Bel Fiore Bridal — Local services in Sandy Springs

I debated writing about this, especially at the time of things spiraling, since I know you shouldn’t express bad thoughts or opinions when you are emotional.

Now it has been 2 months after the wedding. I have already gotten back the wedding photos, where my wedding dress photos are awkward and I am mostly in a reception outfit. I have also not taken any engagement photos as my dress was never ready. Even though I am in a better head space, I am still extremely upset.

All because of a wedding dress that was ordered too small by Bel Fiore. What makes me more upset by this situation was that because, of course, why would I doubt the bridal store that made my wedding dress shopping experience amazing? It was when I went to go in for alterations, Margarita would say, “Did you gain weight? Are you planning on losing weight?” Me, being insecure about the fact that I hadn’t been able to work out in 2 months after being in a bad car accident, surely thought it was me and my body at fault, when the dress didn’t fit when I first went to go pick it up. I was 5’3” and 114lb at the time. It took a month of working out while working 7 days a week, “intermittent fasting” but basically starving. I was sure that I was at least back to my base (when I first tried the wedding dresses). I don’t personally care about height/weight stats, but to put this into perspective on where I was at, I was now 5’3” and 104lb.

The dress still didn’t fit. Margarita would say again, “did you gain weight?”

When I expressed frustration to her and the staff, this is when I realized that my body measurements at the time of the initial dress shopping were chest/waist/hip (inches) 31, 25.5, 31.

The dress that was ordered was a size 2. The chest/waist/hip measurements were 31, 24, 31.

I don’t know about you but I haven’t been 24 inches around the waist since a child, nor is losing 1.5 inches about the waist an easy feat.

There was even a time when they forgot to put my alteration appointment in the schedule. It takes me an hour and 40 minutes to get there, not to mention I was working Monday-Sunday and would have to request time off for this.

I will say that the staff at Bel Fiore Bridal tried to compensate me for a corset that I only needed as the dress didn’t fit. However in reality I needed a dress in my size, i.e a larger size than what was ordered. I was unable to take engagement photos, postponed because the dress wasn’t ready. I accepted the fact that I would have a corset on the day of the wedding, trying to tell myself it would be not noticeable. The fact is, the problem was actually in the shoulder straps, that would constantly fall off my shoulders since there was a widened gap at the back from the corset. No amount of tape could hold it up indefinitely. In the moments where it did, those photos would only depict how awkward my shoulders and posture had to be to keep me from flashing my guests in case my shoulder straps fell off.

When I last picked up my dress, the staff at Bel Fiore Bridal told me that because I had agreed to pick it up initially and made alterations to the dress (alterations I needed as the dress didn’t fit), that the only thing that they could do was have their manager reach out to me. Although I agree with all that, given the circumstances in which the dress was ordered too small to begin with, I had hoped at least for a call from their manager. 2.5 months later, I have yet to get a call.

So, thank you Bel Fiore Bridal for a beautiful dress that didn’t fit, for all the feelings of insecurity I endured about my size and weight, the tears I cried for the wedding photos that I was unable to share, and for engagement photos that I was never...

This was the most awkward shopping experience of my life! I walked in with a GREAT attitude and such high hopes based on all of the stellar reviews and classy looking website with tons of options. Boy was I wrong on multiple accords...

My issues include the following: The racks are overfilled! There are too many options, sections, and organizations (One even included a section from least fluffy to most fluffy?!?!).

Some of the dresses are damaged or badly stained. :'( This distracts from the gowns and makes you not even want to try them on. Just remove them!

Artificial flower consultant. The system that Bel Fiore Bridal uses is brides hanging fake flowers off the side of the gown so that the consultant knows to pull it to your fitting area. The intention is that she/he is not hovering, but this approach felt 100% hands off and awkward. Why do I even have a consultant if I'm not going to get an opinion, suggestion or feedback about what I'm picking as I'm selecting? If you're an independent, decisive shopper, maybe this system will work for you, but when I found my dress at the very next shop, my consultant was the one who actually picked it out for me based on certain elements that I wanted. A bride should not be ghosted on and off as she's shopping.

The clips! OUCH! They were bungee styled and thin which digs in. (See picture) My consultant stepped away momentarily, and I called out that I needed help, because the bungee was starting to dig in. My mother began to come over to relieve me, but she was asked not to due to liability reasons. I 100% understand that, but if that's the case, don't walk off from the bride if she needs to get OUT of a dress! Better yet, purchase elastic clips please. :)

My consultant Hadley Hadley bombarded me with personal questions that went WELL beyond what other consultants asked. For example, I put on a dress, and without giving me time to think about how I felt, she immediately asked me, "So how did you and your fiancé meet?" As she was explaining the layout of the store, she took me directly to the back section which contains plus sizes 20+. Hadley rapidly explained this in such a way that I thought I was being quarantined, and would not be allowed to shop at the front. I'm a size 16, and no other boutique made me feel 'different', except this one. This was very confusing and uncomfortable for me. When my mother asked if I would be allowed to shop up front, she quickly brushed her off and said, "I was just about to explain that." She complained at least 3 times that bridal sizing is terrible. At the end of the day, it's just a number! I didn't need to be reminded again and again that I have curves. My size is my size. Let it be. The one time that she did 'consult' me after saying that she had 2 dresses she wanted to show me, she aimlessly showed me about 6 in a row in about 10 seconds flat. I asked her to slow down and go back to one that caught my eye. Her whirlwind pace was dizzying.

PLEASE, DO NOT WASTE YOUR $25 OR BETTER YET YOUR DIGNITY, TIME AND PEACE OF MIND DURING YOUR...

Disaster!

I had one good appointment there, which was when I purchased the dress

When I went there to pick up my dress and get it altered, that’s when the nightmare started.

First the dress looked different that what I tried. Because the dress they have for you to try initially is not your size they have to clip it to fit you. But when they did that, they showed me a back with no crossed straps. Then, when I went to try the dress they showed me how the back of the dress actually had crossed straps. I would never had choose that dress if I knew that.

The seamstress said she could make the dress look like how they made me believe the dress was.

Nightmare! She messed up that dress so bad!

First she put one of the cups upside down! Tried to fix it and the she put one cup higher than the other. She told me to comeback another day so she could fix it again. Next appointment the dress was completely asymmetric, cups still not right, and she wanted to make me believe that it was fine.

At the end she said she didn’t know how to fix an issue that did not exist.

Manager said she would get me another seamstress. She also could not fix.

Then manager said she wanted me to be happy. And she said I could pay for another dress from them and pay for alterations (again) and she would make sure that it would be ready on time. I could not believe she was trying to make more money out of this disaster.

Until today I look to my wedding pictures and I hate the way that dress looks.

So please just go somewhere else where people will care about your special day and not your money.

Or if you do find why you like, take it somewhere else for alterations.

Also, one thing that I would expect someone that works with dress to know:

(1) Don’t ever change the structure of a dress, don’t remove any straps. I would expect them to know when they can be removed, they clearly don’t.

(2) if you do have small breast, don’t get anything with cups. They are always too big, doesn’t matter the size. And this place clearly don’t know how to adjust it.

(3) they charge $100 per layer for the hem. They don’t tell you that when you are getting the dress. Consider that on your budget

(4) they will downplay how much you gonna pay in alterations. I was also told I would not be spending the value of the dress in...