La Merite Bridal & Quinceañera Shop — Local services in Bridgeton

OMG!!!! THE OWNER IS RACIST, RUDE, AND ARROGANT!!!!! I want to start off by blaming myself. I actually read the reviews prior to visiting this shop and they were horrible however, I decided to give the shop the benefit of the doubt because time was ticking and I was in need of a dress. (What a huge mistake!!!!!!) I visited the shop and ended up finding a dress to my likings and made a purchase. I did notice while I was picking out and trying on dresses, how short and rude the owner Art was with customer's that came in as well as customer's that called in. However, I was delighted by the ladies that assisted me in the shop. I also observed one of the ladies that work at the shop shaking her head and making a side comment stating "Art needs to stop talking to people crazy. Especially when they are spending big money for such an important day." At the moment I did not think anything of it as I was happy with my dress and had not interacted with the owner. After everything was all picked out and set, I had my first interaction with the owner and was not impressed. He received a phone call while taking my payment, paused the transaction without excusing himself, and had a 15 minute personal conversation right in front of me prior to processing my order. This was not an important call... The call was simply... How was your day? And... What are you doing tonight? (This was strike 1) One of my brides maids came up to the shop within the same week to look for some brides maids dresses and stated the owner was in the process of assisting her however, when a Caucasian lady walked in needing assistance, he left her without excusing himself to assist the Caucasian lady and never returned to assist. (This was strike 2)

I called up to the shop prior to my dress arriving to get the roundabout date it should arrive and spoke with the owner. The first time I called, he briefly answered the phone and stated "Call back we are busy" and hung up. I was unable to call back immediately as I had to return back to work. I called him back after I got off and questioned why he hung up and he bi-passed my question asking what I need. I asked him to please confirm when my dress will arrive. He gave me a date stating my dress and veil will arrive that day. I stated I am sorry sir, there must be some mistake, and I did not order a veil. He immediately started fussing at me! He stated, "DON'T CALL AFTER YOU PAY AND COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR ORDER! I GAVE YOU THE DATE THE ITEMS WILL ARRIVE! ....(I was totally confused as of why he was treating me this way, Especially after I just spent over a thousand dollars???) I explained I am not complaining, I am telling you what I did not order. He continued to fuss and curse at me. I requested to speak with one of the ladies that assisted me and he stated I AM THE OWNER OF THIS STORE THE LADY YOU WANT TO SPEAK WITH WORKS FOR AND DISCONNECTED THE CALL.... (This was strike 3)

I called back and spoke with one of the nice ladies that worked at the shop. She apologized for the owners actions and stated I actually do NOT have a veil on my order and he must have been confused. I told her I am extremely upset and really want to take my business elsewhere. She encouraged me to just hold tight to get my dress and if I choose just don't do business with him again. Unfortunately based on the circumstances I must still get my dress. Never again will I support someone of this character. My bride’s maids, grooms men, mother, and mother-in-law all were going to get there attire here however I stopped them before they made the huge mistake that I made. The sad part about this is he could have at least apologized. The owner simply does not care!

PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING AT THIS...

Have you ever been to a wedding shop where the owner will not allow you to order your actual size? Well this is one. We went in to purchase bridesmaids dresses and a wedding dress for an upcoming wedding. I was size for a size 10, let's remember a size 10, and one of his workers verbally said that he (the owner) ordered it in 14 because he felt like my measurements matched what the company suggested. But I wear a 10. And agreed to a 12. Please tell me how did I manage to get a size 14 in the dress? It fell off me like a hoola hoop.

Now mind you, I have shopped here for my wedding 3 years ago, I have had other brides come there for their wedding because I am a planner, and we have spent thousands of dollars with this man and his company. For him to tell me he will not pay for my dress as well as the other girls dresses to get fixed. He over talked me the entire time I was on the phone yelling "That's your opinion about the size". Now please tell me, how is my size my opinion when the dress clearly says a 14 inside and all of my other bridesmaids dresses even from a wedding 3 months ago is a 10? Now I warn you, unless you are looking to feel intimidated, be gipped out of your money, and not be taken care of the owner then this is your place. I normally leave amazing reviews for this place....but this time I'm out of a extra $120.00 to get my entire dress made into a new.

Let's not forget the bride is clearly a size 14/16 in girls and a size 0 in women. And he order her entirely too big. Now she has to pay almost 300.00 for alterations. He said it's our fault because we are this size. And he also said that the junior bridesmaids "looks like she is a size 18". Mind you we are talking about a 12 year old. Who is maybe if maybe a size 12. DO NOT SHOP HERE IF YOU WANT TO LOSE MONEY! P.S. I had to hang up on hi because he just would not allow me to talk and told me my opinion does not matter it's what he puts on paper is what matters. What a joke! Don't expect them to correct their mistakes. ART IS...

I absolutely LOVE my wedding dress! I was nervous to use La Merite because they don't have great reviews, but I had a wonderful experience from start to finish. They were the first bridal shop I tried and Diane was a doll, she is so great, sweet and funny. (The owner - Art - isn't very pleasant to deal with, so avoid him if you can, haha). She made me so much more comfortable than any other bridal shop I tried and my first wedding dress shopping session went WAY better than I ever dreamed, especially being a plus sized woman. I fell in love with the first dress I tried on (I knew exactly what I wanted and I did try other dresses but I came back to "the one" every time). I only had 4 months to plan my wedding but they still worked with my turnaround time perfectly! They ordered my dress in the biggest size available and she said we might have to add a corset or something to make it a little bigger in order to fit me, so I didn't think it would fit when it arrived. To my surprise, it fit great AND it was actually too big! I was shocked and so happy. It came in about a week before my wedding (due to the short timeframe for planning) and I was able to use their recommended seamstress who got the alterations done for me in a few days time. I sadly do NOT recommend the seamstress they recommend/work with (alterations & tailoring for your elegance), but that is a different review entirely. Anyway, everything was perfect about my dress and it was affordable. It was at the top of my budget but I am so happy I was able to find something that fit me, was exactly what I wanted and was just gorgeous. I had guests and family raving all day long about how beautiful I looked and that I looked like a princess! I definitely felt like one and it was the happiest day of my life. I love love LOVE my dress with all my heart, thank you so much La Merite!!!

(My google account with my original review from 3 years ago was deleted, so...