A Bride's Design — Local services in Avon

I probably read all the reviews before deciding to buy my dress from here. I knew which dress I wanted the "Penelope by Love Marley". I tried this dress on at BHLDN in Chicago in size 8 and it was PERFECT. Comfy, lightweight, so fitted to my chest as is. However, I didn't want to buy the dress that day. I am from the CLE area so it makes more sense to buy it from somewhere local. I searched many shops and a few had this dress I wanted, needed, had to have.

I found my dress at A Brides Design their sample size was an 8! I tried it on and it fit perfectly! She took my measurements just to "ensure the right size", paid for half the dress and left. I had to call and set up my own first fitting appointment. When I got there, the dress was huge! A size 12. It was falling off, not tight at all, not at all how it was supposed it fit. Laura assured me everything would be fine that the seamstresses would fix it to make it fit perfectly. I was so confused why she did not order the 8 and when I asked her about it she said my hip measurements were size 16, so she ordered the size in the middle. THIS IS AN A LINE DRESS. Its not fitted in the hips. Not at all. The size 8 sample dress I tried on wasn't tight in the hips at all. Since this is the first wedding dress I have ever bought I was unaware that I should have specifically asked for her to order a size 8. She assured me it would be okay, so I went on with it.

Fast forward to 8 weeks later. Im ready for my 2nd and final fitting. The dress had cups sewn in to fix the looseness in the chest, they look like they were stitched in by a 5 year old. Its something I can live with though because it is the inside of the dress, and they do seem secure. The sides were taken in and had leftover fabric that was never removed, which makes it so hard to zip because all of it has to be pushed aside. I am so nervous to break the zipper every time. The straps needed shortened and they did a terrible job with that. First off there is a hole. Secondly they aren't straight or even. The worst part is now this dress I loved so much is so uncomfortable. When they took it in, on the side without a zipper, they just folded a piece of material. The fit is so awkward. I would never recommend making a size 12 dress fit a size 8 person. I wish I could just buy a new size 8 and return this dress. I am so unhappy with it. I should have complained, in the shop I was in and out of the dress and didn't notice any of these things. Now it is so close to my wedding it is not an option.

I would not suggest this shop to friends or family. Save yourself time and money and go anywhere else.

I would like to update this review. After I wrote this review I was personally contacted by the shop owner who did not apologize, but did tell me if I came in that she would fix the dress. So I took the dress in and she uttered it for the 2nd time. The cups sewn in on the inside that were sewn in with visible thick white string, she removed and sewed them back in with what appeared and felt like fishing line. It now had a better appearance, but was very uncomfortable, poking me and rubbing my chest raw by the end of the night. The straps that she fixed did look much better. Im not sure if this is her error, or if it is the dress material but the right strap ripped by the end of the day. After she had "fixed" the dress alterations I received a very beautiful card in the mail asking me to take down this post. I will not take it down because this is the truth, and buying your wedding dress from a place like this, you deserve...

A Bride’s Design is in a cute old house – there are a lot of nice dresses and custom designs are available. The owner is clearly very talented at design and was friendly on the phone and in person. Selecting and putting down a deposit for my dress was pretty easy and I was very excited for the dress.

However, the customer service and follow-up aspects were anxiety-inducing – the owner is disorganized and needs a business manager. I expected basic customer service when buying the most expensive garment I will ever own an was very disappointed. When there were problems, I had to call and call back to stay on top of the issue - customer service was poor and worst of all unapologetic. A "I'm sorry" would have gone a long way!

I planned my CLE wedding from out of town and tried to be very organized about all of the wedding appointments. I called 3 weeks in advance of a trip home to schedule my first fitting – and Laura was accommodating in seeing me an hour before usual opening which was appreciated. However, when I showed up for my appointment she was not ready for me – she was unable to find my dress, paperwork, etc. Laura brought out “my dress” and I immediately noticed lipstick on the bodice, which was strange seeing as this was my brand new dress. When I pointed it out, she just said “let me get a q-tip.” No apologies. Then I got in the dress and it was tight. Between measurements and fitting I had gone down a bra size and lost 7lbs. This was not cool! I noticed another spot on the tummy, while Laura was searching for my paperwork (which she never found). I was told the dress would be cleaned and that she could let it out. Laura kept saying “I’m not worried” – but I clearly was. Some empathy would have been nice!

A few days after the appointment I sent a polite note asking whether I might have tried on the sample, given the stains and the tightness. 48 hours later – no response. (I found it hard to believe that a business owner would not check email regularly.) So I called 7 days after going in, and got a blaze reaction to my anxieties, and was told she hadn’t read my email. Laura told me that she thought maybe I had tried on the sample, but was not worried. I would hope that if a store realized that I had tried on the wrong dress, they would call me to tell me this! Especially given the expense and importance of a wedding dress. This led to an extra trip back to CLE and unpleasant stress.

I picked up my dress and underthings - however, I made the mistake of not meticulously checking everything. The petticoat was stuffed into an open plastic bag that had the correct size and style on it - but when I got home I discovered that it was the wrong style/size. So I called Laura, and she said she would look for it. I called her back the next day and she said she couldn't find it and would have it shipped overnight to her. The next day when she hadn't called I tried her again and she informed me that the package was delayed and her husband would drive it over, which he did. In the end, it worked out and I loved the dress but I really could have done without the extra stress the week before my wedding, when we were spending time with international family.

I really wanted to give this place a great review – in fact I even referred a friend to this shop based on first impressions, and she bought her dress here. When I ran into problems with my order I felt very guilty! My advice : if you find your dress here, keep on top of things. Gorgeous dresses,...

When I first went to the store I had a great experience, the girl who helped me was really nice and I loved the dresses. I went back a couple of weeks later to make a final decision I decided to buy my dress. Fast forward to my 1st fitting, I met up with Laura, put on the dress and right away I notice how it wasn’t fitted in my stomach area, it was “baggy” and it had what seemed like excess fabric in that area. She told me she would get that fixed and I asked her about the hem and she said it had the perfect length and it wouldn’t need to be adjusted. Went back for my 2nd fitting, put on the dress and I notice how the dress still looked exactly the same! I showed her how there was still excess fabric around my waist and how it didn’t look right and she agreed it needed to be fixed again. I go back to my 3rd fitting thinking it would be the last one since it was 3 weeks away from my wedding. To my surprise the dress still didn’t look right, it still had excess fabric in the stomach area, and it wasn’t fitted at all. Laura asked me what I thought she had to do to fix it and I said “I don’t know, you’re the expert”. I couldn’t believe she was asking me how to fix the dress when she’s the dress designer. My sister in law pointed out how she thought the hem was too long and asked me to walk around the store, something Laura never suggested me to do. I walk around and yes, the hem is too long and Laura says “oh yeah, I guess the hem is too long.” So not only she has to fix that extra fabric mistake, she also has to do the hem. At that point I was already freaking out because it was too close to my wedding date but she guaranteed it would be ok. I go back for my 4th fitting, ONE WEEK before my wedding day and the hem seemed fixed but the excess fabric was still there, at that point I just gave up, I tell Laura I’m still really unhappy with it and she offers to fix it again and I said no, I’ll take it somewhere else because you already tried to fix this THREE TIMES with no success. I left the store and I cried all day wondering what I would do to fix that dress, I had to call numerous places and I finally found someone who agreed to see me next day and said she would take care of it. I get there and put on the dress and I noticed there were HOLES all around the hem. So not only I had to fix the excess fabric I also had to pay her to somehow fix the holes. I had to pay $205.00 on top of everything else I paid at A Brides Design but at least my dress was finally fixed and I picked it up TWO days before my wedding. The seamstress asked me if I bought the dress at a new location and asked me if the person who fixed my dress was unexperienced because she couldn’t understand how she couldn’t fix my dress the first time. I’d never recommend this store to any of my friends. If you really want to buy a dress there make sure you get it altered somewhere else. I'm attaching a few pictures of the holes and the itemized receipt of the repairs that...