Celebrate the Occasions — Local services in Cedar City

I have been debating on whether or not to leave a review, and my decision was to wait over night until I had gained composure, and my emotions had settled. Yesterday, May 29, 2018, I had made an appointment to look at, and try on, wedding dresses. I showed up with my mother, my daughter, one of my bridesmaids, and my fiancé (whom was dropping me off). All of whom were witnesses to how poorly i was spoken to by the woman in the shop. As I was filling out the short form they give to brides, my daughter and bridesmaid started looking through dresses. Without skipping a beat the lady in the store quickly glanced at me and told them to look in the "bigger" sizes. Now, mind you i am average size. Between a 12 and a 14, so yes, i know my dress size will be a bit larger. Still no reason to emphasize BIGGER SIZES when speaking of a person standing right there. As i was looking through the racks of dresses the lady working kept referring to my size. She was stating that because of my size i would be limited to what i could choose in her store, or elsewhere. All she was focused on was MY SIZE!! I tried on a dress, walked out and she grabbed the back of the dress trying to squeeze my top into it. Mind you, i have a large chest and i am aware of alterations that will need to be made. However, spouting off that the zipper needs to be removed and a lace up put in place to accomodate bigger sizes. When i became visibly upset she raised her voice from across the room and said,"If it makes you feel any better we have helped women much larger than you help find their dream dress..." No. No,it does not help me feel better. Wedding dress shopping is something that should be special, fun, and create happy memories. It should not be full of anxiety, comments about weight, full of reminders about limitations, and being constantly reminded about your "size". Its sad because she does not know the struggles of each person who walks through the door, or if they have lost weight and are proud of that, or have gained weight for medical/emotional or any other reason. Not once was i asked a single question about my upcoming wedding. But the comments about size just kept coming. My aunt showed up as i walked out in tears and she talked to the lady in the store who admittedly said she speaks to all her brides that way, and she refused to apologize for being so rude. This saddens me because I have received nothing but amazing customer service from other employees, and the owner, when shopping for dresses for my daughter. I won't be returning, nor will i refer anyone here. No one should feel humiliated, embarrassed, or looked down on for being a human being with curves that doesn't fit societies view...

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A WEDDING DRESS, LOOK HERE FIRST! TOO MANY GREAT THINGS TO SAY ABOUT THIS PLACE!

1. Let's start with employees: the ladies that work here were so incredibly nice to me, my mom, and future mother in law. I've gone to dress stores before when I was in high school to look for prom dresses and always felt very pressured to buy something. Particularly if it was out of my price range. Not here, I honestly felt like I was going to go visit a bunch of my favorite aunts who happened to be the sweetest most understanding ladies ever. I went in not really knowing what I wanted but they helped me so patiently and I felt so comfortable the whole time. They really were just such genuine people.
2. Inventory. When I called they said they had the biggest inventory in southern Utah which, for me, means I get to try stuff on that actually fits me. They have sooooo many cute dresses. Their website also has a bunch for you to look at before hand (just keep in mind they might not have your size). I will mention most of the dresses I tried on were between $1000 and $1600. I'm not sure if they have cheaper ones but that seems pretty standard for a high quality new wedding dress.
3. Their new location is beautiful! Very clean. I was impressed with the bathroom haha. Brand new. I don't think they even finished decorating yet but we all thought it was a beautiful store. The area for brides to try on dresses is huge and the waiting area for family is set up nicely.

In the end I chose to purchase my dress here and I'm so glad I did. I felt zero pressure. It didn't feel salesman-y at all. They were just sincerely happy about me getting married and wanted to really help me find a dress...

Nicole is the gaurdian angel of all Southern Utah Brides. There is not a single place out there that will be as genuine and down to earth, kind, loving, and patient as Nicole at CTO.

It has been a disaster trying to plan a wedding during a global pandemic & in the middle of a rioting country. Finding a dress was near impossible! No one in St. George had inventory in my size because of shipments being held, and none of the establishments explained that to me until I had already driven an hour to be there, even though they new my size beforehand. The experience elsewhere felt rushed and insensitive. Even unorganized. I left St. George feeling hopeless and discouraged. I wanted to be able to find the right dress, even if the rest of the wedding fell apart from the recent chaos!

Being new to Cedar City I didn't realize CTO even existed, until I passed it on my way home! I whipped around and headed into the establishment, desperate at this point.

Nicole greeted me with total compassion and helped me find the perfect dress tucked away in her impressive inventory, in under 30 minutes. Not only was I ecstatic that I had found a beautiful dress, but she also helped me feel more hopeful and empowered about my entire wedding. I am so glad I stopped at CTO, it was a therapeutic experience for me during a very stressful time, and I couldn't be more pleased with my beautiful dress. Happy tears all around....