SmallTown Couture — Local services in Pratt

Fasten your seatbelts, you’re in for a wild ride… My daughter bought her (original) wedding dress here in May of 2022 for her wedding exactly 1 year away. After purchasing the dress, we waited about 4-5 months before reaching out to check the status of our order. We were told it would arrive after the first of the year which was a longer timeframe than we were originally told, but we were happy to wait. My daughter actually waiting until the END of January to reach out after not hearing from the store at all. When she inquired on the status of shipping, she was met with not only hostility, but inaccurate information regarding the order/shipping. She was told that her dress was at the warehouse waiting to be shipped with other gowns. Concerned about the fact that it had not yet arrived, she asked if there was any confirmation of the order or tracking information she could have. There was no information Sam could provide her with because Sam lied about it even being ordered (more on that later). My daughter respectfully told her that she was disappointed with the lack of communication, as every time we have interacted with the store, it was never because they reached out with updates, complications, or delays that Sam kept excuses. Sam assured her that they have “Never missed a wear date”. February 6th 2023, my daughter reached out again after TWO attempts at requesting a tracking number. Attempts that were ignored/unanswered. On this 3rd attempt, she asked for the tracking number or a full refund for her $1700 gown, so that she could plan ahead or have her money back to purchase a new gown somewhere else as time was ticking. She respectfully expressed her disappointment and dissatisfaction with the lack of communication and dishonesty about the entire process. We finally received tracking information following this encounter which after looking over, gave us reason to believe she either 1. Did not order the dress until February 8th after telling us the dress was ordered in May, or 2. Had ordered the dress which went into production and then was held at the warehouse due to non-payment from her business until February 8th when the shipping process began. In hindsight, we should have been able to get our money back for not receiving the item we paid in full for, but we picked up the dress February 16th which made that unlikely. The dress was pretty large on my daughter, and would need a few alterations, which could have maybe been possible to get done in time, but rather than wearing a dress that didn’t fit properly and also reminded her of a negative and stressful experience, she ended up finding a new dress elsewhere which fit her perfectly only needing a simple hem and bustle. I am leaving this review not to complain, but to inform other brides of the risks of shopping here. My daughter is one of 3 brides we know of who have the exact same stories to tell. Her friend actually bought her dress here in August 2022 for her October 2023 wedding and still has not received her dress or any information regarding its whereabouts to this day. If you want a prom/pageant gown, you may not have issues. But Sam has no business trying to run a...

Please beware of this store. I purchased a wedding dress from Small Town Couture in January for my wedding in December and was initially told to expect it to arrive in June. When June passed and July came, I reached out to Samantha asking about an update on my dress. All she had to offer was that my dress wasn’t in yet but they can update my phone number into their new system so I’d be automatically notified once the dress arrived.

Once the end of August rolled around and I still hadn’t heard anything about my dress, I reached out to Samantha again for an update on the whereabouts of my dress. She told me my dress was at the warehouse and should arrive in two weeks. I clarified with her whether my dress would be in her store within two weeks, or if it would ship out in the next two week and then additional time for it to actually arrive at her store. She confirmed it would be with her at her store in two weeks, but after three full weeks I’d heard nothing.

It was now the end of September so I reached out to Samantha again, this time on Instagram. I expressed my concern about the dress not being here and a lack of communication. Samantha dismissed it saying the dress would be in her store soon, but due to the hurricane, shipping was delayed and they couldn’t get updates about my dress. About this time, I asked my mom to help get updates as I live in Dallas but she is in Pratt. For weeks, Samantha provided false promises of my dress being at the warehouse and being ready for shipment. On October 18th, I was told the dress was out for shipping and they had requested overnight shipping. When Monday and Tuesday passed without any notification of my dress arriving, my mom called to get an update as to where my dress was. After all, it was now mid-October, my dress was originally supposed to arrive in June, and I am 7 weeks away from getting married. During that call, my mom asked Julie (Samantha’s mom and who Samantha informed us would take over handling my dress) why my dress had not arrived at her store - not only was it three days past when it was supposedly shipped overnight, but also significantly past any estimated arrival date they’d previously offered me - to which Julie admitted to owning her vendors money, (seemingly to me) enough that they were unwilling to ship her my dress.

That being said, Julie and Samantha took the money we paid for my wedding dress (in full, upfront) and led me on for months about my dress arriving to their store, fully knowing it wasn’t going to show up. They willingly and purposefully lied to me multiple times about my wedding dress - the outfit I planned to wear in the most important day of my life. As of today, we received a refund for my dress and with only 4 weeks and 5 days left, I am needing to purchase a new wedding dress with rushed alterations because of Small Town Couture’s lack of responsibility, accountability, management and empathy.

All in all, I wouldn’t trust this store to take care of my trash, let alone any future orders and I suggest you...

I was a plus size bride and I knew that finding a dress that didn’t make me feel like a lump in a white table cloth was going to be a hard to find thing. I chose to shop local knowing that Sam and her store catered to all shapes and sizes! I fell in love with 2 dresses and she helped me and my party pick the best dress for me! I chose a different color than what was common for that style, and I ordered my dress in April of 2022 for my wedding in April 2023. Sam was upfront with me about shipping and the delays with all of the strikes that were happening with dock workers and truck drivers. She told me that the estimated shipping date was October but she told me to expect it more towards December. December came and there was more delays due to the holidays, which is understandable. Same with January. Now it’s prom season, and the warehouse has its own rules. We just have to deal. In March, I was called the minute they unpacked my dress, and I picked it up and it was even more beautiful that I could have pictured! Bless Joni (Joni’s stitch by stitch) in Pratt as well for being the speediest seamstress around, as I’m short and this dress needed about 2ft cut off the bottom. I absolutely loved my dress and the experience provided by SmallTown Couture because I felt like a...