Eva's Bridal International — Local services in Orland Township

Where to begin. Being a wedding and events planner, and a previous bridal consultant, I've seen endless styles of gowns and to say I was eager to finally find my bridal gown is an understatement (not to mention, I am a bit of a perfectionist -- after all, I want everything to be simply perfect for my clients on their big days!). I scheduled a weekend long salon "tour" in hopes of finding some options to then revisit in the upcoming weekends to confirm my decision, consisting of visiting 4 salons between Saturday and Sunday. Eva's was my 4th and last stop of the weekend. I was kindly greeted by the receptionist upon arrival, in which we needed to wait a few moments for our consultant to finish up her previous appointment (who just said "Yes!"), no problem! My consultant, Kathleen, came up and introduced herself and said she apologized for the delay and would be with us shortly -- great hospitality to acknowledge and welcome us while we waited. She came back and showed us over to our spot -- spacious, private and clean with great lighting, natural and fixtures. They're doing a great job not only keeping everyone distanced for safety measures but also to have that special moment with whomever you specifically choose to share it with. (Also, noticed they were doing a great job with safety precautions in general with the current circumstances -- hand sanitizer, masks required, socially distancing, etc. My mom is considered high risk, so it meant a lot to see this.) Kathleen asked me what I was looking for and I had explained that I had narrowed my other choices down to 3, all completely different from one another. I showed her my Pinterest page with a variety of styles I liked and also, specifically the 3 I was considering. She said her job was simply to find the one that beats all other options and make me fall in love. Well.... long story short? The very 1st dress she put me in, was "the one!" It's perfect. I adore it in every way. The entire look came together seamlessly. The designer is from Europe, one I had heard of previously, but being so exclusive, had never seen any of their dresses in person. Kathleen pulled 2 other options from the collection, which I even mentioned as I had the 1st on, that I think it was the one and didn't even think I needed to try any more, haha...the dress was so perfect, it made me cry -- I knew this was it. I was just taken aback by how beautiful I felt in the entire look and how I thought it would make my fiancé feel. Because I was there, I did decide to try on a few other options to be sure. Well, although I thought the other 2 options was just as beautiful of gowns, we put the 1st back on and there went the tears again. No questions, I found my dress and accessories to match. Everything was more beautiful than I dreamed of and envisioned myself looking on my wedding day. Kathleen was SPOT. ON. She listened to me, and her expertise is very evident. (I am very picky and she NAILED it in EVERY way.) I had already booked follow up appointments with the other salons however, I was ready to say "Yes!" right then and there and did!~ Without a doubt. I can't be more thrilled and excited to wear my gown and beautiful ensemble the day of. The ordering process was very easy and timely. Kathleen went over everything in detail, as well. I can't recommend Eva's and Kathleen enough, and am so glad I saved this visit for my last. (Kathleen said something in the dressing room as I stepped back into my gown, and she said that this gown, this moment, this is what I will be wearing when I start my life, as Husband and Wife, and it just resonated so well -- I almost started crying in the fitting room again. This moment is what everyone looks for in this process and it was truly the most special experience I could've asked for.) THANK...

I am so upset I am still shaking while typing this. I had a horrible experience with this store. I went to Eva's International and had an appointment to try on bridal dresses. I found one dress I really liked, but they didn't have it in the color I would be ordering in for me to see it. I didn't want to buy a dress I couldn't see in person and this was my first store looking so I made another appointment to come back at the end of the week. I asked multiple times to know the name of the designer of the dress I liked but they kept avoiding the topic and wouldn't tell me. The dress was being sold for $1850. I went home and went on their website and found the dress and the name of the designer. I messaged the designer to ask about retail price and was told it shouldn't retail for more than $1410. They had marked it up $400 more than retail price.

A couple of days later, I went to Eva's Bridal of Orland Park on Humphrey Drive and found and bought the dress of my dreams. They worked with my budget and weren't pushy with the sale. I walked out so excited. I then canceled my appointment at Eva's International since I already bought a dress. An hour later I received a phone call from a woman who claimed to be the owner of Eva's International asking me why I canceled. I told her I had already bought my dress at a different location. She then told me that she had already called their Oak Lawn location to see if I had gone there to buy a dress and they said I had not. I thought this was incredibly weird. I told her of the location I went to in Orland Park. She then went on to attack the owner of the other store. Telling me some pretty awful things and making it sound like the other store was not a legitimate business. And after upsetting me, ended the call by suggesting I keep them in mind for bridesmaid dresses. She was completely unprofessional and insanely rude. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. I went back to Eva's of Orland Park and the staff and owner were again incredibly nice and professional. They addressed every concern I had since having that phone call and calmed me down. Apparently, I am not the first bride to have this experience...

Edit: Responding to the owner’s comment that I am just now seeing. The AUDACITY of such a callous and mean spirited response speaks volumes about how you run your business. I canceled my follow up appointment 2 days prior and you were told that when you called me. You even stated you were calling to ask why I canceled my appointment which further proves the blatant lie you told in your response that I no showed when I clearly called and canceled in advance. I never make appointments and no show to anything, I respect other people’s time as I would expect them to respect mine. Your unprofessional attitude is appalling. I was not there for hours as you stated. I had an appointment and was barely there for 45 minutes while your bored saleswoman pulled random dresses and ignored the dresses and styles I requested to see and try on. There should be price tags on dresses so that brides are able to see what they can afford in budget. I never tried to negotiate a price, I hate bartering. However. I EXPECT to know how much a dress costs BEFORE your pushy sales people try to get me to try it on. The fact that you hide them and overprice everything shows how much you value making money while scamming customers. And for the record, I had a healthy budget that you lost out on because of your horrible business practices. I got my dream designer dress not some “cheap chinese” dress as you stated. Hala the owner of Evas Bridal of Orland on Humphrey Drive is a freaking angel. Your comment just further proves why brides should avoid your store at all costs and buy from Hala instead....

Despicable customer service – We had a problem with the original veil we purchased when we found my daughter’s dress at Eva’s so I called Eva’s and spoke to Eduardo about getting a new one. I explained to him what the problem was with the first veil and described exactly what we wanted, very specifically, in great detail, even though my request was not complicated. He told me that the designer of our original veil didn’t make one like what I had described but he said he found one that was exactly the same from another manufacturer. I asked several times if he was 100% certain that it was exactly the same fabric, color, and length and he repeatedly assured me that it was. I trusted his word - as the bridal expert - and went ahead with the order. When my daughter, the bride, and I opened the new veil, we were shocked to see that it was completely different! It is a different fabric, even a different color, AND a different length! It is noticeably thinner, it has a lot less fabric than the original one and it's downright ugly – it looks like mosquito netting. We immediately went online to the website of the designer of the first, original veil, and within seconds we found exactly what we wanted - which Eduardo told me that designer didn’t make! I knew that Eva’s policy is that all sales are final but I thought under these circumstances, maybe they would grant an exception. When I finally reached Eduardo and he had a chance to look up our order, he said he knew the second veil was a different fabric! I asked if they would take a return on it because of the miscommunication (lying!) and he said he would check with a manager. After I was left on hold for over 20 minutes, he said the manager would have to call me back. I waited 2 days and never got a call back so I called the store again. I was put on hold until Ronya got on the phone, who said she was the manager. She was immediately combative and argumentative, and she would not listen to me! She kept talking over me, saying that the contract states all sales are final. She then said that Eduardo said he remembered pulling out both veils to show me them side by side when I went in to place the order which he ABSOLUTELY DID NOT!! And he didn’t even say that to me when I spoke to him, in fact he had admitted to me that he knew the 2 veils were different just a few days before this. Ronya kept referring to the owner having the final say so I asked to speak to the owner and then Ronya told me she was the owner! She continued to be impossible to talk to, she refused to listen to me, she continued to use a very condescending tone. I have never experienced such rudeness, such disrespect, and have never had such a combative, one-sided conversation with any professional in any workplace, let alone as a customer who spent a lot of money at this store. All I wanted was to be able to return the second veil for a refund, in its original condition, unused, unworn, all because of the mistake made by Eduardo. The outright and repeated LYING by Ronya was most upsetting If my request had to be denied, it could have been done professionally. Instead it was marred with dishonesty and with very inappropriate behavior on the owner/manager's part. ...