Bridal & Formal

Terrible experience. I read the reviews and thought of course those with a bad experience would write about it and that it may be isolated incidence. Boy was I wrong! Here's the list of what happened: Quoted cheaper price, charged higher price; received dressed 2 weeks late in the wrong color; I was told there would be a 2 week rush for the correct color but when calling the day before I was to pick them up to ensure they had arrived, I learned they had not even started making them (if I hadn't called I would have shown up for them the next day); then I was told I wouldn't received them until an additional 3-4 weeks. No compensation offered for all their errors. Hope (bridesmaid manager) is an absolute nightmare to work with. I have left 3 messages for Andy Starr (the owner) who has yet to give the courtesy to respond. Customer service is terrible. The ONLY positive I can say is that I was treated with a friendly attitude by Ashley & Angie (I think those were their names). Save yourself the stress, go elsewhere. more

Horrible Experience!! I hope I NEVER have to deal with them again. I am a bridesmaid and live 3 hours away from the store. I could have called in my measurments and had them order me a dress that would fit, but instead I drove all the way there to get measured by THEIR employees and order my dress. After getting measured and hearing the size they recommended I was hysterical. It was 3 sizes bigger than my own wedding dress and I had just lost 25 pounds. I argued with them over and over that there was no way that I needed that size dress. I told them my dress size at Davids Bridal and they very rudly said ""We are NOT Davids Bridal"". So, after waiting 3 months for my dress to come it, what do you know?! It is HUGE. I called and complained and after talking with multiple people, one of which was a manager named Amber who is completely rude and snotty, all they refunded was 40 dollars for the extra money I had to pay to get a ""plus size"" dress. When I am not plus size at all. Every time I called I got a rude person on the other end. I really hope I NEVER have to deal with them again. They were clearly ashamed of their mistake, but didnt do much to make it better. And I would like to say... At least Davids Bridal can get a measurment right!! more

Sorry to hear that other brides had such a bad experience. I love B&F and was happy to recommend them. I went multiple times to look for a gown and each consultant was wonderful. I ended up getting 2 dresses (ceremony and reception) for the cost of 1 dress. They were wonderful about working with my budget. I always worked with the same consultant in the bridesmaids department who was so helpful and loved her. I was there so often (I'm hugely indecisive and a push over) that he expected me to show up. Once I took a break and didn't go for a few months and came back to find that she was gone, I was truly upset. I ended up going elsewhere for their dresses. Wonderful girls though. No complaints! more

When I first went into the store, they appeared to know what they were doing and talking about, but little did I know that would all change in 2 months. I am from out of state so all my bridesmaid would need to have their dresses shipped to them. Well there check card machine was down which is very unprofessional so they wrote all my bridesmaid information down. They not only lost some of her information but charged her the wrong amount! When I figured this out 2 months later when the dressed arrived - not only did they NOT apologize for the inconvenience but they made her pay $7 more dollars for THIER MISTAKE! The bridesmaid department is so incompetent and unprofessional. I would never recommend them to a bride because it causes more of a headache for her! more

I was anxious about going into Bridal & Formal because they have so many dresses that I thought it might be overwhelming. I was right. There were people milling around everywhere and no one greeted me. I had to grab my own clipboard and fill out my information. I was then told to pick out 7 dresses and put them on the rack to try on. The dresses are organized by designer, but they are stuffed in the racks so tightly that you can't even see what they look like. They are also in plastic garment bags which makes it nearly impossible to see how the detail of the dresses. After about 30 minutes, my name was called to try on dresses. I was taken into a large room with five other brides trying on dresses. If you're shy, this isn't the place for you. They were pretty busy, but the bridal consultant who helped me try on my dresses was very helpful. However, I felt like I was being rushed through the dresses, in and out of them so quickly that I had no time to think about whether or not I like them. She pulled several other dresses that she thought I might like, but most of them were not for me. Then, she left and another consultant started helping me. When she went to pull a few more dresses, we were left in the room for at least 15 minutes. She came back with dresses that I was not even interested in. After being left for that long, I was disinterested and ready to leave. I spent probably two hours there and only found one dress that I liked. Most of the sample dresses also looked like they'd been dragged through the mud. If you're on a budget and don't mind being rushed through dresses with five other brides, give this place a try. If you are looking for a more intimate experience with better customer service, look elsewhere. more

Bridal and Formal is WONDERFUL!! The bridal consultants were very patient and helpful, giving tips on styles, prices, etc. I did not feel pressured into buying a dress, and I was able to take as long as I needed until I found the perfect dress (which I DID!). My consultant, Amy, was AMAZING! There was a GREAT selection of dresses (all price ranges and designers), and Amy always found dresses that were exactly what I was looking for! All the ladies in the store worked together, and I felt like I was getting special attention more

If you are anywhere near a plus size, DO NOT waste your time going here. I am an 18/20, and called in a few weeks prior to going to see if they had plus sizes, and the price ranges because I am on a budget. The man I spoke with was very polite and had great information for me. I finally visited yesterday, and it was one of the worst experiences I have EVER had in a store. Sure, the designers offer sizes up to 30, as long as you can try on a sample size 8 to do so. Now I understand that being plus size, there aren't always sizes available to try, but nothing was over a 12. But never fear, they will force you into it so the dress won't even lay properly and then use some very flattering orange construction clamps to attach it under your armpits. Then you are paraded in front of the showroom (with webcam access no less) and told to ""imagine"" the fit. I have worked hard to lose over 50 pounds before dress shopping, and all this place did was ruin every bit of confidence I've earned. I was very upfront with my consultant about what I have looked at and tried on in the past, and gave her a clear idea of my budget. Once she figured out she couldn't force me into something I didn't want (after arguing with me and my MOH because she liked a dress on me that we didn't), her attitude changed and told me I could try on one more dress if I wanted to. (I had tried 3 on at this point.) She refused to write anything down for me. There was nothing advertising a sale, but she offered the dress I liked most at a ""deal"" for no reason. She made a comment to another bride's mother as I was leaving the room at one point! Thankfully that mom was nice enough to come up to me and compliment me on the styles that I chose and told me I knew what was looking good on me. The message is clear here......you are fat and poor, I don't want to deal with you. You know what? There are plenty of other places I've been to here in Columbus that carry the same things with better service. more

Please read all reviews I wish we would have on this sight and others not a good place to do business very unprofessional unfriendly. When one of the bridesmaid went to pick up her dress they were very rude in telling her she owed 30 more dollars never called anyone to le them no just sprung it on her very rudely nasty and unprofessionaly manner. Did not apoligize nothing. That is also a breech of contract as her receipt said paid in full. They could have called the bride or some one to inform us of there mistake they had over 3 months, instead they waited till she came to pick it up, then was very mean and hateful I do not reccomend this place to know one, needless to say the dress was left there as they told her to return it,what ruthless thoughtless sales personnell they have they there. Please read all reviews more bad than good, in several web sites more

I read a lot of negative reviews and was very nervous to go but I wanted to go anyway just to check it out. I was shocked at how great they were. I went on a Sunday morning when they opened and I got right it. My consultant was great and was willing to work with me because I had no idea what I wanted when I went to look. She was willing to spend lots of time with me and was able to pull together things that turned out to by my dress. When I had second thoughts about my dress because we had to change our wedding I went back and first went to see about changing my dress but they were able to come up with a way to fix the dress I got so that it would now work for my new wedding. My bridesmaids dresses are also from there and I have worked with both Amandas and they are wonderful. One of them knows me by name and has helped me so many times and deals with all the changes I made gladly. I don't know why people had such bad experiences because they were amazing and I wish I was having multiple weddings so I could keep going back! more

I had a bad experience with Bridal & Formal on Sunday afternoon 9/5/10. I brought my daughter and one of her friends to search for Homecoming dresses in Club Dress. When we walked in the door there were three workers present and not one welcomed us or asked what we needed. I had to interupt one of them to find out where to look for the dresses. Then she pointed us where to go and ask a sales person in that area where to find the dresses. The next sales clerk acted like it was a big inconvenience to show us where to go upstairs for the dresses. There were very limited selections of dresses in a size 6. We were on the 2nd floor alone with no one to help or answer questions. When we left, not one person acknowledged us. I would not recommend this place to anyone. more

I had a good experience at Bridal and Formal. My consultant, Ashley, was very helpful and listened to my opinions. I explained to her the kind of dress I was looking for and she found several that were the exact type I wanted. She was patient and courteous as well, which made the experience pleasant. The dress I fell in love with was the least expensive of the ones I tried on, and Ashley did not pressure me to go with a more pricey one. When I asked how I could accentuate my waistline in the dress I decided on, she suggested adding a sash - which was a perfect choice and really made the dress ""me."" Pros: Helpful consultants, great variety of designers Cons: They don't do alterations more

Bridal and Formal needs to understand the basic business principles of CUSTOMER SERVICE. There is an apparent lack of it especially with any follow up activities that may be part of ordering your dress AND this is coming from a bridesmaid. Also there is an complete lack of sales staff knowledge when it comes to alternations and timelines to receive obtain your dress. You have to call multiple times in order to obtain a call back. It amazes me that they are actually in business still in this economy and should know that when individuals are buying luxury items there is a different presentation that must be brought across to the customer. It is a complete disappointment to me. Pros: selection Cons: rude sales staff, horrible customer service more

My main issue is that after spending a sizable amount of money on a dress here I found out they sold my information to every two-bit wedding business in the Ohio/Kentucky/Indiana area in spite of repeated assurances they would not. I called to question this multiple times and was told this was not something they did (clearly a lie, since I gave them an email address I used nowhere else and don't live in Cincinnati nor am I getting married there), and then was given assurances this would be fixed that day. I still get ten spam emails a day because of this. It speaks to how much they care about their customers. more

If I could give 0 stars, I would. Before you decide on where to go for your wedding or formalwear purchases, please take the time to read this review of my experience with Cincinnati Bridal and Formal. My recommendation to anyone is GO SOMEWHERE ELSE! Yes, they have beautiful merchandise, which is displayed in a very inviting fashion. A new bride-to-be would be enticed to enter the store thinking that the buying experience here will be as magical as the merchandise they carry. However, in our experience this store was anything but magical. and the staff and management did not take responsibility for their careless mistakes. They did not display the integrity, trustworthiness and honesty I would expect from any institution I do business with, especially when making the most important purchase for a wedding day, the dress. For our purchase, Cincinnati Bridal and Formal exhibited neither honesty nor integrity, and it is my hunch that this is may be the way they do business in general. At Cincinnati Bridal and Formal, my daughter, who is educated and a successful business woman, tried on the dress of her dreams and proceeded to get measured by one of the sales associates. Based on the measurements taken, she was told that if she orders a petit size, which is three inches shorter, the dress will be the perfect length for her in 2-inch heels. She ordered the dress based on the instructions given by the staff at this store, and later bought her 2-inch shoes accordingly. The gown had intricate lace at the bottom of the dress and a gathered torso. When the gown arrived in Orlando for her destination Disney Fairytale Wedding, it was almost 4 INCHES TOO LONG with shoes! Because of the way the lace is at the bottom of the dress, we consulted the owner of a bridal shop here in Orlando on how to go about shortening the dress. She said that it might be possible to shorten the dress, but that it will take her many hours to do the work. Her initial quote was about $300, but she said it would most likely be much higher. HOWEVER, the issue here is Cincinnati and Formal and the lack of acceptable customer service I received. Having had trouble with the promised delivery date of the dress (it was supposed to get here by 12/28, during the time my daughter was in Orlando for the holidays but arrived January 7th instead), she booked a flight to Orlando to have the dress fitted. This was the first expense we had at the cost of the inefficiency of Cincinnati Bridal and Formal. Then we had the ordeal with the dress length. I decided to call the store manager, Tina, to let her know the problems we were having. Immediately, she was arrogant and on the defensive. After I explained our issue with Tina, she immediately belittled my account of our experience and said that the dress cannot be ordered at custom lengths and their staff informs the customers of this. As I said, my daughter WAS NOT told this, and she would be able to understand if she was told that the dress she ordered would have to be hemmed based on the measurements THEY took! Tina discredited my account of the incident, and basically said, TOO BAD! She did not accept a shred of responsibility, and told me it was what it was. When I told her I would be writing an online review, she did not seem concerned. I hope nobody else ever has to be treated and spoken to by Cincinnati Bridal and Formal in the condescending and arrogant manner my daughter and I wer Pros: Merchandise is good if they can take correct measurements Cons: Will not accept responsibility for their errors. Very rude. more

I would avoid this place at all costs, or at least make it your last stop on your search. You get a lovely impression when you first walk in and they show you around, but that is where it ends. Pros: Large selection Cons: Pushy and rude customer service. more

This place puts on a good show, but buyers beware. They may seem to care, but once you give them your money they could care less. It would be a much better idea to go into the store, find the perfect dress, get measured, and then order it through the manufacturer (cheaper AND you don't have an in between company ripping you off). BEWARE...what they WILL NOT tell you when you are buying a dress you are signing a binding contract with them and they will do little to NOTHING about any problems with your order after it has been placed. If they make any mistakes in measurements they will deny it and do not hold themselves responsible, but instead hold you responsible because they can---you signed off on taking the responsibility for any screw ups and are now stuck with a dress that doesn't fit among numerous other ordering problems that they will deny...and you will be stuck thousands deep with no dress you can wear before your wedding. Cons: Customer Service/Sales Manager more

This place has a great amount and variety of gowns, however, there service is terrible. I went there so excited to go, tried on many gowns and narrowed it down to 2. I told my attendent that I would have to go home and think about it and then make a decision. The person got upset and walked away and NEVER came back. We waited for about a half an hour and even had her paged and she never came. We left very upset. I can only find the one dress at this specific store, so I may have to go back to try it on to make sure I want to order it and I am absolutely dreading my next visit. So much so that I actually emailed the dress company to see if that specific dress is in any surrounding states, simply so I DO NOT have to go back and deal with there service. Pros: Good Gowns, nice variety Cons: TERRIBLE, Horrible customer service. Very pushy, very commercial. DONOT care about the bride. more

I too had a terrible experience at Bridal & Formal. I had a bad experience not just once , but twice. The first time I went in I did not have an appointment, which to their credit did not seem to be a problem.....Great. I took in 3 pictures of 3 different Maggie Sotterro gowns. 2 they immediately told me they did not have a sample of and 1 they said they did have....again great. I went there because they are the only retailer in Cincinnati that has a contrat to carry Maggie gowns. So I patiently wait for them to pull the one that they did have. They seemed to have trouble finding it, so I browsed some other Maggie gowns while I waited. They encouraged me to try on other gowns while I waited, so I tried on one other. After trying on the one I didn't want and informing them I didn't want to try any others, they proceed to tell me they no longer have the dress that I want, because it was just SOLD. So at this point I feel like they knew this all along and was hoping I would find something else. Oh and the lady helping me had a TERRIBLE attitude, as if she didn't want to be there. And I could not believe that the dressing rooms had no curtians....WHAT? This was my first wedding gown try on experience, so I figured I will just shop else where. BUT I am so in love with several Maggie gowns that I decided to give them another try. I called to see if any of ther other dresses had come in from Maggies Fall 2008 collection and the rep informed me that they did get one in, so I made a 7:00pm appt....yes they close at 8:00 and they made sure to remind me of that. So I get there at 6:45pm and guess what.....They can't find the dress!!!! I wait like 40 minutes and the rep keeps asking me if a similar dress is the one im looking for so im like no, no, no that is not it. So she goes online to look at it and im standing at the desk waiting and she asks/tells me to go have a seat while she looks some more. I just left in total disgust. AVOID them if you can. Good Luck!!!!!! Pros: They carry Maggie Sotterro Cons: Customer Service and Price more

In all honesty, the staff at this store is horrible to work with. I ordered my bridesmaids dresses from there and they had the girls input their measurements for an appropriate size. Well, my dresses came in and did not fit a single girl. We remeasured everyone, no one had changed sizes, but their charts and ordering process is completely wrong. I also know of 2 other people (close friends) who have had this same problem. more

When I purchased my dress I was sized & measured by a consultant at the store. Since I was in between sizes the consultant suggested that I get the smaller size because the style of dress had more than enough fabric to let out to fit me.She said that was better for me to do that than to order the next size up &it be too big on me everywhere else.I ordered that size trusting her advice & paid for my dress.As you do so they casually ask you to sign on the line so they can order your dress. LADIES BE CAREFUL DON""T SIGN IF YOU DON""T HAVE TO! READ EVERYTHING ON THE SHEET! THIS IS A CONTRACT! In the contract it states they will not exchange or refund your money no matter what the circumstances.This clears them of having to do anything further.When the dress arrived it did not fit me the way I was assured it would.They assured me again that it would fit after the alterations& that they would not have suggested for me to do that if it would not work. At alterations the seamstress said there was not enough fabric& she needed at least seven more inches.She stated that I should have ordered a bigger size. When I called them they disagreed still standing on thier belief that those dresses have enough material to let out.I went to the store the next day.They were rude, arrogant, & said that it was my opinon that I was instructed to order that size.They stated that I agreed to that size when I signed the contract.They would not own up to the responsiblity that it was thier fault.The owner would not refund my money& at first they would not even order me a bigger size.The owner called the seamstress in thier pink pages a liar! In the end after fighting with them they did order me another size that was two sizes bigger.They said they were going above & beyond the contract in doing that .The owner threw the dress at my mom when she told him that we will contact the better business bereau.I will never do business with them again.I don't recommend them.Go toDavidsthey are much nicer. Pros: In the reading bridal district supposedly well spoke of, Cons: horrible customer service, did not have enough size selection to try on before you order more