Terrible, Terrible Time.

Horrible, horrible experience. I have all my life been a size 10-12, recently due to Thyroid issues I have crept up to a size 14 and am struggling terribly to get it off. Because of this, I have put off trying on dresses for a long time, however I finally bit the bullet and headed out to Eleganzs Sposa and Bridal Gardens last Sat 28th Aug. My first stop was Eleganza, It was everything you would hope it would be. Then on to Bridal Garden....everything I feared it would be...I'll start from the beginning. Our appointment was a 2pm, we arrived at 1.55pm and were "greeted" by a woman that did not even bother introducing herself. She answered the door with the warmth and trepidation you would give a Jehovah's Witness at your door. Once we confirmed we had an appointment after we were barked at to disclose this information, we were allowed in. The first thing to come out of her mouth was that "Anna wasn't here yet and getting something for her lunch". We weren't sure why this information was being disclosed (did she think we were going to jump her?). As it turns out, Anna was the only positive thing about this whole experience (even if she did take her lunch during a prebooked appointment :-) ) My sister and I were very honest and informed her that we had been to Eleganza that morning and I had fallen in love with a particular dress, however I was very open to trying on others and had a very open mind. She (still wasn't told her name) asked what style of dresses I liked and suitably informed me very quickly that "we don't have any styles like that". At this point, I should have turned around and left, however my family and I are optimists, what can I say! Myself and my 3 bridesmaids and Mother were told to select dresses to try on. No assistance or ideas on styles were offered. At this point, I must point out that in Eleganza, all my girls had to do was sit, drink Prossecco and enjoy the show while Jill and Natalia pulled a selection of gorgeous dresses. Not so here.... We were took down stairs to be met by a strong aroma of damp (always great when you are about to spend £2k+ on a dress!) and I was taken in to a small room to try on dresses. Nothing fit...that's standard, however where Eleganza brought extra fabric and made me feel beautiful, here I was made to feel like an inconvenience, a time waster and in short...a heffer! I asked to try on shoes, to be told there is podium to stand on. Now as any self respecting girl knows, shoes make you appear slimmer and generally more attractive. The fact that they had a pair in the changing rooms simply baffled me, if they were not going to let me try them on? The session went on (10/15 mins) and I trundled out feeling more and more deflated holding up dresses that weren't my style in a dark room, on a podium to 4 increasingly thirsty loved ones (not even a glass of water was offered). The final straw for me was when the woman came down with yet another dress I did not want to try on. When I stated (once again) that this was not my style I was told "yes, but this one will fit". At this point I cut the appointment short, explained politely that I wasn't enjoying my experience and perhaps I was wasting their time. The whole experience lasted 20 mins. I made it as far as the Oran Mor before I burst out crying in the street. Apparently the woman ordering the stock had only ordered 8-10's - which seems ridiculous to me considering the average size in the UK is a 16. That being said, I understand that wedding dresses run small and therefore all that I would have asked for was a little bit of decorum and dare I say it, kindness. Along with her sister being upset, my MOH was angry that they had wasted our time by advertising dresses on their website that were not in store. All in all, between the incompetent staff, low stock, tiny sizes and worrying smell of damp...I would stay clear of Bridal Garden! On a nicer note, I did return to Eleganza that day where they thoroughly cheered me up no end and I ended up purchasing my dress and beautiful sparkly bridesmaids dresses ( I already had others, but these were gorgeous so hey ho!)

Antonia McCartney - 02/09/2016 | report this review