Love Couture Bridal — Attraction in Rockville

Ruined my entire bridal experience.

I got engaged in February 2016 and I was over-the-moon excited...but then in March my mom was diagnosed with very advanced ovarian cancer and everything changed.

I was not really in the bridal mood when I arrived at the store, I was also slightly emotionally fragile because well, my mom wasn't there. She had planned on coming but when the day came she couldn't get out of bed. I told Candy, my consultant, I did NOT want to buy a dress that day, that I didn't feel comfortable buying a dress when my mom was not there-I was simply there to try on dresses and should I like one of Hayley Paige gowns I wound certainly come back to the store and purchase. She nodded and listened-but deep down she really just wanted to make the sale.

I tried on a few dresses but one really struck me, the one I had been looking at for almost a year (pre-engagement ...we all do it). I loved it. Candy could tell there was some hesitation there but she persisted "Facetime your mom"..."once your mom feels better she can come here to see you try it on during your first fitting"...."today is the only day you will get 10% off your dress, you don't want to miss that opportunity"...."doesn't your mom want you to choose a dress that you love"....ON AND ON. After much persistence I purchased the dress-my mom paid for it via credit card OVER THE PHONE. It made me sick to my stomach.

The next day I did not feel right at all about my decision and I called to cancel the order. I was on the phone with the front desk girl, explained my situation...my mom has cancer, I don't feel right about her not being there....etc. I get put on hold and Candy comes back on the phone-I'm sorry Jessie but dresses are final sale once processed.

About a week later I get a call from Candy stating they needed to special order my dress in a split size because my measurements are not of typical sizing. She told me they needed to order a 6 on top, a 4 in the waist and a 10 on the bottom. I said "I thought you already ordered my dress...that's what you told me when I tried to call and cancel"...She explained that "processed" and "ordered" were two different things. I'm sorry-I didn't like my experience before but I thought perhaps I was being sensitive due to the circumstances but now I know she was just looking for a sale and has zero regard for my actual needs and feelings.

Few months later-I've decided I don't really love my dress, probably more due to the experience rather than the actual dress and maybe an overskirt for my dress would change the look for the ceremony. Since Love Couture is one of the only places that carries Hayley Paige gowns I called to ask if they carried the overskirts. I ONLY wanted to try them on there-never in a million years would I give them any more of mine or my mothers money. They put me on hold and Candy comes on-"Jessie we do have the overskirts here in the store...I can also order a few for you to come try on. I have to tell you-I'm not sure we will have the overskirts in the store for a long period of time so if you know which one you want you should come in soon"...I told her I wasn't prepared to come in until October when my mom was through with chemo and she insisted that I should then PURCHASE THE SKIRT OVER THE PHONE AND THEN WHEN MY MOM WAS FEELING BETTER SHE COULD COME IN AND SEE ME TRY IT ON. wait, what?! I said "Candy-I cannot purchase another thing from that bridal shop without my mom being there-I already told you that and I'm unwilling to purchase something I"VE NEVER TRIED ON".

So now we are here-present day and I just picked up my Hayley Paige gown. It's too SMALL. I told Candy when I went in there to try it on that it was snug around the hips. She assured me the seamstress would be able to take it out a few inches. I do not believe a single word that comes out of that woman's mouth. This is to be determined as I have an appointment with a seamstress/tailor next week. Something tells me it's not going to be as easy fix...

Love Couture was the worst experience of my bridal journey. I was there to try on a dress from a trunk show and was told by India that I had to come back to do my measurements in two days, which clearly doesn't make sense when other bridal shops would take measurements right then and there. India then signed me up to come back to do my measurements for the dress without my consent two days after. I was then told I had an appointment in two days after and I had mentioned I don't need the appointment and then was charged $100 for supposedly "cancelling" when I had not agreed to the appointment.

I then contacted my bank to file a dispute against Love Couture.

The owner, Sandy Ferreira Leone, then sent me an email a few days later in quotes: "I'm sorry you had a change of heart and canceled your appointment with us. Since the cancellation it was outside the approved cancellation window, our system charged your card $100. I am happy to refund you the $100 but I would need you to cancel the dispute no later than March 15th. Please send me proof of the canceled dispute in order to receive the refund, directly from us. If you do not cancel the dispute, I will have no choice other than to send the credit card company proof that you did agree to our cancellation terms and we were within our rights. Please let me know if you would like me to send you the terms that you agreed to when you booked."

The bank clearly said there are ONLY two options (which is very reasonable to protect the customers) to cancel the dispute, per Sandy's request: "1. Respond to the dispute that I (the customer) would be refunded the $100 from the merchant and the case will be closed OR Refund the $100 and the charge will be reversed back to Love Couture and case will be closed from there"

Sandy then responds and says "The only options on my end are to dispute the charge back, which I explained I am with in my rights to do so, or give into the dispute which I can't do because it will affect my business standing. Please let me know how you want to proceed" and "I am requiring that you cancel the dispute, in order to receive a refund. If I have to challenge the dispute, I will win because I am within my rights. Challenging the dispute requires time and attention on my end, and at that point, I will not offer you the refund that is being offered now."

I clearly gave the TWO instructions above from the bank to Sandy and for some shady reason Sandy does not want to do EITHER very simple, yet straightforward options provided so I am the middle man between the bank and the business. Sandy does not want to make her business look bad but in fact because of this shady experience, I would not recommend Love Couture to anyone especially after having gone this...

I am sad to say I did not have the best experience here. While I did find my dress at Love Couture with the help of amazing Ronicka, I feel like communication overall there is not great. I have never shopped for a wedding dress before, and was not aware of things like the fact that you have to pay for alterations apart from the dress price - Brides, consider another $800 to $1,000, at least, in addition to your wedding dress price tag, for alterations (plus taxes, shipping & handling fees). I tried changing the dress only 4 days after I chose it (more than 8 months before the wedding date), because looking back at the photos I noticed a defect on the zipper. However, I was told I could no longer alter the dress as production had started and it was custom made. Well, then someone please explain to me why the hell the dress needs alterations, if technically it's custom made?! Also, I placed my order over a weekend in February, and the dress was only delivered in August. I find it hard to believe that production had started over the weekend and took 5 months to be finalized. Another episode that made me very upset is that by mid-July I was informed that a $250 fee would be added to my outstanding balance, to cover for the reciprocal tariffs that the government announced in April. The thing is: I placed my order in February, when no tariffs were applied yet, and the contract mentioned no additional fees other than alterations. When I raised that and said I did not agree with having to cover the charges (that should be a cost of the business), I was told that "all the other brides have been super understanding, but you". Rude?! Then, I booked alterations and found out that they charge a $100 dollars fee for booking the room where the seamstress will take the measures. Seriously? Yeah, sure, it's refundable after you pay for all the alterations, but seriously?! And the cherry on top: the day I went to pick up my dress, my sister, who lives abroad, was 10 minutes late to see me wearing the dress. The store assistant tried to be friendly, but kept checking every 3-4 minutes, which made me anxious. I spent a total of 15 minutes in the store, just enough for my sister to see the dress, and for me to get undressed/dressed again, and could not wait to be out of there. So yeah, not a great experience at all. I am only giving 3 starts because Ronicka was amazing and deserved...