Effie's Bridal Trunk — Local services in Burnsville

My shopping experience at Effie's was fine, and I really have no complaints about that part. It's what I found out after my purchase that was the problem. I purchased my dress from Effie's in October of 2019. I had been to many shops already and could not find what I was looking for within my budget. I ended up finding a dress that I was told by the Effie's consultant could be altered to the fit that I wanted. The dress I purchased was A-Line and I wanted a tighter fit. The consultant even clipped the dress on the backside to give an idea of how it could look. I took their suggestion and purchased the dress (already over my budget - but to be fair that was not Effie's fault). I ended up rescheduling due to COVID and did some of my own research on alterations leading up to selecting my seamstress. I reached out to the dress designer to ask their recommendation who proceeded to tell me that their dresses were custom made and that type of alteration could be made during production (which could have saved me a TON of money in alterations). However, since I already had my dress, they could not help me and they suggested I reach out to the shop where I purchased my dress. This was not something that Effie's shared with me during the lengthy considerations I had at the store over whether I wanted to buy that dress. That was the first awful part. The next awful part is that after visiting several seamstresses for consultations, I ended up choosing a seamstress off Effie's recommendation list that they provided to me when I purchased my dress (at this point it was March 2021). I had literally the WORST experience ever with this seamstress (terrible workmanship, mistreating my friend, and complete disrespect towards my time) and I reported this to Effie's. A manager at Effie's called me to discuss and proceeded to tell me that they have had misconduct reported about this seamstress and she was removed from their recommendation list in December 2019. At that point I still did not even have my dress in my possession and did not have a seamstress chosen. I had also returned back to Effie's and purchased all my bridesmaid dresses there so I had been there multiple times and they never bothered to tell me about the misconduct. Of course I expressed a lot of frustration on the phone and asked why the store didn't contact their brides to warn them of the reported misconduct. The Manager said "that would have been too much work" regarding contacting recent customers and said there was nothing he could do for me. They claim to pride themselves on customer service but I did not have that experience. Beyond frustrated. Don't recommend giving...

Last summer I found my dream dress at Effie’s. Unfortunately everything that happened after that was a nightmare. I was told my dress would take up to six moths to come in. I specifically asked the girl who was helping me if she has ever had a dress take longer than six months and she said no, never. I waited six months and didn’t hear from them so I called them. They also forgot to call me when my veil came in but little did I know my veil was the least of my problems. I took three phone calls to get any information on my dress before I was finally told my dress had been delayed and would be here a month before my wedding. It’s a good thing I ordered earlier than they recommended. I was given a delivery date and was told it would for sure be there that day and I could come pick it up, but if for some reason it didn’t come in that day they would call me in the morning. I showed up to pick up my dress and they still didn’t have it and the girl working that day had no idea I was even coming. The finally got my dress the next week and when I tried it on for the first time it was so tight in the hips it almost didn’t zip. I was in tears as the manager took my measurements again. My bust and waist measurements were the exact same as the day I ordered the dress however my hip measurement was five inches bigger than what the girl had written down. They told me I must have gained weight which was not only rude but a complete lie. Gaining five inches only in your hips is physically impossible. Clearly a mistake was made and they chose to blame me instead of taking responsibility for their employee’s mistake. They had every opportunity to make it right and instead they gave me a 5% discount and told me to take it or leave it. I asked to speak to the owner who refused to take my phone call or call me back. I had to deal with the manager who is unprofessional, rude, inexperienced and argumentative. They never apologized or even acknowledged any of the many mistakes they made and I was left less than a month before my wedding with a dress that I couldn’t even sit down in. This is a terrible shop run by awful people who don’t care about their customers once they have your money. They have no business selling $3000 wedding gowns to trusting brides. I would recommend avoiding Effie’s at all costs. Of course are going to be very friendly and helpful when you are shopping for dresses but it’s not worth the risk of ordering from a...

Effie’s Bridal Trunk went above and beyond my expectations for dress shopping. I went to three other bridal shops but found that Effie’s seemed to have the best selection of dresses in the realm of what I was looking for (and overall) so when I didn’t find a dress the first time, I knew I wanted to return at least one more time to Effie’s and I’m so happy I did! I originally went on a Saturday and it was so busy (though I never felt rushed) but when I returned it was a weeknight and I think I may have been the only bride shopping which meant all the dresses were on the racks and not possibly in dressing rooms. If possible, I would recommend going on a weeknight/day, it almost felt like a VIP appointment because there were fewer people in the store and fewer distractions. Throughout both appointments both my consultants (and other employees) were friendly, patient and I felt like they were really listening to me and pulling dresses that they thought I would like (including expanding my horizons). (I’m terrible with names so I apologize for not being able to give a shout-out to the individual consultants- but honestly EVERYONE there was fantastic!) In addition, I appreciated how they were watching my body language and not trying to force me to say yes to a dress that I wasn’t in love with, even if it looked good. They were low pressure and willing to work with me for as long as I needed to make sure I got the right dress for me. The dress I ended up falling in love with was the second to last dress I tried on- the moment I put it on, I didn’t want to take it off. It checked all my boxes- v-neck, appliques all over, defined waist, buttons down the back, train, and it even had sparkly tulle! When I said yes, they were ready with the champagne which just made the experience a little more special! The day of the wedding, and after, I received so many compliments on the dress and how it was “so me.” I would recommend (and already have!) Effie’s to any brides!

PC: Liz...