Philly Bride

This was the first shop I went to when I was looking for a dress. The form you fill out when you start the appointment actually has $ 1200 as the lowest budget you can circle, which was definitely a wake-​up call for me (my budget was $ 1000). Nevertheless, Bethany was a pro and never made me feel like I was wasting her time. She showed me everything they had in my price range and preferred style (4 dresses), and I even found one off-​the-​rack dress that I liked quite a bit. I didn’t end up getting a dress here, but my experience was positive from start to finish. Bethany was gracious, attentive and engaged. Wonderful service and probably a perfect place for brides looking to spend a bit more.

My experience was directly correlated to who helped me. Jen was my consultant. As I got there she was finishing up with another sale. After taking me late (appointment started 30 minutes late) I felt compelled to apologize to her. I was about four dresses in when I asked to see more dresses like what i had on. She told me that was like the first dress I looked at and I originally said I didn’t like. SORRY I just started looking Jen. Then Jen disappeared for her next appointment — literally left me high and dry in a dress — never even told me she was leaving. Enter Bethany — who was AWESOME. she saved the appointment.

I had a really awesome time at Philly Bride! My consultant, Bethany, couldn’t have been any more wonderful. She was so welcoming and friendly and made the entire appointment so much fun for me and my mom. I went into the boutique with a clear vision of what I thought I was looking for, but with some encouragement and help from Bethany I ended up trying on (and really liking!!) some dresses that I never would have thought I’d pick out. I already have my follow-​up appointment scheduled to try on a dress that she picked for me for a second time. Even if I do not end up choosing this as my dress, I will absolutely recommend Philly Bride to all of my recently-​engaged friends.

Theresa, the alterations wizard, was simply amazing. She saved the day and ultimately the wedding. I have no comment about anything else. Thank god for Theresa! Probably the most underrated employee in the entire shop, and the only 1 who bent over backwards to get my best friend down the aisle! THANK YOU, THERESA!!!

I’m giving them a one star based on their dress selection only. I did not have a good experience at all. During my first appointment I felt rushed and the attendant helping me didn’t seem like she cared if I purchased anything. I ended up buying a dress only because the dress I wanted was 15% off due to a trunk show. The 15% was not worth in the end. I guess the rude person who originally helped me quit and because of that I fell through their cracks and they forgot about me. I never got a call when my dress arrived, which was over 6 months later. So when I finally inquired I did not have a lot of time left for alterations. The dress did not fit as the sample did and the train of the dress was different than on the sample I tried on and fell in love with (I was told that that was because the sample has been tried on and touched a lot… hmmm). The dress was also about 2 sizes too big so the seamstress could not take it in in certain areas. I did find it a bit odd that I was never measured but rather just asked for my dress size??? There was also a big issue with a custom veil that they just could not get right and had to be sent back (I asked for a veil that goes down to my elbows and I got a veil that went past my butt) they did get it right the second time around after taking precise measurements and photos which they should of done in the first place :)

I never really write complaints but I’m so upset and frustrated that I wrote my first Unilocal review.
This is the worst bridal salon ever. I have ordered a Hayley Paige dress in store back in April 2015 when I was still living in Philly at the time and when I purchased it, the bridal consultant said that the dress will be delivered to my place in Houston in 6 months from April 2015 and I had paid $ 1.5K deposit for the dress already. Although my wedding date is May 14, 2016, alteration appointments in Houston from my favorite seamstress have to be booked 7 months before the wedding. I called Philly bride so many times starting in Oct since that was exactly 6 months from since I purchased it as they promised. They were so unhelpful; they kept giving me run-​arounds and «oh we’ll call you back» and never got a call back, they never called me with any updates. They kept telling me oh your dress will ship most likely at the beginning of November, then when I called in the beginning of November, they said oh your dress will ship at the end of November or beginning of December. I was so frustrated because I couldn’t get an appointment with my favorite seamstress here in Houston.
Then they finally called me and informed me that my dress arrived in store and will ship out the day before Thanksgiving. Initially, they informed that shipping cost will be $ 75 next day air. Then when they actually had to ship it out, they were like «oh it’s going to be $ 75 for 3 – 5 business days shipping.» At that point, I just did not want to argue with them anymore. I paid $ 76 and the remaining $ 1.5 K for the dress.
Then my dress finally in a torn box with no garment bag, they literally taped my shipping address on the same box that the dress was shipped to their store from Jim Helm. I will post the pictures of the box that my $ 3500 wedding dress came in. It’s so upsetting. I ended up ordering a garment bag and hangers from amazon. I would not recommend having a business with this bridal salon. PLEASE RUN AWAY.

I went to Philly Bride on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (Small Business Saturday). This was my first day shopping for a dress and Philly Bride was the 2^nd Shop I visited. Overall I had a great experience. The shop is so cute and spacious for a city location.
Dress Selection: 4
They had a good selection of dresses to pick from. Several in the beaded style I want but there were lots of other styles. They have plenty to pick from but not too many that its overwhelming. The prices are GREAT! The shop I went to earlier in the day were almost twice as much. Clearly it depends on what you pick but I was trying on full beaded dresses for under $ 3,000s some were even less! At the previous shop the dresses were like $ 4k and up! So 2 thumbs up there!
Consultant: 4
She was very sweet. I can’t remember her name but she may have been the owner. I like when consultants voice their opinion and she was good at telling me what looked good and giving suggestions. Our appt. was at 3 and we didn’t get started until 3:30 which was not that big of a deal for us since we had time to wait.
Overall: 3.5
The only negative thing I can say is I wish I was given a bit more time. The shop was very busy. It was after all a Saturday on a holiday weekend so I totally understand. I didn’t get to try on as many dresses as I had wanted and I just couldn’t make a decision that day. I did find a dress I love but I did not feel comfortable making a decision until I try on more gowns.
I would recommend going to this bridal shop but go on a weekday or an off time. The consultants all seem totally sweet and helpful but on Weekends you have to expect its going to be crazy ANYWhere you go. I plan to go back on a day that it’s less crowded and I can take more time to make my decision.
Thank you to Philly Bride for the pleasant experience, I had a wonderful day I’ll remember forever!

I had a 5 star experience shopping at Philly Bride. Paula was our bridal consultant and she went above and beyond. She made my entire shopping experience the best it could be. She showed me a lot of dresses and continually let me go back and pick some more to try. She was not pushy in trying to make the sale, but instead let me lead the appointment. After kindly asking us if we had other appointments she let me know the store hours and availability for the rest of the day and told us to come back if we wanted to try any of the dresses I loved on again. We left and went to Lovely Bridal. It was an awful experience, and I was being helped by the Owner. Without bashing them it made me realize how amazing, kind, and helpful the staff at Philly bride are. After leaving lovely bridal we went straight back to Philly Bride. I put on the dress I fell in love with to begin and cancelled the rest of our appointments for the weekend. We spent about 40 more minutes with my chosen dress on talking about how we could alter it, what accessories we could add to it. I fell in love with the idea of having a convertible dress. Paula made this dream come true. She brought me a few skirts to add to the dress and we discussed how to order the additional skirt. Everything was easy, fun, and stress free. I couldn’t of asked for a better experience and I owe that to Paula and the amazing dress selection at Philly Bride.
Bonus — they let you bring champagne to celebrate with and have a large room in the back with a sofa and two chairs in front of a large mirror for you to share with your guests. It was wonderful.
Overall, I love love love this salon! They are extremely accommodating, friendly, and have a wonderful selection of dresses.
Last — We were told that the salon had recently been taken over by new ownership. Apparently the old owners didn’t have the best reputation. I would ignore all of the old bad reviews as they do not correctly reflect the new establishment.

Wore my dress and received a ton of compliments. However, Brenda didn’t let the sleeves out enough, as I requested several times, and the straps broke off… such a nightmare :(thankfully I got some pictures before this happened…

Philly Bride kicked-​off my sister’s «wedding dress shopping» extravagaza at 4pm last Friday. We’re a small group, my sister, my Tia Grace (from CA) and myself made up the entire party, which fit well with the boutique’s space. The actual store is gorgeous, it’s located in an older –what I assume to be converted– house but is beautifully, and efficiently, organized.
Our consultant, Julie greeted us at the door and led us to the back seating area to get my sister’s «wish list.» This was my sister’s first experience trying on wedding dresses, and Julie was patient as my sister discussed what she thought she’d like based on the photos in the bridal magazines she brought. After the consultation, my sister and Julie went to the racks to pull selections. Julie listened to my sister’s criteria and was completely honest when the dress was pinned — my Tia and I didn’t even get to see one dress since my sister and Julie had decided it wasn’t worth showing. My sister eventually landed on a gorgeous dress that was 50% under her budget, but being the first salon she did not want to commit too soon.
At the end of the extravaganza, our group had visited six salons across the greater Philadelphia area (as far out as Bucks Co!), and looking back Philly Bride was one of the top experiences. Large variety of beautiful and on (price) point dresses in a classic Philly building, with tons of accessories and attentive consultants to make your experience special and enjoyable.

Philly Bride is a great place for beautiful gowns and great customer service. I had an appointment on a Wednesday afternoon. My consultant was Mindy. She was so nice, super accommodating and listened to what I wanted. She offered the party that came with me wine and a nice spot to lounge in. The store itself is BEAUTIFUL! Lots of natural light, large mirrors, and charming décor. Mindy spend two hours with me trying on each dress, belts, veils, hairpieces, you name it! I had a very nice experience here and although I did not buy my dress from Philly Bride (I fell in love with a less traditional dress somewhere else) I would still recommend shopping there. Ask for Mindy! She will spend the time with you, listen to your needs and get you into a dress you love.

More like a 3.5, but the dress selection took me to a 4.
The bridal salon is… not the fanciest, it a bit on the older side. They have a great selection of dresses.
When you arrive, the reception staff are friendly. My bridal consultant was friendly as well, though not the most attentive. She did help me in and out of some dresses, but I’ve had better service elsewhere.
There are a lot of dresses here and a lot of styles. Great place to check out for dresses. Average service.

Philly Bride was fine, but nothing special. My consultant, Michelle, was very nice and really sweet. She did a good job of showing me several different styles and staying away from ones that clearly would not look good on me or that I wouldn’t like.
However, the store itself leaves much to be desired. It’s old inside and sort of drab. The dresses had certainly seen better days, and I didn’t feel like they had a ton of variety.

I had a fantastic experience at this very lovely store. It’s in a beautiful building (an old bank, with the bank vault still in tact) and the various changing areas and pedestals are cordoned off from each other so you get your own personalized experience. The entire staff is friendly and encouraging, but without the B.S.
Michelle, my consultant, was warm and professional and was better than any other consultant I’ve ever had. She was quite skilled at getting a read on my personality and what I wanted in a dress. I appreciate how she didn’t waste my time and instead was genuine and to-​the-​point. Absolutely will recommend The Philly Bride to all friends who are getting married.

I went for my first bridal dress appointment at Philly Bride and I could not ask for a better experience! As someone who had no idea what I was in store for, our consultant Michelle did an EXCELLENT job of not only making myself feel at ease, but also my sisters and mother. We never felt rushed and she was so very attentive! It’s def a must go for brides in the area!

I stopped in after work one evening, a year or so before my wedding, with a girlfriend. Having already been to 2 – 3 other bridal shops and retailers, I knew generally what I was looking for, but still managed to pull 5 – 6 gowns to try.
Michelle, the stylist I was paired with, was so friendly and helped me try them all: we even switched back and forth between the top two contenders. When it was obvious that one was the winner (and on sale!!), we arranged to return that Saturday with mother in tow. Sister found an accessory to perfectly complement the dress and change it’s styling slightly, and I was done!
Months later (6?), I made my first fitting appointment with Brenda, who knew all the tricks of the trade! Throughout my three fittings, Michelle always popped in to see how I was doing and I just felt really comfortable at Philly Bride.
The new space down at 3^rd and Walnut is beautiful, in the grand old townhouse style. The three small cons would be (1) it’s move from 13^th Street, (2) the new sign, the whimsy of which simply doesn’t match the elegance found within the store itself, and (3) they’re not terrific emailers, so definitely call if you want a response.

I recently visited Philly Bride for my first day of trying on gowns since becoming engaged. Unfortunately, I found the experience to be really disappointing, and I ended my day on a sour note.
When I arrived, the receptionist was very friendly (so I gave two stars instead of one); however, the individual who «helped» me with the gowns seemed very disinterested in me and my appointment. She hardly spoke, did not ask me any questions about what I was looking for or about my wedding, and did not offer any helpful information. She didn’t help me into the dresses themselves either, though she did fasten the clips for a proper fit. She kept disappearing from the dressing room with no word as to where she was going, including for a good 15 minutes in the beginning of the appointment (seemingly to deal with another bride who was spending a large sum of money, but that’s just a guess on my part).
At the end of the appointment, I simply couldn’t wait any longer to see if she would return from wherever she went, so I got dressed, hung the gown I was wearing back up and made my way to leave. At that point she did return, and I attempted to ask her about the name and style of one gown I liked. She wouldn’t tell me the name, and told me she would store it in the computer. Luckily, Google exists, so it wasn’t hard for me to find it myself. Luckily, I had a lovely experience at another shop that day (and thus, have something to compare it to.)

Overall I had a great experience here, and yes I did say «Yes to the dress!» When we first arrived my wedding party and another wedding party entered at the same time. Our group was less attended to than the other group. The other group of women were immediately ushered to an area and began looking at dresses. Our group stood there for a few minutes with no direction on what we should be doing. After a few minutes Cindy came over and began helping us, and from that point on it was a wonderful experience.
I felt like Cindy understood what I was looking for (even though I wasn’t sure what I was looking for). She knew what my body type was and only showed my dresses that were appropriate for my body.
If you are looking for something that isn’t a chain, like David’s Bridal, shopping here was a treat. :)

I had an amazing experience at Philly Bride about a month ago. As soon as I entered the gorgeous, historic building, I was greeted by friendly employees. Shortly after I was offered a glass of wine for myself and the four women I brought along with me. My consultant was very knowledgeable and found dresses that were exactly what I had described to her. Needless to say, I walked out with the dress of my dreams at a discounted price!
I know Philly Bride is under new management and it is obvious that the staff members are really making an effort to make each bride’s experience one to remember!

I had an interesting experience here. The staff was friendly, but had no idea what they were talking about. I had a dress on and was asking about alterations — the lady basically told me anything I wanted to hear. Meanwhile my friend with me was telling her she isn’t sure if what I was asking was possible. Another associate looked into it for me and told us that was I was asking was not possible. The building itself is gorgeous. the store, is a dump. super dirty. they had piles of crap everywhere. In the dressing rooms there was paperwork and boxes stacked up… what turned me off the most was in the fitting room they had peoples brand new dresses waiting to be picked up. I literally could open the bag and look at girls brand new dresses. I am sure these purchased gowns are being held there in confidence — but they are on display for anyone to look at. I do not feel comfortable with that. if i purchased a gown there I would not want it stored in a fitting room for anyone to open and touch…. The dress selection was minimal, they had tons of outdated dresses, the samples were SO dirty and literally falling apart… chunks of lace or material hanging off. its hard to tell how a dress looks if it’s in rags and a completely different color.