The White Magnolia Bridal Collection — Attraction in Atlanta

WHITE MAGNOLIA WEDDING DRESS HORROR STORY: THEY MISS-SIZED ME AND WOULDN’T HELP FIX IT Purchasing my wedding dress from White Magnolia was the most horrific and devastating part of wedding planning. I am extremely disappointed in the customer service of this store and as a wedding vendor myself, I am heartbroken at how unwilling a fellow professional is to help fix an error on their part and take ownership of their mistake. White Magnolia does not take accountability for their errors and they all but forced me to buy a dress that is 4 sizes too big. I really connected with my stylist, Logan at our very first appointment. She was so attentive and kind and I felt very comfortable with her. I went in to my appointment with a silhouette in mind and she pulled something similar that I fell in love with and I was so excited and truly in love with my selection. When we were going through the paper work to purchase the dress, she suggested ordering a size 16. Her reasoning for this was that I was measuring between a 14 and a 16 and that they always recommend ordering up a size to guarantee alterations will be needed. I shared with her that I have been on a weight loss journey and at the time had lost 40 pounds in 6 months and planned to lose another 10 by the wedding still 7 months away.

Looking back, I find it hard to believe that I was measuring between a 14-16 because the sample size dress that I tried on was a 12 and it barely didn’t zip all the way. When we were being advised on the size of the dress, my mother (who is a seasoned seamstress herself with years of sewing experience) voiced concern. She made the point that the sample size almost fit and the suggested size to order was 3 sizes bigger than that. This did not make sense to her since I was actively losing weight. The stylist almost threatened us that if we went against her suggestion, that they cannot guarantee the fit of the dress. This was a confusing statement since the verbiage of their contract doesn’t actually guarantee anything other than it would be a brand new dress, free of flaws, and that it would be in the size they order. That is ALL that they guarantee as well as “no refunds, no exchanges, no exceptions”. We decided to trust the stylist as she is the professional in this situation. When we went to pick up the dress, my stylist asked me if I had lost weight like I said that i would and I told her that i had, although NOT 4 dress sizes. I tried my dress on and it was enormous. I was heart broken. It fell to my waist. My mother and future mother in law stared at me in horror as the stylist clipped me in to my dress just like at a consultation. I asked “So what’s next, I just take this home?” And the stylist replied yes. I couldn’t wait to get out of that dress. She did not style me with any accessories - no veil, jewelry, hair accessories, nothing. We just left and it felt like they couldn’t wait to see us leave. Once we made the hour and a half drive home, we called back to express our concern after having time to really think about everything and process the severity of the situation. The stylist told my mother that there was nothing that could be done and that she recommended alterations. We expressed concern that since the dress was so big, altering it would compromise the integrity of the style of the dress. The manager, Caroline eventually called us back and her only solution was to defend the stylists reasoning for ordering that size. She was not compassionate or understanding in the least bit. When we suggested swapping my size 16 for their sample size 12, they wouldn’t even entertain that as an option. I am so disappointed in the unwillingness of White Magnolia and Kelly Faetanini to help resolve an error regarding the most important and most expensive garment of clothing I’ll ever own.

If I could go back, I would do things differently, and I definitely would not recommend The White...

I wanted to share my experience with The White Magnolia Atl on March 1st! My first baby, my daughter Sydney, got engaged during an amazing sunrise on a gorgeous mountaintop in the Swiss Alps during a trip she and her LONGTIME BF went on this past August! And I can now say picking her wedding gown also became another emotional, unforgettable, perfect moment for not only my sweet girl but also for myself and those of us honored to be with her that Saturday morning! This was the very first place she chose to start off her gown search. She lives in the area and I live in southwest Ga about 2 1/2 hours away. When she got an appointment we went up for the weekend to join her in the search. I told her there was no pressure bc we had some time and also bc I didn’t expect that she would find the dress at the first place! But I did feel it was the perfect place to start . My first impression driving up was that this was an adorable looking shop from the outside and they had a sign on the front entrance welcoming their brides with the first names of all of the brides that were coming in. (Just the first of several personal little touches that make a HUGE impact on the experience). We were greeted by her consultant, Savannah, who asked Sydney to introduce her to everyone she brought with her. She was a complete delight from the first moment we walked in and she made us all feel welcome and we immediately knew that we were in great hands! The dressing room was a great size and had comfortable places for us all to sit and relax while Savannah and Sydney talked about the details and picked a few selections.They provided bottles of water and boxes of Kleenex (they really needed those with this group) which was another of those personal little touches that we appreciated! Also there was a sign hanging on the dressing room door that had the “Future Mrs” with her soon to be new last name added. I had started tearing up when we walked into the shop and that sign just added to the tears! Sydney really didn’t know what she wanted exactly but Savannah listened to everything she did say and also drew from her experience and knowledge to help her pick the first round of dresses. After maybe the 3rd dress I had a very strong feeling we would probably be finding her dress that morning! First of all Savannah had her into a gown, the dress all gathered and clipped in the back to see how the dress would look when fit her, out of the dressing are onto the podium faster than a speeding bullet!!!! We appreciated that bc that gave us more time to spend on the dresses that she did love! I am sure that all of the consultants here are fabulous! But we did feel Savannah was the most perfect consultant for Sydney and we all adored her. She was friendly, easy to talk too and listened to what we liked and didn’t like about a certain dress. After the first picks she came back up with a few more choices based on those likes/dislikes stated and her knowledge of the gowns.We still were liking most of the selections. I was worried it may be hard to pick.But then she came out in one and her future MIL and I both got chills at the exact same time and also the tears started for us both along with my mom, sister and younger daughter!!!! When we all felt this was probably it Savannah asked Sydney if she wanted to see it with a veil on! And that was it!!!!! Savannah took us to a room across the hall to help us get a look at the gown in different lighting.It was the perfect spot for my daughter to make her decision and we celebrated with a champagne toast! What a perfect day!!! I cannot think of a single negative thing to say about White Magnolia! Had we not found the dress there I still would be recommending future brides to call and make an appointment! It is SOOO WORTH it! Thank you again Savannah!...

I had an incredible experience shopping at The White Magnolia and highly recommend it to anyone looking for their dream wedding dress! My stylist, Sarah, was extremely attentive and really listened to what I was looking for. She and the salon made me feel special from before I even walked in the door through the end of the process. Before my appointment, they sent me a questionnaire and a lookbook of dresses to help them get a sense of my vision. They also gave me a call the day before to walk through the survey and give me an overview of what I could expect. They had my name on a sign at the salon door and had a Future Mrs. [new last name] sign on my dressing room door, which made me feel really special. The dressing rooms are both very large and private - it truly felt like I had the entire studio all to myself. The only times I saw another bride were when I was walking in and walking out of the salon. When I said yes to my dress, they brought champagne (sparkling lemonade was also a choice) and let me take lots of pictures - I felt very special and celebrated!

I also really liked their overall process. I had an opportunity to go through all of the racks and pick out any dresses I wanted to try on, and Sarah pointed out dresses I had liked from the lookbook they sent in advance. I picked a lot of those dresses, but also some that hadn’t caught my eye initially. After I tried those on, Sarah picked out some additional options based on what I did and didn’t like. I could tell from her choices that she really was paying attention to what I wanted. My mom’s opinion was really important to me, and she’s always had a much better eye than me for picking items off of the rack, and so Sarah included my mom in the second round at my request, which really meant a lot to me. I had read online that they only let you take pictures of a few of your favorites, which I was initially disappointed about because I thought I would want pictures of every dress. I think this policy was actually super helpful though, and it helped me feel very in the moment. I picked out my 2-3 favorite dresses, and they offered an opportunity at the end to take pictures with those dresses - although I had absolutely fallen in love with one dress, and I only wanted pictures in that dress! They also spent a lot of time with me discussing sizes, and they helped me order the dress in a way that will hopefully minimize the need for any alterations later on. They explained that they have an extensive list of recommended seamstresses, and they’ll recommend some specific options based on any alterations that still need to be done when I go to pick up my dress.

I’m so glad I chose TWM for my dream...