I've had a bit of experience with this shop this summer, not as the bride, but as the bridesmaid. And here's what The Wedding Shoppe has going for them:
-An amazing selection of dresses
-A charming locale & store
-A great selection of accessories, from candle holders to shoes, for the bride & bridal party
-A wilingness to work with the "last minute bride", including the ability to rush order dresses
-Reasonable prices, compared to other Twin Cities bridal stores (the same dress at another store was $40 more!)
But here's what I found lacking
-tact in the salespeople... I'm not exactly a stick insect, and when we were trying on dresses, the sales person commented on my weight telling me "well, this dress will look good even on you honey", and then later saying "well, you may be heavy, but at least you're proportionate, that will help in alterations & sizing".
If you're looking for a shop that will serve you a nice cup of coffee, or give you bottled water, where the staff will charm you (even insincerely), and where the attitude is more contemporary then 1950's, this isn't the place for you.
BUT, if you need a wedding dress shop that is flexible, timely and has a great selection, then The Wedding Shoppe will work for you.
Just a tip though - their alterations department is STEEP! You're better off going elsewhere for your alterations.. AND, in the most recent wedding I was in, where we ordered the Bridesmaids dresses from there, ALL the dresses (all six of them) came in disproportionately too large. This meant that all the dresses needed altering. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but I do happen to believe that they purposely order the dresses way too large to ensure they need altering. Just a thought.
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