Despite some of the negative comments I have read, I went to Winchester's Bridal with an open mind and had the most wonderful experience. I couldn't imagine anyone being unhappy with the service or the selection!
I was greeted by a lovely young lady who immediately showed excitement for me, knowing this experience would be treasured forever. She was very pleasant, asked lots of questions, and was eager to point me in the right direction. After tagging dresses that caught my eye, I was paired up with an older lady that had over 20 years experience. She was very passionate about her job, and it showed. Within the privacy of the dressing room, our conversation was comforting and heart warming. Outside in the showroom when modeling each dress, she was enthusiastic and very honest, which made my shopping much easier. She had respect for my Mom and Dad (my entourage) by listening to their opinions, sharing ideas with them, and keeping her attention on us without distractions.
After saying YES to the dress, a very excited me stood in the mirror teary eyed as both ladies completed my look with accessories and a cute hair style!
Their ideas brought my Wedding theme to life, and made me even more excited for my big day. I could not be more grateful, and look forward to seeing them again for my first fitting!
Thank you!

I should also mention this was my first stop on my hunt for my Wedding dress, and within 3 hours and the help of these lovely ladies, I found it!

I went to Whinchesters just this past Wednesday and yes I had read all the negative reviews. I was apprehensive but just wanted to check it out as I've heard the dress's are beautiful. I was not disappointed, there were two older women working and they couldn't have been nicer.
My daughter tried on several dress's then told them she liked 3 of the gowns, the women helping her made a list of the gowns so she could come back anytime to try them on again. Maybe it makes a difference to go through the week, less busy .. I don't know but I can't say enough about the wonderful experience we had and how helpful they were.
I have to recommend this shop to anyone looking for a wedding dress..:)

I have been reading all the testimonies and am in 100% agreement for the lack of quality customer service given to brides on what is supposed to be one of the most memorable times in a girls life.My niece purchased a gown from them this past month and i can not believe the state this $1100. gown was in when it handed over to her after she went back to pick it up.

It was apparent that the dress had been tried on numerous times after my niece purchased the gown as the beading had started to fall off....rhinestones were missing,the back panel didn't even fit the dress(was too small and wouldn't snap)..the lace was dirty,picked,and had hair stuck in it,not too mention it was wrinkled and the under netting was gray, dirty and full of lint.When she went to return it after a lengthy drive back to the city (2 hours away)they would only exchange it for another dress as $ for $. I wish i was there to help my niece because they certainly would have gotten an ear full from me...
As a sales associate for over 13 yrs i have never heard of such disrespect for customer/client business as I have I have from this particular bridal shop and rather than just post on the web people need to submit their complaints to the Better Business Bureau so that something can be done .If you don't ...these so called ladies are getting commission from those dresses therefor one could say you are actually rewarding these ladies for treating you like dirt with your dollars.THATS JUST NUTS!! so please report report report...it only takes a few moments of your time

I went with my my sister and mother and my best friend for the "once in a life time experince". Well that is just what it was and not for a good reason. The lady was horrible and rude, she did not listen to what i wanted. So my mom and sister went to look for a dress and found "the dress" I tried it on and it was perfect. I asked them to hold on to it till i went to the bank which was less then 5 minutes away. When i got back another girl was wearing the dress and bought it. I asked the lady why didnt they hold it and they said they dont hold dresses, Funny cause when she said that another lady was putting a dress on hold for a week. My mom spoke up and said you cant treat people that way, and the lady said "it is all about money dear" They should be shut down or reported to the better business bureau. NEVER WILL I GO THERE NOR WILL MY FRIENDS.

When i went to winchesters the first time with my mom, i found the dress.....a few months later i went back to order it....i looked at it and the price was 500 bucks more than the original quote i was given 3months prior....so i asked the main lady and she was SUPER RUDE!! and told me i should of bought it then when i first looked at it, i nearly cried! When she actually went tocheck the price, the tag was wrong, the price did go up a few dollars but nothing as the tag said. I just found it rude to speak in the tone that she did...i dont think she should be working with brides, were suppose to have a Great Experience.........but the actual girls that help with the trying on of the gowns were awesome(thank god)......but i did get my dress in 3-4months:)

I don't even want to give them half a star. Worst customer service ever. My friend and I went in looking for dresses today, and the first young girl that we met was nice enough, but then an older lady came into the picture and things went downhill from there.
She told my friend and I that we were to fat to try on some of the styles that we liked. Didn't listen to either of us, and was just plan rude. She wouldn't let us get a word in, and tired to tell us that her store was the ONLY place we could get wedding gowns in Nova Scotia. Also told me that I was stupid for saying that I wanted to look in Toronto this summer while I'm on vacation. Not to mention dismissing my friend when she asked for a certain style of dress, replying with "well if you want something to cover a certain part of your body, then obviously there is something wrong with your body type".
I usually do not make complaints towards anyone in retail, as I know it can sometimes be a tiring job - but she is in the wedding dress business. It is supposed to be some of the happiest moments of your life - she ruined my shopping experience. I will not return there to continue to look for wedding dresses, nor will I refer any of my friends there.

i've been engaged for just over 2 months, and our wedding is not for another few years, but i thought it would be fun to go look at dresses with a girlfriend who is also engaged. winchesters has been my number one spot to go since high school, because that's where ALL the pretty prom dresses came from, and for a great price. so we took the 45 minute bus ride JUST to go there. it was terrible. almost crying in the fitting room is NO way to remember the first time you tried on a wedding dress.

it all began when we walked in, and had to take our shoes off. then we were given odd little rings, and had to give our full address and name, wedding date and type of wedding. i don't know why. they never tried to find anything to go with it. then we had to pick the dresses we wanted, not given any instruction on how sizing works (i'm not a dress person and i have no idea what dress size i am, until today). so we picked a few, and i guessed at my dress size, and i was 1 off. but before we even started looking, the woman, i'm assuming the owner, told me that all these dresses would be gone by the time i get married, and everything would be different (which felt like she was saying 'why are you here wasting our time'). it wasn't friendly. her assistant was, however, and i did enjoy chatting with her.

anyways, i'm a curvy girl, so i knew what i did and didn't want. so i picked the styles and my friend did as well, and we told the lady we wfere ready. they were not too friendly about putting us in rooms across from each other, so they stuck us in the middle, which was fine. i tried my first dress on, and it was too tight, but that was okay. went for the second one, and the owner came over to "help". she grabbed the back of my dress and started pulling it really tight, then said i needed to try on the others. she picked random dresses, threw them in my room and told me to try them on. i liked the first one, but the lacing process was violent, and actually hurt my back. i know it's meant to be tight, but shaking me like a doll at least deserves a "sorry" or "am i hurting you".

after the 3rd dress, i was frustrated. the dress was NOT what i wanted or ANYTHING LIKE what i wanted. it was ugly, and had a ton of layers. not flattering. she told me she was showing me all 4 styles, and that there's nothing else in the store to show me. so i asked if they ever got sleeved dresses, which is what i want, and was told that 'girls who wear sleeved dresses are obviously trying to hide something, but really it just makes you look worse and points out your flaws'.. yeh. not such a nice thing to say. it may be true, but there is a much kinder way to say it. and when my friend said she was going to toronto and thought she'd look for dresses there, the owner bragged that she would never find anything like she has, that she has the best prices, and that girls from all over canada call her for her dresses and only her dresses.

in the end, we left upset, feeling fat from her telling us nothing fits us, and very irritated that she thinks her business is so wonderful that everyone buys from her. honestly, i would spend the extra money in a store if they had great service. this is the WORST service i've ever received in my life, and i wish i would've had the guts to yell in her face. i felt insulted and disrespected. i work in retail and i know what customer service is, and how it affects your business. i hope she either smartens up, or closes down because no bride should be put through that. not a single suggestion i made was taken, and never was i asked 'do you like this one?'. she just laced up everyone she put on me and walked away. i will never buy a dress from her store, and i will gladly take my business elsewhere. she lost 2 sales today, because my friend had similar treatment by her, and felt the same. our fiances are so upset, they have asked to go there and talk with her, but it's not worth their time because she seems stubborn and set in her ways.

to all you brides that had a good experience, that's great, and i really wish i could say the same. i'm really afraid to try dresses on anywhere else for fear of terrible service.

I went to winchesters the other day to look for a dress and I found the ladies there very outspoken but great they told me if it looked bad and wasnt quite me. The ladies were very helpful. The only thing I dont like is when you go to spend all that money on a dress they do not even alter it there like what the hell....

My experience with Winchester has been horrible - they do offer some really beautiful wedding dresses but I can't believe how rude the people who work there are. They never go out of their way to help you and plain don't listen to any questions you may have. I wouldn't recommend this store to anyone and they deserve to be out of business!

I just read a few reviews online about Winchesters and some of them said that the store has closed. I'm from NB and I ordered my dress from there about 3 months ago. However, I haven't heard anything about them closing until now. Can anyone tell me if they are truly closed for business? :(

Just a few weeks ago my niece and my sister were shopping for a prom dress, and when they walked by the window at Winchesters spotted "the dress". The lady inside told her they could not try it on, it would be too much to take the dress from the window for her to try on, and it wasen't her size anyways. They left and decided to return after no such luck anywheres else, and take a photo of the dress so they could search for it online. When they returned the dress was gone from the window. They went in and another girl had the dress on, who was the same size as my niece. My sister could not believe this! They turned to my sister and told her it was very expensive. So my sister asked for the designer, went home and sourced another bridal shop who would order it in for them. The shop had it within a week for her. I do not understand why this place is still in buisness!

• By:

  DOX

  OH MAN
  

  My wife went through the same issue with this store. They were all like "we can't take it out of the display". She left the store, and immediately walked back in and said "how about now?" And they let her try it on. Always ask "how about now?"

I went to Winchesters to look for my dress in October of 09. Maureen was the attendant to me and she is the best! She knew exactly what I wanted and read my mind! It is January 24th and now my dress is in.

Don't expect your dress to arrive overnight, especially if you are requesting a bit of of change from the original dress. And, these women will not try and sell you a dress that looks terrible on you. Half of the dresses I really though I wanted and would look good in, looked terrible and they got me to try them on just to show me the difference between then and the one Maureen showed me.

Very happy.

I had an amazing experience at Winchesters today! The lady helping me was so wonderful and insightful! I absolutely LOVE my dress and the price on it was so great. My experience was enjoyable and memorable!

I called this store this morning as my daughter has chosen a gown that she loves. However, even though the gown is advertised on the Manufacturer's website as available in white, they told us they could not get it (maybe they aren't paying their bills?????). Another bridal shop said that as long as it is available in white, it CAN be obtained. I called this store looking for the style number of this dress, but did not identify myself. I was told that they don't have this style number, but we know that it was attached to the dress along with the PRICE. They said that design was available there in ivory (we already knew this) but they don't carry the style number. Be careful ladies, when looking for your dress, jot down the number. You may find that another shop not only has exactly what you are looking for, but in the color that you want. Oh, and by the way, this particular design has gone on sale at another bridal shop for 1/2 price. We were told it would increase by $300 on Sept. 1/09. What's with that?????? They will watch you like a hawk (no pics, remember???) but we managed to get those at least. Take care, these people are not honest.

Winchesters should be ashamed of themselves for the arrogant way they treat their potential customers.
My daughter & I have boycotted ever using Winchesters for anything, they are rude, & it is obvious giving the customer a pleasant experience while in their store is NOT a priority.
I guess we had the last laugh though, my daughter bought her dress at a great bridal store & we had NO budget.
I guess you missed out on that sale Winchesters.

We had a terrific experience on Saturday when out looking for my daughter's wedding dress. The sales Clerk Debbie was a friendly helpful and very knowledgeable person who zeroed in on what my daughter's taste was and partnering with her helped my daughter find her wedding dress/veil and accessories. We had a delightful time and Debbie made the experience a very enjoyable and stress free experience. Kudos to her for a job well done.

went in to look for bridesmaid dress and for my own bridal gown , service absolutely sucked. The section for bridal gowns didn't even acknowldege me!

I have been reading numerous website postings about the experiences many of you share with Winchesters. There is a definite pattern of bad service, inablity on the part of the owner to lead her staff in providing honest and caring service (no matter what she claims on the store website). The customer experience is a bad pattern of business but a consistent pattern anyone can expect from the owner.

Look behind the pattern of broken promises, bad customer service, avoidance to respond, and holding your money while she gets yet more bad refinancing in place. If that does give you discomfort look at the other failed businesses she has been associated with, the court battles, and credit leans and still she thinks its is always someone else who causes these things.

You are better off shopping in so many other places than paying for a dress you might wear on your wedding day while she uses your money to bridge debts and keep yet another step ahead of the mounting group of creditors.

You can't buy peace of mind!

Went to Winchester's on January 9, 2008 and ordered a gown from Alfred Angelo. Paid in full, it was expected to arrive in 3-5 months, but no way would it take that long. On June 15, I called, frantic at why I had not received my dress yet. They assured me it would be in with the next shipment. I called back at the end of June, still nothing. We are now at the end of July, and still no wedding dress, and a very extremely angry bride. I have nothing good to say about the store, the manager, the OWNER, or the rude and nasty bridal consultants. If anyone thinks they will have a good experience at Winchester's, think again. I would strongly recommend you shop somewhere else, and those who are still waiting, as I am, good luck and keep fighting!!!!!!!

My daughter and I went to Halifax in February to shop for a Bridal Gown. She lives in New Brunswick and I live in Newfoundland so it seemed like a good idea at the time. We found a dress she loved at Winchesters, ordered it and paid for it. Expected it to arrive in June. June came and went..no dress. Repeated phone calls that were never returned and still no dress.. Luckily I have a sister in Halifax who went in to the shop and spoke with the manager, who told her they were expecting a shipment shortly. Another week , still no dress. My sister went back to the shop and called us to say the racks were half empty and when she asked one of the sales clerks point blank, if they were headed for bankruptcy she was told ,"it doesn't look good. My sister demanded that my credit card be credited with the amount I had paid them and they did this. This was two weeks before my daughters wedding. The next day we went to Sydney, Nova Scotia and found a beautiful dress at Oak Hill on Charlotte. Please don't wait any longer for shipments that never arrive..

When I was there looking for a dress they were rude to me too. They place a stereotype on me right away and it bothered me. They didnt ask me for help, I waited for 20 mins before I went to the lady and told her to show me a dress. Im going to need to find a different place....

My daughter had her wedding party fitted January 4,2008. We were told they would be in by the middle of March, now June 28 still no dresses. We are also being told her dresses are in the next big shipment coming and if not that one, the the shipment coming next. They are always suppose to come roughly 2 weeks after the phone we made, so when we do call at that time or the date they tell us it's always turns out to be "the next shipment". Makes you wonder if a certain business isn't having finicial problems, we do still have a little time, BUT we were promised again JULY 8, now let's see again what happens!!!

• By:	ANGRYBRIDE

  winchesters
  

  have you contacted the company that makes the dresses? i contacted Alfred Angelo and was told that my dresses have been sitting in there Toronto warehouse since April this may be the case with your dresses as well...when we contacted winchester's with this info their fiddle started to play a new tune...i demanded my dresses be here on the 4th of July so i will see what happens from here.

• By:

  CRCM2222

  I did email them but I wasn't sure if it was the right person maybe you have an email or number I can try. Hopefully your dresses come in on time.
  

• By:

  CRCM2222

  update
  

  I also received an email from Alfred Angelo stating that the dresses have been sitting in their warehouse since March 21, 2008, waiting for instruction from Winchester's for instructions.
  The email also said there was nothing wrong with their shipping dates. I called Winchester's and asked about the email I received from Alfred's and they said there was a shipment coming in July 4 and 8. Our daughters dresses are in those orders, supposedly . I am also putting in a complaint with the Better Business. I am also taking in the email I received stating that the dresses have been sitting in the warehouse since March 21. See what they say about having it in writng in front of their noses!

• By:

  CRCM2222

  FINALLY
  

  I spoke to the owner of Winchesters on July 5 asking if the dresses had come in. I didn't know at the time this was the owner. When she said no the aren't I said let me finish,"no not this order, but there is one coming next Friday and another small one a few days later and hers should be in that one", this is what we were told since March 21. Anyways I demanded that the dresses be there July 11 as we were coming in that day, I told her I was tried of being lied to and stalled. She explained the change over of owners making me think it just happened but it happened in January,08.When we arrived on the 11th there were about 15 angry people standing outside, all wanting their dresses or money.We tried call the previous Tuesday and Wednesday but there was no answer, they said they had electrical problems and there phones would not work either,funny huh.Suprising their power was turned off for lack of paying their bills.
  THEY ARE IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE. I feel very bad for the rest of the people waitng like we were and not know about Winchesters problem and not reciving their dreses on time. If you know of any up coming engagements PLEASE WARN ANY POTENTIAL BRIDES, this is suppose to have been a very happy time but I told the sales lady it was the worst nightmare I have ever had.
  It was also the worst day the sales clerks have every put in with them stating it has never ever happened before but it did happen last year also. GOOD LUCK FUTURE BRIDES

Hi ,

I wanted everyone to know that on March 4th 2008 I purchased 4 Alfred Angelo bridesmaids dress from Winchester's bridal in Halifax. I was told the dresses would be in by May 1st and that the company I bought the dresses from usually delivers early.

My dresses are now 8 weeks past the original due date I was given and after many calls to Winchester's I was told over and over again that they would be here in the next shipment. My wedding is now only 5 weeks away and still no dresses. My biggest concern is that 3 of my dresses need to be sent out of province for fittings. Winchester's called the company from which I ordered from and has advised me the are busier then normal because of prom. I feel that this should not be an excuse as prom and weddings happen the same time every year. They also told me the company was shipping by wear date, so dose this mean I am not going to get my dresses till just before?? Thank God I order my dress at a different store, from the same company. I ordered my dress in January it was here by late February. I find it hard to believe that the dresses have not been shipped yet...


This is not the first incident with Winchester's. The staff there are very rude with the exception of one lady that works with the bridesmaids dress/prom wear. When I first got engaged to my fiance my mother and I went to Winchester's to look at dresses as this is where my sister in law bought her dress. I have never been treated this rudely in my whole life. The girls in the bridal section of the store did not seem to even bother to ask my mother and I if we needed help. They were very stuck up and were too busy selling the same dress my sister in law wore telling the bride to be that it was brand new dress that just came out this year, even though my sister in law wore the same dress 4 years before hand.

It was because of this experience that I was reluctant to buy my dress from Winchester's and looked else where. I regret getting my bridesmaid's dresses there now. The reason I did get them there and not somewhere else was because all my bridesmaids were able to attend and get to that location on the day we picked the dresses.

So if you want all the hassle that I have gone through you can shop at the over priced Winchester's. Oh yes I almost forgot to tell you that my very same dress cost twice as much there. They wanted $1300 for the dress plus $500 for alterations!!! Not to mention I would also still have to buy my veil and accessories.

Now I do have one good positive thing to say. It might have cost me more in Gas however there is a place in Windsor Nova Scotia called Tatum's Bridal and Fashions. They are AWESOME!! I got my dress from them and the staff is amazing they helped me pick out my dress, bra and veil and accessories. Their prices included the alterations and the deal they had on was $150 store credit for a veil so i got my veil for free!

Think about it. Is all the hassle from the local bridal shop worth it?? If i can save someone else the trouble the 25 minutes it took me to write this and the 15 it took you to read it was well worth the time!!

Thanks for Reading.

Angry Bride

• By:

  JENNIFER

  oh my goodness! :(

• By:	ANGRYBRIDE

  update!!
  

  i contacted the alfred angelo website and was informed that my dresses have been sitting in there wearhouse since April 29th waiting for Winchesters to contact that to make shipping arrangements. they also advised that their dresses do not take 6 months to be ready rather they only take 7.5 weeks...again do you really want this bridal shop taking care of your dress needs for the day you have dreamed about your whole life.

• By:

  CLUBRITZ

  thanks!
  

  I am so happy to read this today! I was heading to Winchester's this Friday to become a new customer! This site has obviously saved me from making a terrible decision, and Windsor is closer to me anyways! Are there any other bridal shops that are highly recommended? Many thanks!