North Fork Bridal Shoppe — Local services in Town of Riverhead

SO. I did the VIB experience back in sept 2020. I brought the max amount of guest, paid the $600 and worked with Kayla & Scott. Bc of them I purchased my dress. Aside from it being beautiful, I loved them. From then on the problems started. Every single appt I needed to make was a fight. To very minimal availability to never letting me know PAID brides were not allowed to come in for weekend appointments bc they wanted to make new money with new brides FINE, I understand wanting to make more money. But letting me know this prior to purchasing would have been helpful as I am a business owner & stretched thin with scheduling. But the staff & what I learned tonight the owner were all so insanely combative & rude. I had called to discuss fittings and told I had to come in an month earlier than intended because the seamstress was going away during my wedding. We scheduled a mid November & 12/2 fitting. I was also told they would not store my dress bc you have to take it on your last fitting. So that would be 2 weeks prior to my wedding. Where should I store it? I argued as I PAID for storage up to the week of my wedding (last fitting) I was extremely upset as this was again something I was not told. They decided after this annoying conversation they will store my dress the remaining 2 weeks but are not responsible for it. Smh. That sounds just what a bride who paid $600 for storage wants to hear, let’s not forget the $6500 in total they made off of me for my purchases. Tonight was the most insulting yet though. The seamstress was AMAZING, SWEET, & HELPFUL! After we finished my final fitting my mom & I went to the counter. I was told my cap for my dress alternations when purchasing my dress would be $549. Weird. It was $748.. ok. Sitting behind the counter was 2 women. 1 ringing us up, 1 chiming in. I could already tell how this was going to go. They said I was allowed to store my dress until the week of the wedding. Great.. so I asked if I could pick up morning of 12/15 as I am going to my make up studio & venue that afternoon to drop off everything (my wedding is 12/18.) “No, I have 2pm.” I explained that didn’t work. I explained I needed a morning. She told me to come on the 16th. Well that wouldn’t work either since I am doing drop offs 12/15. Mind you this will now cause me 3 trips to north fork as they had no other accommodations nor were they willing at all. I then learned, the owner was the other women chiming in. Explaining to me she does not own the seamstress, If the times don’t suite me I am not happy (uhm what???) I offered 3 other days and times to PICK up my dress. She continued to tell me no one is there in the morning. Blah blah. I truly could not believe she was the owner! They charged my moms card, then explained it did not go through and demanded her card again- as she showed them The charge. WHAT! I have heard MANY bad and unpleasant things about them but loved my stylists (who left) and my dress obviously. Needless to say I do not recommend them AT ALL! Horrific ownership, non accommodating once they receive your money, condescending, & downright rude. They are a wannabe kleinfeld & trust me IT IS WORTH THE TRIP TO THE CITY. DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM. It is actual a brides nightmare. Wow....

Edit in response to the owners reply. I was not asking for discounted off the rack dresses. I was asking for help with FULL PRICE in stock dresses. Every single bridal shop on the island I called after yours was more than happy to help me. And you had no problem helping another bride who had a SHORTER timeframe than me. Your response does not explain why you’d help her but not me. Especially when her timeframe for the need for a dress was even SHORTER than mine. And I confirmed with the designers that you carry that they did in fact have plenty of in stock dresses. They referred me to bridal shops that would actually be willing to help. This isn’t the first time a bride has experienced poor customer service at your salon and I am certain I will not be the last. I suggest you train your staff to be more considerate instead of making excuses for yourselves.

I wish I could give 0 stars. I bought a dress here in 2020 before the pandemic caused me to postpone my wedding to 2022. Sadly I had a horrible health issue that lead me to gain 50+ pounds. I have never gained weight like this before so it was an emotional thing to experience right before my wedding. I tried on my dress and it didn’t fit. I looked into what I could do and heard that designers now keep some dresses “in stock” and they can be shipped within a week! I was so excited there was hope! So I called North Fork Bridal and shared my painful situation with the woman on the phone saying I’d love to make an appointment to look at some dresses but my wedding was within 6 months and I would need an in stock, or possibly off the rack dress. The woman on the phone was cold and quite frankly rude and said “yeah, we don’t do that”. My stomach sank at this point. I was not expecting them to deny me help when I knew for certain that designers they carry have in stock dresses. So I asked her once more if she was absolutely sure there was nothing at all that could be ordered in stock or sold off the rack and I could hear her getting annoyed and she said “I’m sorry I don’t know what to tell you”. And that was that.

COME TO FIND OUT that another bride from my area called them in a panic that she didn’t like her dress anymore and that her wedding was within a few months and they immediately set her up with an appointment to find her an in stock dress to order.

Not sure if it’s because I gained weight that I was denied. But it’s very suspicious that they would take a new customer who simply didn’t like her dress anymore. Yet they deny me, a customer who already spent money in their store an opportunity to find a dress during an extremely difficult time. I warn everyone about this store.

I’ve also heard other brides in local Facebook groups say they care more about making Instagram reels than making their clients happy. Shame on your NFB. Change your policies. From my perspective it seems your policies are to deny help to girls with weight issues and help girls who don’t.

Anyway I went to Bridal Suite of Centereach and had the best experience ever!!!! They made me feel so beautiful even when I felt foreign in my body. They are kind and caring, unlike North Fork Bridal who hung up on me while I was in tears. If you’re reading this review, give them a...

Let me start off by saying, I am the most difficult, hard to please person when it comes to dresses, or any clothes for that matter. I knew I wanted to come to north fork bridal because my sister had the most incredible experience here, but I wanted to shop a few other places first to at least get an idea of what kind of dress I wanted. Sadly, at all these other bridal shops, I was left to fend for myself and had to pick out wedding dresses that I thought would look good on me. How could I possibly know what would look good on me if I’ve never worn a wedding dress? Ultimately, I left each place defeated and devastated.

I arrived at North Fork Bridal with my mother and sister to Scott’s excited, smiling face (he’s amazing). We had all met before with my sisters previous appointments, so it felt comfortable. I immediately told Scott about my underwhelming experiences and expressed how I thought I would never find something I loved. He was quick to reassure me and took us to our private fitting area (btw this shop looks like it came straight out of a magazine— STUNNING!)

** This is what differentiates North Fork Bridal from all other shops— they listen to you and what you want, and THEY pull the dresses FOR you. I never had to look through any gowns. Scott had his hands full because all the things I “wanted” were polar opposites of each other.. I wished him luck and he confidently went off to find my dress.

I swear, it felt like Scott was inside my head.... I could not articulate what I wanted, but he asked all the questions that he needed in order to narrow it down. The first dress I put on, I cried immediately. Overwhelmed that I could even look this way, I knew I could trust Scott. I pointed one thing out that I didn’t like about the dress and he explained that I couldn’t choose it because that small insecurity will continue to grow each time I put it on, and I will regret it on my wedding day (he was SO right).. so we moved on. Each dress was better than the next, we picked apart each dress TOGETHER.. discussing what I loved and what I didn’t like.

Finally, I put my dress on.. it was everything I didn’t know I wanted. Scott truly LISTENED to me, talked me through it, and learned my insecurities... he knew exactly how I wanted to look and feel on my wedding day and brought it to life in front of my eyes.. I could not be more thankful. I can honestly say that this has been the BEST part of my planning process, by far.

I waited to write this review until my sisters process was completely finished so I can truly judge the whole adventure. It has been an absolute PLEASURE from the first day to the last fitting.. her dress is stunning and the alterations/fitting process was super easy. We get so excited coming here and truly feel like family. The entire staff is incredible and accommodating and genuinely want what is best for each bride.

I recommend everyone to this place every chance that I get.. you will not be...