Bella Bridesmaids — Local services in Citrus Park

Okay there's a lot to unpack in this review. And I'm only giving it a 4 stars when I really want to give it a 1 star but I feel bad because I don't want to hurt a small business but my experience was not great. The pictures posted look NOTHING like the inside? That is so strange!

First - lack of sizes. The website advertised that they carry sizes up to 32 and it was so disappointing to go in and find almost nothing over a size 10 to try on. Not to mention the 10s really fit like an 8, so the few in sizes 14 fit like a 10, which is super disappointing to shop for bridesmaids dresses and not be able to have everyone try on a dress in their size. How can you get a dress without knowing what the actual dress is going to look like on? This should be advertised to have limited sizing in store.

The dresses - okay these dresses are expensive. Every dress was $200-$300 dollars which is whatever, we saw some online for less but didn't see those instore. But the real issue is, if you are so expensive and are an upscale why doesn't the actual boutique reflect this? There was no vibe, no ambiance, no bling, nothing. It was a room with bad carpet, chaises and dressing rooms with curtains. For the price point you would expect a classier boutique. Then the prices would make sense but it looked like a thirft store with $300 dresses -- which many were stained or broken.

The girl working was NICE but not knowledgeable, had to look up everything and wasn't up to date on the inventory she had. Nice, but if this is your job you should know what each dress is. There isn't that many in store honestly.

Overall we were looking for an alternative for David's bridal across the street and didn't find it here. I think it could use a good business consult on how to improve overall vibe and appearance to match the $$$ of the inventory they are selling but that's just my opinion. I wish you the...

So very disappointing. Highly recommend going anywhere else. From the second I walked in it was just awkward. They claim they close down for apt only but there was another large bridal party there and we were sat in this corner with 1 dressing room and 4 girls to try on dresses. There were random people there just looking through dresses at the same time. The young lady who was "helping" us stood awkwardly in the corner and didn't offer one single time to help anyone zip a dress or bring options to go with the look we discussed. They had about 4-6 dresses from the designer I specifically went there for (she has hundreds online and their website boasts that they have many) and when I asked about other styles or colors she simply said she didn't know. I was googling it myself on my phone. The worst part was 2 of my bridesmaids couldn't even try dresses because their largest sample size was a 12 (which in "real" clothes is a 6-8, come on not everyone is a 0!). I think they each tried 1 on, and neither could zip it up. It was so embarrassing. I was so upset for them. I planned to walk out buying 6 Adrianna Papell dresses and instead they rushed us out and didn't even tell us what happens next. No measurements taken, no offer to even buy the dresses! Didn't even ask if we wanted them. She did say they would be in the virtual showroom but that was it. I regret taking a day off of work to go there. It could not have been a worse experience. I felt very judged from the moment I walked in. Maybe it was the fact that I am gay (I made that very clear in my emails so no one was surprised). Maybe it was the salesperson's first day, never having been oriented to her position... Either way don't allow yourself to...

Long story short - I was ready to create an account for the sole purpose of giving Bella Bridesmaids one star but instead I created one to give them five. When I went to the seamstress to get my dress hemmed, the seamstress noticed that the color had been lifted from the bottom of the dress on the back (it looks like there was a stain on the dress and someone attempted to remove it). Unfortunately, both Joanna August and Bella Bridesmaid missed this during their QC checks. I immediately emailed the pictures to Molly at BB and we had a conversation regarding the contract I had signed (which stated that I was responsible for performing my own QC check on the dress within 14 days of receiving it). I tried the dress on within those 14 days, but did not check the back. To say that I was upset would be an understatement. Molly explained to me that she would be reaching out to Joanna August directly to address the situation. And she did just that. Although the dress I wear to my sister's wedding will have the spot with the lifted color on it, BB and Joanna August have taken it upon themselves to send me a brand new dress in 14 weeks. For anyone who has seen Joanna August dresses, they are the epitome of bridesmaid dresses that you will want to wear again and again. And I'm happy to say that I'll now be able to!

There are a couple of takeaways here: although we are typically dependent on the designer and the boutique to perform QC checks of the dress before it goes out, it is still important to do a proper inspection in addition to making sure the dress fits. The other takeaway is that "stuff" happens, and Molly at BB will do everything in her power to remedy that "stuff".

Thank you to Molly and...