VERA'S Bridal — Local services in Englewood

From the story I'm going to tell, you might be wondering why I'm giving 5 stars, but hear me out. It's deserved.

I've always been a Vera supporter and a supporter of her staff and (now fully knowing) freelance seamstress, because they are talented and knowledgable. They definitely are there to give great service. That said, unfortunately things didn't work out for my mom's dress. I think that their freelance seamstress Joanna (sorry if I spell your name incorrectly!🫣) is great at what she does. For my mom's dress though, it just wasn't working out at all. It happens...things go sideways and it's not a reflection on the business or the people💛

After a few fittings and things not getting better, we had gone to Vera, the owner, to get a refund as the dress was not able to be completed and my wedding is less than a month away (yay pressure). She was refusing to refund the dress based on the final sale policy that she has, to which we went back and forth on the issue, because, it turns out, there were massive miscommunications on all sides on our knowledge of how the seamstress works and that she, by no means, works under the Vera Bridal company. She only physically works in the space and that absolves Vera Bridal from being responsible for alterations. From our perspective, prior to learning what we ended up learning, and from a usual sales perspective, usually a sale isn't final unless the job is completed or a party walks away for the sake of a mind-change which wasn't our case.

**Sadly, and I take full responsibility for my own passionate response, it resulted in a loud altercation and a lot of misdirected words. I am not one to lose my cool and, in this instance, I allowed the pressures of the big day and what was, at first from my initial perspective, seemingly shady cya moments influence me and for that I apologize. My belief structure, as a business owner is to know when to take accountability and, at first, it didn't seem like it was going in that direction and I reacted.

Fast forward, after going back and forth, my mom agreed to try the dress back on again. After a couple of seconds of Vera seeing my mom in the dress, she immediately went to go issue a refund. It was no question that the dress was at a point of no return, especially for the timeline we were working with.

**Now here's where we discover the miscommunication in the beginning... Johanna (I'm hoping one of the spellings are right lol 😅 I promise I'm better with faces than with names and spelling names is a whole other arena) was supposed to give us a form, before ever getting started, highlighting her as a freelancer and not a part of Vera's. This helps give the customer the platform to make an informative decision on whether to go with her or with someone else. This form was not given so the whole time we are all thinking different things are happening.

Had my mom been given this form, we wouldn't have been able to get refunded, due to the policy that is had which I understand and, from Vera's perspective, I completely agree with her business model so long as that form is definitely distributed and that customers are regularly seeing that throughout the store and on each receipt--it's a solid model now that it's been described👍🏻

⭐️I still believe what I said earlier about Vera's team being talented and knowledgable when it comes to their craft. I know that things can slip through the cracks, especially when we are busy and a lot of things are happening all at once. I don't think it's a reflection on Joanna or Vera. Heck, I'm ready to blame the manufacturer since the dress was a struggle-bus before it was honestly touched.

❤️I also am reminded in this scenario the importance of not making assumptions as it's clear that they can yield undesirable moments. I feel that, while my mom's experience didn't result in a dress at this boutique, there's no question that one should always praise when business owners take accountability for their business outcomes. I know when I've been there, it's a pain in the butt but it's...

Vera's Bridal Shop has a beautiful selection of gowns, and the staff, including Vera, Tiara (the manager), and the bridal attendants, were wonderful. Tiara was incredibly helpful from my initial call to the day of my appointment. Despite my nerves, she assured me that I would find the perfect gown, and I did after trying on about seven dresses. They helped me order the gown, and once it arrived, Tiara assisted in scheduling my first fitting and alterations.

However, I am giving only 2 stars due to a disastrous experience with the seamstress, Joanna. During my first fitting on May 7th, we discussed several alterations: taking in the bodice, hemming the bottom with my shoes on, and adjusting the back that was digging into my skin. Joanna assured me she could make these changes.

My second fitting on June 25th, just three weeks before my wedding, was a disappointment. The back issue hadn't been fixed, the hem was too short, and the bodice was still too big, despite Joanna's claims that alterations were made. I was extremely worried but was reassured that all would be fixed by the next appointment.

When I picked up the dress on July 1st, I noticed the hem was uneven, and the gown was significantly shorter. Upon trying it on at home with my shoes, it was clear Joanna had cut off too much fabric. I contacted the bridal shop, but Vera refused a refund for the alterations, stating that Joanna was contracted through a separate company. Vera insisted on bringing the dress back to fix it, but I had lost trust in Joanna.

Desperate, I took the gown to my personal seamstress, who had only six days to repair the damage. She had to reattach tulle that had been removed, fix the crooked hem, and adjust the bodice, which Joanna had bunched up. Miraculously, my seamstress made the gown wearable just in time for my wedding.

I want to share this experience to caution future brides. Wedding planning is stressful enough without such a major setback so close to the big day. If you have a seamstress you trust, I highly recommend discussing alterations with them. Additionally, my personal seamstress was shocked at the $700 I paid for unfinished alterations at Vera's Bridal, especially since she charged me half that amount to fix all the mistakes.

In summary, while Vera's Bridal has a beautiful selection and a helpful team, my experience with their contracted seamstress was a nightmare. Future brides should be cautious about where they have their...

I visited Vera's about 8 months before my wedding. My appointment was during the week, and I had a very personalized experience with Vera (going to a dress appointment anywhere during the week is way, way better than going on a weekend!!). She was attentive and listened to what I was looking for. She was helpful with suggestions, not pushy as some other bridal places can be. I did not end up finding my dress at this visit, but I really felt that Vera was entirely invested in her business and committed to helping brides. Therefore, when I did find a beautiful Rosa Clara dress at a store in NYC, I actually called Vera to see if I would be able to order it through her. Even though Vera did not have the exact dress I was looking for at her store, she kindly agreed to order it for me. I live in Westchester and there are plenty of bridal shops here and in NYC, but I decided to drive about an hour to Vera's because I wanted a personalized experience and I was so impressed with the way Vera took care of her sample dresses and I knew my own dress would be in good hands. My dress came in right when it was supposed to, and Vera immediately emailed me to let me know it was in (I've heard horror stories of other places not letting brides know right away when their dress is in!). I did all of my alterations at Vera's with Bozena, who did a phenomenal job. Vera assured me that she would make sure I was 100% satisfied with my dress before taking it home, and I ended up going back three times for my fittings! The dress came out perfect. I honestly could not have asked for a better experience, and I have been telling all of my engaged friends about Vera's. Thank you, Vera and Bozena, for helping to make me feel confident and beautiful on my...