Normans Bridal — Local services in Springfield

I was actually very disappointed in my experience. I had gone to the bridal expo, where I met a shorter lady who was very kind and very interested in showing us dresses. We instantly booked our appointment after talking to her. She was wonderful! Yesterday when I showed up to try on dresses, I saw the same lady and she ran to get me a consultant. She was still very kind. Now our consultant was a different story. I can't remember her exact name, Kelsey, Kylie, Keelie, something along the line. She asked me what my budget was and I told her we hadn't really set an exact budget but we knew what area we kind of wanted to stick around. we were there yesterday to try on dresses and see what we liked and if we found the one then we would discuss our options. My consultant had a very good energy at first, seemed really eager to help, and picked up two dresses for me to try on. I tried on the first two dresses and I did not care for them. I explained to her what I didn't like about them and what I did like about them. Each time she had to go look for a new dress she seemed more and more annoyed with me. She wasn't really listening to what I liked, I have mentioned a couple of times that I was looking for a ball gown dress. Not once yesterday did I try on a ball gown. After every dress I tried on she kept saying "oh this is the dress", she would try to sell me on a dress that I did not love. It was like she was working for her commission and nothing more. At one point in time, one of my bridesmaids got upset with how she clearly wasn't listening to what I wanted, and felt the need to chime in and tell her we wanted another dress to Try on because she clearly wasn't listening to me. I explained a couple of times that I hadn't tried on dresses yet, I wasn't really sure what I wanted. I had an idea but I was looking to have a consultant who was ready to help me find my dress. It was so hard to get her to go get more dresses, we finally left after the sixth dress we left, I was very frustrated at this point. I tried on 6 dresses yesterday and I did not find a single one that I could see myself wear to my wedding.(Although, the shorter lady did find two beautiful dresses that I did like) I was a little upset because the first lady I originally spoke to was amazing and she even popped into my dressing room a couple of times. The designer also came into our room, and she asked me clearly what I liked and what I didn't like about the dress I had on, and she told me how flattering it was and what areas maybe I should try a different style. Those two gave outstanding service so I want to recognize them for that. I really wish they would have been my consultant yesterday, because I feel like then we would want to return to Norman's bridal. I feel my consultant was very untrained, very judgmental, and very unprofessional with her customer service. I have worked in the customer service industry for 6 years now and if that is how she sells dresses, she's going to need a lot...

We had such high hopes walking into Norman Bridal, but our experience has been very disappointing.

On August 2nd, my daughter’s grandmother purchased a veil here as a gift from her great-grandmother who has passed away. It was meant to be something sentimental and special. The veil was not in stock and we were told it would not be ordered until they had enough orders to submit to the manufacturer. We paid $280 in cash.

Since then, my daughter has chosen her gown elsewhere, and we respectfully asked that the transaction be canceled since no veil had been ordered, nothing was in their possession, and no product was received. Unfortunately, Norman Bridal has refused. Their only offer was to let her pick out a different veil, but they do not carry the style she wants, and their “no refund” policy is being applied even when there is literally nothing to return.

What makes this even more frustrating is that they have now stopped responding to my emails. Instead of helping us resolve this situation, we are left with silence and a store credit we cannot use.

This is especially disappointing given the sentiment behind the purchase — a gift from a great-grandmother who is no longer with us. Instead of being able to honor that gesture, we’re left feeling like $280 of family meaning and memory is being held hostage by a rigid policy.

I would caution other families to be very careful here. Read the fine print, and know that even if they haven’t ordered or provided the item, they will not give you your money back — and they may stop responding once you...

Three cheers for Normans Bridal and three cheers for my bridal stylist, Tara Routh. Thank you for turning a potentially-stressful day into the easiest shopping experience I've probably ever had. I was truly surprised at how 'easy' it was to make a decision on something as important as a wedding dress with Normans.

Going into dress shopping, I didn't really have a strong idea of what I wanted - just bits and pieces of what I liked in dresses overall - so I was afraid that I'd end up needing to have a "try-on-50-dresses-in-one-day" type of appointment before I found (or didn't find) something I loved.

However, when I showed Tara what both my mom and I were envisioning, she ended up finding THE dress within the first five or six picks. She had an amazing eye for what might/might not work, and she helped me realize that there were way more flattering shapes and silhouettes of dresses for my body type than the ones I was originally looking at.

I had other dress appointments after visiting Normans, so I didn't say "yes to the dress" at my initial try-on, but Tara was more than accommodating and never pressured me to buy a dress on that day (although she definitely knew I would be back haha). Lo and behold, after going back for a second try-on appointment, I ended up saying YES to the dress.

There are wonderful bridal stores around Springfield, but I can't recommend the Normans experience enough. Thank you, Normans Bridal and...