ts44
Brilliant_Rock
- Joined
- May 31, 2009
- Messages
- 612
After having visited all the little boutique stores in my area and not finding anything that made me absolutely sure it was the dress I wanted to wear, as a last-ditch effort my sister and I went to this giant bridal store 45 minutes away. It is an unstoppable bridal juggernaut, they carry like 11 designers, have a separate couture department for anything over 2,000, and entire departments for bridesmaids, mother of the bride, AND they can do wedding planning and cakes and florals and everything else. Well, I wasn''t interested in any of that but I did want to see their selection because they carry some designers that nobody else in the area does (the woes of a small-town bride).
Here is the link to the designer''s website: Alvina Valenta 9954
It''s whiter than I wanted, as the silk shantung only comes in white, but they face the underside of it with a different color like oyster (a cool greyish ivory) or vanilla (a slightly darker and warmer peachy cream) so it subtly shows through the silk, to beautiful effect especially in evening light.
So when I told them that I think this is the one, they said that the price includes alterations, and that if I wanted to take my alterations somewhere else (because it''s 45 minutes away) they would take some off the price. I asked them how much their flat rate for alterations is, and they said $600, which seemed awful high to me. It also seems strange that a place would tack on a flat rate for alterations, given how individual that sort of thing is, since one bride could only need $100 in alterations, and the next one could need $1,000 depending on the dress.
I have the option of ordering it through another salon that''s 20 minutes away, but my experience there was less than satisfactory. They billed themselves as a *very* high-end salon, but even though their shop is well-appointed, the people who work there are less than competent. I made an appointment, and discovered that they don''t block time for appointments and just book over anybody else who wants that time slot. So I had to share an attendant with 4 other people! The dressing room was the size of a closet and nobody was removing dresses from it and hanging them back up, so it filled rapidly, nobody was available to help me get the dress zipped/laced/clamped, I would have to walk out half-dressed and search for an employee. My maid of honor helped me more than they did. There were two mirrors, and no rhyme or reason to whom was using which. Suffice to say, a very disappointing experience, and I would really rather not order through them, but if they can give me a better price... I don''t know. The larger salon''s employees and owner were really great, but I dont want to overpay. What is a general range for alterations? Do you think a $600 flat fee is acceptable?
Here is the link to the designer''s website: Alvina Valenta 9954
It''s whiter than I wanted, as the silk shantung only comes in white, but they face the underside of it with a different color like oyster (a cool greyish ivory) or vanilla (a slightly darker and warmer peachy cream) so it subtly shows through the silk, to beautiful effect especially in evening light.
So when I told them that I think this is the one, they said that the price includes alterations, and that if I wanted to take my alterations somewhere else (because it''s 45 minutes away) they would take some off the price. I asked them how much their flat rate for alterations is, and they said $600, which seemed awful high to me. It also seems strange that a place would tack on a flat rate for alterations, given how individual that sort of thing is, since one bride could only need $100 in alterations, and the next one could need $1,000 depending on the dress.
I have the option of ordering it through another salon that''s 20 minutes away, but my experience there was less than satisfactory. They billed themselves as a *very* high-end salon, but even though their shop is well-appointed, the people who work there are less than competent. I made an appointment, and discovered that they don''t block time for appointments and just book over anybody else who wants that time slot. So I had to share an attendant with 4 other people! The dressing room was the size of a closet and nobody was removing dresses from it and hanging them back up, so it filled rapidly, nobody was available to help me get the dress zipped/laced/clamped, I would have to walk out half-dressed and search for an employee. My maid of honor helped me more than they did. There were two mirrors, and no rhyme or reason to whom was using which. Suffice to say, a very disappointing experience, and I would really rather not order through them, but if they can give me a better price... I don''t know. The larger salon''s employees and owner were really great, but I dont want to overpay. What is a general range for alterations? Do you think a $600 flat fee is acceptable?
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