Bridal and Gift

AWFUL. just skip this place. i bought my dress and my bridesmaids here after an okay experience ... then when i went to pick up my bridesmaids dresses, i found out that that my dress wasn't coming in next week as they had originally planned ... they had never ordered it!!!! i had already put a deposit down and everything. no phone call, no apology, nothing. dealing with this place to get my deposit back was ridiculous ... they are rude and unprofessional.

I shopped for dresses in NY, NJ, RI, and MA (my family is from RI, I live in NY). I went to this boutique and they were more than helpful. I ordered my dress off a Catalog- a dress that was not yet in stores (big risk). My attendant was very helpful and found dresses that had similarities to my dress so that I can get an idea of what it would look like...DOWNFALL- I got my dress 2 weeks before the wedding because of the manufacturer. I was very stressed but Bridal and Gift assured me that it would come in on time. They found a seamstress to work on it overnight (Lauren)- did a great job, but i had to pay $300 for it. At the end, it was all worth it. I LOVE MY DRESS. MY Bridesmaids found their dress here as well. We ordered in June (wedding in Nov) and the dresses were in in Late August/Early October. They were...

I wanted to find that special little shop that wasn't commercial to buy my dress from. In most cases this kind of a store takes care of its customers very well. I have to say I did not like my experience with this store at all and if I could have found my dress else where I would have purchased it there. I am just going to give other brides my honest opinion if you are shopping in the Massachusetts area and you stumble upon this shop you will know what you're in for. The store itself is VERY small and awkward to navigate. They have two floors and their dresses are crammed into both of them. The reason I even saw my dress was because it was displayed. The system they use fellow brides is quite dated and by dated I mean their computers rarely are working. They write everything down, title a file with your wedding date and place it in an over flowing filing cabinet. I am all for writing things down, but I went in to make payments and not once, but TWICE they lost my file. I became freaked that they didn't even know which dress to order for me! It just seemed unprofessional when a person is paying a lot of money for her gown. They do have discounted gowns there ladies by the way. That's probably the only plus and I am a positive person and always look for the good, but there is very little. What's also confusing is the way you pay for things. Say you want to pay $100 toward your total which is what I asked to do. The woman looks at you and asks what would you like to put the hundred towards, the veil, the gown, or pay for the shipping of the gown or veil? I look at her like she's nuts and say just minus it off what I owe and she stares back blankly. The whole process was very weird, nothing like I have ever experienced and I found myself checking their math because they hand write everything. By the end I had about 10 receipts; it just got a little out of hand. The owner Linda is not the most pleasant woman you will meet. She has a tiny bit of an attitude. She wanted to know in this demanding tone where I bought my bridesmaid dresses. When I told her David's Bridal she looked angry. I explained (even when it was none of her business) that a few of my bridesmaids live almost in CT and I couldn't make them drive up to Mass. She said "well that isn't THAT far." I couldn't believe this woman! When it came time to get it altered you have to go to their second store down the street to get it done. The seamstress is not affiliated with Bridal and Gift in the sense that if you are not happy with your alterations you're screwed and you pay cash only. However, the woman I had was fantastic and I lucked out. In short, I did not feel I got the welcoming and caring attitude that a small bridal store supplies. The one thing I did like are the women who work there are very lovely. The shoes are overpriced and the head pieces forget it. Save yourself money and shop on www.etsy.com or visit an antique store, I saved so much money doing that : ) I hope this review helps. I just wasn't happy with my experiences there.

The only positive thing I can say about my experience with Bridal & Gift was that I got the wedding dress of my dreams. They do have a great selection by exclusive designers, which is why I went there in the first place. While the sales girls were really nice for the most part, the owner was not pleasant to deal with AT ALL. I found the dress I wanted but the color they had in stock was not white. I explained to several people there including the owner that I KNEW this was the dress I wanted I just really wanted to see it in white before I put money down on it. The owner then implied I couldn't tell the difference between white and ivory - by pointing to different dresses on the rack and asking me what color I thought it was. He was being extremely rude and condescending. He then proceeded to tell me I would look much better in ivory anyway, that the white dress would just wash me out because of my complexion. (Basically trying to push the ivory dress on me just to make a sale.) I informed him that if he could not help me see the dress in white before buying it I would go somewhere else and he basically said good luck because we are the only authorized dealer of this designer within a 100 mile radius. I left the store that day really put off by the way I was treated and decided to contact several boutiques throughout New England that carried the designer to see if they had the dress in white. I did get in touch with a store in Connecticut who claimed they could have the dress shipped in from another store. Soon after that, I received a call from the owner of Bridal & Gift stating he found the dress in white and could have the sample shipped to the store if I still wanted it. I agreed to have it shipped because it would be easier than traveling to Connecticut. Of course when the sample came in I went right away to try it on and everyone, including the owner said the dress looked much better in white. I put the deposit down on the dress and waited for it to come in. The real dress took longer to come in than what I was originally told. Which I really did not mind, but when I went online to look up reviews on Bridal & Gift I saw the same reasons for the hold up that other brides had received-“held up in customs”. Not sure whether or not that was the truth, but it was what I was told. When the dress came in I tried it on and paid the balance, taking the dress with me. I knew very early on after the poor service I received I was not getting the dress altered there. I found a seamstress in Bristol, RI - Original Designs by Rosa who did a fabulous job and was very reasonably priced. Check it out for the selection but steer clear of the...

I bought my dress from this shop and had it altered by them as well - wonderful to work with, especially since I lived several states away - very prompt in returning my phone calls and the alterations were perfect!

Great service, great selection, and great value. They must have thousands of dresses to choose from. I've bought at least 5 dresses from them; my mother has bought 2. I tried to explain the type of dress I thought I wanted, which by the way I had no idea, and they somehow found the exact dress. It was still packaged, never had been tried on or even touched. That meant a lot to me, since it is a very special and expensive dress. The seamstresses are perfectionists, timely and affordable.

I would highly recommend bridal and gift for one place to stop and look for your dream dress! Although the shop is located in an old two floor house with tight spaces to try on, they have an overabundant amount of dresses to go through! I personal went there after contacting them through email for a price quote on a dress I was interested in (which ended up being the dress I picked!). They were unbeatable! When I got my dress their special they were having was great! I got a free veil and $150 towards shoes. They also included a free travel package, which I didn't use bc locations were limited and it only included your hotel stay not the flight or food. The consultants are wonderful! They were always flexible and open for me to come in whenever I called to book. The alterations were fair priced and the seamstress is very knowledgeable in her work! They also have a ton of mother dresses too!

Although this place looks like a regular house from the outside, they have so much inside! The store is divided by dresses over $1000 on one side and under $1000 on another. Both sections had a large amount of variety. When I went shopping here, I was looking for a particular dress, and one of the saleswomen had set it aside for my visit when I called ahead. This was great because I practically walked into the store, tried it on, and was good to go! Everyone I interacted with her was exceptionally professional, and even made suggestions about what I could wear with my dress (jewelry, bra cups, shoes, etc.) so I appreciated all of the suggestions. Great experience, and I would definitely recommend this place for wedding gowns for all price ranges and styles.

I was extremely impressed with everything about Bridal & Gift. The people there were awesome! All of them were friendly and personable and they made my bridal experience perfect! Plus they had the best dress selection than any other place I went to. Not only did I buy my dress there, but I bought most of my accessories there as well. I would highly recommend them to any bride!!

The first experience that I had at Bridal & Gift was alright. It was the second place that I went to after the David's that was located next door and the difference in quality (for the better) was readily apparent. I enjoyed working with the girl that was helping me. However, once I got to the end of my appointment the manager came in. A dress that I was "iffy" on she was then trying to force on me. I started to get irritated, really like two of the dresses, so I told the girl that was helping me that I would be back the next week. Buying my wedding dress ended up being a very positive experience the next week so I decided that I would get my flower girl dress also from the store. Unfortunately, although the say that they will measure bridesmaids for dresses, if you are not buying them from Bridal and Gift they are incredibly rude to both you and the girls coming in to get measured. They attempted to scare me off of ordering online. (I had a great experience and would recommend if you are positive about what you want for bridesmaids as I got the dresses I liked $75 cheaper than B&G had them going for) My experience was capped off when my dress came in, it was a bit snugger than I had hoped and one of the sales staff said to me in front of my mom and two sisters "Most brides try to lose weight, not gain it, you are definitely going to need to shed some pounds" I just thought this was incredibly rude and from that moment have not recommended this place to anyone.

I purchased my Pronovia Mantilla veil from Bridal & Gift. I loved it, it was the extra touch my gown needed. Linda and her staff were nothing but helpful.

AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL #1 One of my bridesmaids is between a size zero and two. The store told her she was between a 12 and 14 after taking her measurements. Her dress was so big, it could not be taken in enough to fit her. We stuck the dress to her with double sided tape the day of the wedding. It looked awful. #2 Another bridesmaid, size double zero, was told she needed to order a 6. It was obviously big when it came in. The took the dress in so much, she was in pain the entire wedding day because it was too tight. #3 A bridesmaid tried on the exact dress in a size 12 and it fit her perfectly. The sales women said she should order a 16 just in case. They just want to ensure the girls will need alterations

These ladies were amazing. Nothing short of amazing. I was late to almost every appointment, I called with a thousand questions, and they were always so kind to me. Finding my dress was an ordeal. I went to every single dress shop in RI and nearby MA. I couldn’t find anything like what I was looking for, and was even told that I would have to have my dress custom made and it could cost me $10K. I walked into B&G ten minutes before they closed for the night, said what I was looking for, and Francia came down with my dream dress, the same one I had showed all of the other dress shops who said that I couldn’t get it. I hugged her and the dress at the same and knew before I put it on that it was mine. From there on, it was perfect. They ordered my dress on time, it came in exactly as I asked, as I had made a couple of changes, including a longer train. It came in just when they promised that it would. Luisa, their seamstress, worked her magic and my gown fit me like a glove. Several guests asked how I got my waist so small, but it’s not, it was entirely Luisa’s work. You know if the seamstress can make you look skinnier than you expected that she is better than most. She also did my mom’s dress which fit her perfectly. My MOH was really happy with her dress alterations too. As for my veil, well I actually had three. Linda, the owner, understood how important my veil was to me. My veil was longer than regal length and she hand sewed lace matching my dress all the way around it, and made a matching blusher. along with a veil for the church. There was a mixup and the veils weren’t done 100% correctly, and Linda actually look lace from her sample dress of my gown to make my veil perfectly for my wedding. That’s true dedication. She could have told me that it was too late, but she made it happen and I didn’t worry about it for a second. Best of all, they were kind to my mom who has an illness. They were incredibly accommodating of her and made every effort for her to be comfortable as she tried on dresses and was fitted. Truly, the women at B&G are underrated and underappreciated in the wedding world. With me, they were perfect.

my dress came in two time incorrectly, once the wrong size and once wrong color. i ended up wearing a dress 2 sizes to small. be very careful.

Excellent to work with!!

In general, I prefer to patronize locally owned businesses. Bridal and Gift sits next to a David’s Bridal; when shopping for bridesmaids’ dresses with my mother for my Sept 2007 wedding, we chose the local store over the chain. In this case, however, it was a mistake. Our initial visit to Bridal and Gift was pleasant. The saleswoman helped us sort through dresses and find they style that we liked. We made arrangements to order the dresses and have my ‘maids provide measurements to the store. When I arrived home, there was a message on my answering machine, stating that the tops I had picked out had been discontinued. A day later, I returned to the store, only to be told by a different saleswoman that the tops were still available; she said they had simply been placed on a different list. My ‘maids began to call in their measurements. One of them had difficulty finding a time when the store was open to call since she was in medical school. I checked the Bridal and Gift website and found a form for measurements on-line, but no submission button, only a fax number. When I talked to a sales clerk on the phone, she assured me that you could submit on-line, and then, in a somewhat confused manner, remembered that the store only accepted faxes. After submission, Bridal and Gift did not order my dresses right away, despite the fact that we were close to a deadline. After the measurements were in, Bridal and Gift called to tell me that this time both the skirts and the tops I had chosen were out of stock. I returned, again, to pick out new items. The dresses were ordered and I was notified when they arrived. They shipped them to my ‘maids. Three days later, I got a call from my sister; her skirt was 4 inches too small and her top was very tight. I returned to Bridal and Gift and was treated very poorly by the manager. The manager informed me that she was not responsible for measurements taken over the phone by her employees. She could only be responsible if she herself took the call. She insisted that my sister must have made a mistake; she then informed us how to have a seamstress fix the problem. Then, my other ‘maid called. Her top was 5 inches too small. The manager told me that they could order extra fabric at $40 a yard and have their seamstresses fix it. She assured me it could be done in a day when my ‘maid came up for the wedding. She also assured me that the alterations would not be more than $60. I came in with my ‘maid for the fitting, at which point the seamstresses who work with the shop were very surprised to find that I had been promised overnight alterations. To their credit, however, they did get it done, but it cost $95. While at the fitting, I checked the measurements they had written down. The numbers were correct; the store had ordered the wrong size. We checked the dressmaker’s website and compared her measurements to the size chart. The store had very clearly ordered the wrong size and refused to take responsibility. I could go on – wrong shoe sizes were ordered, sales help was rude, the employees did not know and could not find the merchandise. I must also note that Bridal and Gift was disorganized; everything was on paper and hand-written. When details like measurements are so important, it is unacceptable to not be computerized with the technology available. I sat in the store several times while measurement cards were painstakingly re-written because of mistakes or sloppy handwriting; this was not time I had to waste while planning a wedding. I also had to make sure that mistakes were corrected, insure several times that the correct discounts were applied and insure that shipping costs were correct. In addition, and most inexcusably, the manager was rude and condescending, both to me and to my mother. She made no effort to correct our problems or to treat us as respected customers. I have never had such a frustrating, unpleasant experience. I am very glad I did not get my wedding dress there as well. Bridal and Gift did not value my business; I suggest you do not give them yours.

The staff at this bridal shop were incredible. They helped me find the perfect dress in my price range and assisted my mom in finding the perfect mother of the bride dress! The accessories were great too, and I easily found a veil and a headpiece that complemented the dress. This place is worth the trip!