CEREMONY — Local services in Newton

I visited Ceremony for my first ever bridal appointment and was incredibly disappointed with the overall experience. I flew from Kansas City to Rhode Island and drove to the Boston area with high hopes for my appointment at Ceremony.

I had some issues leading up to the appointment with their website and method of selecting favorites (tried both a desktop computer and my phone) - not a big deal but I was selecting dresses to try on based on one small photo - no alternate views of the back or ways of looking closely at the gown/fabric. We were greeted by the stylist and I believe the owner, Alix, who was nice but not overly friendly. She had us take off our street shoes and put on gigantic rubber sandals that were hard to walk in. I asked to use the bathroom and was shown where that was - went to open the door and another employee was washing her hands and gave me a dirty look - even though she was the one who didn’t lock the door. Got settled in with Alix and she asked some basic questions about what I was looking for in a dress - one of the first things I said was that I want an off-white to cream colored dress. She mentioned that none of the dresses I picked out were that color and that they didn’t have a lot of options that would work - I reminded her that I selected dresses based on one photo and was not able to see the true color on a screen. None the less, I proceeded to try on several dresses I had picked. I was shocked to see the state some of the dresses were in - incredibly stained with makeup, snags all over and dirty hems. I understand they are sample dresses but they could be cleaned occasionally - I found out later, after going to other bridal boutiques that the samples are not always this dirty.

Alix did not ask me many questions about my wedding, my aesthetic or generally try to get to know me during the appointment. It felt rushed and cold. In fact, I believe I asked her more questions about herself and her shop than she asked me. She stood back while my mom and I looked at the dresses on and really didn’t offer much insight or feedback. Didn’t offer suggestions or to try on with any veils/gloves. We did end up browsing some of the racks to see if there was anything else I could try on that was better suited to my vision and ended my appointment by noting a few favorites. I knew in the back of my mind then that even if I had found my dress there, I would not be purchasing it from Ceremony. I left the appointment feeling sad and discouraged - what was supposed to be such a fun and positive experience was not what I received.

The following day, my mother and I made another trip out to Boston, this time to go to Flair on Newbury St. A night and day difference compared to my experience at Ceremony. The stylist I worked with there had reached out several times before my appointment to get more insight about me and my wedding. Even asking me to share my wedding inspiration and dress inspiration. I was immediately met with excitement and positivity at Flair and had such an amazing experience there. I was brought to tears by their kindness and overall service - even hugging my stylist before we left. Since my appointment at Flair, I have also gone to two other bridal shops in Kansas City, all better than Ceremony. I’m not sure if we caught the owner on a bad day, but I highly recommend if you are in the Boston area looking for a dress that you go to Flair and avoid Ceremony. No bride should have such a negative experience for such a...

If you're thinking about buying your dress from Ceremony, KEEP SHOPPING!! I had had my eye on the Anais Anette dress since before we pushed our wedding due to COVID, so it was thrilling to finally purchase my dream dress at Ceremony during Summer 2021. The salesperson I worked with, Molly, recommended I purchase a split size dress, saying "you'll either pay now or in alterations later." She also assured me that it would be no issue that I was based in Los Angeles, where they could easily ship the dress. When the dress arrived in January, there was something seriously wrong. The dress was so tight that it was a challenge to walk normally, sit down and bend over to put my shoes on. Not only was it WAY tighter than it should have been, the dress that I had purchased because it was so comfortable became the complete opposite. There is no way I could wear this dress without worrying that it was going bust at the seams. From my first conversation with Alix, she was passive-aggressive and defensive. For 6 weeks, she refused to take any responsibility for the dress being an incorrect size saying that "it was impossible that my team or the dressmaker made a mistake." During each conversation, she made me feel like I was ludicrous to even suggest this. Despite the fact that I had not gained any weight, she insisted that the reason the dress did not fit was that I had gained two inches and gone up two sizes. I don't know who's error this was, but contrary to what Alix incessantly suggested, it was not mine. Alix was painful to work with - she refused to come up with a solution except that the dress needed to be let out (an $850 alternation) until I said that I would be traveling back to Boston to meet her in person to try and sort this out. She then recommended that I pay to have a new skirt rushed and have the dress rebuilt by the seamstress in Los Angeles. The seamstress flatly refused to do this since she couldn't ensure the integrity of the dress. Alix actually even had the audacity to email my mom that "Truthfully (and mother-to-mother), if her body has changed, I am not sure how much putting her back into the sample to show her a change will be beneficial to her personally either." She was infuriating to work with and frankly I felt fat shamed by her for weeks. I have been very grateful to have a positive body image and this experience made me more critical of my body than ever before. She is toxic and caused hours of unnecessary emotional distress for me, my parents, MOH and fiance who worked tirelessly to troubleshoot the issue. I will say the only good thing to come out of this experience was that she recommended a fantastic seamstress in LA who actually encouraged me to return the dress and find a new one off the rack. Icing on the cake was Alix refused to reimburse me for the $200 in shipping. The bridal gown business expectation is that you go for the whole experience to spend thousands of dollars for a custom dress that takes months to make. You put your trust in the stylist and designers to create the correct dress, with minor alterations of course. However, every step of the way, Alix turned the whole thing on me like it was my fault. Take your business elsewhere because you WILL NOT receive the service you deserve...

I wish I could give less stars. I can't even begin how awful my experience was at this shop. From the first moment we walked into the studio I felt unwelcome. Though we of course made an appointment and confirmed it, when the consultant buzzed us up and opened the door for our appointment she acted as though we had interrupted her from doing something important and how dare we. I say "consultant" because she never even introduced herself and I have no idea what her name is. My sister and I walked in and she sat us down on the couch where the only question she proceeded to ask us was our budget. She didn't ask about my wedding, where it was, what my colors were, when it was, how I met my fiance, if I had bridesmaids, etc. NOTHING except how much I wanted to spend. She only knew what style I was looking for because after an awkward silence I offered the information up myself. She the proceeded to show us which racks were "in our budget" and then she went in the back and SAT DOWN. She told us to pick out whatever we wanted and then did not help at all. We picked every dress we were going to try on. Maybe I'm completely misunderstanding the purpose of having a consultant, but I was under the assumption that the whole point of having one and making an appointment at a bridal boutique is to be given help in picking the perfect dress for the most important day of your life. She finally decided to help out when I finally started trying dresses on, but only to clip me. In the pictures that we took of the dresses where she is in the background you can even see the sour look on her face. She offered no opinions unless asked and I felt like I was the one trying to engage her in the process instead of the other way around. I had to ask to look at a veil or anything to try and customize the look of a dress. I actually found the perfect dress for me, it was incredible and I was ready to buy it there on the spot but I was so put off by her behavior, apathy, and all around ass-holery that I refused to purchase at that store. My decision was solidified when she didn't even take my measurements at the end of the appointment, even though I had strongly expressed my love of the dress, even uttering the words "this is it!", and she just simply wrote down the name of the dress on a piece of printer paper (not even keeping a copy or any notes for herself) and said "just let us know I guess". I wish I knew what her name was so that they knew exactly who to fire. Earlier that day we had been at Flair, another bridal boutique and had such an opposite experience-- if you're looking for a dress in Boston, I would highly recommend you go to Flair and avoid Ceremony...