Suzanne’s Bridal & Formals

I wanted to review this store after seeing the post from the disgruntled bridesmaid… I went to Suzanne’s for my wedding dress in January 2010 — I was married in October 2010. I looked for a bit and found a dress that I loved — except it was strapless and I really wanted cap sleeves! The response was: Oh, we can make that happen! I do remember the lady telling me that I could not look upstairs without someone present and honestly I didn’t think anything of it. Wedding dresses are expensive and any store you go to will want to supervise. They don’t want people trying on dresses without assistance possibly damaging them in some way. I think of wedding dress boutiques the same way as a jewelry store — it’s full of expensive merchandise– you’re not shopping for jeans at kohl’s! A few months later — the result was perfect, the seamstress actually turned a strapless dress and turned it into a dress with cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline… loved my dress and working with the seamstress. She was honest and straightforward and she is excellent at what she does. She told me it was important to cooperate and show up for all the alterations– I was surprised this is even an issue but apparently people get really sloppy with their appointments. I definitely got the impression that they were not desperate for my business so I assumed they must be good. I don’t need people to kiss my butt — I just want quality work. After talking over the alterations I was right — she knows her stuff. I never felt uncomfortable and the ordering/​payment process was super smooth. I was very happy and I had several friends who after my experience decided to go there for their dresses too. I’m from Baltimore and had lots of stores to choose from but for me — Suzanne’s was just right.

There are several things I need to say about this establishment. I really don’t know where to start. I was part of a wedding party, and I can say that everyone was upset with the results. Here are some examples why:
1. Never, ever in a million years should customers be made made to feel uncomfortable in a place of business. WE ARE SPENDING MONEY HERE, and a lot of it. On one occasion, myself and another bridesmaid were going upstairs (where the wedding dresses are kept) to look around. We were basically yelled at (in front of a room full of other customers) that no one was up there to help us right now, and what did we need? We replied that I just wanted to see the kind of dress my friend had picked out, because I was not there when she showed everyone else. She replied and said that her dress wasn’t even up there, but whatever… «I guess» you can look. On another occasion when it came time for a bridesmaid to pick up her dress, she was handed her dress and had never been informed she owed anything else. In her eyes, it was paid off in full. She headed for the door with her dress in hand and the cashier screamed across the room «YOU OWE ME MONEY FOR THAT DRESS!!!» A simple, ma’am could you please come here for a second would have been sufficient and far more professional to clear up a misunderstanding. But hey, this wasn’t the first time we were treated as if we were trying to rob the place. I don’t know where this paranoia even comes from but this is no way to treat your customers.
2. Our bride never got her finished wedding dress. She ended up selling it to another bridal shop and getting a completely different dress because hers was never going to be ready in time for her wedding. There was no reason for it, we were here for our dresses close to a year in advance. She made several comments that she was treated a million times better at this new shop.
3. The dresses were ordered huge. I’m not sure if this was intentional so that we would be charged more alteration fees or what. For example: one of the girls wears a size 6, and was ordered a size 14 dress.
4. The bridesmaid dresses didn’t fit 3 out of 6 of the bridesmaids on the day of the wedding. We came to every single fitting, and being that Suzanne’s charged each of us $ 80 for alterations… They should at least fit! We wore these dresses strapless, they were literally falling off of us and we had to make a pit stop at rite aid for safety pins. What a nightmare. Don’t worry, we told everyone in the store «never go to Suzanne’s bridal!» Also, I don’t want to make it seem as if they got those other 3 dresses right. 2 of our girls had to have their dresses altered out of state. That means that Suzanne’s got one dress out of four dresses correct. Unacceptable.
I can’t speak for the bride, but the bridesmaids alone spent a total of at least $ 1,600 in Suzanne’s. No doubt, we deserved every penny of that back. But after how we were treated in the past, it wasn’t even worth the argument. But I will say this… You made a really dumb move treating us the way that you did. An entire bridal party of girls who will soon be getting married themselves. If we had been treated with respect and shown quality customer service… We would have been more likely to bring our own bridal parties here. But trust me when I say we will never be back.