Mrs. Plumeria, San Francisco
Age and Occupation in 06: 22, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, High School Teacher
Engagement Date: December 30, 2005
Wedding Date: May 12, 2007
Venue: Hotel Ballroom
About Me: I love all things artsy and unique, and it has become a passion of mine to incorporate these attributes into my wedding (and become DIY royalty in the process). Other than dreaming up projects for the wedding, my latest hobbies include working on my computer, playing with my cute pet bunny, or shopping at Target/Barnes and Noble with my fiance.
For The Cali Brides-to-be
April 12th, 2007 @ 3:57 pm by Mrs. Plumeria
Normally my posts are pretty general, but this one is specifically for you NorCal brides out there who are just starting out on, or are in the middle of, the gown search. I went to what felt like a million stores before finding the right dress, and hopefully a note about each will help you find a good retailer for your own gown! (Keep in mind that this list is geared most towards brides looking to spend anywhere from $450-$1000 or so. I didn’t visit a lot of the high end stores that carry more expensive designer gowns, though there are many in San Francisco.) This will be a rather dry, picture-less post, but I hope those of you around my area will find it helpful!
1. Bridal Gown Superstore, Fremont, CA.
The first bridal store I visited — I was too excited to take note of what designers were carried. Customer service was good, but minimal: brides can browse the aisles themselves and pick dresses to try on. Consultants are available to help get into and out of the dresses but keep their comments and suggestions to a minimum. Store has a semi-cheesy semi-cute promenade area to parade around if you feel so inclined.
2. Kay’s Bridal, Castro Valley, CA.
I really wanted to like Kay’s, because they are conveniently close by to me and always have beautiful seasonal window displays of gowns and acessories. However, when I went to the store (and I visited more than once), I was repelled by the rudeness of the saleswomen. On one visit, I felt as if I was treated rudely based on my young appearance as well as the lack of a ring (I decided not to wear my ring during dress shopping trips). On another, I stood at the counter for over five minutes waiting to speak with someone while the salesladies talked in the back (I was the only customer in the store). On yet another, after I had bought my dress elsewhere and went back to Kay’s to look at flowergirl dresses and accessories, the saleslady demanded to know what price and where I had made my gown purchase, curtly informed me that they might have matched the price, and then blew off my inquiries about the items I’d come to take a look at. On a more positive note, they do carry a nice, fairly sizable collection of gowns and seem to have skilled alterations on-site, but personally, I can’t recommend their service.
3. Gesinee’s Bridal, Concord, CA
Gesinee’s has very friendly and knowledgable consultants, but is an extremely busy salon so an appointment here is a must. Gesinee’s carries a very large selection of moderately and highly priced designer gowns; most popular designers are carried by them. I would definitely recommend visiting them early in the dress hunt because of their selection and service. The only downside is that only your first consultation is free; successive visits cost a fee that can be applied to the purchase of a bridal gown.
4. Maria’s Bridal, Hayward, CA
Maria’s is a small, family-owned shop in downtown Hayward. While they cannot offer a glamorous salon experience, they will give you excellent service and pricing — they priced many gowns much lower than other places I visited. The owner, Maria, is an expert seamstress with competitive pricing for alterations. Her daughters are the consultants in the store and are sweet and helpful. Gowns carried include Casablanca and Maggie Sottero. Highly recommended for the bride who doesn’t care to be pampered much and wants a good price and reliable service.
5. David’s Bridal, Milpitas, CA.
I went here feeling a bit wary after hearing horror stories. I can only say that the visit confirmed those stories. I waited thirty minutes to be seen, though I had an appointment and came on time. Furthermore, the consultant was very nice, but she had to help three other brides besides myself simultaneously, which of course led to delays getting in and out of gowns, long waits between brides, and general chaos. I did appreciate that they had small gowns in my size so I could get a good idea of what a dress would look like, but it was not worth the time I spent — probably over 2 hours total to try on a handful of gowns.
6. Joanna’s Bridal, Danville, CA.
I went here one evening and was treated very nicely, so the experience trying on gowns was relaxing even after a full day’s work. Joanna herself helped me into gowns and thoughtfully recommended styles. The selection was not huge, with the store being a fairly small one, but there was quite a bit of variety and a visit is worth it. Designers were mostly middle to high end, such as Pronovias, Jasmine, and Maggie Sottero. I didn’t end up finding a gown here, but I know if I had, the transaction would have been in capable hands.
7. Random wedding stores in Oakland Chinatown.
Super cheap prices = super cheapy looking/feeling gowns. I tried on one (rather dirty) sample gown and fled. Not recommended!
8. Group USA, Milpitas, CA.
This chain store carries designs by Camille La Vie and has them in stock on the floor. Quality seemed all right for the prices (low!) and the girl who helped me in and out of the dresses was kind and unobtrusive. There’s not a lot of selection for the bride, but they do have some flower girl dresses that are adorable, regardless of if one chooses to purchase the matching bridal gown, and a ton of brightly-colored prom dresses that could double as bridesmaids dresses.
9. Last but not least… Dori Anne Veils (Nationwide, based in the Bay Area)
This is where I bought my beautiful Jasmine Couture gown. I’ve talked plenty about Debra and her store in my dress post, and honestly — best place to get your gown. She’s reliable, has great communication, and will give you a great price. While she doesn’t have a fancy storefront or a lot of staff, she will do everything possible to help you, and for locals, she provides an extensive list of reputable seamstresses to contact for alterations. Plus, for any other brides who happen to not be in this area and can’t visit her in person, she serves the whole nation online as well!
NorCal brides, feel free to add your dress shopping experiences to this post!
17 Responses to “For The Cali Brides-to-be”
Hi,
I just got my dress on Monday (yay!), after two days of shopping, so I’m happy to add my two cents. I used Yelp a lot to plan my itinerary.
I visited Glamour Closet in San Francisco twice. I loved how even though it is a store that sells samples, it is a peaceful intimate-feeling. They also have great lighting! Which is important when you’re trying to imagine yourself as a bride! 
They sell Vera Wangs and Anne Barges for around $2000, but they had a bunch of stuff for under $1000. They don’t take appointments, and there are only 2 dressing rooms, but they’ll let you leave your name to “get in line” and then come back in a half hour or whatever. I didn’t have to wait even on a Friday evening or a Saturday morning… I thought their prices were really good, but whatever you buy is off the rack, which is nice to have dress-in-hand, but not so great if that particular dress has a flaw. Overall, I highly recommend this salon– I almost got my dress here…
I also visited Bridal Image in San Francisco. I was a 10:15 appointment on a Saturday, so it seemed pretty mellow in there. (But the lighting was not so good…) They let you look at and clip a bunch of gowns and everything was in my 500-1000 price range, pretty much, which was nice. The gowns are not in plastic, and they let you really dive in and look at everything. They had a variety of types of gowns, but I imagine the more “very modern, very sleek” girls would not be happy with the selection there. They had a lot of a-line and some mermaid and column-type gowns. They will really work with you on price, too, so ask! (I ended up in a bidding war between my dress at this salon and the other salon where I eventually got my dress.) If you buy your dress here, they give you 15% off on your bridesmaids dresses, mother of the bride dresses, and tux rentals, which is great for people with large bridal parties… Overall, I highly recommend this place.
My final destination, and the place I finally got my dress, was Forget-Me-Knots in SF. This is a smaller salon with a small selection of dresses (maybe 35), which I prefer. (I get distracted easily!) They had a wide variety of styles, though. Pauline was helpful without being pushy, and if you like privacy, this is the salon for you, since she hands you the dress and doesn’t stand right next to you while you’re in your skivvies. The natural light in the salon is really good. Pauline worked with me on price to match the another salon, since I preferred to buy from a smaller store where I thought I might get more attention. Overall, I highly recommend this salon.
P.S. I forgot to add that one drawback at Forget-Me-Knots is that they don’t let you take pictures until you actually buy the dress…
i went to a lot of the stores u went to, probably because we are from the same area….
i got my dress from joanna’s because i knew which dress i wanted and they had the cheapest price so i can’t really go into detail about their service. i got joanna too but i didnt try on any other dresses because by the time i went to her i already had my heart set on “the one”
i live in concord, so gesinees is down the block from my work… i REALLY wanted to get it here just because of the convenience but the bridal consultant i had was NUTS… we also went back for the bridesmaid dresses and just with my luck i got the same crazy consultant… she wasnt really any help, and she was way out there… like she was so random!
kay’s was okay but the owner (at least i think shes the owner) came into my dressing room and tried make a deal with me because she knew i really wanted to get my dress… i wasn’t even wearing clothes and she was trying to cut deals with me… she was creeping me out…. the bridal consultant that i did have was REALLY nice… she also works at victorias secret at stoneridge.
i went to david bridal in pinole. to all the girls thinking of going there…dont go there. no comments. just dont go there! haha
i also wanted to thank u because i ended up going to doriannes because of one of ur posts… we ended up getting our bm dresses and my veil from debra… she’s super nice… and patient.
I’m starting to look for my bridal gown as well. Thanks for all the helpful posts! =)
I tried the David’s Bridal in Milpitas as well (but for bridesmaid dresses, not my dress), and really, the horror stories are true. I didn’t have an appointment, so they acted as if I didn’t exist. No one greated us, ever. No one offered to help us, ever.
For my dress the first place I went was Elegant Lace in San Jose. The store is ok, but the lighting is kind of weird. Also, when you’re trying on the dresses, the mirrors are out in plain site for the whole store to see. No privacy at all. I liked that they let you have free roam of the racks (the dresses are organized by type). You and your posse pull out any styles that you like. Once you have a good number, you try them on and the consultant can get a better idea of what works for you. I almost got my dress here, but I wasn’t completely in love with the dress. Designers sold here include Casablanca and Maggie Sotero.
Where I ultimately ended up buying my dress from was Trudy’s in Campbell. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this place, but every review that has been positive has come from a bride who went on a weekday (not a weekend! apparently this place is a madhouse on weekends) and gotten either Sheryl or Marika as their consultant (there are other good ones but their names escape me at the moment). I had Sheryl and she was absolutely amazing. She got a feel for what I envisioned my wedding to be like (not my dream gown, my wedding), and she mixed that with the “vibe” she got from me. The dresses she pulled were all amazing, and the quality was so much better than the gowns I had tried on previously. I highly recommend this place, but again, I recommend weekday visits and requesting Sheryl or Marika. Designers I tried on included Pronovias, Alvina Valenta, Jim Hjelm, and Angelina Faccenda.
My very first trip was to Paris Connection which is located in the Gift Center and Jewelry Mart (888 Brannan St. Suite 2065). It was an absolutely wonderful experience and had I not opted for a gown made from scratch, I would have probably gone back to try on additional dresses there. They were absolutely a joy to have a dress trial with and I really have nothing for raves about them! The only issue may be a limited selection of gowns, but I love the Justin Alexander gowns and they were the only retailer in San Francisco. Excellent customer service.
I also went to the Jessica McClintock store downtown. I had very poor customer service (the staff barely acknowledged that I was in there and I had a heck of a time getting anyone to talk to me or help me out when I had questions) but the dresses are inexpensive.
I also went to David’s Bridal, which was somewhere like Colma or Daly City,–it was helpful as a general baseline for what styles I might even want to start looking at, but they were a bit too attentive.
I tried on dresses out of state when visiting my sister also, but those were my Bay area dress searches.
Miss Plumeria, I’m not from Cali but I did notice that you said you chose not to wear your e-ring while dress shopping. I was curious why you chose to do that, if you are comfortable answering. Also, how did it affect your shopping experience? Positives/negatives? Just curious.
Hi Laura!
Good question; I don’t mind at all though it may just reveal some more of my little quirks. Hehe
I chose not to wear it because some of my married friends had told me that they felt judged by their rings while they were dress shopping, ie. poorer service if it had stone on the small size, or being only shown expensive dresses if it had a large diamond, despite verbal assertion of a set, low price range. One friend described an incident where she distinctly saw the saleslady take a long look at her ring before going to select dresses — maybe she was just innocently admiring it, but I just wanted to avoid any sort of judgment of the sort.
I think there were no real positives or negatives… just one place that perhaps felt dubious that I was indeed a bride, since I look younger than I am (and I am young!) and they didn’t see a ring on my finger. But honestly, my feeling is that they should still treat me with as much respect as any other potential bride — because if I wasn’t engaged why would I be wedding dress shopping? But perhaps it was just the store, because I was even treated rudely the next time.. when I brought my mother along!!
Overall, it was probably just a me-being-paranoid thing, but I had no drama over ring appearance and I was happy. By the time I went to Debra’s, I think my ring was at the jeweler’s being matched with the band, so I probably never wore it there either, and she never treated me any differently on account of it.
Heh, actually that makes plenty of sense. I never experienced any problem specifically with regard to my ring but I have definitely seen the snooty salesperson act in a couple of boutiques, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if that had happened too. I was just curious! Thanks for sharing.
i bought my dress at clarissa’s bridal in walnut creek. i went to 6 different salons and think clarrisa’s had the best customer service. they carry great brands and they’ll throw in a free veil!
I bought my dress when the Making Memories - Brides Against Breast Cancer http://www.makingmemories.org/calendar_of_events.html visited the Sacramento vacinity. No pampering here, run by volunteers, and I had a great experience. I didn’t want to spend all that money towards a dress I was going to wear only once, so I thought I’d check this out since if I bought one there the money at least goes to help someone! I bought my dress, which seemed to be an untouched floor sample that was donated by a bridal store, for $750 (I think the original price was $1200 or so). They had a better selection than anywhere else I’ve gone to. People were super nice, not all of them know a lot about the business but I can’t stand the annoying sales pitches anyway so that was great. The dressing area (depending on where it’s held) in Sac was simply an open area with hanging racks where girls go in and can try on dresses. Mirrors are available of course. Definitely bring a friend to help you. One of the volunteers was a seamstress and gave me an estimate as to how much it would cost for the alteration also right there. I thought it was great, and the cost was relatively low to start with and was justified in my mind since it went to a good cause.
i agree with tofu…clarissa’s is great. i had excellent customer service there and no pushiness.
forgot to mention that i also bought my dress at clarissa’s bridal.
great post! so helpful!!!
I bought my dress for Trudy’s in Campbell and I had the best experience. All I did was show them a picture of the style that I was looking for and after trying about 5 dresses, I found the “ONE”. I would recommend this store to anyone and everyone. I also purchased my veil from here.
Happy dress hunting…
I’ve been to the David’s Bridal in Milpitas and I must say I had the WORST customer service ever! I would NEVER recommend it to anyone. The bad service even came from the store manager!!!
I ended up getting my dress at Trudys in Campbell and all I have is GOOD stuff to say about them! Customer service is GREAT and they have a vast collecion of dresses! If you’re still shopping for your weddng dress, consider making an appointment with them!
Miss Plumeria~ I am in Santa Clara and getting married next summer,just started planning,so THANK YOU so much for all your great tips! Much appreciated and ps I loved your pre-wedding pics! I just found this site recently,so…Congratulations to all of you soon-to-be brides!
