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I can't speak from personal experience, but as a former editor for Seattle Bride magazine, I can tell you that Marcella's La Boutique and La Belle Elaine's Bridal have excellent reputations and a broad selection of gorgeous gowns. Both boutiques are located in downtown Seattle.

There are several great places for wedding dresses, though it really depends on what you're looking for. You can narrow down where you choose to spend your time by being specific about the type of gown you want and how much you're willing to spend.

Here are a couple lists of recommended shops:

2008 People's Picks: Favorite Wedding Shop and our Editors' Picks for Wedding Gowns and Formal Wear.

(I found my gown on sale at The Bridal Garden in Kirkland, which carries beautiful, sophisticated gowns. The service was excellent and friendly.)

just a head's up, La Belle Elaine's 'forgot' to order my best friend's wedding dress -- she even called to follow up and confirm that they did order it, and they said they had. when it came down to the time it should've arrived, she called back and they 'had no records of her order'. she ended up having to buy discount last minute. disaster. DO NOT GO HERE. i've warned ALL my friends about it. that is not something you want messed with on your big day.

Another voice of caution for those shopping for wedding related apparel, avoid La Belle Elaine's!

The bridesmaids dress that my friend selected for her wedding had to be ordered through there and when the time came to pick our dresses up two weeks before the wedding, 4 out of 5 bridesmaids' dresses were the wrong size. When we inquired as to why the sizing was so off we were told that the dresses run large and that we can just get them altered. Funnily enough, when we ordered them we were told that they run small; the designers size chart on their website also states that the dresses run small.

To top it off the customer service was awful and no one from the company seemed to care about the fact that our purchase was grossly incorrect. All we kept hearing was, "sorry, it's a final sale, we don't do returns or alterations but we can give you some recommendations."

You don't need any additioanl drama when planning a wedding so take my advice and avoid this retailer. You and your bridesmaids will be much better off in the end.

If you want something totally unique, hand made, and customized exactly to you, check out Wai-Ching Clothing. http://www.wai-ching.com/

Chrissy, the owner and designer, is amazing. I got to pick out the fabric, thread, colors, and I took elements from one of her dress into another.

I shopped around at the places listed above and they were all great, but I wanted something that the racks didn't have. I found that at Wai-Ching.

I would highly recommend I Do Bridal in Wallingford. I had a great experience there as a bridesmaid and also as a bride. The dresses are beautiful and well priced. I have always had great customer service there and when I needed to buy my own wedding dress,the staff was great in accomodating my needs. They helped me find my perfect dress!

Try Cinderelli's Closet in Edmonds. They have beautiful affordable dresses and take care to give each customer the individual attention and respect every bride deserves.

If you still can't find your perfect dress, try Cicada Bridal on First Avenue, Downtown. They have a nice selection of dresses off the rack, but they also do custom designs!

I also reccommend I DO Bridal in Wallingford. I bought my dress there for my wedding and they were very helpful and had a large selection.

I recommend Bellevue Bridal. I went to a few places and they wouldn't let me see the tags or take pics. I wanted a pic to see if I like the dress on.

My dress and bridesmaids dresses were also from I DO Bridal. They were so great to work with! Best service of any of the stores that I visited. (Plus, I love to see my wedding photo on their website of brides.) I recommend them to everyone I know who is getting married!

I recommend Amanda's Bridal in Redmond! Amanda is amazing and does a great job at taking care of all the details. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Been shopping for dresses for a while now. I do is great but the prices are very "seattle." Certain stores carry different lines so if you find something you like in a mag or online you have to find out which stores carry those lines. I really like Pearls and Lace. The dress I love was 400 more dollars at bellevue bridal versus pearls and lace. I thought it was a typo at pearls and lace so I had them call the deisgner. Nope, it was right. I also like Cynderellis.

Where you find your dress will really depend on how much you want to spend and what kind of dress. If you want high-end, then Marcella's offers many beautiful designer dresses... complete with the price tag to match. I recommend the Bridal Garden in Kirkland if you're looking for a dress that is less frou-frou and embellished than what many of the other bridal shops carry. Good, friendly service, and very skillful alterations gal. Good luck and happy shopping!

I just got my dress at Champagne Taste in Kirkland. It's an upscale consignment store. They have a small selection of wedding dresses, but I found THE ONE after not finding anything I could afford at other stores.
It's worth a look.

I just bought my dress up in La Conner at Something Blue. It's a small, cute shop up north, but it's well worth the drive. Kim Bashor, the owner, was amazing and totally made the experience stress-free and fun! She gave me a great deal for a custom-ordered dress. I highly recommend checking out Something Blue--make a weekend outing of it!

Hello,

Well I have a beach theme wedding and most of my shopping was done online,I mostly rely on http://beachthemeweddingshop.com/ , for my wedding, they have excellent range of products at affordable price.

Regards,
sarah_9

My sister and I and my two best friends all bought our dresses from Bridal Garden in Kirkland. The dresses are beautiful and the service makes you feel like a princess. As I'm petite, I especially appreciated the custom fitting and seamstress Patricia making the gown fit perfectly.

I also used www.AvantBride.com - a wedding vendor directory with reviews by brides in the Seattle area.

I bought my gown at Demetrios in Bellevue. I loved my dress, but I hated every other dress there. Everything seemed to be very princess-y and poofy...definitely not me. The service was spotty at best. Every time I visited, I found out that the girl who had helped me the last time had left. I kept getting assigned the newest (read: least knowledgable) associate. Also, my alterations weren't so great. The seam on the top edge of my strapless dress was crooked by the time the seamstress was done with it (two days before the wedding--it was too late to change anything), and when I put on the dress on the day of my wedding, one of my bra cups (which had been sewn in very loosely) fell out immediately. The bustle stitching was not reinforced; it fell apart before the ceremony even started and I had to use a safety pin to keep the bustle up all night. Definitely not cute. I visited several other bridal shops before buying at Demetrios. For great service, I definitely recommend going to I Do Bridal in Wallingford, Bellevue Bridal in Old Bellevue, and Bridal Garden in Kirkland.

From personal experience I can tell you that La Belle Elaine's excellent reputation is incorrect and undeserved. My designer gown was destroyed by their alterations department and the skirt fell of of their "remedy" 30 minutes before the ceremony on my wedding day. They are completely unhelpful and unwilling to do anything to fix their mistakes.

I would like to thank "lookingatyou" and all of our brides that take the time to write such nice reports on their experiences at our boutique, Something Blue.

It is very gratifying to me to know that I have made their experience great and their day complete with the perfect wedding gown and bridesmaids gowns.

thank you, word of mouth is our best advertisement!

Sincerely,
Kim Bashor, owner
Something Blue
La Conner, WA

If you don't mind the drive, I would head to Elegant Bride in Tacoma. They have the same selections as La Belle etc (Pronovias etc) but are not as expensive. Also, the owners of the shop are AMAZING very personalized and supportive. I'm a Seattle girl, but man it was worth the trip.

Check Out: www.bravobride.com they can save you a ton of money

I want to echo the endorsement for I Do in Wallingford with one caveat. When shopping for my wedding dress I went there several times and have also been with several friends as they shop. The selection is nice but there is only one associate there that I would recommend--the amazing Bridget. Ask for her, it's worth waiting for an appointment. She is incredibly helpful, knowledgeable and interested in helping you find the right dress for your body and your vision. The other girls that work there are nice but Bridget is special. If I could have taken her to every store, I would have done so.

Brides Against Breast Cancer! You can find gowns for very reasonable prices (less than $800)AND support a good cause. All proceeds from gown sales go toward helping grant wishes for women with Stage IV breast cancer.

The next event in our area is January 31 and February 1 at the Hilton in Bellevue. Go to www.makingmemories.org to find out more and get dates for future events.

NORDSTROMS! I was a first time, late 30's bride and so much of what I found at the regular bridal shops mentioned above just didn't work for me and what I had envisioned - I had given up. I was shopping for something else at Nordstroms and told my "can't find a wedding dress" story to the Nodstroms sales associate and what I was hoping for. She said "wait here" and came back a few minutes later with a beautiful, intricately beaded Carmen Marc Valvo sheath gown and bolero jacket -I had my dress! And I had never expected to find it there - my advice, keep looking and don't count anywhere out.

I second the recommendation for wai-ching, especially if you're looking for something non-traditional. Chrissy is amazing to work with. The dresses cost the same as polyester dresses you'd find elsewhere, but are custom made out of silk. This also saves a ton of money in alterations, since the dress is already made to fit.

A friend and I were both married in the late 1990's and used La Belle Marie formerly in Kirkland, and now part of La Belle Elaine's. Based on both our experience's at La Belle Marie I would never recommend La Belle Elaines. My friend's dress was bought off the rack from a designer she liked. It needed a few minor repairs, which were never done. She was walking down the aisle with her train coming off.

My dress was one of La Belle Marie's personal lines. The dress needed to be altered and several of the beads, sequences, and pearls that were part of the lace work were missing in areas. One sales associate said they couldn't alter it and I would need to find a seamstress or alterations person, and another said they could. A letter to the shop manager stating my displeasure over this contradictory information, resulted in a call reassuring me that my dress could be altered by the shop and I would not have to find my own seamstress.

My aunt and I went over the dress and noted all the areas where the lace work was missing it's bead, pearls, etc. Due to the design of the dress all the lace work was suppose to be symmetrical, so you noticed when one area was missing a cluster of pearls. The alterations for taking in and letting out were fine, but ended up costing almost as much as the dress itself. Imagine, my horror when the day before the wedding, I unwrap my dress to find none of the lacework has been fixed, despite leaving a list detailing all the areas that needed to be worked on, and the assurance of the manager that the dress would be perfect. My mom and I drove back to the shop and stood there while the alterations lady fixed the lace. After spending over a $1,000 at the shop I expected better service.
At that point, I wished I had found my own seamstress to fix and alter the dress. I would saved money and it would have been done right.

I am not at all surprised to learn that La Belle Elaine's offers poor service, given what happened to my friend and I at La Belle Marie.

Definitely make an appointment at Luly Yang -- www.lulyyang.com. They are so super nice there, and Luly herself, she's amazing. She knows how to make a woman look fabulous (and they're having a sale right now). They're located at the corner of 4th and University downtown, you can park at the Fairmount.

I also recommend BravoBride http://www.bravobride.com/ they have some gorgeous pre-owned wedding gowns and tons of other wedding items.

I purchased several gowns from Periwing using their website that had brand names and styles listed. The gowns received were not anything at all like the ones ordered - they were not the same style, material, or color. The gowns were cheaply made and it would be embarassing to be seen in them. Avoid the headache and order anywhere else, because I cannot think of any company that could be as much of a ripoff as this one.

have you heard about this...

The Second Annual 'Running of the Brides' will take place on Saturday morning, January 17, with doors opening at 9 am. Brides are encouraged to show up early for their chance of receiving the dress of their dreams for a once in a lifetime price! Wedding Bells Boutique of Mount Vernon and Moments to Treasure dress boutique in Mukilteo will supply 500 of their most popular dresses valued at $500 - $2,000 for only $99 - $199. Last year the ‘Running of the Brides’ saw brides lined up at 6 am in the morning - how early are you going to be lined up?

oh... here is where the Second Annual 'Running of the Brides' is held at... Comcast Arena in everett.

I also reccomend checking out http://www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/. This is a great non-profit organization that raises money by selling new and used wedding gowns and donates the money to woman with breast cancer. I found my dress there last year and several of my girlfriends have had luck finding their perfect dresses too. The prices are unbeatable and I didn't feel like I had to scrafice the elegance and quality for the price. And it is for a GREAT cause!

Also check out: http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/

I have just started shopping for gowns, and have found that La Bella Elaine's treats you like a queen - and the atmosphere is really fun! They have a runway where you can try on your dress surrounded by mirrors and adjustable lighting. I also tried Voletta Couture in Bellevue, and found the service to be bad--- it wasn't fun at all, and the prices weren't great.

My daughter bought her wedding gown and accessories at Bravobride.com. She had put a great deal of time and effort in finding the perfect dress and was pleasantly surprised to find the dress online. There were a couple of needed alterations, however, considering the deal she received on the gown, it was well worth it.

I bought my dress at Cynderellie's Closet in Edmonds and loved my experience there. A beautiful shop, very nice owner, wonderful alterations, etc. They carry many of the same lines as I Do bridal, which I found to be nice, but a bit rushed, and waaaaaayy to small and crowded...just not the experience I had in mind.

Two places to avoid - La Belle Elaines and Knars Bridal. The dress I was looking at was off the rack and La Belle Elaines, and had a noticable seem missing the front, and they were still asking $1400 for it. When asked if the price could be lowered, the sales girl told me, "Well you get what you get with off the rack". True, but $1400???
Also to avoid - Knars Bridal. I had made an appointment, the owner was there and was supposed to be helping me, but spent the majority of the appointment on her phone. At one point my friend had to come and help me out of a dress since I couldn't find the owner. Also, the owner made a comment (twice!) about "Well you're probably going to want to lose weight before the wedding"...Needless to say I was shocked! I'm not a big girl and was fitting into everything fine. Not the kind of sales skills one thinks a shop owner should have.

I had a great experience last year at Blue Sky Bridal in the U-District. They are pretty tiny, but had lots of good dresses in my size (4). I found a dress I loved for half what I was hoping to spend.

I went to just about every store when I was shopping with my mom and I have to give another shout out for I Do Bridal. It was a little crowded on the Saturday we were there but they were so organized and hospitable that we had a fantastic time and I am so glad that I found my dress there. Jennifer helped me and she had worked there for years and knew exactly what would look good on me. After having some really terrible experiences (especially the store in Bothell) I would highly recommend them! My dress was under $700 and it fit great even though I am no size 4!

I couldn't agree more. Bravobride.com is an excellent source for bridal gowns. In this unforgiving economy it is great to have a web site that offers all a super selection for a very reasonable price. You will find this site has it all, give it a look, you are in for a wonderful shopping experience.

I recommend http://www.infacity.com

I bought my dress at Marcella's and while I adored the dress, I would not recommend for anyone else to go there. They make you feel wonderful right up until you have signed the paperwork. They coerce you into buying sizes that are too large, hoping that you'll have to have the dress fitted using their seamstresses. If you're shopping at one of the upscale places, you are probably not on a tight budget. Nonetheless, it's nice when the staff are upfront and honest. I found the staff at Marcella's unhelpful and manipulative. I would recommend the Bridal Garden in Kirkland. They have some beautiful dresses and the staff are amazing.

Hi,

There's this article about wedding dresses at Seattleites' Diary Blog that I found and like:
http://seattleitesdiary.blogspot.com/2009/03/weddi...

Maybe you will like it too!

belltown bride was hands down the best place for gown shopping
I had a very open mind and went all over and Melissa, the owner, was helpful, smart, interested in helping you find the perfect dress without 'selling' you anything. She was calm and professional and made the whole experience lovely. The dress selection was outstanding and the prices, unbeatable

I'm having my wedding in Mexico, and found the PERFECT dress at Belltown Bridal. Melissa is the owner/dresser, and she gets all of her dresses from designer shops in NYC at 50-70% off! Because of this more boutique-style shop, there aren't multiple dresses in the same style, which only adds to the fun of buying your one of a kind dress. If you're looking for something other than the standard white strapless number, I recommend Belltown Bridal.

Because there is only one dress, and these are all samples from NYC, the perfect size is 4-6 for the selection.

Absolutely fabulous service and very helpful. 5 stars for Belltown Bridal!!

La Belle Elaine's C-
When I purchased my wedding dress at La Belle Elaine's, I found the perfect dress for my 7 bridesmaids. I went in and ordered ALL my bridesmaids dresses in person, I had all of their measurements on an excel spreadsheet and was really prepared. They never once asked me about length or mentioned that I could order them long, even though I had all of the girls heights listed their too. My sister is 5'11 for crying out loud and I had three other bridesmaids that were 5'8! Anyhow, I ended up having to order three extra yards of the material and then pay for that and to have the dresses lengthened and altered! And then when my sister went to pick up her dress the day before the wedding they wanted to charge her an additional $90 to have it pressed after they had done the alterations. I had to leave the store and let my mom deal with it!! I was so livid!

Also, after I had paid an insane about for my alterations they charged me for pressing my dress. I bought a total of 8 dresses from them and it made me very angry the way that they handled themselves….

I just bought my dress at Calla Bridal in Ravenna. It's only been open for about 6 months, but it's such a cute little shop and then owner is such a big help! I highly recommend it.

I bought my dress at Belltown Bridal. The owner, Melissa is fabulous and she has designer dresses at amazing prices. Melissa pulled lots of choices for me based on my preferences. My gown was gorgeous and it was such a fun, laid back environment to shop in.

I shopped at 4 locations:

1.) I Do Bridal
2.) La Belle Elaine's
3.) La Belle Reve
4.) David's Bridal

I'd give I Do Bridal a 5/5. Service was great, and they had a good selection. The woman helping me was fantastic, and I was able to try on a lot of dresses in a short time. However, I didn't find a dress I loved there.

La Belle Elaine's - I had a great experience here with Taneka helping me, and found two dresses I loved. Service was stellar, and I loved the spacious dressing rooms. I ordered my dress from here, so we'll see how closing the deal goes. If your budget is < 2K, they have fantastic selection. If you're limited to < 1K or even 1.5K, it may not be a great choice.

La Belle Reve - Service was good, but they had a limited selection of dresses under $2K. The shop is quite small, and about half their dresses are quite expensive. I'd give it a 4/5 - good service, OK selection.

David's - I think David's is great if you want a dress under $600. If you're willing to pay more, you'll get more for your money by going to I Do Bridal. Their more expensive dresses aren't very nice, and they don't come with built in slips and so on, so you'll be buying that. Service is TERRIBLE. I'm sure it varies, but I had a very bad experience and was only able to try on four dresses in two hours! It was unbelievable. The assistant also packed me into undergarments so small I could barely breathe and felt compelled to make comments about my body. I couldn't believe it.