It didn’t make sense to me to do a separate review for our attire vendors, so I’m putting them together in one.
Heimie’s Haberdashery (St. Paul)
Mark really should be the one writing this review, but since that’s not his bag, I’m going to take a stab at it. I visited Heimie’s once with Mark to get a feel for the place. He wanted to try going full custom on his suit (which he did) and they were the place to do it.
Walking into the Haberdashery is a much different experience than going to a Men’s Wearhouse. The service was impeccable. They had a seemingly endless selection of fashions, fabrics, and styles. They are competitive pricewise and more than competitive quality-wise.
Mark got his whole outfit there (suit, tie, shoes, suspenders, etc.) and was more than pleased with Heimie’s. We bought our groomsmen’s ties there and I think that some of the other mens’ attire came from there as well. Mark did end up going fully custom with his suit, and even had his name embroidered on the inside. He did end up spending more than I did on my dress, but I got my dress at a consignment shop (see below) and he’ll wear his suit again (and can’t wait to do so!).
Perry Bridal Boutique (Des Moines)
I discovered Perry Bridal when a friend told me she saw “the dress” (the one I’d been pining over for years) there, in my size, for less than $1000. I went dress shopping at one other place (Bridal Connection in Ankeny), but the owner was so rude to me I refused to go back (here’s my Yelp review for reference).
Perry Bridal, on the other hand, was a great experience. They have an eclectic mix of dresses that they get from all over the country. They might not have the exact dress you’re looking for, but they have a lot of stuff I’d never seen before. I tried on “the dress” only after trying a few other dresses that I picked and that the staff recommended. I had fun trying on stuff here and wished I’d tried on a few more before purchasing the dress I got (even though it was the one I would have gotten anyway).
The staff at Perry Bridal is really nice and they are pretty flexible if you cancel an appointment (I had to rearrange a couple of fittings). I ended up doing an extra fitting because my weight changed right before the wedding and I was worried my dress wouldn’t fit right (it did).
Other Attire Vendors
BHLDN
If you follow me on Pinterest you know I’m obsessed with BHLDN dresses. I will admit the price is steep. But, you can find a lot of these on sites like Tradesy, Ebay, and Poshmark for less than half the price. I loved these dresses because I hoped that my ladies could get more than one use out of the dress. Some of them look very “bridesmaidy” and don’t work for multiple wears. I ended up buying a bunch of dresses from here since my bridesmaids and I are similar sizes. I’ve since sold most of them, but wore them at different wedding-related events (bridal showers, brunches, etc.). Two of my bridesmaids wore BHLDN dresses.
Dress Barn
I love Dress Barn. Their dresses aren’t as cute as BHLDN, but they have a wide variety of sizes, the prices are far less expensive than BHLDN, and they’ve got a huge selection. My mom and one of my bridesmaids ended up in a dress from Dress Barn. I highly recommend making a stop here if you’re looking for less bridesmaidy looking dresses.
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