Bridal Gown Studio — Attraction in San Jose

I don’t even know where to begin with how pleased I am with Sonthai at Bridal Gown Studio. If you’re on the search for your dream wedding dress, make an appointment right away and I promise you will not be disappointed!

Let me just give a rundown of my experience at Bridal Gown Studio. I was pretty late to the game on the wedding dress hunt and had accepted the fact that I would probably end up settling for an off-rack, underwhelming dress due to my limited timeline. However, I came into Bridal Gown Studio four months before my wedding date with just a few inspiration pictures and Sonthai was able to immediately pick out a dress that fit my vision perfectly. It was absolutely breathtaking and exactly what I had envisioned in my head as my ideal wedding gown. Amazed at how gorgeous this dress was, my next obstacle was that it was pretty far out of my budget (and understandably so for how beautifully constructed the gown was). Reluctantly, my friend and I left the store to explore more affordable options but as I tried on gowns at other boutiques, my mind always seemed to drift back to the one I tried on at Bridal Gown Studio. Nothing seemed to compare to the quality and how beautiful I felt in Sonthai’s dress, so I just knew that I had to go back and look one more time. Two days later we gave him a call and asked to come by. He was extremely accommodating and was actually able to get us in within the next hour (even though it was a busy holiday). So there I was standing in the mirror wearing his dress once more and I just knew it was “the one”. It was flawless. The quality of Sonthai’s work really speaks for itself and no matter what gown you go with, I assure you that you will love it.

Long story short, Sonthai offered me the most generous deal I could have ever asked for and I left his store in shock that it had actually happened. I had secured my dream dress! Sonthai is such a genuine, good-hearted individual that always made me feel very comfortable and welcomed in his store. He listened to each and every one of my wishes and worked with me to make sure that the final dress would be everything that I envisioned in my head and more. If you have a wish, he can turn it into a reality. I said I had always loved the look of lacy sleeves so he said he could add them on to the dress that I wanted. Then I was unsure if my summer wedding would be too hot for sleeves so he said he could make it so that I could remove them at any point. He really can do it all if you just ask!

I would recommend Sonthai at Bridal Gown Studio to any of my friends or family and I don’t even normally write reviews for anything, but for him, he is definitely worthy of one. With that being said, if you are even thinking about going elsewhere, do yourself a favor...

After reading so many positive reviews, I was really hopeful and excited to visit Bridal Gown Studio, and I had a somewhat disappointing experience. My appointment got started a little late because they were working to wrap up the appointment before me. I didn't mind that, and they did welcome us into the upstairs area while we waited, and I spoke with the designer Sonthai for a bit. I felt like once we did get started though my consultant Sarah was a bit on-edge and flustered after the last appointment although I did appreciate that she assured me I would not lose out on my own hour and half time slot due to the late start. It's a small studio with a smaller selection of gowns than some of the bigger stores, but all of the gowns are very beautiful, unique, and well crafted! Unfortunately, many did not match up to my interests, and I felt Sarah growing increasingly frustrated as the appointment went on. I had tried to do my research and pull gowns from their own website that I was interested in trying, but then when I got there many of those were no longer available on site. Overall, I felt that she didn't do a great job listening to what I liked and didn't like and instead tried to put me in dresses she liked, some that were nothing like what I described. She also made a few comments about my "ribcage" when fitting me into some of the smaller dresses. While I know that samples sizes are not going to fit everyone, I feel like consultants should be more adept at making it work for brides of all different sizes without commenting on their bodies. Toward the end of my appointment the designer Sonthai came down to talk me through some customization options since I wasn't finding much. I wished that Sonthai had been present for more of the appointment, as is advertised when I made it, because I felt like he had a better sense of my vision and how to make it possible. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel confident moving forward with a custom option, which would be slightly more expensive and I wouldn't be able to see in advance, when I didn't have a great experience there and I didn't get that much time with the designer. However, I think maybe my consultant just had an off day. If you could come in and work with Sonthai or maybe come in in the morning when everyone's fresh and energetic and/or you want something super custom and unique or want a smaller selection, then this place might be for you! A heads up that it is a small single room studio, so while they allow you to bring up to 5 guests, it really only has space/seating for 2-3 and would be more pleasant with a...

I scheduled an appointment with Bridal Studio on August 31st. I called my mom and 5 of my closest friends so they could accompany me to the appointment. Of course I paid the $20.00 fee, upon scheduling the appointment. I was completely looking forward to going in and finding my dream dress!!!!!

My appointment was today… so, my mom and I arrived 10 minutes early and politely waited outside, as I noticed another soon to be bride was trying on a dress, along with her family. The owner came to the door and asked me if I had an appointment and I replied, “yes, I do.”

He took us to the second floor and I told him a couple more of my friends were on their way. He told me to start looking at dresses while he wrapped up his previous appointment. He came back a second time and asked, “Did you call me to make an appointment or did you book online?” I replied that I had booked online and paid the fee and that I had called him earlier to ask if it was okay to add another friend to my appointment. He then proceeded to scold me by saying that he never booked 2 appointments at the same time. Well, I received a confirmation email, how was I to know he had double booked two appointments at the same time?

When he asked me what I was looking for, I replied I was looking for a classic dress with sleeves. He then asked one of my friends when my wedding was and when she replied that my wedding is in January, he said it would be hard to find a dress.

Right from the start, the vibe felt off and I felt completely unwelcomed and not cared for. I immediately felt stressed and bummed out for dragging my mom and my friends to such an unpleasant place. One of my friends said, “This is awful! I hate for this to be your experience and you don’t deserve this. Let’s go somewhere else.”

We all left within 15-20 minutes of being there. As I was walking out the door, the owner asked, “Did you not like any of the dresses?” I replied that I didn’t find what I was looking for and said, “thank you.”

I would not recommend this place and if you do book an appointment, I would encourage you to call ahead of time to make sure he didn’t schedule someone at the same time as you. The owner was not friendly and definitely not helpful. Dress shopping is stressful as it is and I left that place feeling quite upset and as if I had been the one that had...