Trudys Brides

I thought I found my dream dress, though I could barely breathe in the sample I tried on. Heather took my measurements, and said a size 8 would be perfect. I said, are you sure? This is so tight! But she assured me an 8 would be fine. When my dress arrived, it was way too tight. (I didn't gain any weight.) Heather's response was "this is what you ordered!" and was very defensive, as were all the staff. My wedding is in 6 weeks, and I don't have a dress! Watch out everyone, this place only cares about the sale. Also, read the fine print in the contract. They take no responsibility for anything, even if it's their fault. P.S. I have to buy a new dress.

I can't speak to those that had a horrible experience with the actual dress/alteration - I just bought mine a few weeks ago and thus am only commenting on the service I recieved while trying on dresses.
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Like a previous poster, I also came all the way from Sacramento to try on dresses at Trudy's and my experience was totally wonderful.

I drove from Sacramento to go to Trudys because it was recommended to me. When I mentioned the distance I was traveling while making the appointment, the sales person was more than accommodating. I arrived and yes, the sales woman was a bit tardy getting to me, but big deal. I can wait 10 minutes. After a short wait in an utterly empty store (Friday morning - timing is everthing people), my sales person Sheryl sat down with me, looked at my pictures, talked with me and took the time to really understand what it was I was looking for. I really appreciated that.

Some other stores could hardly wait to throw you in any old dress. And the minute Sheryl began bringing dresses, it was obvious she really listened to me and knew her inventory. Every single one was exactly what I was looking for, had the style I was going for and amazingly, in my size, not to mention in my budget. I am a bit chubby and fullbusted and most other stores didnt have anything over an 8, so there was no way I could try them on. Trudys has a great selection in many sizes, so I was really happy. She really worked with me to find something that looks great on me, fits my occasion, was very unique and was in my budget.

Someone mentioned dirty bras etc. It's my experience that all stores have that - it's not just Trudy's that has that issue. I just wore my own.

I ended up buying the 3rd dress I tried on and I am VERY happy. Sheryl found THE dress for me - which ended up being almost as hard to find as the man I am marrying! ;-) I am VERY happy with Trudys and the service I received. I would recommend them in a heartbeat.

I was so excited to start trying on dresses. My wedding was coming up fast but I was assured that I could find my dress there even if it meant getting a floor sample. Shiela helped me and was incredible. Even though you hear about how they pressure you to buy she never did and she found me the Alvina mermaid gown that I just fell in love with.. I knew I had to have this gown. If you know alvina you know that her dresses are not cheap. Mine was over 3000. I would be taking the floor sample which was fine with me. There were a few minor things wrong with it but nothing I couldnt live with. I was so happy until I got to the counter and was getting ready to pay for the dress. Trudy the owner was at the counter so I started to ask her a few questions about the dress. Since it was a floor sample I wanted to have it cleaned. I also asked about the fabric. There was a button missing so I also asked about that as well. Sheila had mentioned that they would take something like 10% off since it was a floor sample. Trudy acted very annoyed at my questions which really confused me. She even said that I was being ridiculous. Ridiculous???? This is my wedding gown. I needed to know how take care of it. Up until now everything had been wonderful. Trudy then said to me that was all the discount I was getting and that maybe this wasnt the dress for me. She was so rude. I was literally in shock. My questions had to do with the care of my dress and all she cared about was the price!! I wasnt even thinking about the price. Truth is I would have paid more for this dress. Price was never the issue for me. Trudy walked away and I couldnt even speak. Never had I been treaded this badly. I was in tears and told Shiela I could never give that woman my money. I felt so bad for Shiela because she works for that horrible woman. I left devastated. Luckily I was able to get the exact Alvina gown at Unique Bride in Burlingame. They were even able to order me a new gown. I paid a lot more including a rush fee of $400. But in the end I got my dress. And it was worth it!! I WOULD NEVER SEND ANYONE TO TRUDYS.

They ordered the wrong dress and tried to convince me that the dress that they had was the one I ordered. I think I know what dress I ordered thank you very much.
The seamstress, although a nice person, made all the wrong measurements (bust too big and waist too small) and made my fitting two days before my prom day, so all the problems with the dress could not be fixed in time.

If you buy a dress from here (large selection :D), make sure you don't order it (buy dresses that are in the store), and do not go to the recommended seamstresses.

My experince at Trudys was so amazing. The lady whom Helped me was so bubbley and out going. She made my experince at Trudys a day to reamber forever. Karyn was not pushey at all and helped me in any way needed. She was someone i felt i grew close to in a short time knowing her. She always had a smile on her face and she and I had many laughs. The day I picked up my Wedding Gown June 1,2006 was one of the happiest days of my life. Karyn was there when i picked up my dress. Which was on a Saturday and I found Out that day the Sunday was going to be her last day at Trudys. I was so happy with my experince that I would recoumend Trudys to all my future bride girlfriends. I would like to thank Trudys from the bottom of my heart for all they did for me. Trudys At The Prune Yard IS The Place To Find Your Dream Wedding Dress.

Kimberly C Of San JOse California

Kimberly C San Jose

I had a horrible experience at Trudy's. When I arrived for my appointment to look at dresses (before I bought) they were real friendly, up until I bought the dress. When my dress arrived and the sales lady open the bag I couldn't believe it, it was the wrong dress. They told me it was the same dress and that they had ran out of the fabric that the floor example had and that they don't guarantee the dress you purchase will be exactly the same as the one in the store! Go figure? Don't guarantee? So I insisted that the dress be made out of the correct fabric (not the cheap stuff that they made my dress out of) and they called China where the dress is made and they not longer have any of that fabric....... anyways there wasn't much I could do except settle for the one they ordered for me or buy a used one of the rack! That's right a bride wants to wear a used one off the rack!Long story short........ I decided to just try to love the one they ordered for me and got my appointments for the dress fitting, they only had appointments available for two weeks before my wedding ( with their in store alterations lady and remember I ordered my dress a year in advance) I thought it was cutting it a little close. Had my second dress fitting and it didn't fit, not even close, it looked like she hadn't even done anything to it so I told I would be back in a couple days to try it on again. What happens next well again it doesn't fit at this time I have no more scheduled dress fittings, but my dress doesn't fit. The alterations lady told me just pick it up the day before your wedding and everything will be perfect. So I did.... I went to Trudy's the day before my wedding to try it on one last time and they WOULDN'T LET ME TRY IT ON!!!!!!!!!!! I had no more appointments with them and I would have to make an appointment if I wanted to try it on........ hello my wedding at this point is less than 24 hours away!!!! They didn't have any appointments so I had to take it home and hope and pray that it would fit because if not I would've been screwed..... but Trudy's doesn't care if it fits or if the dress is even the right one all they care about is money!!! Don't waste your money, I'm sure you can find a more beautiful dress somewhere else!

I came to Trudy's all the way from Sac due to their large selection of designers, as well as having "normal" sample sizes to try on. Most of their dresses are for average brides, so size 12/14/16. The woman who helped me was very good at listening to what I wanted, she did not try to push a different style or type of dress on me. The ONLY complaint that I have is I gave the saleswoman a budget amount, all of the dresses she brought me EXCEPT one was outside of my range. Tried that one on without knowing the price, LOVED IT and was then crushed when I found out the price. Don't know if she did this on purpose, but now I am considering spending more on my wedding dress because I liked to so much. Other than that, I would recommend Trudy's to any bride.

PROS: helpful, great selection, "normal" sizes
CONS: Busy, may try to sneak in an expensive dress

They messed up my hem to hollow measurement so much my dress was too short! Even with low-heeled shoes. Please don't trust these folks to your measurements. Don't buy your dress here!

PROS: they stock nice dresses
CONS: they don't stand by their fitting measurements

"I would never recommend Trudys. The experience for me, the bride, was terrible and it was equally bad for my bridesmaids. Not only was the wrong dress ordered and sent to me, no one ever apologized or assured me it would be in on time. They said it was the designers fault - whatever - all I know is that my new dress was set to come in only 2 weeks before the wedding. When I complained and said I needed at least 2 weeks for fittings, I was told by the owner, that everything could be handled in one fitting and to calm down. R U SERIOUS?

The dress actually came in early, thank God, but I was still agitated when I went in to pick it up. One of the girls there, actually asked me if I wanted a tranquilizer. Oh yes she did.

Being a bride can be a bit stressful. You can get married with store bought flowers or domestic beer from the market - you can even use your iPod for the music. What do you do without a wedding dress?

Hello??? They work with brides all of the time but have no empathy.

For the bridesmaid dresses, they called ME when they came in. They said they always do that. Ok, fine. When I asked which bridesmaid's dress came in they gave me my name. I told them I was the bride. They out me on hold for 10 minutes when they "researched" the problem and came back with someone else's name - a name I never heard of. The owner gets on the phone, because at this point I'm only dealing with her, and she doesn't know what's up.

We finally figure things out. I have to call my bridesmaid to tell her the dress she ordered was in. She goes to pick it up and there was no dress under her name. UGH!

Honestly, the experience was the worst retail experience I have ever had. It's not like I went to the GAP and spent $60 on a pair of jeans - I shelled out serious money for a dress only to be treated like crap.

For your piece of mind definitely go somewhere else. Trust me, what I've written here is only a portion of the issues I dealt with."

PROS: None
CONS: Everything

I didn't buy my dress here, but the experience trying on dresses was awful! They stick you in this tiny dressing room with poor lighting and give you a filthy strapless bra to use for trying on the dresses. They only have huge sizes, so you have to try on a dress that is clipped together in the back. They didn't really give us much attention because the store is packed with people. Perhaps their prices are a lot better than other shops, but for such a special occasion and such a potentially expensive purchase, it would be nice to have better service.

I had an appointment but had to wait 40 minutes before I could get a consultant. People who arrived after me were getting in first because they didn't have an appointment with a consultant. I called ahead to make an appointment so I wouldn't have to wait which tied me to a consultant who happened to not be ready when my appointment time came up. The dress selection was ok, but I got a consultant who didn't really have any suggestions for me so I didn't find the trip very helpful. Perhaps I would have had a different experience if it wasn't so crowded.

Trudy's is the place to go if you want to be spoiled, oohed and ahhed over and find the perfect dress. On a weekend, they are PACKED so be sure to make a reservation. I love the way they are set up with three or four 'alcoves' with full length mirrors and a small pedestal so that the bride can stand on that and see all angles of the dress. The staff is incredible; when I went all the lady did was sit us down, ask a few to the point questions and then she brought out beautiful gowns for us to look at. Can't recommend this place enough.

Such a good place for any engaged woman who dreamed of a fairy tale wedding day as a child...or continues to do so now! :) Trudy's is appointment only, but well worth it. A small boutique staffed by people who know what they are talking about, i ordered my bridesmaids' dresses from here and was so impressed with the final result. Be warned that they are a little pricey though!