09/05/09

Cautiously Optimistic

by goosejail

My maid of honor & myself steeled ourselves for a visit to Pearls Place. We'd both had bad experiences there on separate occasions but it was getting close to my wedding & I hadn't found anything in my budget that I'd liked yet, so I thought I'd give it a go. We went around noon on a Monday with no appointment. We had wandered around the whole store for about 20 minutes & were about to leave when a woman named Ruth asked us if we needed any help. I explained what I was looking for (simple, form-fitting, ruched-waist & ivory) & I told her my wedding was only 3 months away. She seemed suprised & told me that I needed to hurry and pick my dress as soon as possible. She asked my budget & quickly grabbed 4 or 5 dresses for me to try on. She assisted in helping me in each dress & many had to be clipped in the back because they were too big. She & my maid of honor offered opinions on each & Ruth even put a veil on me & dimmed the lights so I could get the full effect. Every single dress she picked looked perfect on me. I ended up choosing the second one she'd picked & was astonished to find that it was only $650! She went to the back for a minute to double check that it could be ordered in time & I was told that I was in luck because I wouldn't even need to pay an extra $100 to have it rush ordered (I'd liked the 1st dress as well & it would have been over $800 with the rush fee). She took my measurements & pulled my clothes quickly to make sure they were snug before measuring. She double checked the size because she was suprised to find that I needed to order a size 10 dress - which was correct. I paid my deposit, got my receipt & thanked her for her help.

***My only big complaint is that they rip the tags out of the floor sample gowns (which is illegal, I believe) & you have no idea of the designer, price or even the SIZE of the gown that you are looking at on the rak (I still have no idea who designed the gown I ordered from there & believe me, I've tried looking for it online). The floor samples are kind of ratty & there is no discernable organization of gowns that I can tell, other than the dresses in one room are all in bags while the dresses in the other rooms are not in bags & look considerably more worn.***

I ordered my dress the last week of August & it should be in at the end of this month. I have some vague anxiety after reading the other reviews. Most of the dresses that I've tried on have been an almost perfect fit right off the rak but even slight alterations can be screwed up so I wont breathe easy until I have my gown home with all the alterations completed.

I'll repost when I get pick up my dress to update the rest of my Pearl's Place experience.

Thanks & sorry so long

• Pros: Selection & Price
• Cons: Disorganized

08/10/09

HORRIBLE! AVOID THIS PLACE!!!!

by angie92688

When you are shopping for your wedding dress you want to feel special and important. This is not the place to go for this. Because they do not take appointments you are left waiting to even try on a dress.

The first time I went to try on wedding dresses I was treated great, but once they got the sale it all went downhill. The salesperson measured me and didn't know what size to order. Also I was making a change to the dress and she didn't know how much that was going to cost. She was supposed to call me, but she never did. I don't know what size she ordered me or what extra cost there will be.

Every time I went into the store after purchasing the dress I was treated very rudely. They no longer cared because they had already gotten my money.

I chose to forfeit my deposit on my dress and go elsewhere.

PLEASE DO NOT SHOP HERE! YOU WILL NOT GET THE SERVICE YOU DESERVE!

• Pros: THERE ARE NON
• Cons: EVERYTHING

08/01/09

Great Dresses, Slow Service

by msjyde

I have recently purchased my bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses from here. I actually had no problem picking them out, and they are beautiful, and inexpensive.

The only issue i had was when you had to come in from alterations. You could only go on Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat from 10-2 only. And they dont take appointments! So i would go at 12 and wait for 3 hours or more!!! No places to sit, not the friendliest staff, no drinks etc... I asked why they dont take appointments, and the lady said because people would come late and it would push everyone back. I say, perform like a doctors office. If your late for you appointment, they pass you up and will try to fit you in later, otherwise you have to make a new appointment. Because waiting there is horrible. Otherwise, i am very happy with my dresses, and the prices. If there is somewhere else with the prices and faster service, go there!

• Pros: Tons of Beautiful/Cheap Dresses to choose from
• Cons: You will wait a long time

04/23/09

Awful service and incompetent staff all around

by wolverine12

At first I was unsure why there were so many bad reviews. The staff was very nice during my first visit and while choosing the bridal gown/veil. Once I paid for the dress it went completely down hill.

Upon receiving my dress, it took two hours to get in hand- mind you I paid for it already. There was no one to help me try it on, even after the OWNER directly told a staff member to help me. Once my dress was on, one of the staff members walked in her high heels across my flat satin train with no subsequent apology, even when I questioned her behavior. She was in too much of a hurry to respond. Some other bride's mother finally helped me button it up. I was in tears.

Before buying my dress, I was assured by that they could store my dress in the store because my wedding and family are out of state. Of course they tell you what you want to hear because once I received it, the owner said they weren't responsible for any in-store damages. Had I known, I would have gone else-where.

Once my veil came in, the OWNER had no record of my past payments and the other staff was incompetent in explaining what was owed. When I further questioned the owner, he just walked away.

It doesn't matter if you spend over one thousand dollars in this store, they don't provide respect. I chose not to do my alterations here because they don't provide appointments and the place is a ZOO. Even though there is a large selection, the store is messy and staff are RUDE. I will never ever recommend this store to anyone.

• Pros: Good prices on dresses
• Cons: Horrible service and unorganized

04/19/09

GREAT online bridal store

by alllogan

I recently purchased a bridal gown from Pearls Place and had a perfect experience. I tried on the gown at a local bridal store so I knew how it fit and looked on me. It was priced $695 at the store. I called Pearls place and was given a quote of $375. A 50% saving!!! I ordered it on Jan. 23 and received it April 16th. The dress is perfect!! Everything I imagined!! And I got it for half the price!! I would recommend them to anyone.

• Pros: save 50% on your Bridal gown

01/26/09

Amazing

by evb03272010

All I have to say is after hours of travel and many other shops Pearl's was by far the best shop. I walked right in on Friday and showed one of the associates styles that i was kinda looking for and she was off. She pulled easily 15 dresses for me. She assisted me in putting the dresses on and taking them off. This was actually the only store that did so. I also went to Town and Country, Wedding Bells and Bustles and Bows and all three stores made me put the dresses on all by myself! My associate was very observant and understanding and listened very well to what i liked and disliked. She even told me to not worry about what my mother thought of the dress, it was my dress and my decision. She was the only associate out of every store to talk to me and ask what I did and what my fiance' did. I loved the ladies at the store and was extremely happy. I did go back on saturday to try my dress on again before i ordered it. I was forewarned that it would be busy due to the fact that they do not accept appointments but that was ok. I waited for probably 30 min and finally tried on MY wedding dress. My associate took my measurements and explained in detail the ordering process. I loved the service, store and the ladies so much that I will travel back down from Philadelphia to order my Bridesmaids dresses. I can't tell you how well worth going to Pearls Place is. My only advice is not to go on Saturday and if you have to go when they open at 10. But it is FAR BETTER THAN ANY OTHER STORE THAT I WENT TO.

• Pros: Service, Selection and Staff
• Cons: No appointments

01/19/09

2 1/2 Hours in Hell

by bmj112001

This is quite possibly one of the WORST experiences I have had looking for a bridesmaid dress. The ONLY reason we decided to go there and brave it after all the reviews is because they SAID they had all 20 bridal dresses my best friend was looking for. When we arrived we were greeted by...Nothing. Wait I take that back, we were greeted by the smell of urine and cheap perfume. There is no customer service personnel to tell you which line to stand in, where to sign in, what dresses are where...just a mess of dresses in a sea of chaos. After my best friend stands in a line for 10-15 minutes we are told when we reach the front that we are in the wrong line, we need to go to the other line. No problem. We go stand in THAT line for 10-15 more minutes to sign a piece of paper and be told listen for our name. After deciding to brave the mob rather than wait for someone to help us find what we need, we start pulling bridesmaid dresses we liked. After searching through ROW AFTER DISORGANIZED ROW of dresses we find about 8 we like and want to try on. After waiting for another hour we FINALLY hear our brides name. She gives the "bridal consultant" her list of dresses and we are then lead...ALL FOUR OF US..to a 5x5 room and told we have to share. THANK GOD we have all been friends since Jr.High and aren't modest in front of each other. As we elbow each other in the face and step on each others feet trying on dresses we are NEVER asked if we need help. After we are done trying on dresses our Bride, who is estatic to be able to try on all the dresses she likes cause they PROMISED her they had them, is brought TWO DRESSES. TWO OF TWENTY! Even when she was able to try on the two they had she had to fight for a mirror and didn't even bother trying to get the ONE pedestal they have. Needless to say we went to Bustles and Bows and found an INCREDIBLE bridal dress and went to Town & Country and found amazing bridesmaid dresses. These two places were courteous and organized.

• Pros: Nothing
• Cons: Everything

01/18/09

Don't let these reviews change your mind!!!

by lsuaimzgurl

I don't see why there are so many bad reviews on here! I went to this store with an open mind, on a Friday and had a nice lady named LaShon help me after about 15 minutes of waiting, which wasn't so bad. She never made fun of my figure and I'm plus sized. She found me the PERFECT dress in no time. She knew what she was doing, and worked with my budget. She even offered a store credit when the dress price went slightly over budget. I've been back a few times, and specifically asked for her. My experiences have never been sour. I've also heard wonderful things about a saleslady named Ruth. Please don't let the bad reviews turn you away. Just go on a weekday, or early early Saturday to avoid the crowds or there will be a wait, since this is the most popular store in the NOLA area. A DEFINITE recommend!

• Pros: service, dresses, know how
• Cons: can be crowded

01/07/09

Save yourself the insults

by mannyNjarry

I just got engaged FINALLY!! and decided to go looking for wedding gowns with my mom. We ended up at Pearl's Place. My service was awful. The expierience started off promising when I walked in and had a lady and a man greet me, but then I was walked to a tablet and told that someone would be with me shortly. No one was around "shortly" except an associate blowing her nose behind the desk, so my mother and I decided to start looking for her dress. She found one that she adored but a sales associate told her "no, that's not your dress. It makes your mid section look too big." She then told my mother she had "child-bearing hips" and needed to camoflauge them. Needless to say we left. I ended up at Town and Country and paid twice as much as I would've at Pearl's but it was worth it bc I never once got insulted and no associates were telling my mother she was fat. I also read up on Pearl's later that nite and as it turns out I shouldve known better. They have tons of bad reviews. If I could've given no stars or negative stars I would've. I hate Pear's Place.

• Pros: alot of dresses
• Cons: rude employees, sloppy employees, slow service

01/05/09

Left in Tears over a Bridesmaid dress

by clbttu

I called before I went to see if they had a specific bridesmaid dress (they said they did), my goal was to order the dress there for a wedding in Austin. This past Friday I went in to place the order, I finally got a girl behind the counter to help me...yeah right. She couldn't find the dress, wouldn't discuss the order with me until I paid for it, she wouldn't even measure me for the dress. I then asked about shoes to see if I could try them on and she said, "Good luck!" I left in tears, frustrated and went to Bustles and Bows and they were nice enough to discuss the dress sizing ( I am trying to get pregnant) and to measure me. Don't waste your time - Go to Bustles and Bows - Shelly is wonderful.

• Cons: Service, Staff Knowlege, they have not had manners or the idea that the Client is always right