Customer Reviews

Bridal Gown Guide 1999

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is extremely informative, useful and cleverly written. I giggled the whole way through. But don't let the humor take away from the excellent guidance this book has to offer. What a great resource to save yourself hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars! Not all, but many bridal shops are full of foul play, and this book tells brides exactly what to watch out for and what is standard in the industry. This book guides readers on how NOT to get taken advantage of. I felt much less intimidated walking into a bridal store thanks to this book. I can't wait for the next edition to give to all my friends and sisters who get engaged!

The book was very helpful with well researched information. However, if you bought Bridal Bargains by the Fields you would probably have all the information you'd need about dresses in that book. In addition to the great (albeit abbreviated compared to this entire book) section on dresses, their makers, fabric quality and sizing information, you receive TONS of valuable information for the rest of your wedding. If your dress is the most important part of your wedding, then this book might be a good addition to Bridal Bargains.

My mom bought this book for me, and (I'll admit) I thought it was such a waste. A whole book about buying one dress! I read it, and was alternately horrified by some of the practices in the bridal industry, and amused by their tongue-in-cheek style of writing. When I finally did visit bridal salons I felt well-informed and a lot less like a rube because of this book. Don't let the Fields and some of their truly horrifying tales scare you too much, however. Take their warnings as points of caution, and not as reasons to abandon the search entirely.

If you already have Bridal Bargains, keep in mind that this book is just an expansion of their wedding gown chapter, a very large expansion. At this point, they are covering this topic on their website, and as far as I know no longer publishing this book. Since I dreamed about my wedding gown since I was 10, I bought this book anyways because I wanted more details on the different manufacturers.
I ended up buying my gown from a full service bridal shop in Kirkland, WA only because the gown I fell in love with was from the shops private line. I did encounter many of the illegal practices and tricks the Fields warn about. Manufacturer's tags were removed from the all the gowns. The sales staff would tell you the manufacturer and the fabric content, but not the style #.
After paying over $400.00 for alterations, I took the dress home to find all the small detail repairs, such as replacing missing beads and pearls had not been done. When I took the dress back to the shop and insisted they finish the job, I was treated rudely by the staff. I found out later that my friend, who also bought her dress at this shop encountered the same problem. None of the promised repairs were made. She had been told they woud be, so did not inspect her gown prior to the wedding. While walking down the aisle, her train started to detach and catch on the candle holders, because the missing hooks and eyes had not been replaced. All these incidents merely reinforced the message of the book. Not all bridal shops will scam you, but many leave much to be desired in the customer service and honesty department.
My bridesmaids ordered their dresses online via Pearl's place, at a savings of over $100.00 a dress. They had no problems with the customer service.
I wonder if the few reviewers giving this book only 1 star and saying it is all lies, are part of the bridal industry and are suffering sour grapes over some ugly truths being told. This and all the Field's book are written with consumer in mind, and I alway find them a good investment.

Get great information on most bridal manufacturers as well as great ways to save money, such as Discount Bridal Service. I found my dream dress at a huge discount and was very pleased with the service. A good book for brides.

This book is an indispensable tool for all brides who are shopping for a gown. Who can make sense of all those photos in the wedding magazines? These guys explain everything in simple language. This book is thoroughly researched and utterly easy to read.

Before I started to read this book I thought I would get good information on the manufacturers due to the grading at the back of the book and I didn't have to read the mass information at the front of the book because I believed it would be the same old information in the many other books that was at the same bookshelf under the title "Weddings". But I knew the book was different due to the hilarious "Thank You" after the cover. I also was totally surprised that the two authors told me more about the retailers point of view, the past wedding dress shoppers pluses and minuses of their experiences, and the many different ways of getting my perfect wedding dress. I also must confess that I do work at a bridal store and was nervous and embarassed at how some of the stores in America were treating our brides, so in a way the book has helped me better my customer service to my brides and be more informative towards information coming from both the brides and the industry. I will forever use the information from this book until the next edition comes through.

When I first saw this book at the bookstore, I thought it wouldn't be a good investment since gowns come and go. But I was wrong! It was the sole reason that I chose the designer that I did, and I love the service and quality of my gown, thanks to this book. As long as the Fields' continue with updated versions every year, any bride will find it imperative to bring with them to the bridal salon. There's no other book out there like this. It also informs brides about Discount Bridal Service, a company no major bridal magazine ever mentions. Although I didn't use it, I did use them to compare pricing, and it's everything the Fields' say it is - I only didn't use it because I found my dress at a trunk show.

One caveat however; those that buy this book, the Fields' other book, Bridal Bargains, is not a winner. Find another planner, perhaps from Beverly Clark or Diane Warner.

There is some helpful buying advice in this book, mixed in with a lot of misinformation and an annoying excess of supposedly humorous remarks. If the authors had stuck to their subject instead of constantly cracking stupid jokes, the book would be half the size it is.

Their descriptions of fabrics uses incorrect terminology and pronunciations, and their verbal descriptions of gowns is virtually useless-- whoever bought a gown just by reading about it? The authors also seem to have very provincial tastes, preferring Bonney gowns (polyester explosions) to Carolina Herrera (international couture).

The only valuable parts of the book are the parts about contracts, sizing, ordering, dealing with a bridal salon, and other business matters.

Get a copy at the local used book store, or borrow the library's copy--now there's a money-saving tip for you!

I bought the book to get an idea about the bridal gown industry and how best to go about buying my dress. I read the book and the most useful items to me were as follows: The designer guides, with dress sizing, and reputation. The price guides. The dress characteristics (eg bodice, style descriptions). The websites of designers. The only thing I thought the book was lacking some of the newest designers, and their reputations, etc. Otherwise, thought it was a worthwhile investment.