David's Bridal Harrisburg PA — Attraction in Lower Paxton Township

UPDATE (Post-Wedding):

After navigating some earlier challenges, including a ripped zipper during my fitting and difficulty receiving timely follow-up, I hoped that at least the final alterations would hold up on my wedding day. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

The bustle came undone about 30 minutes into my reception. For the rest of the evening (about four hours, including dancing), I had to hold up my dress by one strap to keep it from dragging. This was tiring and made it harder to enjoy the moment freely. It also led to more wear on the dress than I had expected. People accidentally stepped on it, and it picked up a lot of dirt and some tears along the way.

This was particularly disappointing because the bustle was the one detail I still felt confident leaving in their hands. After the prior issues, I truly hoped for a smooth finish.

I did reach out to David’s Bridal after the wedding, and I was offered a refund, which I appreciated. Still, the impact of these issues, especially on a day that carries so much meaning, was significant.

Original review: My experience with David’s Bridal was disappointing due to a lack of communication, accountability, and transparency.

When I arrived for my alterations appointment—my third visit—I was surprised when the seamstress asked where my dress was, despite the fact that I had left it in their care a month prior. While she was able to locate it quickly, it was unsettling to be asked that question in the first place. It made me feel like my trust in them to properly track and care for my dress might have been misplaced.

During the fitting, the seamstress forcefully zipped up my dress, which resulted in the zipper ripping. I didn’t notice at first, and it was only when my friend pointed it out that the seamstress acknowledged what had happened. However, instead of taking responsibility, she attributed it to the dress not fitting me properly, which felt like she was implying the issue was with my body rather than how she handled the zipper. She then mentioned that the zipper could be fixed at my next appointment but did not disclose that there would be an additional charge. Only because I had the foresight to ask did I find out that the repair would cost an extra $70.

After the appointment concluded, I asked if the zipper could be fixed at no cost since it was damaged during my appointment. The seamstress agreed and put it in my appointment notes, which I appreciated, but the experience reinforced that I had to constantly advocate for myself rather than receive proactive support from them.

I did get in touch with the store manager, who initially made me feel heard and assured me that this situation would be addressed and would not happen again. However, she also promised to follow up with a call that never came. Due to my increasing uneasiness with the way my concerns were handled, I ultimately decided to take my dress elsewhere for the repair. The new seamstress fixed my zipper easily, at a fraction of the cost, and provided a much better experience overall.

Separately, I submitted a request to David’s Bridal corporate, and only after following up multiple times did I finally receive confirmation that I would be reimbursed. While I did ultimately get my reimbursement, I had to return to the store to process it.

While I appreciate that David’s Bridal did eventually cover the cost, the repeated lack of communication, accountability, and follow-through made this a frustrating and stressful experience. I wish I had chosen a more reliable alterations service...

I purchased my wedding dress from this store, but had my wedding day not been approaching so quickly, I would have gone elsewhere when they started rushing me after the first dress I tried on. After scheduling an appointment and filling out the profile ahead of time, I was disappointed with the whole experience. When the woman helping us came to our appointment, she had never looked at anything I filled out and wasted the first 10 minutes re-asking me all of the questions that I already answered online. I don’t know that she even listened at that point because she then made zero dress suggestions and told me to walk around and “turn out” any dresses I liked on the racks. I selected 3. After trying on the first dress and saying I liked it, she tried to get me not to try on any others. When I told her I’d still like to try the other 2 she told me that I only had 15 minutes left in my appointment because there were people coming to try on homecoming dresses. AT WHAT POINT DO YOU THINK THE STORE WOULD MENTION THE 1 HOUR “TIME LIMIT” ON PICKING A WEDDING DRESS FOR WHAT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DAYS OF YOUR LIFE??? Nobody told me that when I scheduled the appointment. I was fooled by the wonderful phone presence and assured that we would do our best to find a dress that day since she knew I was driving 3 hours for the appointment. And if a 1 hour appointment is the policy, then the salesperson should be punctual, and be prepared when the appointment starts. When we said that we understood she had another appointment and we could finish up with the last dress on our own, we were told that it was not allowed. I drove 3 hours to have this appointment with my loved ones so we could share this special time and it was made to feel rushed, like it was inconvenient that we wanted to give them business, and like the employees could not wait to get us out of there. I don’t think I could have been made to feel any less important while wedding dress shopping. With all of that being said, when I went to a different David’s Bridal in my area for my alterations I had the most pleasant experience. I wish I could say the same about my shopping experience at the...

I don't remember the employee's names unfortunately, but my visit was on 9/8 at 4:30pm. I hope the manager & sales team get some well-deserved recognition for this one.

The manager & the woman who helped me were amazing, despite being pulled in a thousand different directions during the time of my appointment. I was given ample time to try on my bridesmaid dresses & they also helped me pick shoes and accessories. After finding my dress & shoes to go with it, we were having a slight difficulty getting the zipper down in the back. So the stylist & I went back to alterations to ask for help, and the seamstress made multiple comments about "this is why you don't force zippers" or "this is why you don't squeeze people into dresses", etc. Mind you, this dress fit me perfectly & there was no squeezing or forcing involved. She then took it upon herself to cut off the zipper of my dress without even taking more than 2 seconds to look at it or asking anyone else to help. The stylist agreed that the zipper was misaligned & that is why it wouldn't budge, but we all felt that the measures taken were unnecessary. Especially since I was planning on buying that dress and taking it home as soon as I got it off. Well, to top it all off, they didn't have another dress of the same style & size in store. So, the last hope was to go back to alterations again & have them put a new zipper on before I left. No problem. Except they didn't have a zipper available in even remotely the same color as the original. The manager & the stylist were amazing and sympathetic, and they did everything possible to make sure I left with the dress I wanted. So, after about an hour of problem-solving, they found the same dress at the Allentown store & had it shipped to my house, free of charge. I can't base my entire experience on one mistake, and I think they handled everything amazingly! I will be back if I ever need wedding attire...