Wolsfelt’s Bridal

I had been absolutely dreading the dress-​shopping experience part of wedding planning because I am not much of a shopper and I am also a bigger size than most of the samples I have seen in stores. Based on a recommendation from my jeweler I stopped by Wolsfelt’s on a whim on a Friday afternoon, no appointment, no clue where to start. Luckily they were not busy and I was actually able to shop and have someone assist me. I narrowed down my options to two dresses right then. I made another appointment so I could bring my sister with me, which I did. I selected my dress and ordered it about a year before the wedding. The sales rep was amazing, very accommodating and excited about the process!
I got the call about 6 months later that the dress was in and made the appointment for the fitting. I took my sister, mom and niece for the fitting and it went well. Unfortunately the seamstress was not quite as personable as I had hoped– she kind of put a damper on our excitement about the moment. But– when we returned 4 months later for the final fitting she made up for it with a beautiful dress that fit like a glove!!! My mom was amazed by how perfect the hem was and how beautifully it turned out. The seamstress took time to show my sister how to bustle the dress so she would be confident on the big day.
Since my wedding was on a Friday I went to pick up the dress on Wednesday, which was unusual for them, but the shop was very accommodating with this request. The dress was beautifully wrapped and they assisted me in getting it into the car.
When the big day arrived, the dress was beautifully pressed and was exactly as I hoped for!
Wolsfelt’s has been doing this for a long time and what I really liked was all the detailed information they gave you in writing and made sure you understood their policies and how the process works so there would be no surprises. I felt absolutely confident with them right from the start and never doubted them. Wonderful and highly recommended!

Lorrie, I cannot express HOW MUCH I truly APPRECIATE the time and patience you had with me today! I walked into Wolsfelt’s completely unsure about what I wanted. I had already tried on over 25 dresses at other places.
She was the first one who truly took the time to understand my wants and concerns. Lorrie spent over 2 hours working with me to pick out the perfect dress and then proceeded to help me alter it to fit make it my dream dress.
I cannot recommend Lorrie and Wolsfelt’s more highly. Can I give them 1,000 stars?
As a side note, one of my best friends also bought her dress here 3 years ago and she loved it and the staff here.
Thank you so much Wolsfelt’s!

I had a great experience in purchasing my dress from Wolfsfelt’s. Jenny was my dress consultant, and she was amazing! I did buy my dress on my first visit, so I did receive the 10% discount. I felt slightly pressured in purchasing a veil and other accessories that day and even on one of the days I went for my dress fitting. However, I was pretty firm on not buying accessories at a bridal store where they tend to be a bit inflated in pricing. I also wish the dressing room was a bit updated (the store is a bit older). If you went with bridesmaids who want to be in the room with you, they’ll definitely see you get changed — no privacy. I just went with my mom and didn’t really care if she saw me down to my undies (haha). I aIso worked solely with Carmen who altered my dress. She was wonderful!
Side notes:
–I came here with a few of my bridesmaids to see their bridesmaid’s dress selection. Meh. The variety isn’t that great, and the pricing isn’t that competitive, even with the discount they give you if you purchase your wedding gown there. We ended up buying bridesmaid’s dresses at a different store for a discounted price.
–They also don’t tell you what designer of dress you’re purchasing (if you’re not purchasing a trunk show dress or one of their own creations). So if you fall in love with a dress there but don’t purchase it. it may possibly be difficult in figuring out who the designer is.
To summarize, this is a great place to buy a wedding dress. The staff is friendly, I received my dress on time, and I would definitely recommend this place to another bride.

I purchased my dress from Wolsfelt’s, and it was perfect for me. The trying on & purchasing process was fine. You are given a consultant who assists you throughout your appointment, which is nice, but most of them are a little snotty and pushy about how you look and how fast you can buy. It wasn’t as bad as some others have said, but it wasn’t my favorite. What redeems Wolsfelt’s for me is Sharon in the alterations department. That woman works miracles. I was told to order a plus sized dress (+$ 100… hmmmm), and when the dress came in it was literally falling off of me. It was as tight as the corset would allow, and I still had to hold it up. I met with Sharon 4 times to fix this mess, and thankfully she worked her magic. The dress looked stunning thanks to her! Her dry sense of humor made all of the appointments so fun, too. I wish I had more dresses for her to alter :)

Just had my wedding this weekend and I was so pleased with my Wolsfelt’s experience! My dress was ready Thursday afternoon and packed perfectly with a cute congratulations note! Someone helped us to the car and helped us load it in. When I unwrapped it, it looked great! It was clean and pressed and so was my veil. Sharon, my seamstress, did a fantastic job on it over the course of 3 fittings. I would highly recommend Wolsfelt’s to any bride!

Wolsfelt’s was amazing right from the start! My consultant (can’t remember her name) was all business from the beginning which was fine because I wasn’t interested in just «trying on dresses», I was looking for THEE dress. The second dress I tried on was the one! I tried on a few more dresses just to make sure and it was definitely the one! I purchased one of the W Collection dresses which is exclusively sold by Wolsfelt’s, which I really liked! My dress came in about 5 ½ months after I ordered it, I went in to try it on and it was perfect! It barely needed any alterations but there were little odds and ends that needed fixing and the alteration department are perfectionists so I knew my dress was in good hands! I decided to change the neckline from modified sweetheart to a true sweetheart and it came out amazing! They did such a good job and it was a very reasonable price to have it done. When everything was said and done I think we spent about $ 300 on alterations which I think is pretty standard for wedding dress alterations. The staff is friendly, the owner even came by during my first visit to say hello and see the dress I chose! Inside was a little dated but they recently renovated and it looks much much better! Great dress shop!

Visited the Bridal Shop to do some Homecoming Dress shopping… lead person at the shop was rude. She was worried more about uploading information to her social media page than the customer. I certainly was expecting service that would knock my socks off considering the ticket prices on the lovely dresses.

I purchased my bridal gown from Wolsfelt’s just before Thanksgiving last year. For me, it was a good experience, and it was also nice for my mom since many of her friends helped their daughters buy dresses here too.
Pros:
— The staff was friendly and helpful. Andrea found lots for me to try on, and suggested I try the dress I ultimately bought. At first I was hesitant because the only sample was two sizes smaller than me (and I’m just an average sized 8), but she was able to locate a sample with the identical shape so I would know how the dress would ultimately look.
— There was a wide selection of dresses. I ultimately bought from the Wolsfelt’s line. I suspect they take feedback from customers on other designer dresses (e.g., «I would love this one if only it _​_​_​_​_​…) and «fill in the blanks» to make dresses that combine elements. (In my case, the «blanks» I never knew I always wanted were buttons down the back AND a satin belt with a bit of sparkle. :)) It’s probably a pretty good strategy! The dress was lovely and well made.
— Alterations by Carmen (with some help from Rosa) were fabulous! I had them detach the lace cap sleeves from the dress so I could wear them during the ceremony and take them off for the reception. Everything came out great; the bustle was an amazing French fan style.
— Reliable. I never had any doubts that the dress would be ready as promised.
Cons:
— I found the hours restrictive, especially since I was flying home to the Midwest for dress shopping and fitting appointments. In addition, I was doing most of my wedding planning in the evening hours, which resulted in some back-​and-​forth voicemails. I think this just comes with the territory when working with a family-​owned local business rather than a big mega-​bridal national chain.
— I felt some sales pressure with their «10% off if you buy your dress at your initial visit» deal. Ultimately I took it, because I felt that in my case, a little incentive to make a decision was useful — however, it only worked for me because scheduling luck allowed us to make this our last appointment of shopping round 1.

I had been shopping at various other bridal boutiques all week, not exactly loving but only liking my dresses. I had forgotten to call to make an appointment with Wolsfelt’s, and it was Saturday morning where I had hoped to some how miraculously nab an appointment for that day (my mom was leaving Chicagoland to go back home Sunday) and as expected they were booked. They did take my phone number and offered to call if there were any cancellations, which I did not expect since it was a Saturday AND a trunk show. I just felt that we had to make the trip and we showed up, explained our situation. To my surprise they made sure I was not turned away and arranged for me to try on dresses! I was elated and SO thankful they were able to make time for me.
Wolsfelt’s had a wide selection, reasonable priced dresses, and not strictly poofy ballgowns. I was beginning to believe in my early search that was all that existed. My attendant who helped me, Nikki was a delight to work with. She was genuine and excited for me to find my perfect dress. She was never pushy, rude, and made me feel comfortable the entire time. Other dress places just felt like they were going through the motions and routine. Not here, I felt at ease the entire time and they did not rush me or force me to make any decision.
I purchased the first dress I tried on because I fell completely in love. I cannot thank Wolsfelt’s enough for making room for me in their busy trunk show Saturday and helping me find the dress of my dreams (and within my price range). Thank you thank you thank you! A very happy bride-​to-​be.

My shopping expert was pleasant enough. I really liked my consultant who was super friendly. She basically had a guaranteed sale since I came there specifically to order a certain dress. She was nice enough to let me try others. They did have me pay 100% upfront despite their literature suggesting otherwise. I didn’t mind since we had the money, but its something to be aware of if you are still saving up.
However the alterations were a nightmare. First fitting seemed okay, but it went downhill from there. In the end, I was just happy to get the dress out of there without it being completely destroyed. If you purchase from there, just take it to a more trustworthy alterationist. Personally, I’ll be telling everyone I know to RUN from Wolsfelt.
Really, they took what was supposed to be a wonderful experience and caused me many nights of tears over the damage to the dress.

This was a weird place. It is in a compound of homes that serve as businesses. The woman who assisted me, was nice, but awkward and really seemed to complicate the process by being scattered. She stayed in the room with me while I tried on the dresses and did not offer to take pictures– made me feel like I was being subject to surveillance. In addition, the way that she spread the dresses back before I stepped into them was dangerous. I kept stepping on them while she was already trying to pull them up. I won’t be back.

I had an amazing experience! I went to every single bridal store and could not find anything that I loved. Not only that, I couldn’t find anyone who listened to what I was really looking for. I found the dress of my dreams and the seamstress made sure everything was perfect for me. No complaints whatsoever!

I have never been more humiliated in my life. I walked in with my matron of honor and a complete list of dresses. When I made the appointment I made sure to let them know that myself and my matron of honor were plus sized girls. I was told it was not a problem and that there were many dresses for us to try on at the store. When I got there not only was I surprised by the outdated look of the store but also by the one and a half racks of bridesmaids dresses. Not one of the dresses was a dress I was looking for. It seemed my sales associate was more interested in showing me what they had online then trying to please me with a dress in person. I have a huge bridal party and will gladly be taking my business elsewhere. Everyone has different opinions of places, but to all my fellow brides, please go elsewhere to enjoy this magical time.

Worst bridal salon experience:
Had to wait 20 mins even though we were on time for our appointment
We had made the appointment to look at bridesmaid dresses and reception dress for the bride but they only wanted to do one or the other (so they probably over booked themselves)
Bride had a list of dresses she was interested in but consultant only wanted to know top 3 choices. They didn’t have them in store and didn’t ask about others on list. Gave me the matron of honor dozens of dresses to try on none from brides list and all sizes 8,10,14 and they wouldn’t come close to fitting. When consultants saw the problem they gave me a maternity dress and told the bride that it would be the one and I would look great in it. How insulting and no I didn’t look great in it but quite the opposite! I’ve been to bridal shops a quarter of the size and they have a larger range of sizes in their sample dresses.
Bottom line is that it was an awful experience and they lost a huge sale. There are 15 bridesmaid dresses, 3 flower girl dresses and a reception dress to be purchased elsewhere!

Is this a used car lot or a bridal store?
They were so pushy. So, so, SO pushy.
One of the first things the consultant said to me was, «Do you have any more appointments?»
When I told her yes, she pressed me for information. «Where? What time? How many stores?» Jeez. Mind your own business, lady.
This store has been around for about 50 years, I think, and it’s apparent that they’re still stuck in their old ways. Here’s why:
— They have huge (and super outdated) dressing rooms where you’re forced to undress in front of the consultant. The dresses I chose were simple and I most certainly didn’t need any help putting them on. The consultant didn’t even ask me if I wanted any privacy. Just «take off your robe and I’ll help you into this dress.» It was super awkward. All the other bridal shops I’ve been to gave me lots of privacy when trying on the dresses, and I liked that.
— They don’t allow pictures. Why? So weird. My mom snuck in a quick one, so it worked out for us in the end.
— They won’t give you any information about any of the dresses and who designed them. I don’t know about you, but to me, that was a huge red flag. It made me wonder what else they were trying to hide from me. Also, I can’t understand how anyone would shell out thousands of dollars on a dress without knowing if they were buying the gown at an inflated price, or if it was in fact a designer gown and not a knock-​off.
All that being said, they DO have a great selection of dresses. I gotta give them that. I even fell in love with one. However, since I found them too pushy and shady, I wasn’t comfortable giving them a dime. So my mom and I went online and searched for an hour until we found the dress. And guess what? It was available for much cheaper at House of Brides and other bridal shops. No wonder this store won’t give you any information on the dresses — they don’t want you to know that they’re ripping you off!
Fellow brides, I’ll have you know that there are much better bridal shops in the area. You can stop by this one to see what kind of dresses they have, but I wouldn’t recommend giving them your hard-​earned money before doing a ton of research online first. Chances are that dress you want is actually much cheaper somewhere else.

Nice selection of dresses, but I did not have a great experience. First off, she never asked my budget. So, as I was trying on gowns I could not get excited about any of them because I didn’t know if they were in my price range or not. When I did try one I liked it was $ 1200 OVER my budget. Second, I told her I did not want strapless and the majority of the selection she brought me were strapless. She was trying to up-​sell me sleeves or additional alterations that would of course add to the price. And the biggest thing that turned me off from giving them my business was she asked to see the picture of the dress I had found at a different store, saying «I know we don’t allow it here, but could I see the picture to see if we have something like it and we could order it for you» (To me this is unfair to the store that allowed me to take pictures. That store wants to make sure I like the way I look in it, in photos.) Even with their sale, I did not want them to order the dress I really loved, because I wanted to give my business to the other store that allowed me to take pictures and even went as far to write down the style number for me. That store even tells you all about the designer. Wolsfelt’s cuts the tags out of the dresses and puts their own tag in. They won’t tell you who the designer is. If you go here make sure you tell them your budget right up front.

I’ve been here so many times in the last year I can’t keep all the visits straight. But I do know that I found the dress of my dreams here! I did a whole lot of trying on every style in every store in the Chicagoland area. I wound up buying one of the first dresses I tried on at Wolsfelt’s.
They are family-​owned, and it shows (I worked mainly with Andrea). You can tell a lot about a vendor by how they handle mistakes. Somehow, I wound up getting a veil different from the one I ordered. It arrived only a few weeks before my wedding, and apparently it was made in Europe so there was some worry that I would not receive the correct one in time. However, Wolsfelt’s assumed all responsibility for the error and made it happen that I got a similar veil from the European vendor in time (turns out they «stopped manufacturing» the veil I had ordered seven months prior, so I did wind up choosing a different one).
This place is not for everyone, but their selection is by far the most unique in the area. And grab lunch at their tea room right next door — yum!

Amazing experience! definitely the best! don’t go to those Davids bridal they pressure you too much, here its very friendly and personalized attention and the place is lovely! great priced dresses and very nice ones! its definitely a great place to buy THE DRESS!

The ladies at Wolsfelts were such a pleasure to work with. This was the first place I visited to try on dresses and Jackie helped me find my dream dress. She made me feel very relaxed while trying on dresses and I never felt pressured to make up my mind. Jackie helped me pick out jewelry and a bow for my hair as well. The seamstress did a great job on my alterations and my dress fit me perfectly on my wedding day. All of the tuxedos were wonderful and looked great on all the men. It was nice to have help and suggestions while picking the vests and ties out. We also got our bridesmaid dresses from here and they were beautiful.
Wolsfelts made me feel at home everything I walked in and I am going to miss working with all the ladies there.

I started my 3-​month dress search at Bella Bianca (great place but a bit above my price range), BHLDN (love the store, but just not what I was looking for) and Ultimate Bride (nice dresses but stylist didn’t grasp my vision/​style)… before arriving at Wolsfelt’s. Nicole helped me out from start to finish, she immediately understood what I was looking for and was as sweet as could be when I brought back my sister to view the dress. She was not only accommodating to squeeze my appointments in but also went above and beyond in customer service. I would 100% recommend this shop along with Nicole, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience!