The Hope Chest

Yikes! Pretty much sums it up. I reluctantly made an appointment at The Hope Chest at the request of my sister. (and Maid of Honor) The idea of bridal boutique in Ham Lake, inside a pull barn building that is shared with an inductrial metal working company had me hesitating. But, I was exited to try on my first wedding dress. So, we went. My sister & I drove seperately, since we cam from different areas. I showed up 15 minutes early to find I was the only person there. Apparently they do not have regular hours. Within 5 minutes the owner (I assume) showed up and unlocked the building. I went inside, where I was warmly greeted. The atmosphere was rediculous. There was a small isle on the left that was so packed with Tuxedos, swatches etc. I couldn’t imagine looking at the items offered, because I couldn’t figure out how to get down the row. There was so much junk everywhere, there was no walkway. As I walked in a little further, I came to a second space. There were no lights on in this area. It was a large space filled with halp opened boxes, dresses, shoes, junk décor etc. This is where the Lighted Swarovski crystal Tiaras were on display. The cabinet was lit up. Unfortunately, there was no walking space in the room. I had to «Shimmy» in there to look in the display cabinet. (that was short lived) The owner introduced herself, and said she had many dresses «pulled» that I had emailed her about. I was still exited to try on my first dress. So, I followed her to the back of the building, through a tight walk of prom dresses, evening dresses and wedding dresses on racks all around us. At this point, my sister had not yet arrived. The owner showed me to one of three fitting rooms. One room was packed full of stuff and boxes, it was un-​usable. The middle room was mine and the room on the right was open. In the fitting room (which is NOT large at all. Macy’s has larger fitting rooms) There is a rocking chair & afghan, a coffee table of sorts with a lamp and dust ruffle cover on it as well as many stuffed animals and dolls. There is no mirror in the room. The owner carried a few dresses in, hung them on the ONE hook, and said let her know which ones I am interested in. She closed the door and walked away. I thought, Ok, I can do this. It’s just a dress. Boy, was I wrong. Wedding dresses are incredibly heavy and have multiple staps & hooks to hold the dress in place. I got it half way on, and could not reach the zipper in the back to zip it up. So there I am, mostly naked, a wedding dress around my ankles and I have no idea what to do next. Luckilly, I hear my sister’s voice. I called out to her to ask for help. She came in and helped me try on dresses. Things were running smoothly until I found one of the dresses I was VERY interested in, and wanted to try on. The owner only had 1 sample in a size 4. She explained that I could quote «hold it up in front of me and look in the mirror. I would get a pretty good idea if I liked it or not» I was thinking are you kidding me??? Another dress I was interested in was a size 22. I asked her for clamps, so that I could see how it fit. Her reply was «Oh, we don’t use clamps here. They can damage the dresses» I was apalled. I came out of the fitting room with the size 22 dress on, with my sister in tow gathering as much of the fabric in her hands and arms as she could keep hold of. As I walk up the the mirror in the main area, I see abpproximately 4 high school girls and their Moms walk in. Now, I’m getting really irritated. I hear the owner tell the girls that they can try on any dress on any rack they see. One girl asked where the chaning room was. The owner pointed out room #3. She said «you can all use the same room, it’s pretty big» This is where I had to laugh. Four self concious HS girls trying on dresses in front of one another. Yeah right. They all left shortly thereafter, not a sinle sone trying on a single dress. Okay, back to my appointment. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried on wedding dresses or not, but it is HOT ordeal. These dresses are heavy, hard to get into, often the wrong size (without benefit of a clamp) and we’re in a very small cramped space. When I finally caught the attention of the owner, I asked for a bottle of water. (earlier I was not allowed to bring in my own beverage, incase I might damage a dress) She says, «water? Sure. I’ll be right back.» She comes back into the room with (what my sister called a thimble) of water. Actually, it was slightly smaller than a Dixie cup. One gulp, gone. The owner leaves. In addition, None of the dresses had price tags on them, nor was I told how much any of them were. The last dress I tried on was a sample dress. It was soiled and had a 5″ tear. The owner came out of a back room, and said «Oh, that is my last one of those. It’s normally $ 995.00 but I’ll sell you that very one for $ 799.00. WHAT A BARGAIN! That was the last straw. We bolted out of the store, never to return.

I would not recommend this bridal shope for anyone looking for a dress for their upcoming wedding. My maid of honor and wedding planner both have gotten their dresses from there and was amazed at bad service I received there. They both wittnessed the bad service with me.
This place is by appointment only and there is supposed to be one bride in at a time. This was not the case for me when I went end of October. When I had my apt there was another bride there, we had to share the time. The owner spent more time with the other bride than me. I was pretty much ignored. The owner was rude to me and kept telling me to let them know when I was done with a dress so they could take the dress away when done trying on. It was kinda hard to say something to her and her assistant when all they did was ignore me and the 2 people I had along.
My second visit there the owner barely even acknowledged my pressence. I had my mother along also. I had found a dress there that I really liked. To bad for them that they were so rude because I would have purchased my dress from them.
I refuse to spend that much money somewhere, where I am treated rudely.
Brides think twice before spending your money here.

Remember that episode of Friends? Where Chandler goes to Joey’s tailor and Joey learns that that is NOT the way pants are meant to be fitted?
That was my experience as a loving bridesmaid.
My dress didn’t fit. Which, I understand; alterations are generally needed. However, instead of taking in the top of the dress as I would have expected, the kind, elderly seamstress decided to pop in some inserts. (This is the Joey part that made me uncomfortable and which I will skip past while shuddering.) I went to from B’s to looking like an obscenely well-​gifted German milkmaid in seconds.
Ok…I guess I can hold these up.
Return for my dress in two weeks. Tried it on, the inserts were sewn in crooked and much higher than is physically possible. Groper fixed them (sort of) and I returned to pick up my dress soon after.
The day of the beautiful wedding comes. I am about to walk down the aisle, and… one of my nice large implants becomes unsewn and I spend the ceremony shrugging subtly and trying to keep my new rack from sliding down my stomach.
The people there were nice, the shop kinda cute in a very Minnesotan way. But… when my turn down the lane comes, give me the Wedding Shoppe on Grand.