Carolina Bridal World Triangle — Attraction in Smithfield

If I could leave no stars, I would.

I would not recommend getting bridesmaid dresses from this store. We scheduled an appointment in advance and the consultant Heather treated us as though she had something better to do. She showed us the formal attire aisle, not the bridesmaid dresses, and told us to help ourselves and immediately walked away.

We tried on a few gowns that were either too big or too small and all needed to be clipped. I stated a few times that I would need her to measure me to get the correct sizing. Every time we asked to be measured, she would ignore us or mumble well, we we can discuss that when you order and walked away. I have been losing weight and the wedding is in late fall, so we asked when we would need to order by. She told us it would take two months to come in (5 months before the wedding).

We were pressured to order immediately by being told "you have to order together for the colors to be the same. If one of you is ordering today, you both must order today or the colors will be off", "the dresses must be ordered now or you won't have time for alterations" etc. When I asked her again to measure me, she walked away to the register. As we were filling out information, I again asked to be measured I was told they're not allowed to until we order. I said I live out of town and need to know what size to order over the phone and was told that they'll measure me when I order. Again, I live out of town and would be calling in. She then proceeded to tell me that "guests were coming in and asking us to size them, just to use those measurements to go order from David's bridal" and she would not give me my measurements.

David's bridal takes measurements for free, including for men's suits, that they don't even sell.

When I said that I don't need my measurements, I just need her to tell me the size to order, she said she needed her manager. I asked if the manager was the one who did the measurements. She ignored me. I again asked what the manager was needed for and she finally consented to measure me, but began doing so wrong. The tape measure slipped onto my legs twice and I had to adjust the position, that she again moved to the wrong place. I proceeded to ask what size I would be, and was told they would tell me when I ordered. I asked where this information was written down and that I wanted to know the size and style so I could order over the phone and the size and style information was refused.

After finally deciding to speak to the manager, while waiting until she was done with a customer, we witnessed the consultant talking about us with another consultant while removing the dresses we tried on. The other consultant asked if we needed help and I said no, we are the customers Heather was just talking about, and she said oh and quickly walked away.

The manager was neutral and okay, but we chose to go to David's Bridal and ordered dresses today rather than give Heather our business. When asked what size and style, the manager recommended a size but only wrote down the style. During my conversation with the manager, the consultant told me that the measurements don't need to be exact because it was a flowy dress and proceeded to wait the dress around. I said the top layer was flowy, but the lining underneath was fitted and if it was too small there would be no possibility to let out and she didn't reply.

We paid half the price at David's, much easier fitting, were measured proficiently, and the cashier offered to find us the two sizes we were in between to see which was more comfortable before ordering. Also consulted us on when to order by without pressuring us, and the lead time was much quicker. Definitely take your business elsewhere for a bridesmaids dress and avoid...

I cannot recommend Caroline Bridal World (CBW) in Burlington enough!!!!

I am from Burlington but live in Wilmington, NC and made TWO trips just to come to this store!! Compared to other bridal shops I have been to, CBW had such a huge selection and you get personalized attention with your own stylist throughout the entirety of your appointment.

One of my favorite things about this experience compared to other stores, is that CBW asks for specific details about your bridal vision before your appointment and even encourages you to send along pictures for reference. Then the stylist pulls dresses they believe could be a good fit before your appointment. They pull more dresses as your appointment goes along too depending on what you’re liking and not liking.

I worked at a David’s Bridal in college and had so much fun going through the racks; however, I actually really appreciate the approach CBW takes of pulling dresses for you. Here are the advantages I noticed. 1) I was much less stressed and got so much more out of my appt time with someone else hunting down dresses 2) the stylists work there so they know their inventory like the back of their hand 3) as fun as it can be to look around, it was better for me to only see dresses within my price range

At my first appointment I worked with Anita. I came back for a second appointment because I was initially torn between two dress options. At the second appointment I worked with Isley. Both Isley and Anita were SO KIND, listened to my vision, and empowered me to focus on what I wanted as opposed to my mom haha.

My absolute, hands down, favorite thing that BOTH stylists did is that they paid a lot of attention to my body language throughout the appointment. I found a dress I loved and still had one left in the dressing room I decided to try on just because. THEN I WAS TORN LOL. For anyone who has experienced this, I am so sorry haha. It is so hard. BUT this is where Isley and Anita were so helpful. All they did was verbalize to me what they saw and noticed such as “I noticed you’ve been looking in the mirror a lot more with this dress on” or “you look a lot more relaxed and comfortable in this dress” and “have you noticed how much you’ve been smiling with this one on?”

For someone as indecisive as me to find a dress that I am in love with, MAKE THE CHOICE, and have no regrets on that choice was the best feeling and I owe it all to Carolina Bridal World, Anita and Isley.

Smaller points that won me over as well: 1) both my stylists were so sweet and made me feel really confident every step of the way 2) I had lots of privacy changing dresses and 3) I am a more introverted person so as fun as “ringing the bell” when you find your dress is for some, that is such an awkward experience for me haha and I was not pressured into doing it!! Just another way my experience felt supportive and...

There are so many great reviews which is amazing but mine fell so flat. I traveled from Wilmington, NC after hearing about the store from friends. I will say that scheduling an appointment was easy, so I was optimistic for the appointment. Maybe I was spoiled a the first place that I tried on dresses (Coastal Knot) but I did not like how many people were in and out as I was trying on dresses. It felt very impersonal. I had a family next to me making comments on the dresses that I was wearing....uncomfortable. To each their own on what experience they wish to have.

I think I can mostly attribute my negative experience to the sales consultant that was assisting me. I did inform her what I had tried on and liked but she offered no help in pointing me in the right direction to dresses I may like, just taking me to a rack and basically telling me to look here. I had found some dresses online though the website, however was disappointed to learn that none of them were present in the store. My sales consultant seemed very lost and as if she was maybe new. She asked assistance from the manager of the store who was very helpful and insightful in pulling dresses, so thank you to her! Back to the consultant, she clipped me in some dresses in the wrong way. I had to pull one dress down and alter it myself to where it needed to be. I actually tried the same dress on in a different store, confirming that it was clipped wrong. At the end of the appointment I did favor one dress greatly, but was on the fence about committing. I felt EXTREMELY pressured by the consultant, feeling greatly uncomfortable. Upon returning to the dressing room there was one dress left that was pulled by the manager that I wished to try on. Upon me questioning the dress the consultant quickly snatched it up stating that I did not need to try it on. UMMMM WHAT?!?!?!?!!?!? I was completely turned off by this as well as with the consultant pressuring the purchase of a dress I was clearly unsure about. Anyways, it seems as if others have had a better experience than me which is great! I hope that this review provides a place for some growth from...