Jo-Marie Dress & Bridal Shoppe

JO MARIES is NOT CLOSED!!!! YOU ARE ALL LIARS, I WAS JUST THERE YESTERDAY! THIS IS ON THE BEST PLACES AROUND, YES IT IS TRUE DEBBIE IS VERY OUT SPOKEN & REAL BUT SHE GETS THE JOB DONE. I WENT IN THERE TO GET MY VEIL & TIARA & I WAS OUT THE DOOR IN LESS THAN AN HOUR. ALL OF YOU PEOPLE THAT THINK YOU ARE GOING TO RUIN HER, IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. JO MARIES IS BY FAR ONE THE BEST PLACES TO SHOP AT, MY EXPERINCE WITH JO MARIES HAS BEEN FANTASTIC & IF I EVER NEED A DRESS I KNOW WHERE TO GO! GOOD LUCK DEBBIE & DICARLO!!!

THANKS! THE HAPPY CUSTOMER

The only personal experience I had with Jo-Marie's was at a bridal expo. I went and they had a booth. I went to the booth and they had some fliers, but nothing with any "real" information. I don't even remember what it was but it just showed 1 dress or something. I asked the man behind the booth what designers they carried. He said he didn't know because he didn't work there; he was just helping out for the day. From that point, I was turned off. Why spend money to have a booth at an expo if you're going to send someone that knows nothing about your business or dresses in general? I just had a bad feeling about the place.

About a month later, a good friend of mine got married. She got her dress from Jo-Marie's. She was less than pleased. The dress came in late, she was treated rudely; same scenario as the other reviews. But what scared me the most was she said she received the wrong dress! She paid in full for her dream gown and received a knock-off that had some similarities, but it was obviously not the right gown!! She said she complained to the owner; but she brushed her off telling her it was the one she ordered. Sorry, but as a bride-to-be myself, I would NEVER forget what my dress looked like!!!

I ended up going to Lavinia's Bridal in Garnerville, NY (Rockland Co.). Her website is a work in progress but her store and staff are amazing! I walk in there and feel like the most important person in the world! Lavinia is so down to earth and so nice! She treats me, my 6 bridesmaids, and my mother like princesses! She's honest and tells you like it is...if it doesn't look good on you, she won't let you walk out with it. My dresses came in EARLY, as well as my veil. She allows lay-away and payment plans too. I recommend Lavinia to anyone in the Hudson Valley for their wedding. It's a bit of a drive for me, but it is so worth it. If you want to feel special, visit Lavinia's!

Good luck to all those brides still fighting with Jo-Marie's!

so, its been a while since my wedding, but i guess you could say i'm still bitter. hearing of all these brides without their dresses is breaking my heart. i used jo marie's after my sister had used them for her wedding. first they put bows and buttons on my train for the bustle (not at all what it should have been) and then they told me that they could not alter the top of my dress, which was standing a good two inches away from my bust. free show anyone? i luckily took my dress as was and ran to my fiancee's aunt who fixed my dress perfectly for my perfect day! so my thoughts, don't use them!!

I feel terrible for you other brides but my experience was great right down to DiCarlo w/ the alterations. Grant it no one was there to answer the phone a couple of times but all in all it was a good experience. And I was glad to hear Giavanna was gone.I was in there on Thurs. and girls were actually walking out and not paying for their dresses...walking out and leaving and laughing on the way out or saying they were going to cancel their credit card. How can YOU do that? This just isn't good for anyone. Good luck to Deb and to the brides!

After ordering three bridesmaids dresses and a mother of the bride dress in April I still had no dresses or any inkling that there would be dresses with 2 weeks until the wedding, I thought my wedding day was ruined. BELLA COUTURE on 605 Broadway in Newburgh saved my wedding day! They welcomed my mother and I into their store when we were in tears and helped us with the upmost humanity and professional courtesy. For once I felt like I was being treated right after being treated like crap from every employee at Jo Marie's. Not only did my mother walk out of the store that day with a beautiful dress, but 4 business days later I walked out with 3 stunning bridesmaids dresses. So if you are looking for nice dresses at a reasonable price with great and trustworthy service please stop in there and tell them Melanie sent you, it is the only way I can ever thank them enough.

Channel 6 news did a story on this and said that the Attorney General is looking into this matter and would like for anyone who was scammed to call 845-485-3924!

Horrible experience at Jo Marie's . . . nothing but lies . . . these poor brides are NOT bridezillas and you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking so. I know many brides who will now have to order dresses for wedding in less than a month (NOT in 2009) . . . anyone who writes good reviews is most likely the store owner. She is a liar and a thief. Anyone who has a dress in there should try to get it out as soon as possible! The seamstress, DeCarlo seems willing to help out brides and bridesmaids. Good luck girls!!

While traveling to work today I heard on CBS 880 that Jo Marie has locked their doors and disappeared leaving a lot of brides in a lurch. I am not the least bit surprised. I got married in October of 2006 and I like many of the brides on this blog I ordered my dresses months in advance of the wedding (February). When September came around I began to panic and called the store nearly daily only to have no one answer the phone or return my calls. I finally managed to get Debbie and Tracy on the phone and was told that the dresses would be in that Friday. Friday came and went and I was distraught. I decided to come up with a backup plan because with 5 days until the wedding I had a sinking feeling that I would be standing at the alter dressless!
I called a few local places and was relievd to find that there were still some options. However, with 3 days to go till the wedding I finally received the call that my dress was in. I went for my fitting and was very upset to learn that the dress was an inch too long and at this point there was nothing I could do since there was beading along the bottom and the dress and it could not be cut. At the last minute I was forced to go to the mall and look for white stilettos so I would be able to walk around without stepping all over the dress or tripping. Debbie was a nightmare about the whole situation and actually had the nerve to tell me there was nothing they could do. What boiled my blood the most was the fact that she didn't even apologize!!
Well I managed to get to the reception without tripping and falling on my face and was so fortunate to have the maitre'd Meg at Anthony's Pier 9 adjust me dress and bustle with a few pins so I could walk around freely for the night!
The entire experience with Jo Marie's was a nightmare but as I said before there are still options:
- David's Bridal--> I called the Nanuet store and told the sales associate my plight and she told me that by the time I arrived for my appointment they would have pulled several dresses in my size for me to try on. They were extremely nice and helpful!
Camille La Vie- West Nyack, Palisades Mall--> they had a nice selection of wedding wowns and dresses available right off ther rack.

I got married this past May. I walked into Jo-Marie's last May, actually, the receipt for the dress I ordered says May 30, 2007. That day, Giovanna was awesome and worked with me for hours until i found the perfect dress. My mother ordered the dress and paid in full, not even a half deposit. I was told it would take 6-8 months. I later went on to Alfred Angelo's website (that is the maker of my dress) and everything there states that it takes 3 months for a dress to come in. I gave the store the benefit of the doubt. Jan comes along, still no dress. This is now 7 full months. I wait until the end of January because at this point, I only have 4 months until my wedding. February comes and I am mad!! I had been calling them for at least 2 months and they told me that my dress would be in next week! For two months straight they gave me that line!!! I was sick of the run around so I called Alfred Angelo myself and asked if there was any record of my dress even being ordered. They couldn't give me that information because of privacy laws or something but they did take down Jo-maries name and filed it as a complaint against the store and that they would call the store themselves on my behalf. Sure enough, the next day, I called the shop and Debi told me that my dress was shipped! If i hadn't called the maker of my dress, i am sure it wold not have been in on time.
Now, that is only their first offense. Now, my dress came in finally around Valentines day (i think) and i went in to the store to try it on and to make sure it's the right one since i no longer trust that store! This time Giovanna was nice at first but quickly turned on my at the end of my visit. I asked them to check on the status of my sister's wedding dress (she made the mistake of ordering through them for her October wedding-- her dress isnt in yet by the way- ordered in Sept... or her veil that she ordered in MARCH!). Giovanna was so offended that I and my sister didn't trust them and their business. I told her that we/I don't mean to be pains because we just want our dresses and weddings are stressful as it is. In front of OTHER COSTUMERS Giovanna told Debi, "So you hear that! She's apologizing for being such a BIATCH" (her exact words). She said that about 3 times. I didn't even know what to do. How unprofessional!! I told Giovanna that I had a right to worry since my dress was ordered in May. She insisted it was ordered in July!!! I HAVE THE RECEIPT!
Ok, finally! Strike 3! I had a lot of alterations done to my dress. The seamstress there is amazing. The problem you ask? Well, my husbands grandfather passed away the Saturday before the wedding. All viewings and the funeral were at least an hour away.. and i was having a destination wedding. The last week before the wedding was under major time constraints! I had to sqeeze in my final fitting on Tuesday and then I had to pick up the dress on Wed to take straight up to Cape Cod. With the viewings and the funeral, things had to be moved around. The final fitting was moved up a few hours on Tues. to squeeze me in before the wake. I'd have to pick up my dress on Wed, since I was now going to the cape on Thursday at 6am. I show up for my appointment and NO ONE IS THERE!! The store is closed!! No phone call to tell me that they wouldn't be opened!!!! So, no final fitting. I called and left a million messages telling Debi that I needed to skip the fitting and just pick up my dress and hope for the best. She had the dress pressed and ready to go for me on Wed. but i really could have used that final fitting! The added straps were too big and there were other things I would've had fixed if they HAD ONLY BEEN THERE FOR OUR SCHEDULED APPOINTMENT!
They are terrible business people and i will never tell anyone to shop there! I wish I went down the street to their competitor like my cousin did!

I am getting married in August and ordered my dress in Sept and guess what it isnt in! My bridesmaids ordered there dresses in Feb and there not in! I ordered my viel in Dec and what do you know i dont have it! I wish I read these reviews before I went there!

They no longer answer there phones because all they hear are people screaming at them. These people are scum and if my dresses are not in by my wedding day and perfect I will make sure Debi is put in jail for fraud! I am livid and plan on calling the newspapers, radio stations and the news.

You only get married once and they have screwed me and there was nothing I could do to forsee any of this.

I have been in there shop 4 times already in the last week trying to find out if my dress and my bridesmaids dresses are in yet because nobody answers there phones!!!! Every time I have been in to get more lies from the owner and the help I have had to lisen to bridesmaids, brides and mothers of the bride crying and pleeding for them to tell them why there dresses are not in and the wedding is in 2 weeks.

I regret buying my dress and my bridesmaids dresses here. At this point it is obvious that I am not getting my dress nor my bridesmaids dresses and I am now back to looking for another dress less than a month before my wedding.

Jo Marie's was a great shop but now they have used the good name and trashed it up. Please whatever you do, do not ruin your wedding and shop here.

(And with all the complaints I have heard in person, my personal experiences and from all the complaints I have read it is aparent any good reviews are by the owner trying to salvage her mortgage by scamming you to buy there dresses!!)

Horrible experience. Stay away if it even is still open!
They specialize in ruining your big day. Keep putting off when dresses will be coming in. Ordered dresses in April and it is now two weeks before wedding day and still have received no dresses.

I went into this store to look for my wedding dress. This place is horrible and disgusting! The owner was rude and knew absolutely nothing about anything. The worker Giovanna is completely rude and ignorant and was not helpful. Do not waste your time shopping there.

Please do not shop here all the bad reviews are right on. I ordered dresses in december and were told thed be in the store by March. I got lied to and given the run around, now its June and still no dresses. If they do not come in I will begin a class suit and try to find the other customers that never recieved their dress or deposits back. It will also be in every paper and maybe on "Shame on you". This is supposed to be one of the few stress few parts of planning a wedding and it is a nightmare. I will write back with the outcome and if its not good I will make sure you have the contact info for the formal complaints. They will not get away with what they have done too many times.

After reading the other reviews I am very shocked. I went to Jo-Maries in January for a May 30th wedding. It was my sons wedding. When we walked in the stroe we were greeted and the owner Debi and the sales lady JiaVanni were bother very nice. I found a dress in an hour, we were actually there past their closing time but they didnt let that bother them. I had a wonderful experience at Jo Maires. My dress came in on time and all the alterations were perfect. I would reccomend this shop to anyone.

I am getting married this fall so naturally I need to order my dress and the brides maids gowns and the flower girl's dress asap. Last Saturday, I made the mistake of wasting my time going into Jo Marie's. I walked in with my bridesmaid & the flower girl at 3:30 in the afternoon. (They close at 5pm) There were no customers in the store at all. The owner Debbi was sitting at the desk in the front and did not even greet us when we came in, she actually looked annoyed that we came in. One of her staff came over and asked a few questions about the wedding, so she knew she was dealing with a bridal party that needs dresses ordered very soon. The sales woman said that I needed an appointment. Well, why would I make an appointment when I don't even know what they have. I asked if I could at least look at some dresses and she had to "ask" Debbi if it would be alright if customers shopped around in her store??? Debbi, obviously annoyed, agreed to let us look. Shouldn't a bridal shop owner be happy when a bride & her bridal party walk in to shop in her store? The store was going to be open for another hour and a half, so Debbi had 2 choices. Pay employees to do nothing for that last hour and a half or CATER TO THE CUSTOMER AND TRY TO MAKE A SALE. There were three people working in the store, yet no one could spend an hour with me so I could try on a dress or two. I don't know the reason that the owner chose to go into a business that requires sales and customer service. She is terrible at both. Who knows, if she had allowed me to try on a few dresses I might have loved one and ordered it and then she would've also had 4 bridesmaids and a flower girl she could have had as customers as well. After reading all the other terrible reviews I'm glad she didn't let me try any on. Finally, I asked if they carried a certain designer that I love and have seen everywhere else, including the store that's 1/4 mile from Jo Marie's, I was told that I would have to go to the city for that designer because no one up here carries it. I laughed because they care that little that they don't realize that their closest competition has so much more at the same price point as some of their dresses. In the 10 minutes I was in Jo Marie's it was very obvious that the owner knows nothing about how to be polite, courteous or a competitive business owner.

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I give this a world class rating because I love the feeling I get when I step into the shop. It's like a trip back into the time of old fashioned seamstress. The plase smells of cloth and dyes and there are snipettes of thread on the floor. A woman with a tape measure across her shoulders will take your measurements and advise what is best for your particular figure. These ladies can make just anyhing and don't need a pattern to do it! Just tell them what you'd like and they will draw it for your approval. In this case I will say you will get what you pay for...it's not inexpensive, but, would you expect it to be? Old fashioned quality and elegance.

If you want to purchase a dress from a bridal shop that will actually order your dress after taking your money, DO NOT SHOP HERE! I ordered my dress in November and, when it hadn't come in by the end of May, I called the shop. The owner brushed me off, telling me the dress maker was usually about two weeks late. After two weeks, I called again. The owner assured me she would call the dress maker and call me back. Of course, I got no call. My fiance tried going in to speak with her face-to-face. She promised him and me that the dress would be in the Wednesday or Thursday after we spoke. No dress. Finally, after seven months, my fiance went in and asked for my money back. I'm lucky I used a credit card. The owner nonchalantly returned the sale and said that this thing happens all of the time. I finally went to the Town Shop in Poughkeepsie where they treated me like I was their only customer. I hope this review helps some brides choose wisely. I wish I had read the reviews before I shopped.

I wish I had read the reviews before going to Jo Maries Dress & Bridal Shoppe because my experience was equal to the bad reviews. I purchased a dress for my daughter's wedding. At first glance, all seemed to be ok, but it went downhill from there. The alterations were not correct, and instead of apologizing to me, I was insulted. The second alterations were never completed so the gown did not fit properly and I had to constantly adjust it during my daughter's special day. They never called when they said they would, and I always had to call the store. I left an unhappy voice mail last week, and NO ONE called me back. The jacket to the gown totally came apart at the seams before I even got into the limo to go to the church.

I went there based on reputation, but that reputation no longer represents the long standing Newburgh store, but instead rests squarely on the shoulders of the present owner, who falls very short of what customers should receive in service and satisfaction.

In my opinion, this was the worst experience I have ever had when purchasing apparel. And to have it happen on my dress for my daughter's wedding will leave a permanent scar on an otherwise wonderful day. I had hoped that the store owner would have shown me the courtesy of at least a return phone call following my voice mail.

Jo Marie has a very poor reputation since the new owner Debi took over. Ask any bridal party that has dealt with her or any local bridal shop and they will tell what a disaster she is. She's known for not ordering dresses or getting them in on time (yet she still keeps your money). Debi lacks customer service skills (people skills, in general) and she does not belong in the bridal business. I have never met anyone who has hated her job as much as she does. Her seamstress is an incompetent greaseball who will ruin your dress & scream at you refusing to correct it.

You would think shopping for a bridal gown would be a pleasant experience. Well, it was a nightmare at Jo-Marie's! The woman that runs the store is rude, nasty and has no concern for the customer (she is the daughter/step daughter of the owners). Her attitude is a total turn-off. The customer means nothing. The store is in a bad/shady part of town and the staff/atmosphere is very unclassy. They don't even offer you a glass of water! They wouldn't make it anywhere else but Newburgh.Plus, the prices are higher than at other local bridal stores and the gowns takes 2xs longer than at other bridal stores.

PROS: none
CONS: rude & nasty staff, dress takes longer to arrive than at other stores

This shop and it's owner do not deserve to be in business, you never get things on time, and if it's in-time it's at the very last minute because the owner takes your money/deposit, uses it to pay off older orders of hers, and then when UPS comes to deliver your dress, she nevcer has the money right away since she used your money for something else, so UPS won't leave the dress because all of her suppliers have put her on COD notice since she can't pay her bills. Owner comes off very nice, but is fake and snotty, and DOES NOT take care of her customers! She has a bad reputation in the Newburgh area with former clients because of this and still has pending issues with some clients that havn't received goods ordered and paid for by customer. Horrible business person, horrible work ethic, horrible customer service. Does not follow through with what she states and will give you many excuses on why your products aren't in in time, and it's all lies and just that, EXCUSES! STAY AWAY FROM THIS SHOP!