Gesinee's Bridal — Local services in Concord

I just ordered my wedding gown from here this weekend and wanted to share my experience for other brides. Lots of info incoming.

I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I literally made a same day appointment approximately 12 hours after I found out that apparently bridal appointments are a thing. They might take walk-ins but I really recommend an appt (it’s free) because you can have a dedicated stylist working with you and helping you try on the dresses.

My stylist that day was a woman named Emily and she was AMAZING. I’m sure the others are good too but I would recommend you ask for her specifically. She was so attentive and helped me figure out what style of dress I loved. She always let me wander around and grab any dress that I fancied, but also would point out if she thought that particular dress might have a detail or style that I wouldn’t like based off my usual preferences. She carried herself in a very professional manner. She actually is pretty new to this field but I think it’s to her advantage because her previous experience in customer service and education shines through. She also is great at politely hearing input from opinionated Mother of the Bride but focusing on what the actual bride wants.

One note though, I think she (and probably all stylists) is trained to always be very complimentary and never point out any bad features. I mean we brides are probably always the most harsh about our own bodies. But their were some dresses that I clearly looked better in than others whereas Emily insisted I looked amazing in everything. I recommend you bring a friend or relative who you trust to tell you the truth haha. I’m chubby and currently losing weight so there was a skintight dress that I loved but honestly did not do me favors at all but if I had been alone with Emily at the appointment she might have swayed me into getting it, luckily I found another dress that I loved more and showed my figure in a great way!

After I selected my gorgeous dress, it’s time for measurements which was done by a woman named Teresa or Theresa, I’m not sure how she spells it. Teresa is very abrupt and blunt. At first I was taken aback by her manner of dealing with customers. But honestly I think she is maybe a saint in disguise. Because she is so straightforward, she is able to make very realistic and persuasive recommendations regarding what length and size you should order your dress. She clearly has a lot of experience and it shows. I think she probably has built up this tough persona after years of dealing with brides who insist on ordering a size against her recommendations and then end up upset when it doesn’t fit. She ultimately lets you make any decision regarding your size but I really appreciated how realistic she was. I’ve lost 21 lbs so far and am planning to lose another 15-20, but she recommended I choose the dress size that fits me NOW and alter later if I lose more weight. Ultimately I decided she is an expert and chose to trust her suggestion.

Two other notes. I typically wear size 8-10 and I was able to fit into every single sample gown, which I think ranged from 6 to 12. The gowns you think will be too small have a lot more wiggle room than you expect. And the gowns that are larger can be clipped to show the right fit. But I think women who are very tiny or very overweight might have a tougher time. I have read elsewhere that for women requiring a plus size, there is a more limited selection. So if you require a plus size, it might be good to call ahead of time to check if they have plus size sample dresses (I imagine they do.)

Also, they had the dresses separated by price range. I chose to check the area with dresses under $1300 and that way I wouldn’t be tempted to even look at the other areas. PSA, a $1300 dress will of course be closer to $1500 once fees and tax are added. Not to mention the eventual cost of alterations. By the way, there is an alteration shop across the street which they recommend but I might check out the...

I usually check ratings before making a big purchase or using a service, and not checking Gesinee's reviews was my first mistake. My daughter and I searched at least 10 stores looking for what she wanted in a wedding dress....FINALLY she found 3 dresses that she LOVED at Gesinee's. Our service purchasing the dress was 5 star service. The selection was great and they carried the types of gowns she wanted that were not available anywhere else we had shopped.

Our appointment with alterations was on Friday, May 13. When we arrived the staff did not seem prepared for us...not sure our appointment was in the books as she did not receive a confirmation call. There was another girl being fitted in the main area, and we were given a little area where the groom's mother and I had to stand in the hallway where we had move out of the way each time someone walked past. A seamstress myself, I was baffled at how the lace strap was being altered right in the middle of the one piece lace strap....but I assumed that the lace would not be cut at the shoulder and adjusted where it met the dress. The lace strap was pinned at the shoulder. Then the woman altering the dress showed me a piece of torn notebook paper about 3"x3" with $475 scribbled on it and said it was my quote for alterations. That should have been my first clue that this was not going to go well. It seemed expensive, (and a very odd way to give a quote,) but we again assumed we would get quality work. How the straps were pinned caused my daughter's breast to bulge from the dress- she is big busted but she is not overweight. The seamstress said, "Just go buy one of those weighted bags and put it on the other side,"....and she proceeded to stuff a wad of fabric in the cup of the dress...thus causing both sides to bulge. It looked terrible to say the least and when we agreed that didn't help she said, "I CAN'T FIX THE PERSON!" When my daughter asked about taking in the back the woman said it would be another $175. I could tell this was going WRONG rapidly and decided to go outside and call the local bridal shop in San Carlos. When I walked back in, there was more pinning done and it was even worse than before. As for the bunching in the front of the dress, the woman told her that when she walked she could, "just have her girls pull the dress down!" I said we were going to take the dress and try another shop and the woman said, "Good idea!"

The next morning we had the dress fitted at a local shop and in just a few pinnings, (where the strap met the dress,) the dress looked gorgeous! The price was not much less but after reading the reviews I see a pattern of ruined dresses. It wasn't the price as much as that we were getting the dress altered to fit my daughter's figure.

After calling Gesinee to complain, a manager was supposed to return my call, which hasn't happened. I am so disappointed we had purchased the veil before the alterations or I would have ordered it somewhere else after the poor service and insults. My advice is to NOT do alterations there. I was hoping to have some resolution before I posted this- perhaps an apology and assurance that the woman would not tell other patrons that she cannot fix their bodies. If I get a return call I will edit this review to reflect that. I learned to always read...

I don’t usually write reviews, so please excuse any awkwardness. The reviews I read while planning my wedding were essential to the decisions I made, so I want to start by imploring other brides not to go to Gesinee’s. If you want the full details, I have written them below, but the most important thing now is preventing future brides from having an experience like mine. I can never get my wedding day back, and you all deserve an amazing wedding day with no regrets. Now onto the story. I will say that I had a good experience purchasing the dress. Everyone seems so nice and acted extremely knowledgeable. However, the dress I purchased caused me nothing but pain and embarrassment on the day of my wedding. To be honest, I know that I am a little top heavy. When I first walked in to Gesinee’s, my only stipulation was that I wanted sleeves. I know that sleeveless dresses can be problematic for my body type. I was convinced that I should at least give sleeveless dresses a try, as many of them have corsets that offer support. I trusted their advice. Looking back however, I realize that the saleswoman only brought me sleeveless dresses to try on. During my second appointment with them, I picked out a few with sleeves. I have never worn anything even close to as fancy as a wedding dress and the three dresses I was allowed to choose did not go well with my frame. As Sammy, the saleswoman, did know what she was doing, the dresses she chose looked significantly better on me. They felt supportive and she reiterated several times that I would be fine without sleeves. I believed her and I purchased a sleeveless dress. During the fitting process, there were several problems, but I’m going to focus on the boning they added and their persistent advice that I would be fine without sleeves. My mom and I both asked the seamstresses about sleeves and we were assured each time that I did not need them. The dress was not fine without sleeves. My dress did not even support me all the way through the ceremony. The boning weakened more and more as the night went on. By the end of the night, the boning was completely bent and I was in a lot of pain. The bruises lasted for over a week. I have reached out to Gesinee’s, hopeful that they would want to address my issues and make amends for the pain and embarrassment the dress caused. They offered to rebone and preserve the dress. I hope you all understand why this doesn’t help. I do not want to look even at this dress anymore. There is no chance I will wear it again. They have refused to offer any other solution or any type of refund. I again entreat the other brides out there not to buy their dresses at Gesinee’s. They offer advice and do not face any consequences when the advice is negligent. I paid extra for a dress that they convinced me would be perfect and therefore was worth the additional cost. Looking at wedding pictures brings tears to my eyes. I can never get that night back. The embarrassment I felt that whole night, especially when dancing with my dad, will haunt me for the rest of my life. Please spare yourself that pain and stay far away...