prettiest, coziest, and welcoming atmosphere. We had our own private room for trying on the dresses, and it was spacious and beautifully decorated. The dress selection is amazing, as each dress is handpicked and gorgeous down to the last detail. The designers that Mara carries are amazing and so unique. They have something for every bride’s style and the whole experience is just perfect. You will not regret going here!

My experience at Mara was perfect. The staff is amazing and they don’t rush you. They want you to find your perfect dress. Their inventory and their cute shop has so much to offer for every kind of bride!

Mara is my new go to. The service was amazing for stopping in and not having an appt. I wasnt planning on finding a dress, but they let me try one on and it was the one! They are very welcoming!

Mara was awesome!! They knew exactly what I was looking for. Definitely recommend them!

Amazing!!!! Wonderful customer service and a fun atmosphere for family and friends to join as you choose your dream dress. We started the day with complimentary champagne, and ended the day with the perfect dress!

I loved my experience at Mara. We walked in without an appointment with a big group and they were so accommodating. They have AMAZING bridal rooms that were large enough for my group but private so I really got to experience shopping with the people I brought instead of everyone else in the shop. Also, Tiffany helped we with most my visit getting in and out of dresses. She chatted with us and pulled dresses for me which I thought was nice you don't see many owners do that. The people at Mara weren't pushy and let me decide on my own what suited me all while helping me narrow down my choices. When I found the dress they even offered us Champagne. I can't say enough good things and would recommend it for any bride. The atmosphere was great, the people were polite, the dresses were gorgeous, and the experience overall was amazing with no stress. Definitely worth my 2 hour drive both ways to go here.

I have had a great experience working with Mara from my wedding dress to bridesmaid dresses to accessories. All of the ladies working there are attentive and helpful. Highly recommend!

You will not find a better bridal shop anywhere! Hands down this store will take care of you and your crew better than anywhere you will ever find. From calling to setting up your appointment to buying the dress of your dreams, you will feel like you have found your best friend! I do feel blessed to have known the owner of this shop for quite some time but to see her in her element was amazing! I went in not knowing at all what I wanted and she quickly pulled some dresses and we started! There were 9 people with me total, with all different styles and from the first dress I tried on I knew that this was going to be a very hard choice. The dresses she chose were all so different and all complemented my body shape in different ways. I would of been happy to be married in any one of the gowns I tried on that day. Tiffany was so professional through the whole process even though I consider her a great friend! Her knowledge on all of her gowns blew me away. The second I tried on the dress I knew, we both did a gasp and we instantly knew it was the one. She opened the drapes and I showed my tribe and we all were hands down in! To get all of those women to unanimously agree on one dress was a task that I thought would be impossible. I had no idea it would go like that, and when you know you know. I never felt any pressure to buy that day or that one. And to be honest the first dresses she showed me and I tried on were from the sample sale. I did not end up choosing one of those but that just goes to show you what type of experience even the owner of the shop will give you, she is not there to push the most expensive dress in her shop on to you but to find the dress that you will look amazing in. When looking next at accessories and a veil the very first veil she brought out is the one I bought. It looks as if the dress and veil were made to go together. She is so very good at it all. Then the head piece I bought was the last one and unable to order and I got it at a great price. I cannot say enough about this amazing shop! I do currently live in Waukee and did not even look in the Des Moines area as I knew I wanted to at least go to Mara! Tiffany exceeded every expectation I could of every had! I have been with several friends and family members to get their wedding gowns and have never had an experience like this! We joke about how sad I feel for those friends that got married before Mara was opened because no one should have to buy their dress from anywhere but here! Thank you so much Tiffany and all of the Mara staff! Cannot wait to work with you more this year! Oh yeah and a huge plus was the wine that was served!! Great perk! Amanda Achenbach Waukee, Iowa

Love Mara bought my redo I dos destination wedding dress with them! I love my dress, the location, and the customer service I recieved. I also got a few other items while there for my trip to wear!

Very attentive, and cater to your needs perfectly! They make this day special for the bride, with no stress! I came in with an idea I wanted for a dress and got something completely different with their awesome suggestions! Would recommend to anybody 100%!

This beautiful bridal boutique needs more then 5 stars!! All of the women there are so helpful, patient, and amazing to work with! I, also, love how you get your own little area and they work one on one with you and your party. I love, love, love my dress and our entire parties attire! I couldn’t have made it look that beautiful without this amazing tribe of women!

I had such an amazing experience! Great small town boutique, very charming. Owner and staff are very accommodating and do such a beautiful job. Thank you again for finding my dream dress!

They were amazing!!!! 😘

I had such an amazing experience. I had my own space to make the experience more intimate for me and my group. The staff was amazing and worked very hard to help me decide on the perfect dress!

Such a welcoming group of ladies! I felt immediately comfortable when wedding dress shopping and even went back to shop for bridal shower/rehearsal dinner dresses. They have a great selection!

I had a great experience at Mara! They were super accommodating with my early morning emails and when I came in close to closing time to shop for a dress. My dress was perfect and I absolutely love it. They have a great selection and a great team.

Absolutely love this shop! The woman there were fantastic, super nice, had a wide variety of bridal gowns and tuxes! I went there for my first every dress fitting and I fell in love with the dress! It was simple and easy and they sure helped out as much as they could!

The ladies at Mara are absolutely wonderful! They love to go above and beyond to make you feel special. Their attention to detail and open-mindedness made for a memorable day.

Loved working with the ladies at Mara! They were very patient and really took the time to find the right dress. I love going into their shop because I feel like they all know be my name and are super personable.

Mara was such a wonderful place to find my wedding dress and dresses for my bridesmaids! The team at Mara was very friendly and helped me to find exactly the dress I was looking for. I visited boutiques from Iowa city to Minneapolis but Mara was by far the best service I received.

I bought my dress from Mara and it was an amazing experience! Lori, my consultant, was so kind and really helpful! They offered us champagne and a private dressing room/viewing area; I felt so special. The selection was affordable and absolutely beautiful. I was able to find a dress within my budget that exceeded all my expectations! I also found the perfect veil and hair vine! If you are an Iowa bride, I would highly recommend booking an appointment with Mara.

I haven’t bought a dress from Mara’s .... only because they weren’t open yet when my daughter was married . I know who Tiffany the owner is and if I ever need a special occasion dress she would be the one that I would want to help me find the perfect pick. She has a very warm personality .... I’ve spoken to people that have purchased from her and they all have said what a wonderful experience it was.

Mara is a beautiful shop with amazingly beautiful dresses and tuxes. They go above and beyond for their brides and the brides tribe! Highly recommend checking them out!

Don't be afraid of small town Iowa for a bridal experience. Mara's is a beautiful place with beautiful dresses! I would highly recommend!

The ladies at Mara are nothing shy of awesome to work with!! They were very accommodating for my bridesmaids and me while we shopped and they truly go above and beyond to make sure everything is perfect. Highly recommend them!

Tiffany is the best! The store is gorgeous and the staff are wonderful. They were able to accommodate for my bridesmaids across the country and made everything so simple and smooth! Highly recommend!!

Words cannot explain how great my experience was at Mara. Everyone tended to my every need, and I can’t begin to explain how friendly all the ladies were. Each of them checked in on me at least once see if I needed anything. The atmosphere at Mara was absolutely perfect. I suggest every bride looking for a dress stop by Mara. I’m so glad I did because I found my perfect dress!