Best for Bride – Etobicoke

Although I didn’t find the dress I wanted I enjoyed my experience here. The first time that I tried on dress was at Best for Bride. Bonnie was my sales person. She was really nice and friendly and I was able to try on a variety of styles to figure out what I wanted. Bonnie paid attention to my budget, and took note of what I didn’t like.
The store is big. They have lots of room and I felt special here. They don’t overbook like some places where you are fighting for space with other people. I recommend going for morning appointment if you can get one. I love the 360 camera that allows you to see the front and back of the dress. They have a large variety and range of wedding dresses. Their bridal selection is better than their bridesmaid selection.
If you go here ask for Bonnie and you won’t regret it. She’s lovely and very knowledgeable.

While I did not walk out with a dress, I certainly had a great experience here. Yes, I am still in the market, but that’s because I’m notorious for having buyer’s remorse, and promised myself that I will not be an impulsive shopper when it comes to my wedding dress.
I came here last weekend with my bridesmaid Jessica and we got Bonnie as a sales associate. Bonnie was incredible, she was so much fun to have as a consultant. I showed her a few pictures of the dresses I liked, and off she went. In the hour I was there, I tried on 6 different dresses. I really liked 2 of them, but again — I promised myself I will give myself time to shop around and really find THE dress. I was the last appointment of the day so the store was pretty quiet, but I didn’t feel rushed and Bonnie made it an enjoyable experience. She’s the type of consultant you want working with you!
The store is large (there is a whole section of bridesmaid dresses in the back I never got to see yet), and very clean. Note: bring socks, no shoes allowed (like many other bridal shops).
I gave this review ⁴⁄₅ stars because I did not buy a dress yet and so I cannot comment on the service i.e. on time delivery, fittings, alterations etc… What I can say is, just by my short visit — I would be happy to buy my bridal gown here. I still have a few stores to look into, but there are definitely prospects, and I may be back.

Can’t really critique this store, but from what I saw. They emphasize cleanliness o the store that the women took off their shoes before entering the floor. They have a tremendous staff and very attentive to all customers. Good job staff.

We came in here today for 3 bridesmaid dresses. We made the error of not booking and appointment (none of us has done this before!) Despite this the lovely ladies here made time for us and even found us an associate to help out. Erin did a fantastic job helping us pick out dresses. My friend also had her 1y/​o son with her and Erin was great with him. It was not an issue at all to have the baby and stroller with us. She asked good questions to find out what we need in a dress and then pulled some cute styles for us while we looked around for things we liked. There are tons of dress options available so it was very helpful to have Erin there. She was able to help us getting into the dresses and quickly found prices, style numbers, and options for the dresses we liked. In the end, her favourite is the one we’re going with. We had a great time here today and have beautiful dresses in the colours we need. Everyone from the manager to all of the associates were friendly, helpful and way more accommodating than many stores would be. I can’t say enough good things about this place!

It was my first bridal shop and they made it so enjoyable. Jan was super helpful, funny and very nice that the whole visit felt very relaxing. She listened to what we wanted, was able to answer all our questions and absolutely did not put pressure on us buying the dress

I’m only giving BFB a 4 out of 5-​star rating because it was the only dress shop I went to so I have no other shops to compare it to. However, I did not leave disappointed.
My mother and maid-​of-​honour flew in this past February after one of the worst snowfalls so far this winter, which meant that the roads were in poor shape, at best. Since they were coming from out of town and I had booked the appointment, we (including my future mother-​in-​law) decided we were going to make the trek from Brampton to Etobicoke regardless of the weather. I’m glad we did!
I made sure to read tips on how to try on wedding dresses (strapless bra, shapewear, put some make-​up on, bring heels, put hair up, etc.) in order to make sure my experience was less stressful.
We showed up right at 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday and were one of the first groups in. It turns out that we were the only people who had a reservation to try on dresses that morning (the others were trying on bridesmaids dresses downstairs). After taking off our jackets and putting on slippers (as is customary of bridal shops) we were introduced to our consultant, Lucy, and given a small container of yellow binder clips to put on hangers of dresses I liked throughout the store. I was a little worried I would be overwhelmed, but it actually went a lot easier than I thought.
Here’s the trick: don’t bring too many people and don’t bring people with FAR different tastes than your own. Thankfully, my group was open to all suggestions and even picked out a few contenders.
So, I clipped about 8 — 10 dresses and headed towards the large change rooms to get started. Lucy brought my dresses over and helped me into every single one, and even showed my maid-​of-​honour how to do up the corset back.
I almost could have stopped at the first dress — it actually turned out to be the runner-​up. However, after 8 dresses, I found THE ONE. A $ 1,200 Mori Lee illusion neckline dress from the 2013 Spring series. I LOVED it. I decided to go ahead and put the deposit down right then. Which is great because they have a deal where you get $ 100 off your dress or $ 100 worth of accessories when you buy the dress the day of.
My mother also found her dress and it looked great. For $ 400 a gorgeous dark grey dress with jacket. Very sharp looking — my mom looked great.
I even got to pick out my bridesmaids dresses too — a black, cocktail-​length Mori Lee lace number that matches my dress. At a great price too!
This shop is very clean, spatious and well-​tended to. While I lucked out on a day where it was essentially empty (thanks to the storm), I could only imagine what it would be like on a busy weekend. They even have «interns» to assist the consultants to ensure that everyone is well looked after.
I would definitely recommend this shop to friends and family after my experience. I have no critiques of this shop. Great work, ladies and THANK YOU LUCY! :)
I can’t wait to go back in June for my first fitting!
Vanessa

I had made an appointment online with Best For Bridal, but when I phoned multiple times and could not reach them I was beginning to think they went out of business. When I was there I realized that they just let the phone ring while helping people in the store — handy if you are the one in the store but not so great if you are the one phoning. Going in there was intimidating, being told to pick out dresses in a sea of white, but eventually my helper finished with her former appointment and picked a few, one of which ended up being the one. The change room was crowded with all the dresses hanging there and it was awkward having a curtain for a door when there was a man sitting with another group just outside, but my helper was friendly and helpful. I thought I got a great deal on the dress, but waited until I went to see a seamstress before writing my review just in case — I’m glad I did. I had taken a quick look at the dress to make sure it was ok and the workers did not mention any problems except that it was a size big but could be taken in when it was fitted to me by the seamstress. When I went to the seamstress, taking in the larger size turned out to be more complicated than the other store had indicated. She also found other problems to fix that I had not noticed in the sea of white: there was a four inch rip below where the dress ties and a bunch of missing beads, that can be fixed for a price, and some pulls in the fabric that cannot be fixed at all, which I’m starting to worry about. My reasonably priced $ 600 dress will be approaching $ 1,000 when the seamstress is done with it, and it may still have issues. I understand it is caveat emptor and I should have looked more closely at the dress, but it is hard to see problems in that volume of fabric, and the store employees gave no indication that there was any damage to the dress, which should have been visible to their expert eyes and should have been obvious to the person tying my dress up at least. Had I known they were selling me damaged merchandise I would have requested they show me something similar that would be made new and presumably perfect, I was not looking to save money like that and never indicated that price was a factor. So while I was initially going to give four stars for friendly service and good prices, for sleazily pawning off their damaged goods for $ 600 they drop to two stars. Try to find an honest dress shop instead and avoid buying lemons from Best For Bride!

My experience with Best for Bride spans 3 long visits and ended with one very happy bride…
I first came to Best for Bride about 8 months before my wedding with the intended purpose of trying on dresses I could later find online for less because I was on a budget. It was sneaky and I felt bad when I saw how helpful and down to earth my sales rep Gordana was. I was also pleasantly surprised at their selection, esp. of size 14 and 16 dresses (though they have tons of each size) and at Gordana’s polite honesty cause I hate it when sales clerks tell you you look good even when you don’t just to get a sale. When I got home, I was annoyed to find that any website that had my top dresses either had bad/​mixed reviews, multiple complaints with the BBB or didn’t offer much of a discount. I didn’t want to risk it after all and found myself browsing physical bridal stores in the GTA again.
I returned to Best for Bride 6 months before the wedding for another look, this time with my mom and maid of honour and tried on a LOT of dresses in every style. Gordana helped us out again and she was incredibly patient and light-​hearted, making us all feel really comfortable. We narrowed the search to fitted mermaid gowns and selected a first, second and third choice (two of which were under $ 800). Unfortunately, I didn’t act on anything and shelved the purchase due to an income interruption.
3.5 months before the wedding, feeling cynical and stressed over putting it off this long and wondering if anything can still be done in time, I came back to Best for Bride knowing that if I’m going to love a dress anywhere, it would be there. I was happy to see Gordana assigned to me again, but disappointed to find out that my first choice dress from before (of which they had a size 8 sample) would not come in in time for our wedding date and I had to choose from samples. Gordana cheered me up and helped me go through their entire stock looking at every sample mermaid dress in my size that was in good condition. I tried on a bunch and was almost ready to settle for my 2^nd choice when by some strange miracle, we found my first choice dress in my size! My mood changed within seconds and I knew it was meant to be. Just when I thought I would never have that «this is THE dress» feeling, I had it. It was awesome, and I couldn’t have done it without Gordana. *happy dance*
Knowing that I was budget-​conscious, Gordana explained all options to me: buying vs. renting, etc. and I paid my deposit on the spot. I am sooooooooooo happy and relieved and excited. I’m definitely looking forward to the big day where I get to finally show off my selection.
I would recommend Best for Bride in Etobicoke (and especially Gordana) to any bride. If you’re looking for a place with a relaxed atmosphere, helpful knowledgeable no-​pressure staff who offer really great and honest advice, a huge selection and good prices, this is the place. I used to think David’s Bridal had good prices and variety, but the quality of the dresses there pales in comparison to those at Best for Bride. Stop reading reviews and just make an appointment, already! :-P
To any bride considering the online option (as I did for a long time), just be very careful and do your homework. If it turns out to be a dud, make sure you can return it and when you do, get yourself an appointment at Best for Bride!

Of all the bridal shops I was intent on visiting, this one was the one I was most excited about. The reviews online made it seem like a dream, and that the perfect dress waited just for me.
When I walked inside a woman was at the counter arguing with the saleswoman about how her daughter’s dress was picked up from the seamstress terribly wrinkled, and she wanted Best For Bride to pay to have it steamed. Apparently it’s pretty pricey to have that done, but even if it wasn’t, that seemed like a pretty reasonable request, if you ask me.
The woman flat out refused to help or offer any sort of information and said it was the seamstress’s responsibility and that the woman would have to «deal with it on her own».
At first I thought, okay, this woman took the dress to her own seamstress to have it altered. It’s entirely possible Best For Bride has nothing to do with this. I browsed through the selections, which were okay. They had some nice designer dresses, and their clearance rack, though small, was pretty amazing. $ 400 for a Jasmine dress!
However, buttons were missing, the side was ripped, and I just didn’t feel like that was okay. When I was trying the dresses on the same saleswoman explained to me that they’d send the dress to their seamstress to have it fixed, altered, and etc.
Fearing some impending awful customer service experience based on what I had just seen, I skipped it. Boy am I glad I did. The dress I did end up going with was fantastic and the saleswoman INCREDIBLE, but that’s for a different review!

It’s official… bridal stores are either amazing or horrible, and although I was initially on the fence with this place today proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back!
I ordered my bridesmaid dress back in June for an October wedding and was told I’d get it mid September. I literally had waited for the last minute to order the thing, but since I only needed minor alterations, the person «helping» me said I should be OK.
Speaking of «helping», I find the people who work here utterly useless and generally inattentive. It seems that unless you are bringing a truckload of bridesmaids with you or are a bride willing to spend $$$$ on their selection of generic dresses you are SOL. I’ve been here on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and it’s the same every time…
No one to assist you in the fitting room, no one to provide you colour swatches and no one to answer your questions.
I was surprised to get a phone call Aug 11 to tell me my dress was in and ready for pickup! Usually bridesmaids dresses can take up to four months to come in, so I was super happy to see that it was early. The message stated that I could pick the dress up any day except Saturday or Sunday.
I came in and told the woman at the cash I was picking up a dress. She asked me to write my name down on a piece of paper and then proceeded to help someone else. In the meantime, the other woman at the cash ignored me; I waited for 10 minutes until she realized that no one had helped me.
When I finally got my dress, I was told that I would need to make another appointment for the alterations. I have no clue why this wouldn’t have been mentioned on the phone message would have avoided me yet another trip! As I waited to be rung through, there was an uncomfortable silence… no music, no sales clerk small talk, NOTHING! I honestly don’t recommend this place, what a disappointment.