Monique Lhuillier — Local services in New York

Since my original review, the boutique has proactively responded to my concerns regarding my experience. I am appreciative of their willingness to improve the way their boutique operates and services future brides. To reiterate my original review, I do feel the staff here is great and the dresses are amazing - with the right salesperson, it's possible to have a great bridal dress experience at the flagship store.

Previous review:

The gowns are beautiful and the overall service at the boutique is good. Taz, the tailor, is also amazing at what he does and so sweet - he did such a wonderful job tailoring my gown and making it fit perfectly. Emily and the other staff members at this boutique are all superb and friendly.

However, there was much to be desired from my shopping experience with my bridal consultant, Kristen L. My shopping experience with Kristen was so bad that I dreaded going into the boutique and hated my bridal dress journey.

I came to Monique Lhuillier with a dress already in mind - one that I had tried on abroad but decided to purchase in NYC to simplify logistics. I was helped by Kristen, who seemed to lose interest in me as soon as I told her I was interested in this Bliss line dress. (FYI, the Bliss line is the more affordable tier of Monique's dresses, albeit just as beautiful.) Even though I tried on some dresses from the main line as well that were in my budget, I still ended up ordering the Bliss dress from Kristen because I loved it so much. Throughout my appointment, I felt like Kristen was not enthused with me and did the bare minimum to engage or to suggest bridal options to me.

After purchasing the Bliss dress, I engaged with Kristen via email to ask her about accessorizing my dress - for example, custom pieces using the same fabric of the dress, or a complementary veil. Kristen always provided me the bare minimum in our email exchanges, typically responding with only a few words to every question I had. Typically, her answers revolved around saying "no" in different ways - Kristen never tried to go above and beyond or to try to work something out with me when building out my bridal outfit. Every interaction with her ended with disappointment and frustration.

I was truly disappointed with how Kristen "took care" of me in this bridal journey - had Kristen shown a little more empathy or salesmanship, I would have gone ahead and ordered additional pieces...

I waited write this review until after my final fitting, however, I've had only positive things to say since day 1. At Monique Lhuillier you 100% get above and beyond what you pay for. From start to finish I was treated like an absolute princess and made to feel extremely comfortable and well taken care of through out all of my appointments. Every employee I came in contact with was so genuinely sweet, happy for me and interested in my wedding planning details. Midori, especially, is AN ABSOLUTE DREAM. If you call to make an appointment, ask to meet with Midori. Never once did she make me feel pressured, and she consistently offered honest, helpful and wonderful advice (from gowns to headpieces to veils). From April (when I first visited ML to December) Midori was by my side for all appointments, and constantly available via email for any advice about accessories, hairstyle, etc. While I thought my experience at ML couldn't get any better, that all changed when I met Rita! Rita, the director of alterations IS SUCH A TALENT, and an extreme pleasure to work with. Rita did everything to make sure my dress was customized to my exact fit. She caught issues that I couldn't even see, and wouldn't possibly let me leave it a dress that wasn't 100% perfection. Working with Midori and Rita made me feel like a giant weight was lifted off of my shoulders, and like I could just sit back and trust these wonderful women to make my dress fantasies come to life. That level of care and personalized attention is truly invaluable. I would definitely recommend any brides in the NYC area to visit Monique Lhuillier.. you...

I regret buying my dress from here and won’t recommend it to anyone.

The service here is disorganized and completely lacking. For the cost that you’d spend here they should treat their brides better. The presentation of their dresses is awful as well. Imagine spending 10k for your wedding dress and it arrives in a large UPS box folded up on a plastic hanger. Unbelievable. Not to mention the multiple times you’ll have to follow up with your rep to even find out if your dress is coming. And as someone mentioned before - They charge you for this!! Approximately 200$ in my case, which I can guarantee was not at cost. If you’re going to charge that much, it’s be wonderful if there was actually something special about how it’s sent. I receive better packaging on my online orders from Saks.

The staff is also very cold - when making the final payment for my dress they tried to overcharge me, and when my card wouldn’t authorize for that amount the “manager” stepped in and tried to blame me. When I pointed out that the amount was incorrect which was causing the issue there was zero apology.

Let me also mention - if you’re not a size 0 this store basically has nothing for you to actually try on. My rep Mona even made a comment comparing me to another bride near by. Something I hadn’t even thought about.

If I wasn’t in love with this designer I’d have never gone through with my purchase. And even then I should have just gone to a third...