Tour of Elegance

Erin was great! Helped me find my dream wedding dress, and because I am a military Veteran, offered a veteran’s price as well. Thank you so much for all of your help, Erin! Our wedding day was incredible and the dress was perfectly «me”– so many people complimented me on it!

To warn others, avoid at all costs! There are so many bridal stores in San Diego with better customer service, experience, and dress selection overall. My appointment here was horrible. My mom flew in from Chicago to go dress shopping with me over one weekend. I really was hoping to make a decision with my mom. I was looking for a very specific Stella York that I wanted to try on so I called ahead and asked if they had it. I called on a Saturday afternoon and left a message with the very specific information and item number. I received a call back about 40 minutes later where the girl told me they indeed have the dress and they had it in a size 10 which is exactly what I needed! I was beyond happy as no other store that I called had this dress, I told her this and that I couldn’t wait to try it on. I made an appointment to try it on with my mother on Thursday. On Thursday my mom and I drove all the way up from the downtown area. We get there and I introduce myself, they had no idea who I was. None. I gave my name to the lady, I believe she was the seamstress as she had a measuring tape around her neck. The other girl came up from the back and introduced herself. When I told her my name, she too didn’t appear to know who I was. We sat at the table with her clipboard and questionnaire and she proceeded to get my information. After basic information she asks me if I was there for any specific dresses, I looked at my mother with a look of horror. Of course I am, I gave her the style number and said I called and had an appointment for this dress. She responds «O you did? We don’t have that dress, who did you speak to?» I am shocked at this point and say «Are you kidding me? I left a message on Saturday with the specific dress information and then I spoke to someone on Saturday.» She responds with «That would have been me, but I don’t recall this conversation.» I of course am furious right now. We drove ALL the way up to this store, for this dress, based on her representations. She then tells me she will look into what happened. She goes to the back for a bit and comes out to inform me she listened to my message and I had in fact asked for the style number I stated. She informs me I spoke with her and she now remembers this conversation. She then states they do not carry that style number, she thought I said a different style number. I ask her what the style number was and what it looks like, she gives me the number which is close to mine but tell me that style number does not exist. She states she doesn’t know why she told me they had either dress since one does not exist and the other they don’t carry. At this point I want to punch her. She lied to me to get me into the store, she didn’t have either style number when she told me to come into her store. The one I requested they do not carry and the one she though I said did not exist. What the hell were you making my appointment based on? Which fictitious dress were you planning on having me try on? I wanted to leave at that point and should have but rather than waste the appointment, since I drove 45 minutes, I decided to comb through the book, once she apologized. I asked her if they had size 10’s to try on and she insured me she did. I flipped through the book and found ONE dress that was what I was looking for. I asked her to get me a size 10 and she returned with the supposed size 10. She offers me help in the dressing room but I want nothing to do with her at this point, I declined and brought my mother in. My mother tried to help me in the dress but it was a tight squeeze, I asked my mom what size it was and she responded with size 8. I got dressed and handed the dress to this girl and said I’m done. You said you had 10, you hand me an 8 and don’t tell me this? All she could say was I’m sorry. I had enough, this was my worst bridal experience. All my trust and confidence was gone. I would not purchase from this store, this is your wedding dress and they are clueless. There are so many better bridal boutiques in San Diego to deal with.

I am so so glad this gown shop was suggested to me! Erin helped pull dresses for me and she was so fun and personable. She listened to exactly what I was looking for and did an incredible job of pulling some dream dresses for me. But what surprised me most was that I didn’t exactly love these dream dresses on me as much as I thought I would. This is where shopping with Erin really paid off… she was so incredible at pulling dresses I had never considered before that fit like a dream and were just stunnnning. I actually went with one of her picks! I know that I have the perfect dress for my shape, venue and budget. I highly recommend this shop and DEF ask for Erin! Really great experience. Fair pricing. And I got the most beautiful perfect dress. Thank you Tour of Elegance and Erin.

I don’t write reviews, but since I check others Unilocal reviews for places I feel the need to write my experience with this place. I’ll start from the beginning to even scheduled an appointment. You have to call and leave a message then play phone tag because no one ever answers the phone. I finally was able to book an appointment on November 12^th at 1:30. A few of my bridesmaids couldn’t make that time so I tried to change it (again leaving a message). My call was returned at 11:30 the day of my appointment so since it was so close to the appointment, I just planned to go with the bridesmaids that could make it. When we arrived we were greeted by Erin and told to look through their folders of pictures of the dresses they carry (No seeing them in person). I marked the dresses I wanted to try on and Erin went to and pulled them. I tried on a few dresses then tried on the dress I thought I would love… I didn’t. It was pretty, but wasn’t my dress. At this point I feel like I was trying to be convinced that that should be my dress. Erin had the owner come out and she told me the dress looked like it was made for me and how perfect it was. I nor any of my wedding party felt the same. As I was changing into the next dress, I could hear their front door open and another group come in (they only have Erin so its one group at a time). Erin informed me that my appointment was over so we needed to rush. It wasn’t even 2:45!!! The dress I did put on however I did like. My bridal party was split if they liked it or not. At this time Erin had the owner come back out to finish up my appointment so she could move on to the next one. The owner asked if I liked the dress, which I did but wasn’t sure if it was my dress. She then started putting the pressure on telling me I’m running out of time to find a dress. My wedding was almost 11 moths away, but I didn’t know how long it actually takes to order a dress. She told me it was a sample dress so if I wanted it, I should put a $ 100 deposit down to hold it since it was the last one. She was extremely pushy!!! I was told by both Erin and the owner Sandra the $ 100 would be transferable if I decided it wasn’t my dress. I was then talked into putting a deposit down by the owner and made another appointment for the following week to try on the other dresses I wanted to but didn’t have time to since the appointments are so short. I wanted to see if any dress made me feel like a bride. The stress was then on to go to other shops in the week and see any other dresses I saw online before my next appointment with tour of elegance. During the week I left 2 messages inquiring about bridesmaid dresses and tuxes for the guys with no response. Saturday came and I had an am appointment at another bridal salon to try on some dresses. What a night and day experience!!! I did not feel rushed with them one bit!!! I was told if I wanted to try on every dress in their store I could. I feel like they were SO helpful without trying to pressure me into anything. It was very fun and stress free!!! I ended up finding my dress there that made me feel like a bride! :-)
After that, I called Erin to cancel my appointment at tour of elegance. This is the one and only time someone actually answered! I told her I found my dress else where but was still interested in getting the rest of the wedding parties outfits with them. I asked to make sure my $ 100 could be used towards a bridesmaid dress for my daughter and Erin said it shouldn’t be a problem but she would check with the owner Sandra. I asked a few more questions regarding dresses and all the tuxes and was told she would call me back with all the answers… I heard nothing for a week and a half so I called again but had to leave a message (surprise surprise). Still have not heard back from them!!! Now they have lost out on all of my business and I am out $ 100… If you want a relaxing non stressful wedding dress experience where you can actually get calls back, not feel rushed, or pressured DON’T GO HERE!!!

Wow, what a special experience! Thank you, Erin!
Yesterday was my big day to try on dresses with a couple of my most near and dear, to make one of the biggest decisions for my wedding day. I chose Tour of Elegance based on their selection of designers I love, and their reviews. I loved that people felt they were honest (even brutally at times) and that they are able to fit the dress you choose to your body perfectly. I was a little nervous, as these big days in your life are, and also a little worried I might hear some honesty I couldn’t handle, due to some reviews .but I had my best ladies with me as my armor ;) Well, I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised! Erin was amazing! She welcomed us with such warmth and excitement, and really listened to what I had envisioned. I originally went in with my mind 100% made on a particular Sophia Tolli, and I told Erin I would try on a couple other dresses similar in style for fun. SO HAPPY I DID! Erin pulled a dress after taking into consideration our venue and theme, and brought out a beautiful, lace covered Essence of Australia gown. It was perfect, and one I would not have considered. After trying my top two on one more time, we knew the clear winner. I am so excited to wear such a lovely dress on my wedding day, and very happy with my choice! Thank you, Erin!
I have to say, anyone who is planning a wedding knows the stress and worry that accompanies the excitement. It felt amazing to be welcomed into a bridal boutique that offered a personal, private setting where we could really relax and give our honest opinions, all while having a little fun and feeling pampered. I cannot stress enough how much Erin made this day special, and enjoyable. She is warm yet professional, honest yet comforting, and has a great eye for beautiful dresses. My friends loved her too! I look forward to working with her throughout this experience!

At first, I ventured to Tour of Elegance to have some alterations done on a cheap and mediocre dress that I bought on Etsy from China. From the start, I could see that Saundra is an expert and super knowledgable about alterations and wedding dresses in general. She was very honest but also constructive about what would have to be done to the dress. FYI don’t buy your dress from China!!! Even if it looks decent, the fabric is of poor quality and is difficult to do alterations on as it can fray. Regardless, she was up for the challenge and said she would make it fit me like a glove!
I ended up calling her back that night and telling her I couldn’t go through with it because I just didn’t feel beautiful in the dress and it was not my dream dress. So I shook off my money saving/​money losing mistake and made an appointment with Saundra to buy a dress from her.
I had an amazing time trying on dresses with Saundra. I didn’t have any family or friends with me so I really valued her feedback. She knew exactly what dresses were flattering for my body/​height (I’m 6’0…and most of the dresses I tried had more than enough length for me!!). She has so many absolutely beautiful dresses to try in a wide variety of styles. She even has a sale book which contains dresses that are just as wonderful as the regularly priced items. I never once felt like she was trying to upsell me or discourage choosing from the sale book. I felt like she genuinely wanted me to find the dress of my dreams. I definitely found it! AND it was on sale for basically half price!
I decided to pay a $ 100 fee to have it steamed and delivered to me in Temecula on the day of the wedding. Erin, who is another fabulous employee, delivered it to me and provided a first class experience. She called to let me know she was on her way, took extra time and consideration to make sure the dress looked perfect and even hopped in to take some pictures so that my sister could get in some of the pre-​wedding photos. People couldn’t say enough good things about how helpful and personable she was.
I am going to go back to them to have my dress cleaned and preserved as well!
Overall, I had an excellent experience with Saundra, Erin and Tour of Elegance in general and would recommend this bridal boutique to everyone!

What would I do without this place?! I wouldn’t have a wedding dress that fits, that’s what! Erin and Saundra are absolute dolls and saved my wedding dress experience. Erin’s sweet spirit and listening ear heard me and my fiancé’s cry for help after the last bridal salon messed up my dress sizing. And Saundra’s kick butt attitude and stellar seamstress skills allowed me to fit into the dress of my dreams. LOVE THEM.

I went here for my first time trying on dresses and it was fun! Their store is small but cute, and the experience was great. I had Erin as a consultant and she was so nice! She made me feel very comfortable and let me take as much time as needed. There was no rush or pressure to buy anything. She was great! I ended up not purchasing a dress there, but it was a great experience trying them on at Tour of Elegance!

Pros: Your appointment is you and your entourage plus a consultant. The place is small but it is nice to be able to focus on just you and have no one else even there. They do alterations in house (the owner) and offer all sorts of connections and additions. You can get almost everything for your wedding just through them. A great thing about them is that all their gowns (at least when I was there) were $ 2000 and under so if that is your budget, you can try on anything and not worry about falling in love with something you can’t afford.
Cons: For me, I prefer a soft, delicate environment. Both the owner and consultant were a bit pushy and forward. They were not rude at all. Just gave off a rough vibe. Also, all the gowns are in the back. You walk in and mark pictures you like in a book and they go pull them. They also don’t give you any privacy in the fitting room. The consultant was never looking at me but I would have liked to step into the dresses on my own. Instead she had all the dresses go over my head so I felt exposed. The salon is also in an office building which just didn’t give me the bridal experience I was hoping for. I ended up buying a dress I tried on here at another shop.

This is a great place to go for your wedding dress alterations! My dress needed to be hemmed, and I needed it done on short notice. Saundra (the business owner and seamstress) was able to work with my schedule, and she did a great job. I highly recommend visiting her: give her a call first to make an appointment. She meets with clients individually, which means no waiting around to talk to someone, and she is 100% focused on you while you’re there. Give her a call!

I didn’t end up buying my dress from here, but this place is one of the few that carries gorgeous Sophia Tolli gowns, and I knew I had to try those fit and flare styles. I had to cancel an appointment due to the flu, which Saundra was very understanding of, and we rescheduled for another time without a hitch.
I called back before the appointment to see if she had a certain Sophia Tolli gown in her store, a dress that absolutely NO bridal dress stores from San Diego upwards to North Hollywood carries! Yes, I took the time to call each and every one of them. This place is the only place that let me know about the designer’s policy of allowing to ship out loaner sample gowns temporarily. Not only that, but Saundra worked it so that I didn’t have to pay the usual $ 50 fee.
Super fast shipping, fast forward to my appointment. Saundra has you look through a folder of the dresses she has, then goes back into her stockroom to pull the gowns. I would’ve liked to see the gowns out on the racks themselves as it looks very different in person than on pictures with models… sometimes something just catches your eye. She helps you put on the gowns, no pictures allowed. You can tell she’s super sharp and knows what she’s doing! Definitely stop by here if you’re on the hunt for a dress :)

I agree with another review that Saundra is very direct. But I found her not to be inflexible. I went in with two people with specific style in mind. She said she would pull those dresses, but that she had a feeling that they would not look good on my body and would pull a couple that might work.
Tried on the ones I liked in the pictures, but when they were on my body… NOPE! Didn’t work. We worked our way through several other dresses that she selected and BAM! Found IT. She did have me try on a couple more, just to be sure, but I went back to ‘the one.’ My final dress need no alteration (which was a plus).
In addition to the individual attention, Saundra stayed within my budget and was very helpful
I also purchased my bridesmaids’ dresses through Saundra. My MOH got a kick out of her and her sense of humor.

Saundra is honest + any bride that wants to look marvelous can appreciate that!
I drove from Moorpark to San Diego to meet with Saundra during off hours! Yes, Saundra took time out of her personal schedule to met with me.
My heart was set on two gowns by Sophia Tolli and no other wedding bridal store carried these two gowns, so when Saundra received the trunk show which carried these two gowns she immediately contacted me and worked with my busy schedule to make an appointment to see her.
Upon my arrival to the store, Saundra assisted me on trying the two gowns and gave me her honest opinion. The bonus to the dresses she sells, for sure by Sophia Tolli are made to fit so no additional modifications are/​should be necessary.
I love the fact that she works by appt only — by the way when we were making arrangements for my appt she was very honest and said there would be a chance that I would have to wait a few minutes, which is completely understandable because she was trying to fit me in according to my schedule.
In addition, the facility was clean, including the bathroom! :)

We first met Saundra at Tour of Elegance on a rainy November day that happened to be last of a trunk show. We were the last appointment and we looked at the selection of trunk show dresses while the last appointment was finishing up. At this point, I was ready to give up on the wedding dress search. I wanted a simple dress that I could add a sash to with a corset back. I saw a glimmer of hope in a sweetheart strapless satin dress. Saundra was around to try on a few sashes on top of the dress and to give some styling suggestions to it.
My mother said she felt that Saundra «wasn’t nice» or «wasn’t super friendly.» This may also be the sentiment that others in previous reviews have talked about. I can say that personally she was direct and called it what it was; you either love the dress or you don’t. I felt that Saundra’s approach is meant for you to make the right decision, not the «well the saleslady gushed all over my family and I in this dress, so this dress must be it» approach. I was happy with her approach instead of another «you look amazing» in every dress when they just want to make a sale. The price was right, she was upfront with alteration costs and delivery times, so I was sold. When my dress came in, she was honest about the fit and suggested I not lose anymore weight to save the money on last minute alterations. I always felt like she had options for me and I appreciated that.
I brought my sash that she sewed on to the dress, as well as bustled, steamed and pressed my dress for the big day. She even had the dress done a day earlier upon my request when I wouldn’t make it for the original appointment. The only thing I would say about her work is that the bustle was just colored tie ribbons. It was easy but I’ve seen fasteners or buttons on other dresses from weddings I’ve been in and I thought those held better. She did tell me to tie the ties in a knot, but the actual ties themselves fell off the dress by the end of the night. In her work’s defense, I also dragged my dress in a vineyard and danced like a maniac.
If what you’re looking for is a big bridal store with hundreds of dresses and tons of sales ladies drooling over every dress you try on, this is not the place for you. Saundra is the lady you go to for that unique dress after you’ve had your share of the chain stores.

While I didn’t end up buying my dress here, I had a good experience and would recommend this shop. Saundra, the owner, was very nice and accommodated my last minute request for an appointment. I really like the Essense of Australia line and this shop is the only one that carries it in San Diego. I tried on a few and really loved the quality and style. I didn’t feel pressured and Saundra was really nice. In the end, I chose a different dress primarily because of price and went for a more couture look, but I would recommend Saundra and Tour of Elegance to anyone.

I had shopped at several bridal boutiques before venturing into Saundra’s Tour of Elegance. And I cannot say enough good things about the experience.
To be honest, sifting through racks of dresses at other places had been overwhelming. I knew I wanted a straight chiffon gown, and those were sometimes hard to find among the poofy dresses in other shops. So I liked that Saundra only had one or two dresses on forms and had me pick from a binder of photos. She gave me some suggestions on ones I hadn’t flagged, telling me they were so much prettier on than what they had photographed.
I also liked that I was the only bride in there. I had been one of many at other salons, and I had to wait to be helped out of the dress at times.
Saundra is actually the one who found my dress. She encouraged me to try it on even though I hadn’t flagged it in the binder. It was the first one I put on, and the expressions I got from my mom and aunt when I walked out of the fitting room solidified that this was my dress.
I thought Saundra was personable, fun and so professional. I would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a dress. In fact, I’m taking my fiancé and my maid of honor back to do shopping with them.

Tour of Elegance carries dresses from designers that are not all over the place. I liked how it was different from all the other boutiques and each time I visited, I had the place to myself. I loved the dress I got at the Tour of Elegance and got tons of compliments on it. The owner, Saundra, also did a great job on my alterations even though she was a little hesitant to do them.
My biggest complaint is that it is incredibly hard to get appoitnments with Saundra. She basically runs a one woman show, which can understandably get busy. But each time I called, I had to leave a message and wait for her to call me back. Then, I had a very hard time actually getting an appointment that went around my work schedule. Additionally, my dress didn’t fit as snugly as I wanted and she said that a little fashion tape would help. Unfortunately, 1 week before my wedding (once the final alterations were made), we realized that the fashion tape didn’t help. So, I was stuck wearing a dress that didn’t perfectly fit me. It’s not a super big deal, but for the money spent and for my wedding pictures, I would have wanted a dress that fit exactly as I wanted/​expected.

I shopped here early on in my wedding gown search, and ended up finding my dress elsewhere.
As other posters have said, each appointment is for one person. You pick the dresses that you want to try on from a binder of photos. Given this different approach, it might be better to come here later on in your dress hunt, when you have a better idea of how dresses on models in photographs translate into real dresses on you. (Of course, it’s also hard to tell when you first start shopping how a dress on a hanger will look on you.)
When assisting with dress selection, Saundra actually listened to what I wanted in a dress. She took into consideration that my wedding was going to be outdoors in summer, and believed me when I said I did not want a heavy, satin dress. She gave me useful, honest feedback on how the dresses looked on me.
My appointment lasted an hour. I felt a little rushed, but it was a very efficient hour. I tried on six dresses.
I neglected to ask if they allow photos; I did not take any.

I wish I could give more than 5 stars!!!
I heard about this store from a friend after I had a HORRIBLE David’s Bridal experience.
I had two issues working against me going into wedding dress shopping:
1. Recent weight gain/​not knowing what type of gown would look good on me.
2. Extremely small wedding budget.
Saundra was AMAZING!!! I talked with her on the phone for a while when booking my appointment and she listened to my situation, my prior DB experience, and told me she was just determined to help me find the perfect dress at the perfect price.
When I arrived for my appointment, she picked out beautiful dresses! The first one I tried on was absolutely gorgeous. By the fourth one, I had my winner — the most beautiful dress I have ever seen and I look stunning in it! Saundra was so encouraging and down to earth! I cannot stress what an amazing experience it was going to Tour of Elegance!!!

I went to 10 different bridal salons before deciding to purchase my gown from Tour of Elegance. I really enjoyed my experience with Saundra at Tour of Elegance. Tour of Elegance is by appointment only and you pretty much get the store to yourself. She gives you binders of photos of the dresses and you mark the ones you’d like to try on. She then gets the dresses from the back for you to try on. Saundra provides honest feedback and definitely helped me choose my dress.
I also got what I felt was a great deal for my dress especially since I had it made with custom measurements and altered it so that it would have a corset back. I liked that I was the only one in the store and had her complete attention. Saundra gave me options for the bustle and helped me decide on what to go with as well and I loved it! I would definitely recommend Tour of Elegance to any bride looking for «the» dress.