Wedding NYC / Long Island brides--help!

[dogmama]

Because of a tight budget and possible tight timeline, I would like to get my wedding dress made (since it''s simple and not a ballgown) by a dressmaker.

Does anyone have any suggestions in the NYC or Long Island area for talented dressmakers?

 

[neatfreak]

If you have a tight timeline you might be better off buying a sample off the rack and having it altered if you can. A GOOD dressmaker is often expensive and takes a long time.

 

[dogmama]

Good point neat freak! Does anyone know of any upcoming sample sales? I just missed the Mark Ingram Atelier one.
Anyone know of when Kleinfeld will have it''s sample sale?

 

[scarlet16]

What about the Bridal Garden? Everything is off the rack there, and the money goes to charity.

 

[karasue91]

I don''t know how tight your timeline is, but there are TONS of sample sales in June-July. Have you been to RK Bridal? They have lots of samples, but I think they also have a rush service.

 

[gemgirl]

If you can get to Huntington, Long Island, Carmela did the alterations on my wedding gown, custom made my veil and did all the alterations for me when I was Matron of Honor for my girlfriend just a few years ago. Carmela is about 60 yrs old and has been sewing her entire life. You can go into her shop and tell her you''re on a budget and she will find you something to suit your needs and taste. She also always has things for sale off the rack, though most everything is ordered per bride. She''s a very nice lady!

Carmela''s Bridal Garden
400 West Jericho Tpk.
Huntington, NY
Tel: 631-385-9705

Do you live on Long Island? I could give you more places if I knew you were familiar with the area. Carmela''s is easy to find because it''s on a main street.

Also, Bridal Suite of Huntington on Rte. 110. I don''t remember the name of the owner but I can get it for you. She did my best friend''s wedding gown and she was on a very tight budget. I think her gown was $300.- or so. You can haggle with the owner of this shop.

 

[golden]

Hi! You should call Calvary Bridal House in Short Hills, NJ, not far from Manhattan, 20-30 minutes. Their website says they have monthly sample sales.
If you do come out here, there is also a Priscilla of Boston in town so you should call them before you come out.

http://www.calvarybridalhouse.com/

 

[dogmama]

Date: 4/14/2008 10:12:18 AM
Author: gemgirl
If you can get to Huntington, Long Island, Carmela did the alterations on my wedding gown, custom made my veil and did all the alterations for me when I was Matron of Honor for my girlfriend just a few years ago. Carmela is about 60 yrs old and has been sewing her entire life. You can go into her shop and tell her you''re on a budget and she will find you something to suit your needs and taste. She also always has things for sale off the rack, though most everything is ordered per bride. She''s a very nice lady!


Carmela''s Bridal Garden

400 West Jericho Tpk.

Huntington, NY

Tel: 631-385-9705


Do you live on Long Island? I could give you more places if I knew you were familiar with the area. Carmela''s is easy to find because it''s on a main street.


Also, Bridal Suite of Huntington on Rte. 110. I don''t remember the name of the owner but I can get it for you. She did my best friend''s wedding gown and she was on a very tight budget. I think her gown was $300.- or so. You can haggle with the owner of this shop.

Gemgirl you are a gem! Thanks for the recommendations! I''d love to know the owner''s name if you could find it. I''m looking to pay no more than $600-$700 since I have to have a chinese qipao made for the reception, which is terribly expensive.

I live in Queens but I''m familiar with Long Island since I''m only 10 minutes away. Let me know of any other places! I fairly familiar with Port Washington, Roslyn, Garden City and I''ve passed through Huntington a few times.

Thanks!

 

[gemgirl]

lily, if you''re familiar with Garden City and you''re on a really tight budget, there''s a David''s Bridal on Glen Cove Road in Garden City and another David''s in the Source Mall in Westbury, but I don''t think you have to go so far as to pick a wedding dress off the rack. You have a fair amount of money to spend! I would definitely call Carmela and talk to her. She''s a wizard with a needle and thread!

I checked the website where I bought my wedding dress http://www.bridalsuiteofhuntington.com and it seems that someone new owns that shop now, but let me tell you what I did to get my gown at a super price. I went to Macy''s Flowerama Bridal Salon with photos of five or six gowns that I wanted to try on. They had all but one. I really knew which gown I wanted anyway, I just wanted to be sure. After I was sure I found my dream gown, I comparison shopped that dress for price and I pitted each bridal shop against the next until I got my gown for a song! I got married ten years ago and my gown was bewteen $1500 & $1600 at regular price, but I went to three bridal shops before I stopped into Bridal Suite. By the time I got there, I was in a no-nonsense kind of mood. I told them what a store in Plainview was willing to do for me and asked them to do better. My gown was Jasmine Couture. We settled on a $586.- price and the owner of the shop got Jasmine herself to stop cutting their regular sizes and put in a special cutting for me since they didn''t stock my size. I got my gown in six weeks and paid just a hair over wholesale. If you''re self assured, a little pushy and very determined, you CAN get exactly what you want! They want to make a sale.

There''s also a place in Massapequa on Broadway, right off of Sunrise Highway (not all that far from GOG!) that has a nice selection of everything. I just remembered the name. It''s Bridal Reflections. There''s one there and there''s one in Carle Place too on Westbury Ave. off of Glen Cove Road. They are at http://www.bridalreflections.com Did you go to Good Old Gold with your fiance''? Good Old Gold (in Massapequa Park) is five to seven minutes down the road from Bridal Reflections in Massapequa.

If you need any more, let me know, but before you go out the first time, go on the popular wedding designers'' websites, choose the gowns you''d like to try on, go to a posh store and get treated like royalty while you try on dresses, then once you''ve decided on your dream dress, comp shop stores for price and haggle with them until you get a price you''re happy with. (I used to buy close-out clothing for a living, so I was used to this) LOL!

 

[gemgirl]

lily, I just thought of another thing...... the same way everyone from everywhere knows about and flocks to Good Old Gold for diamonds? everyone from everywhere goes to Estelle''s Dressy Dresses in Farmingdale (on Rte.110) for formal wear. You can find them at http://estellesdressydresses.com It used to be THE place for mothers'' of the bride and groom to go for their dresses, but I understand that they''ve knocked down walls and made the store E-normous (!) and now they do bridal too. They have always been very competitively priced and I believe there''s a fair amount of stuff that can be bought off the rack. You''ll have to check that though. I don''t know if things are the same since they got so big. (My monster-in-law got something there off the rack for my husband''s brother''s wedding 13 yrs. ago).

 

[dogmama]

Date: 4/14/2008 6:54:58 PM
Author: gemgirl
lily, if you''re familiar with Garden City and you''re on a really tight budget, there''s a David''s Bridal on Glen Cove Road in Garden City and another David''s in the Source Mall in Westbury, but I don''t think you have to go so far as to pick a wedding dress off the rack. You have a fair amount of money to spend! I would definitely call Carmela and talk to her. She''s a wizard with a needle and thread!


I checked the website where I bought my wedding dress http://www.bridalsuiteofhuntington.com and it seems that someone new owns that shop now, but let me tell you what I did to get my gown at a super price. I went to Macy''s Flowerama Bridal Salon with photos of five or six gowns that I wanted to try on. They had all but one. I really knew which gown I wanted anyway, I just wanted to be sure. After I was sure I found my dream gown, I comparison shopped that dress for price and I pitted each bridal shop against the next until I got my gown for a song! I got married ten years ago and my gown was bewteen $1500 & $1600 at regular price, but I went to three bridal shops before I stopped into Bridal Suite. By the time I got there, I was in a no-nonsense kind of mood. I told them what a store in Plainview was willing to do for me and asked them to do better. My gown was Jasmine Couture. We settled on a $586.- price and the owner of the shop got Jasmine herself to stop cutting their regular sizes and put in a special cutting for me since they didn''t stock my size. I got my gown in six weeks and paid just a hair over wholesale. If you''re self assured, a little pushy and very determined, you CAN get exactly what you want! They want to make a sale.


There''s also a place in Massapequa on Broadway, right off of Sunrise Highway (not all that far from GOG!) that has a nice selection of everything. I just remembered the name. It''s Bridal Reflections. There''s one there and there''s one in Carle Place too on Westbury Ave. off of Glen Cove Road. They are at http://www.bridalreflections.com Did you go to Good Old Gold with your fiance''? Good Old Gold (in Massapequa Park) is five to seven minutes down the road from Bridal Reflections in Massapequa.


If you need any more, let me know, but before you go out the first time, go on the popular wedding designers'' websites, choose the gowns you''d like to try on, go to a posh store and get treated like royalty while you try on dresses, then once you''ve decided on your dream dress, comp shop stores for price and haggle with them until you get a price you''re happy with. (I used to buy close-out clothing for a living, so I was used to this) LOL!

Gemgirl I love your thinking! LOL! Thank you for kind words on my SMTR thread. I did go with him to GOG so I wouldn''t mind going out there again. I am definitely going to call up Carmela. I am taking your advice and hitting the Monique Lhuillier trunk show on May 2nd. ^_^ Hopefully the dress I envisioned as mine will be there and I''ll get to try it on.

I also loved the whole "monster-in-law". You slipped it in there so perfectly.

 

[CDNinNYC]

Hi lily,

Kleinfeld is having a Blowout Sale on Tuesday April the 22nd. Doors open at 3pm. Maybe you can make it there?

 

[scarlet16]

Date: 4/18/2008 10:53:48 AM
Author: CDNinNYC
Hi lily,

Kleinfeld is having a Blowout Sale on Tuesday April the 22nd. Doors open at 3pm. Maybe you can make it there?

I was literally just going to type the same thing!

 

[dogmama]

CDNinNYC and scarlet16! I did make it to that sample sale and I did find my dress! ^_^

I am no longer on my tight deadline, so I''m wiping the sweat off my forehead. We had wanted to do a short, short engagement, and get married 8/8/08. BUT with a ballooning guest list and a tight budget, it looks like we''re waiting till next August.

But I guess I''m an early bird since I''ve got my dress already!