Sophia's Bridal and Tux — Local services in Southport

My daughter’s bridal consultant did a really nice job and we felt confident in the decision to purchase her gown from Sophia’s, but unfortunately did not have a great outcome. Sophia’s advised that we would be contacted once her gown was delivered to the store. They did not contact us. I had to call multiple times and found out that the dress had been there for over a week. Sophia’s provided us a list of places to have the gown altered and we chose kay.renaedesigns from the list they provided and she had good reviews. When we went to pick up the gown after being altered, I could tell it didn’t fit properly. I questioned her about the top specifically and she messed around with the padding and basically said it was because my daughter had a smaller bust. I paid her and we left. I should not have paid her at that point. After getting back to my daughter’s, she tried the gown on again. The gown just did not fit her properly! I texted kay.renaedesigns immediately and explained this to her. She asked if we had tried pressing it. She said pressing and/or tacking would be the next step. We took it back to her. She charged another $100 to “fix” the top. My daughter went back to pick the gown up by herself since I was at work and called me upset. The gown looked worse than before and she could not even walk in it without it sliding down. After paying the gal nearly $1,000 and it not fit, I told my daughter that we needed to take it somewhere else. I called Sophia’s and spoke with the manager. She asked me to email and include photos. I did that. I didn’t hear back from anyone, so I emailed again. I got a response back saying the manager got my email and someone would contact me. Meanwhile, we found someone else to alter the gown to fit. They were accommodating and made arrangements to get us in quickly since the wedding was so soon. Not only did the gal at the new place fix the top, she had to also make several other adjustments. Great experience and they will get a wonderful review! We NEVER heard back from anyone at Sophia’s. Because of all of the issues, it was a squeeze to have it steamed by Sophia’s. (We had paid for steaming when we paid for the gown) My daughter dropped it off and my husband and I picked it up. It was in her garment bag and the employee at Sophia’s unzipped and explained how they pinned it up. it was a destination wedding, and so we left the next day. I should have had Sophia’s take the gown out of the garment bag completely. When out of state, we took the gown out to hang as instructed and there was a grey spot on the front of her gown. It had to be done by whoever Sophia’s had steam the gown and I know whoever steamed had to have seen it! I called around Arizona for someone to clean the spot. It was impossible to get it done in time. I’m angry that Sophia’s did not care enough to follow up concerning the alterations and I cannot believe that they did not see the spot on the gown after steaming. I would not recommend Sophia’s based upon...

An A+ Experience From Beginning to End. No Notes.

From the moment I walked in the day before my actual appointment, I was blown away. I went in early to browse the selection of dresses for a better understanding of what I wanted to try on the next day. I was quickly greeted by Ashley and after chatting for a few minutes, we realized she would be paired with me the next day! I could write an entire 5-star review just on Ashley, but to keep it short- she was an absolute dream to work with. We instantly bonded over both being newly postpartum AND first time moms, and she made me feel so seen, celebrated, and heard. Knowing I was going to be working with someone who understood how I felt about my body at such a critical time in life made me let go of any nerves I had for the next day.

During my actual appointment, I had so much fun! Even other stylists I wasn't personally working with would pop over and make me feel so special. I fell in love and knew I'd found my dress that day, but wanted to shop around just to be sure. I felt no pressure to purchase before leaving (which I so appreciated), and was encouraged to take my time and return when I was ready.

After trying on dresses at a couple of other stores over the next two months, I was ready to say YES to my favorite dress at Sophia's, and wanted to book a second appointment...Here’s where Sophia’s truly went above and beyond. When I went to book the appointment, I noticed a sample sale promo on their Instagram and reached out to ask if my dress would be included- the difference in price would be substantial and if I could save some money, I'd wait until the sale happened since the sample dress I'd tried on fit me so well. Their social media manager actually contacted the Southport store directly on my behalf. My exact dress wasn’t technically part of the sale — but the staff remembered me and honored the sample sale pricing two weeks early anyway! That kind of thoughtfulness is SO rare, and I was seriously moved beyond words. I was able to work with Ashley again during my second "Yes!" appointment, and I walked out not only with the dress of my dreams and some extra money in the wedding budget, but a new friend and the overall experience that every bride could only hope for when dress shopping.

As someone who is extremely detail-oriented, it's chefs kiss to have nothing to pick apart here. From start to finish, Sophia’s made me feel like more than just another bride. They made me feel like family, and for that I couldn’t...

Bride's beware- I'm sure this place is great to get your wedding dress (I got mine elsewhere), but do NOT use Sophia's for your wedding tuxedos unless you want an unnecessary amount of stress leading up to your wedding. We came in and got my husband & his groomsmen measured in April, and whoever took their measurements had obviously never been trained on how to properly take a measurement. My dad came in a few weeks later, and the girl who measured him wrote down a waist size that is 4 inches larger than he is. When he got home he double checked his pants to make sure he wasn't going crazy. He was also told they would email him his invoice so he could pay, and they never did. I have some family in Ohio who had to call in to order theirs, and they also never received an invoice. I called twice asking for the invoices to be sent, and they never were. I finally went in in person & made them send the invoices while I was standing there. In October my dad went back in to get remeasured since he knew they took the wrong measurements, and this girl did correctly measure his waist. I thought all the issues were finally resolved. Nope. When it came time to receive the tuxedos, every single person got one size larger than they should have. They also sent the wrong color vests to everyone, and they forgot to send my husband the pocket square we paid for. My dad's entire tuxedo went to my cousin's house in Ohio, instead to his house in Indiana. At this point I had too many trust issues with Sophia's, so I asked to be directly in contact with the Manager. She did individually submit every updated order with me, and she gave me a cell phone number I could text with which I did appreciate. After my dad finally got his tuxedo the pants were still too large on his waist, and they were 2 inches too short. I contacted the manager and she sent in for a replacement. However, when he got the replacement pants they made them 2 inches shorter, meaning they were now 4 inches too short for him. At this point I had no faith a 4th replacement would be sent in time, and come correct, to him so we ended up just going to the store and buying a pair of pants and getting them tailored the day before the wedding. Something as simple as tuxedo's for your wedding should not cause this much stress and unease, so save yourself the time and energy and use another company who knows what...