Haute Bride

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kmporter

Joined 5 years ago

Simply the best wedding gown experience!. Haute Bride is simply wonderful. Welcoming, accommodating service, gorgeous couture dresses, very reasonable prices, shoes, bling and a champagne toast! If only all bridal salons were this way, I'd be happy to get married every year!

I live in NY. I visited my Maid of Honor, who lives in San Fran, on the first weekend in May, and she dragged me out wedding gown shopping. I know all girls are supposed to love the idea of finding "the" dress, but I had been putting it off - I'm just not that girlie.

We walked into Haute Bride on a Friday afternoon; the store was busy, but we were greeted very cordially (with no notice of my jeans & flip-flops attire) by Meghan, who told us we did need an appointment to try on dresses, but that we were free to look and see if there was anything we liked before booking. They were fully booked for Saturday (my only available day) but Meghan took my name and put me on the cancellation wait-list. She called me later that afternoon with a cancellation, and we booked for Saturday afternoon. We did stop into Jinza (down the street from Haute Bride) as well, but we were ignored by the proprietor (who was fitting another bride) for a good 15 minutes, so we eventually left without even an attempt to schedule an appointment.

Meghan welcomed us on Saturday like old friends. She poured champagne, asked about my wedding, about my style, if I had any idea what I was looking for. She let me look through the dresses and pick ones to try on, and then suggested some herself. I tried on at least a dozen dresses, with very helpful and honest feedback from Meghan. I never felt rushed, never felt pressured to buy any particular dress. She asked about budget and gave me tips on timing for ordering a dress, all without making me feel like my budget was too low, I had waited too long, etc. As it turned out, I loved a gown that was a hybrid (bodice of one, skirt of another) of two dresses from the same designer. She said it was no problem, they could work with the designer, I could pick the fabric, color, size, even order half-sizes. Since I live in NY, she agreed to take my measurements and provide me with a contract even before I decided to order the dress, so that if I decided to order I would not have to fly back out to SF for measurements.

I've since been to 4 bridal salons in NY. None of them even came close to the personal and actually FUN experience of gown shopping at Haute Bride. I felt rushed, pressured, and guilted; lots of "you only get married once" and "this is what everyone pays" and "you've left it very late to order your dress." One consultant refused to let me try on a backless dress without a bra, another told me that "all" couture gowns started at $3500 and that I should try David's Bridal.

I was lucky enough to find a truly stunning gown, within my budget, at a sample sale. However, if I had not found that dress, I would definitely have ordered from Meghan and Haute Bride. I may fly back out to SF just to buy jewelry & accessories there! I'm SO glad my first gown shopping experience was with Meghan at Haute Bride - if you are shopping for a gown or accessories, check it out. You'll be happy you did.

(NB: I posted the same review on Yelp).

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kmc2001

Joined 7 years ago

Awesome service, fashion forward designs!. I got married in early September, and was recommended to Haute Bride by a local bridal salon (The Unique Bride). They are located on Union St. I stopped in and met with the owner (and designer), who spent an hour with me designing a custom set of of jewelry and a haircomb for me. In addition to my accessories, I also found a pair of shoes and a custom veil. There is no other place in Sf where you can go and have your dream accessories designed for your wedding. They are certainly on their way to the top! Thanks again Haute Bride! Thanks for making my special day truly the best!! :)

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Editorial Review. Modern brides head to this trendy salon in the Marina for couture bridal accessories, like hair jewelry, gloves and veils.