Wedding Blog
Yesterday I wrote about my traumatic first dress fitting at David’s Bridal. To sum up the back story…
I only went dress shopping once. I tried on a few gowns and found the one I loved. They only had one size in the store and it was a bit too big. They used clips to show me how the gown should fit. After deciding to purchase the gown my truly lovely David’s Bridal assistant and the head seamstress thought it would be best if I ordered a size smaller, so I did.
Flash forward to about a week ago. I went into David’s for my first fitting and it didn’t go well. Long story short the seamstress (a different one than before) said my gown wouldn’t zip and basically made me feel like poo because of it.
Well, a couple hours and almost 50 reader responses after my post appeared on Weddingbee I got a call. Guess who it was. Go ahead…
Yes, exactly. It was David’s Bridal.
Somehow, someone in their corporate office read my post. (I am not sure if they have staff to monitor such things or maybe it was e-mailed to them, I don’t know.) The corporate office found out my full name (somehow) and therefore which store I was writing about. It was the manager of that store who called. She was so kind and very apologetic. She said she read what I had written and was horrified. She was very understanding about why I had a bad taste in my mouth. She invited me to come back to the store and try on both the gown that I already own in a size larger.
So today I made the two hour trek back to my old stomping grounds, Pittsburgh. The head seamstress brought out my gown (the smaller one) and helped me into it. When it came time for the gown to be zipped I held my breath waiting to hear the zipper stop. But guess what? It didn’t! She zipped it right up! The same exact gown that just a few days ago would have to be let out an inch and a half, fit perfectly. An inch and a half really isn’t much to sneeze at. In fact, I can stick my hand down my gown if I want to. 
If I had not gone in today, my gown would have been much too big after alterations and I would have been out $70! They did offer to embroider the lining of the gown with “Emily & Ryan | October 18, 2008″ which should be a nice keepsake down the road.
So, why did the previous seamstress insist my gown was way too small and make me feel like poo? Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe on the day of my original visit I was having a fat day or maybe someone felt the need to tack on extra alterations (ahem).
Whatever the reason, I am relieved. I love my gown again.
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Share this post: UPDATE: Dress (Not) Fitting Number One
Wow! Can you imagine the smackdown that seamstress got!
Wow, that’s great! I can’t believe DB came through like that–it’s so nice to hear a good customer service story, and it’s sad that it seems to happen so rarely.
Glad your dress makes you happy again!
David’s Bridal corporate should be commended for fixing what one of their employees’ blunders. Maybe the woman was having a terrible day and just passed it on to you but we know that is completely unacceptable. I’m glad they tried to make it up to you. (even if it did involve even more driving on your part.) And Even Better: Your Dress Actually Fits and you love it again! YAY for the good team!
glad they made things right but especially that your dress magically fixed itself! that’s awesome.
I hope they fire or at least give a stern talking to the first seamstress! I’m glad you love your gown again…I was worried for you!
Good Job David’s Bridal! It sad that it took a bad review on a very public (and well read) site to get good service, but I’m happy they corrected their mistake and I’m especially happy that your in love w/ your gown again
I am pleasantly surprised to read this about David’s Bridal after all of the horror stories I’ve read about them. It’s a shame that they have such a shady seamstress working for them, however — I hope she is no longer on the payroll. There is very little chance you lost an inch and a half in ribcage/chest measurement in a week without a pretty heavy duty crash diet, which you didn’t do, so obviously she was trying to scam some cash out of you.
Awesome. Go David’s Bridal, way to step up and I am so relieved for you! Win Win!
I wonder if the seamstresses’ get commission or some sort of bonus on the amount of alterations they do/recommend… if so she may have recommended the extra $70 of alterations for personal gain. I hope not, but I am kind of a cynic…
Your dress probably did not zip because the seamstress stitched the zipper to the fabric too tightly on the first modification. This happened to me and with a few snips, it was fixed.
Yay! I am so happy for you… to be honest I have a similar (busty) issue and you worried the *you know what* right out of me… lol! I just hope I am having a skinny day too when I go for my fitting and further more on the big day!
Congratulations on the happy result!
Your original post reminded me of the BM dress saga for my sister’s wedding last year. I’m petite and have had the same weight for years. About two weeks before the wedding, I tried on my BM dress…and it wouldn’t zip up past my middle. Either the dress had shrunk, or my rib cage had grown by several inches in circumference. (No change in boobage or tummy fat, mind you.) We rushed to a seamstress, I tried on the dress again…and it fit. Who knows what happened there.
We can’t wait to see what your wedding turns out like. What a great result with your dress!
Behold - the power of weddingbee!
Glad it worked out well for ya chicka!
That is such good news, on both counts! I’m glad the they tried to make it right and that on top of your first experience, didn’t have to return for your second fitting only to find out that they’d made a mistake!
And it might sounds nuts, Miss Pineapple + Miss Grace, but I swear sometimes my ribcage is bigger than at other times. I have a boned, strapless dress that fits like a glove, varies between “fits great, with some breathing room” and “omg my ribs are going to blow the seams apart.” Very strange.
That’s outrageous! So, have you ever seen that seamstress around there since then? Has anyone? Glad it all worked out. These people could be a bit more sensitive when we’re standing there half clothed.
Wow, that’s so great and so weird at the same time. I’m just glad that it worked out for you!!
I am so glad that things worked out for you. I am afraid that the exact opposite will happen to me… they ordered my gown a size larger than what i tried on (and fit!) “just in case”… when I picked it up, I tried it on and could seriously grip like 2 inches on each side of my waist… my first fitting on the 23rd *crosses fingers*
I have heard this happens a lot at David’s Bridal. I am happy for you that this change of events happened but that is because you are a writer on a national blog. What happens to all the other ladies? Hopefully DB will do this for everyone.
I’m so happy this worked out for you! My maid of honor got her wedding gown at David’s Bridal and was pretty happy, but I’ve heard so many horror stories online about their alterations departments in particular that I didn’t even consider making the 45-minute drive to the nearest New Jersey location. (The bustle on my MOH’s dress broke 40 minutes into the reception!) People’s experiences at DB vary wildly by location; there’s clearly very little quality control at the top.
If David’s Bridal corporate is still reading: all of your customers deserve to be treated well, not just the ones who write for popular wedding blogs.
excellent. I am glad that this turned out well. Great customer service will go a long way to begin to erase the negative stigma DB has. Due to a family member working for an affiliated company I am eligible for a discount and it still wasn’t incentive enough for me to use them. But this does help in my mind.
Breathing a sigh of relief for you! I am glad it worked out so well:)
@Bethany: @Cassandra: @Melissa B.: Hopefully the fact that they are reading reviews and doing something about them is a sign that they are trying to bring customer services standards up at all their locations. It was the employees at this particular David’s that fixed everything and apologized. I’m sure they would have done the same had I just come to them in the first place (at least I hope so).
I guess this is a lesson in trusting your gut, if you aren’t happy, say something. Maybe you’re right.
Aww, the advantage of being a bee…if only they treated their “regular” customers that way!
Good for you Miss Pinapple!
good for you. now they will think twice before making someone feel bad.
Wow that was nice of them! I am newly engaged and this is my first post, I love this website!
Glad they fixed it - I hope that seamstress got a talking to because she was completely unprofessional. There’s no need to traumatize a bride like that
I’ve always had horrible experiences at DB. The first time I went was for a bridesmaid dress for my brother’s wedding. The seamstress basically said I was too fat for the style of dress to look good on me and I would need to invest in a really good girdle to look decent and she kept poking my tummy.
The second time, they were just rude and slow and made me feel like crap.
I am glad they fixed the issue for you though.
Maybe I should have complained more about my bad time at the local DB!
Seriously though, glad they fixed your problem. Kudos to them.
Yay! At least you re happy again! Yeah, DB alterations reps are very hit or miss. At ours here in Orlando, FL there is one great, smart, helpful lady who knows what she is doing and the rest I dealt with were relatively awful. So, I feel your pain!
I’m glad they came through and fixed your gown and apologized for their poor behavior… Its too bad that the don’t take care of all their brides that way. But I’m very relieved your experience has changed for the better regarding your gown…. no bride should be made to feel unpretty and inconvenient by her bridal shop!
Wow! That’s amazing that they contacted you. I am a bit puzzled how they got that information because there are David Bridal horror stories on some of the wedding communities on Live Journal and I’ve never heard of anyone contact them. But regardless, that is awesome and I’m glad your dress fits! 
Glad that it all worked out! You’re first fitting should be magical, not horrifying. I’m glad that David’s Bridal stepped up and fixed the problem. The power of the internet is awesome!
I just read your post about what happened at DB–that sounds horrible, and I’m truly glad they remedied the situation. I have to say, though, I still would never go to David’s Bridal after reading that post. Like someone else said, it’s easy for them to apologize to a widely read blogger but I’d be willing to bet that the average bride-to-be who goes in there is mistreated just as you were before they knew WHO you were.
That’s wonderful! Hopefully this story makes it even further up the chain of command and a new policy about “niceness” is handed down to all the locations as a move to remake the sometimes image of the chain.
Once again, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Sometimes it’s absolutely right to squeak a bit.
Awww good!!!! I’m so glad that they made you feel good and beautiful in your dress again! That is what they should have done in the first place!! The embroidery will be so cute, too! What a great keepsake!! That will really be special! Good thing you didn’t spend the extra money on alterations!!!!
Go weddingbees! Fighting for the little gal and going up against industry bigwigs!
I love this story! So glad it worked out.
[...] manager at David’s who helped me resolve my alterations issues back in the day was once again very helpful. It was their mistake not to give me the tracking info, [...]
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Mrs. Pineapple, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 24, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Student Affairs Administration
Engagement Date: August 4, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: April 14, 2008
Venue: The Rivers Club
About Me: Being a transplant from sunny south Florida I am learning to live with all four seasons while playing with our cat collective, line dancing, and doing a ton of DIY projects for our wedding (seriously, like a thousand)!
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