Anna Joy's Bridal & Formalwear — Local services in Harrisonburg

I chose Anna Joy's Bridal and Formalwear in hopes of finding my wedding dress at a reasonable price. From the moment my time spent at the shop began between alteration and fitting appointments, it was nothing short of a miserable experience. I was scolded when attempting to zip up my own dress and threatened that I would be paying a heafty fee if I tried that again. Mind you, I was told to knock on the fitting room door for a consultant to assist in zipping me, but I was not helped.

Additionally, nothing out of the ordinary was done to enhance my experience. The stage lighting remained off for every appointment, and the owner watched the entire time offering no privacy or opportunity to talk with my family about what they each thought. Each time I would call to schedule a follow up fitting, the owner would sharply respond as though she had no time to help me. As someone who was constantly in and out of the shop, making long trips to get there, it was extremely discouraging for her to have never learned my name or even know the basic information about what was being done to my dress.

When my final appointment approached, I almost had to convince her to let me take the dress home because she insisted I have it cleaned. The worst part of the whole experience was that soon after I took my dress home I started receiving texts messages that the shop had miscalculated the cost of the alterations and that I needed to mail an additional $60 to cover the costs. We initially agreed that the tule on the dress was to be hemed, but during my final fitting it was not done. Although frustrating, I was fine to take the dress in the state it was. I paid a lower amount than the original quoted number, which made sense because not all of the agreed work was completed. I wish I had been better cared for as a customer especially in making as important of a decison as picking out my wedding dress.

Overall, the shop did not make me feel confident in my purchase, and I was sad to have this be the memory I think back to in what I hoped would be a pleasant, stressfree time. Lastly, the assistants that work at Anna Joy's were nothing short of attentive and kind, even during the direct ordering around of them by the boss. Despite the tense environment, the assistants remained calm, collected, and intentional in making me feel heard.

This review is not meant to be malicious at any cost, rather only helpful in informing those who may choose Anna Joy's as their wedding dress...

I bought my dress here 4 years ago. I’m rating it now because another friend of mine had a terrible experience here recently. I was coerced into buying a dress I hated, and I came back to exchange it for a fee, which I was aware of. Not the owner’s fault. What WAS the owner’s fault was how I was treated during my fittings. She assured me that my dress would fit prior to my wedding. I was going to fittings a full 8 months before the scheduled date. 3 weeks before my wedding, my dress still did not fit, and this was with fittings once a month with Anne, the owner. Each time I came to a fitting, she would make comments such as “Your shoulders are uneven, I can’t fix that.” “Your hips are too wide.” “Your legs are too short, I have to take too much off of the bottom.” Every time I came back it was something wrong with me, and my body, not her inability to properly alter my dress. Finally I told her I would just write her a check for her services given and I was taking my business somewhere else because I was running out of time, to which she proceeded to cry hysterically in the middle of her store, claim I was not giving her a chance, this is “her livelihood,” and I am making a terrible decision. I stood my ground, paid her the $400+ for alterations that did not even fit, and took my dress to another lady down the street. My dress fit like a glove in 3 DAYS for a fraction of the price that Anne charged me. She could not get it to fit in 7 months, and it came with a slew of insults and body positivity issues. In conclusion: overpriced dresses, overpriced alterations, poor customer service, poor professionalism, will never recommend this place to any person. My dress was beautiful, no thanks to her.

Additionally, she talks bad about her staff behind their backs to you when they go to the back. She’s horribly unprofessional. It’s unbelievable how she’s still...

Anna Joy's was the only place I actually went to find my wedding dress. They have an amazing selection! Jessica and Ann both were amazing with helping me find my perfect wedding dress. Jessica pulled so many dresses to help me determine style and fit I liked. Once it was down to two I liked Jessica and Ann discussed what the differences were depending on the look I was trying to go for. I discussed my wedding venue location with them and they provided excellent input on what dress would be more of a "wow" factor for the location. I love my dress! Jessica was even super helpful in helping my sister find her perfect bridesmaids dress even though we hadn't set up an appointment. The service I received was excellent and I felt like it was tailored for me and my day.

The fittings related to my dress were also great. Ann and Jessica paid attention to great detail when it came to altering the dress. They made sure I felt comfortable with the changes each time. I had sleeves added onto my dress and they checked each time to make sure they felt comfortable and to my liking. On the last fitting Ann even provided cute ideas to incorcorporate my mothers wedding gown since I decided not to wear it for my wedding.

I cannot say enough good things about my experience with Anna Joy's! If I have an event that I need a formal dress for I will make sure that I go back! You won't regret finding your...