6/2/11 - Dresses and drama.. OH MY!
First of all - If any other brides have had wonderful experiences with Demetrious Bridal, I in now way want to offend you. This is my own personal experience and I hope that what I learned will help other DisBrides out in the future. Please don't get upset over my opinions.
Now... on to the update.
Demetrious Bridal is the devil.
There. I said it.
I had the worst possible experience at the Scottsdale salon that no other bride should ever have to deal with.
Without drawing it out - here's the cliff notes.
- I paid $50 bucks to have dress #1 shipped to the Arizona store for me to try on. ((I had no problem with this)) they said the $50 could be applied to the purchase of my dress.
- On my 2nd visit to try on I brought in the printout of the photos of my two dresses as advertised on their website - I asked why dress #2 (that I was going to purchase) had no corset back, and no small pickups on tulle train. Sales woman left to ask her manager. ((I could hear their entire conversation. So much for professionalism))
- I was told "Those are extras" - $350 for the corset, $150 for pickups, and if I didn't order the dress today it would be $500 additional for it to arrive before my wedding on October 30th. ((SAY WHAT?!? Uh... No.))
- As I am a saleswoman for a living, I calmly asked to see the manager as I know how these "pressure sales" work. I asked why I was not given an "order by or it will be $500 extra" warning when I first was working with her salon weeks prior. I also pointed out you can't advertise something on your website and then tack on $500 extra to the price to sell it as advertised without labeling the additions. I then pointed out that I didn't appreciate her "pressure sales" tactic to close, there are more graceful ways of doing it. Since I am spending over $2,000 in her salon, I thought my treatment would be top notch.
- The manager reacted by throwing her poor sales associate under the bus. Then proceeded to run over her multiple times. I found this very off putting as I heard their entire conversation! -- The corset would only be $150 not $350 to add it, the pickups would be only $15 each, and I didn't have the order deadline by tonight, it was by Thursday (4 days out) and would only be $300. I saw the associates face, and I knew that feeling. If i had any respect for the store at all, I lost every scrap of it there.
- I told the manager I heard the entire conversation and that she was lying to me. I looked at the sales associate and apologized to her. I knew this was not her fault, it was managements. Then I looked at the manager and told her if she wanted my money, she would get me the number of the owner of this salon or they would not be getting my business. That is a deplorable way to run a store.
- I walked out. They have not called me. I have not called them.
Here are the photos of me in dress #1 - Which they sent in 2 sizes too big. *sigh*
Pro's - It's pretty from the front.
Con's - Detachable train made the dress boring without it, the weight of the crystals in the skirt make the tulle fall into grooves when you walk. The bolero was scratchy and really ugly when you put it on. The price.

-
Dress #2 - That smile face is haunting me! Do you see what I mean about the no pickups on the train? I think the back also needs the corset. I liked the detail on the back (pic #1) but it just wasn't the dress they advertised.. I bought the bolero shown in these photos, more on that in a moment. *sigh* I still love that dress. Oh well.
Pro's - Corset is amazing and made my chest look like woah. Also had hidden mickey's in the sequin's on the train!
Con's - that darn smiling face! The price. The back of the train was blah. The price. Nasty salespeople. The price I WOULD have paid without thinking twice if I had been given good customer service.
[/URL]


Needless to say I was in tears. I loved dress #2, the salon knew I loved dress #2, but I will be damned if I was going to blow my budget on just my dress! Sure it was gorgeous, but seriously? How do people get away with treating people like that?
Then my Fairy Godmother whisked me away to the land of margaritas to put me back to sorts. ... Okay, so not my Fairy Godmother, but my Mother. She came to the rescue and consoled me over as I sipped on the deliciousness of lime juice and tequila. She asked if she could please take me to the salon that she purchased her dress at back when she married my father.
I will spare you all the wiping my nose on the edge of my margarita glass visual as I accepted her proposal. Okay, so I really didn't wipe my nose on the glass, but it sure got rid of the drama llama in the thread. Didn't it?
Off we went... where I was determined to find the dress of my dreams and to tell Demetrious Bridal to suck it!
I looked at so many tulle skirts - the salon was simply wonderful and our saleswoman was as nice as nice could be. After she honed in on the look I was searching for, she went off on our own to find options for me. My sister even jumped in the fray to help! She found one with a gorgeous bodice! I put it on, and then I discovered this...
Do you see it? If I tell you it will be like the smiley face. It will haunt you. Ready?
Okay.... don't say I didn't warn you!
Who in the heck designs a bridal gown with silver crotch funk? LOOK AT IT! OMG! That's terrible! imagine that in all of your bridal shots. Ugh!
So naturally I bought the dress!
Just kidding.
I had three rules when I went looking for a bridal gown.
1. No ruffles
2. No pick-ups.
3. I wanted a tulle skirt.
My sales woman brought me back a dress, which broke 2 of my rules. She asked if I would please try it on for her. It was a Maggie Sottero, and I had not tried on any of her gowns. My sister wore a Maggie at her wedding and I didn't want to "take her designer' or something.
Begrudgingly, I put it on.
When I walked to the mirrors to take a look... my mother started to cry.
My sister (silver crotch bling finding aside) was shocked into silence.
Marina, my saleswoman, smiled smugly. Marina was truly a professional and was amazing. It's as if she knew what would flatter my figure, hide my problem areas, and look amazing on me. It was as if she does this for a living! Oh, right. She does.
It fit like a glove. It was my perfect size, and the perfect length. The dress needed NO fitting alterations, and I felt gorgeous. Wanna see?
The Corset -

The Front of the Dress -
The Train - and end of the train

As my sister did a heck of a job making sure we didn't get full shots of me in the dress, or photos of my smiling face (apparently I am a headless person that shall remain so unless we give someone else the camera!) Here are the gorgeous model shots, with their heads, to give you all a better idea.


*content sigh* More coming soon, I didn't want to make this post any more gigantic than it already is.
Comments/Feedback?
I <3 the DisBrides!