Winsome Brides — Local services in La Mesa

I don’t know where to begin…I can’t recommend Christina at Winsome Brides enough! Not only does she do AMAZING work, but she also keeps it affordable!

I made the mistake of ordering a custom, made to measure dress from Anomalie that was supposed to recreate a 2012 Ines di Santo Lissome wedding dress that is no longer made. What I received from Anomalie in December (7 months before my wedding) was one of the most unflattering things I have ever worn. The dress was many sizes too big. I’m a street size 4, and it was probably a 10 or larger. I wasn’t quite sure why it didn’t look like the pictures but knew something was off. I took it to Christina and showed her the model pictures, and she pointed out that the dress I received had the following issues:

1.) The bow was a sad half bow instead of a regular bow 2.) The train on the dress I received was a normal train instead of what the model had, which was a false train 3.) The front of the dress had a seam in the middle of it that the model did not have. Christina said that almost no wedding dresses have this because it draws the eye to the waist in an unflattering way. 4.) The lace on the front was not only tucked into the middle seam but was also tucked INTO the cups causing the top to not lay flat

Christina wasn’t sure she could fix all these issues because she needed the exact same lace that was used to make the dress; however, I was able to get Anomalie to send it to me given the MANY issues with the dress, and Christina and Yilo SAVED THE DAY! They did the following:

1.) Yilo re-did the lace on the entire front of the dress to get rid of the seam at the waist and make the sleeves/top lay flat on my neckline 2.) They took the dress in so it actually fit and did not make me look enormous 3.) They cut off the train and gave me the false train I was supposed to have 4.) They made the train on the bow and the bow DETACHABLE so that I could have 4 different looks (no bow & no train; train & no bow; bow & no train; bow & train), so I was able to keep the bow and detach the train for the cocktail avoiding the need for a bustle! 5.) They fixed my bow to make it a regular bow instead of a sad half bow!

Additionally, Christina asked for a budget and stayed within it by doing all of this (a ton of work) for under $700.00 (most places charge $500.00 for alterations and a bustle, and this was wayyy more work). To boot, she helped me get a lot of my money back from Anomalie due to the many many ways the dress I received deviated from Anomalie’s own design sketches.

Finally, I purchased a back up dress just in case the dress did not turn out well—I didn’t want to be stuck a month or two before the wedding with a dress I didn’t like. The girl I purchased it from said her seamstress said the dress could only have a French bustle, and I don’t really like the look of French bustles. I took this dress to Christina, and she was able to hem the dress and give me an American bustle (despite what the other seamstress said) for about $25!

Christina also found me the perfect veil for my dress!

If you need your wedding dress altered, you will not regret going to Christina at Winsome Brides!!!

I wish Google reviews let you post pictures so I could show the...

I had a mostly positive experience here. My dress turned out beautifully and fit me like a glove, but a repair that was done to the zipper turned out to be unsuccessful, leaving me struggling with my photographer on a mountain at 6 am, trying to fix it with only the light of a headlamp in very cold temperatures! Needless to say, this is a day that you don’t want to have a broken zipper to deal with. We somehow managed to zip the dress and hold it with a safety pin after several minutes, but I could’ve done without that stress. They also forgot about the appliqué (which was hanging in a little clear bag on my dress bag the entire time) and I had to remind them to add it after taking in the waist and the length, even though I’d communicated from the start how the appliqué would need to be applied (this was told to me by the bridal boutique where I purchased my dress, and I was told to inform the people doing the alterations). I only remembered after leaving from what was supposed to be my final fitting (after the previous appointment also being supposedly a final fitting) so thankfully they fixed it by the actual final fitting appointment where I actually took the dress home, but they clearly thought they’d finished and had fully forgotten it. I was also mistaken for a different client on my first visit - little details like taking notes on the calendar when it’s a client’s first visit and making sure you know who you’re expecting go a long way, especially in the bridal business, and I was a little disappointed by the lack of foresight and preparation that went into my first appointment (especially because I was referred here by a friend of mine who used to work here!). However, each appointment was quick and efficient and prices were communicated clearly from the beginning (with updates after each appointment). And besides the zipper malfunctioning (and the appliqué falling off a bit), the dress looked and felt amazing on my wedding day, which is a lot to say for a delicate dress which I hiked in. My interactions with the staff were all very positive as well. The blanket you see in the photos is something I ended up purchasing from Winsome too, and it was great to have on that cold mountain sunrise. Photos by Christian Lemons of...

My experience at Winsome Brides was something out of Say Yes to the Dress. We were welcomed at the door after making the reservation for seven of us (my bridesmaids, my mom, and myself) by the lovely mother daughter duo, Chris and Bekah. Instantly, they leapt into action and made us all feel at home with some basic ground rules. Stay around budget and in my size.

Everyone picked out a couple of dresses and I started to try on different styles and colors and patterns. Then my friends and family sat down in the cute vintage couches and chairs and Bekah and I got to work in the dressing room. I tried on a few. Everyone really loved this cute pink dress and I felt like a princess in it. It was set to the side and i was told to try on a couple more.

Then the moment happened and I tried on the one. It zipped perfectly, and already had a bustle on it from the previous owner. Everyone screamed, I cried, and Bekah and I hugged in the dressing room knowing I had found the one.

I tried on the pink one again, and just wanted to get back in the other one. So Bekah zipped me back into it. We got some cute photos with an adorable sign that said "I said Yes!" And the whole shebang. I could not recommend this place and Chris and Bekah enough. It was an amazing deal for the dress with some alterations having been made, and I got to take it home that day.

Bekah and Chris, you know I'll be contacting you again soon for recommendations on other wedding essentials and I have my fingers crossed that you can be available to help coordinate my day.

Winsome Brides made me feel like a princess and helped me find the dress of my dreams. Make an appointment and bring some friends and you're going to have a fun...