Yolanda’s

Although I never bought a dress here or was in a wedding that got bridesmaid dresses here but I did get massages and waxing done here and everyone was always so nice to me even though that is the only reason I went here. I am very surprised that some of these other Unilocalers were treated this way. I never saw that or experienced it. Sad that they are closed I havent found another good place for massages or waxing yet so still looking…

I am sad to hear this place has closed. It was recommended to me by a colleague and I checked this place out when I first became engaged. They were very helpful and brought me some beautiful dresses. I had a male friend come with me because none of my bridesmaids live in same state.
I fell in love with a couple dresses here but knew I couldn’t buy anything. They did pressure me a bit to purchase yet as a sales rep/​VAR manager, I totally understood. It was nice because they made me feel comfortable with my choices and I never felt embarrassed for being in my underwear for most of the time.
I think the prices were a bit higher than some others but I enjoyed my experience. My good friend is about to be engaged and I was going to take her here but I guess we will have to look elsewhere now.

they closed — AND NOTHING OF VALUE WAS LOST

This is my attempt to be as reasonable as possible: Yolanda’s is a one stop wedding super store. Like any super stores, some departments are better than others.
The Good:
You can go to Yolanda’s and just try dresses on without having to make an appointment. So, myself and one other bridesmaid went there and just tried on a bunch of dresses in front of the bride.
The Bad: Yolanda’s dresses are very expensive. I’ve been a bridesmaid in at least 4 weddings (always a bridesmaid…:) and this dress was double the cost of every other dress I’ve bought.
Also, when I went to get my dress tailored at Yolanda’s, we found gum on the bottom of the dress!
Finally, the tailor took one hour and a half to put pins in the dress during the fitting. Then she came out and told me it was going to cost $ 240! When I said I was shocked, she said «well, it is custom made». And I said, «no it is not, all you are doing is tailoring a dress that anyone can order» We had a screaming match (and please believe me when I say, I am not usually like this.) I told her to take the gum off my dress, take the pins out, and give me my dress back.
I took it to a place outside of the city (see next review), and they charged me $ 80.
Go to Yolanda’s if you want to get ripped off.

Yolanda is closing up shop! Yup, according to the Boston Globe, too.
Thank bejebus, I’ll never have to wear another of her Bridesmaid gowns, again. Nevah!

Woah, I can’t believe how much hatred exists for this joint! I guess they must have some bad people working there, but my experience was great. I had Monique and she was funny and awesome and helpful and not pushy. Their dresses are expensive, yes, but very beautiful. I thought the service was great and felt very well taken care of.

I had low expectations of Yolanda’s after reading all the reviews here, and was pleasantly surprised when I visited. The assistant assigned to me was Monique. She was GREAT: smart, delightful, and herself very elegant. She did an excellent job of bringing me gowns that matched my description of what I was looking for. I would definitely ask for her if you go there.
The main showroom looks like it might already have been looking tacky in the 70s; now it still looks tacky, and also kind of pathetically worn-​down. It’s sort of sad to see. And a lot of their merchandise is a bit too glittery and cheap-​looking (for my minimalist taste). But! They also stock some good designers, and if you are looking for a full-​service bridal salon this might be the place for you. In the end I did not get my dress here, but that’s just because I refused to pay full price for a wedding dress when there were so many great used/​overstock/​discount options online.

I had a great experience at Yolanda’s. I knew I wanted to look at certain designers, so I came here. My consultant was Beth and she was wonderful – very helpful and professional. She found what ended up being my gown on the 4^th try (and I tried on about 40 dresses after this at other stores). It was well below what we told her our budget was, which I appreciated. It was still an expensive dress, but she wasn’t trying to sell me on something over the top.
And I guess I should say that I’m African-​American and was treated well by everyone in the store.
I can’t comment on the treatment for bridesmaid dresses.

Despite the bad reviews below, I had a positive experience here. However, I didn’t end up getting my dress from Yolandas, so maybe there’s something to be said about that.
My consultant was Darlene. I gave her my price range, some idea of what «might» look good on me (I had only been one other place before), and she came back with some really fabulous dresses, all under budget and many well below.
Honestly, I didn’t buy my dress from Yolandas because I found a great deal at VOWS in Newton. However, going through the dresses with Darlene gave me a really good sense of what I liked. She was super helpful (though I never did get a follow-​up…), and reassured me that I «still had time» even though at that point my wedding was 7 months away.
I thought their dressing rooms were nice and roomy, and excellent for trying on dresses. Darlene didn’t even bat an eye as I rejected dress after dress, but kept working with what I did like.
If you’re in the market for a higher end dress, give Yolanda’s a shot. I know others have had bad experiences, so ask for Darlene!

I went back for my second trying-​on yesterday and still had an amazing experience. I worked with Darlene again and although I didn’t get ushered to a huge, private room in the back, I was still given my own private room right in the main area. Darlene also gave my mom a room next to me to try on some dresses, despite the place being extremely busy and her not having a separate appointment.
It was actually nice not having to go in the back this time — we didn’t have to remove our shoes (until we tried on dresses) and my dad was able to sit on the couch and be involved.
Someone from Couture came over to help my mom and everyone over there was extremely friendly and helpful.
I ended up finding my dress and although it was a bit more than I expected to pay, it’s still within my budget. Darlene was so extremely helpful and gave me a big hug when we left. I’m so glad I went here despite the bad reviews on here.
Give it a chance — I think there are maybe 2 women in bridal who aren’t that great, but request Darlene or someone who’s been there for a long time. Be sure to make an appointment too. We ended up waiting a few minutes, but that’s because we had called to say we were running late, so Darlene was in the middle of something else. She had my dress and everything already pulled though.

Huh. I’m not sure what happened to some of the posters here but we had a great time at Yolanda’s. Beth was our salesperson and she was nothing but friendly, honest, patient and well-​informed. Yolanda was sweet and complimentary.
They were kind enough to accommodate a larger than average group (we brought five people with us in addition to me, the bride) and Beth was patient enough to see me three different times while I deliberated over the dress. After having a little panic attack about the dress a few days after putting a deposit down, Beth told me to come in again and try the dress on, as well as a number of other dresses to be sure I had what I wanted. There was no pressure, just honesty and patience (which I imagine can be challenging with brides).
The selection was good and Beth brought out what I described and showed her in photos. We narrowed it down to two dresses, one that was twice as expensive as the other. Beth did not pressure us to purchase the more expensive gown and, in fact, knew that the less expensive of the two was the one for me.
All in all a great experience and I would definitely recommend Yolanda’s to a friend, or to anyone really.

A huge selection of dresses — a great place to start shopping and get an idea of what you are looking for.
Sure they are a bit snobby — but being a bigger place, they won’t freak out if you don’t commit to a dress (unlike some smaller boutiques that will get mad if you just come in to try stuff on).
I went here before ‘Running of the Brides’ to get an idea of what looked good on me. They have absolutely gorgeous dresses, and were very helpful suggesting styles.
If your budget is more modest (around $ 1000) I would suggest ‘The Bridal Secret’ (where i had alterations done and reviewed before). She has beautiful dresses at a much more reasonable cost. However, she does not like people shopping that aren’t serious about buying.

It is not really worth me taking a lot of time to write this as much of what I would say has already been said. Yes, this place is nice (hence having to take your shoes off before going to your ginormous fitting room) and they have everything (gowns, bridesmaids dresses, MOB dresses, tuxes), but the prices are astronomical and the sales people rude and judgmental.
I know someone who went to Yolanda’s and asked that they bring her every wedding gown priced under $ 1,000. They brought her 3 dresses. That’s right… three whole dresses in the entire place. I did not see one dress even close to $ 1,000…they were all $ 3,000 or more.
Once my MOH and I were done laughing at the prices of bridal gowns, we went downstairs to look at bridesmaids dresses. Their prices on bridesmaids dresses were not bad, but we found a dress we liked and bought it elsewhere for less.

This place was way to Pricy for me. Jayne was my wedding dress consultant. She was very educated on the dresses and educated me on the different types of dresses i was interested in. I felt kind of pressured to buy something. But overall i think is was a good experience. Yes you do have to take off your shoes to go back into the dressing rooms, but that is all stuff to make you feel like this is something big! I actually didn’t mind it!
Yolanda’s is a one stop shop for Weddings, it has everything from wedding gowns, to bridesmaids, MOB dresses, tuxes, baby stuff, photography, ring brear and flower girl stuff. You name it wedding stuff, it is probably at Yolanda’s.
I didn’t get my dress here, but I enjoyed the experience. You don’t get to pick out any dresses, your consultant chooses all the dresses you will see.

Mmmmm. I never heard of having to take your shoes off before entering the store.
The problem with Yolanda’s is it gets a bad rap. I grew up in Waltham and I it was «known» that those with money got their prom and wedding dresses there.
Truth be told. you are going to spend at least 3K on your wedding dress. My friend had hers imported from Italy to a tune of 5K… but t Yolanda located and imported it for her. They were no help to us when trying on Brides Maids. We did find the style we liked and got it MUCH cheaper at another store.
Yolanda’s is more of a name… go to any designer gown site and to their store locater and Yolanda’s will carry it. Think of a VERY expensive Cache’ that also sells wedding and prom gowns. Oh and they have a salon attached, though I can not comment on their services.
So two stars for the fact that if you want to blow at 5K on your dress. You will have plenty of options here. Bring a friend-​sales are of no help.

Yolanda’s is not even worth one star. I might not have had a ring when entering but I will certainly have one soon. A customer should always be treated with respect. No one greeted me when I came in the door. They stared for a second and then turned back to their gossip. No one bothered to come see if I needed any help!
All of the bridesmaid dresses and wedding gowns are tacky! If you want to look cheap then this is the place for you. From the fabric to the styles everything looked cheap, except for the price. Certainly there is no reason to put your money into such an awful store. There are certainly mainly other places: Allergia (Belmont) or Vows Bridal Outlet (Newton). Heck, I’d rather go to David’s Bridal than this place.

Yolanda’s is awful. My mother and I were treated terribly, the staff was rude and ignored the style and price range I was looking for in a wedding dress and the selection they did bring me was truly ugly. Do not waste the gas money and time on a trip out to Waltham.

stay away.
this is the epitome of everything wrong/​tacky/​annoying/​cheap/​nasty/​horrible/​etc. with wedding crap.
one star too many.

I agree with all the bad reviews. This place Blows!
I went here looking for a wedding gown, and then a few times for bridesmaids dresses, and even again for a flower girl’s outfit.
Every time I was seriously disappointed. I know bridesmaids dresses and wedding gowns are typically tacky, but this place was BAD! And everything was so cheaply made, yet had marked up and inflated prices.
the staff were really rude and very pushy as well. They were very judgmental on my friends and i with out many tattoos. like we didn’t want to look pretty for a wedding or something, or we couldn’t, I don’t know, but they were awful to deal with. uh, I hate this place!!!

Like Dorian G. I also had a good experience at Yolanda’s. Although I ultimately ended up purchasing my dress in NY with my mother I tried on about 30 dresses at the salon. I loved working with them. I worked with Samantha who picked up on my style right away and kept bringing in dresses that were right on the money. Dresses that I had never seen in magazines or on the knot– including my dress. If not for her I would have never found it.
I had actually chosen to go to Yolanda’s because they carried specific dresses and designers I was looking for. I think that is the best way to shop for a wedding gown… that way you know you won’t be disappointed. I knew I was going to be looking at expensive gowns and I knew they would have what I was looking for. I really don’t think wedding gown shopping is something you can go into blind. I made an appointment and I was placed in a large huge fitting room with a couch and three way mirror. I also came in with that list of specific styles I wanted to look at. After Samantha brought those in I asked her to bring in some dresses she thought fit my style. And she hit the jackpot.
I also went for a Trunk Show and was placed once again in a large room with a couch. This time I actually was helped by Yolanda and the designer, Janall Berte. It was a very fun time indeed.