Viva Amore

This quaint boutique in Watertown was recommended to me by an acquaintance, and I am SO glad I heard about it. From the moment I walked in, Mena was straightforward, showing me only dresses in my price range and allowing me time to browse as I needed. She walked me through what alterations would look like for each dress, and made suggestions for particular dresses I might like after getting a feel for the style I gravitated towards. I actually went to another big chain bridal store the same day after visiting Viva Amore (I have a tough time making decisions occasionally), and appalled out how different the experience was as at this big chain I was hurried around with little to no help from the consultant for dresses that were mediocre comparatively. Viva Amore gives you personalized care and beautiful dresses at great prices. What more could you want? Pros: gorgeous gowns at great prices, non-pushy salespeople more

"What a find" is right! Mena stayed open on a Sunday to offer personalized help, humor, and honest opinions (but no pressure) and I walked out with my perfect gown 3 hours later! Viva Amore has a wide range of beautiful upscale, branded gowns in a variety of styles and sizes - all are high quality in terms of fabric and design but offered at very deep discounts. Compared to the larger, more generic discount bridal shop I visited the day before, where I didn't find one dress that would "suffice", at Viva Amore, every single gown was gorgeous, fit well, and seemed much better in terms of quality at half the price. The only hard part was narrowing the selection from the top 5 that I loved to pin down the perfect gown. Also, hearing all the stories of Newbury St. salons where the service can be snobby and one has to try on a random size and then have your size ordered, hoping it fits upon arrival months later or can be altered (at a pretty penny), the owners of Viva Amore sell floor samples or individual dresses that may not have sold at other shops - so you can actually find a dress in your size - which is very helpful if you're more than size 12. My gown barely needs any alteration - I could wear it tomorrow if I had to! Add to this great selection and good prices, Mena's great service and knowledge. She definitely was able to offer opinions about what styles fit me best and bring out the right gowns to try on - which helped move the process forward. She just cared and was a fun person to work with for 3 hours - making it an enjoyable experience, not stressful or rushed. The shop is small - no room for friends or a bucket of champagne - and the fitting room could use a better mirror - but the personalized service more than made up for the overhead of an expensive salon. Lastly, after you walk out with your beautiful new purchase, you still have money left over to eat some yummy mezza across the street at Sophra. A delicious end to a wonderful shopping experience. Pros: Great service, designer gowns at deep discounts Cons: Needs a 3 way mirror - bring a hand mirror to see train more

There are several things I LOVED about this shop: 1. There were so many beautiful dresses! Some bridal shops have lots of dresses, but most of them are really tacky and cheap looking. In my search, I walked into a lot of stores and I only liked every 1 out of 15. At Viva Amore, I must have tried on at least half of the dresses in my size over 2 visits to the store. They are all so beautiful and each one has that "wow" factor. 2. I also loved the fact that they carried so many dresses for "real" women (not just women that are size 2!). There was a huge selection of dresses in sizes 8-14 and there were also plenty plus size gowns that were beautiful. 3. The service was wonderful. When I was finally ready to get my gown, Mena came in on her day off and spent 4 hours there while I tried on every dress and then tried the top 3 on multiple times. I never felt rushed and I appreciated her honest feedback. 4. The prices are AMAZING! There's no doubt about it- they sell dresses at a steep discount. There is nowhere else that even comes close to those prices in Boston. I am soooo glad that I found this store. I could never had afforded the beautiful dress otherwise. I would not hesitate to recommend anyone who asks to Viva Amore. Pros: Beautiful dresses at steep discounts more

How do I even begin?! I contacted them a month before my wedding from 6 thousand miles away. We had a constant conversation by email with them sending me tons of pics of dresses they were getting in that fit my wish list. I looked at wedding dress retail stores and tried on beautiful gowns that were totally out of my budget. The week of my wedding I flew into Boston and headed to Viva where Mena and Anita had already pulled some dresses for me to try on. This was on the Tuesday before the Saturday we were married on. After trying and retrying and back and forth and a budget consult with the fiance, I finally decided on a dress Anita had spotted for me. At 7:30 pm they sent me to their tailor Janette who stayed open a half an hour late for me. We did a fitting and even altered the shape of the dress a bit. I picked up the dress on Friday a.m. Wow! No high end boutique or retail store with a Newbury St. Address could offer that and I'd still have to spend 3xs what I did for a gorgeous dress. The only thing missing was a pair of shoes. I had overlooked the seasonal shoe selection problem. All creams and ivory colored shoes at stores were GONE! I bought a pair of black pattens but after trying them on Friday when picking up the dress, I was heartbroken that they really weren't fitting. So the most amazing part of the story, other than that Mena and Anita are just awesome to try dresses on with, is that on a Friday eve in rainy, rush hour traffic...Mena, my hero, drove all the way from Watertown to Marblehead to bring me 4 pairs of shoes to try on and I found THE pair..she also threw in a hanky and garder. I'm telling ya, I've not had this kind of care and service in years. They take their work personally and they will treat you like a friend who they care what you get. They aren't selling dresses on commission, this is their business and they are trying to build the best they can! I wish all the brides out there would resell their wears at Viva so future brides could have options with amazing service. I also hope in the future they can expand and accommodate grooms as well. I myself would fly back to help paint and arrange. Believe me they are worth every second you spend going to them! Blindly trusting them was one of the best things I did in my overwhelming wedding planning. Thank you ladies! I felt so glamorous once that dress was on! Perfect! Pros: great people, repurpose of dress, eco-friendly line Cons: could use more inventory. more