Vows Bridal Outlet

07/01/11

Wonderful experience, Gabrielle is the best!

by sally k

I had an absolutely wonderful experience at Vows and would recommend it for anyone who meets any of the following criteria: 1) doesn't mind buying off the rack, 2) has a very limited budget, 3) wants the boutique experience without the boutique prices, 4) might be a little bit picky, and 5) is indecisive.

1) Most of Vows' dresses are buy-as-they-are, i.e. they don't have them in other sizes and you don't order them. They have about a dozen dresses that you can order, but 95% of the store is off-the-rack. Most of the dresses are probably a few years old, which is why they are now being sold at Vows at a big discount.

2) If you want a quality dress on-the-cheap, this is the place. I am not a bride that has been fantasizing about my dress for years and years, and thus didn't want to spend a fortune on it. I set my budget at $1000 (pre-alterations) and went to a few places that sold dresses within this range, and Vows definitely had the highest quality dresses. It can be tough to find dresses that don't feel/look cheap for less than $1,000, but the Vows dresses are all discounted substantially, so for example my dress cost $999 but was originally ~$4000. 75% discount...don't mind if I do!

3) I didn't think I cared about having a boutique experience before I went shopping, but given the range of consultants I met at various places, trust me it makes a big difference. I went to one place where the lady was very nice, but not particularly knowledgeable about wedding dresses and not good at simulating what a dress would look like after alterations. (I'm 5'1", so basically no sample dress fits me, so a proper simulation is key); at another place the consultant seemed to just want to sell me a dress ASAP and be done with it. At Vows, they treated us like the only customers (side note: for a while, we were. It's worth taking a morning/afternoon off of work and going on a weekday morning/afternoon. We had the place almost to ourselves for 4 hours, but they said on Saturdays they can have 60+ brides in there at once. Gross. The peace and quiet—not to mention privacy—made the process much less stressful). Our consultant was Gabrielle and she was AMAZING. She was patient, sweet, not at ALL pushy, and really listened to what I said I wanted. She was positive without being obsequious, and she generally didn't even give her opinion unless she was asked. She clearly knows what she's talking about when it comes to different fabrics, styles, etc., and she was able to tell us what was realistic in terms of alterations. Most importantly, she was GREAT at simulating how the dress would look after it was fitted properly. Finally, she didn't rush us: I tried on dresses for about 3 hrs and Gabrielle didn't even blink. If you are going, request her as your consultant and you won't regret it—even if you don't buy a dress, she'll make your experience a very positive one.

4) I was a tad picky in that I didn't want a strapless dress, and that really limited my options. I also had a few other absolutely-not's that whittled the selection down even further, and STILL there were several dresses that matched my criteria. I probably tried on 30—another great thing about Vows, you can stay as long as you like—and there were 2 that I would have been happy wearing on my wedding day. The dress I ended up getting was one of them!

5) I am indecisive and didn't want to commit to a dress before going to the other places on my list. Fortunately, Vows has a great policy whereby you can put a 20% deposit on a dress and they will hold it for you for 5 days. If you end up buying a dress somewhere else, you can use your deposit as store credit for other stuff they have (shoes, veils, accessories, invitations, etc.).

Lastly, don't judge by their website. It's very poorly laid out and the photos are all the wrong size and it made me skeptical about their whole operation. The store itself was 1000x better!

11/29/09

Good experience at Vows

by GerSch

My experience was very pleasant at Vows Bridal. Sara was extremely helpful and patient as I tried on about 20 dresses, going well past the alloted time of 1- 1 1/2 hours. I was looking for dresses under $800 and did find quite a few, but several had stains or were torn, particularly under $600. I didn't end of buying at Vows, but I had a good experience there.

• Pros: great service
• Cons: dresses not in great shape under $600

06/26/09

Depends what you're looking for

by michellesabride

I heard great things about this place so I checked it out, but it's not for me. I don't particularly care about designer name dresses, and didn't really know that's what the place was about. Dresses start at $1,000, but the majority are mugh more expensive. Dresses are organized by style - sheath, A-line, etc, because they pretty much only carry 8 and 10s, being once samples. And since they were samples, many dresses are in iffy shape. I had a weekday appointment and was constantly rushed. Saleswoman was nice enough, but kept bringing my dresses that were too small or not what I described as liking. Must put 10% down if you want them to hold it for 5 days (not business days). If you decide you don't want the dress, you don't get your money back - it just goes toward some other product they carry (invites, save the dates, veils, another dress). And if you don't spend the money in a year, they don't give it back. I only found one dress I liked at all. It was really fabric but I wasn't crazy about it. And I certainly wasn't willing to hand over 10% right then and there. Basically, if designer names are what you're looking for, might as well try here. If not, look elsewhere.

• Cons: selection, dressing rooms, policies

11/10/08

Huge Fan of Vows

by connectedbride

The service was wonderful. Geraldine only showed me dresses in my price range. When the ones I picked out didn't really work for me, she picked out a beautiful Ulla-Maija gown that I would never have chosen for myself...but when I put it on all the other brides and saleswomen crowded around saying, "That's the one..." And, it was 100% silk, originally retailing for over 5k.

• Pros: Excellent value, quality, beautiful dresses
• Cons: Limited sizes and styles

05/17/08

THANK YOU - Selection and Pricing

by Jace362

Hopefully my sister doesn't see this! We were shopping for months and I've been going crazy, I like weddings and want her to be happy but I can only tolerate shopping for a little bit.

Thanks having a large selection and affordable designer wedding gowns - it's been a rough couple months but now it's over and she's found a great dress.

• Pros: selection, service, pricing