Mestad’s Bridal

We shopped here for bridesmaid dresses. I would have to say its a really nice shop with good service but their prices just seem to be higher than other stores I’ve looked it and for that reason we chose a different shop to purchase our dresses from.

This was the third bridal shop we visited on a Saturday.
I was immediately surprised that we were not asked to take our shoes off. The next thing I noticed was a customer walking around with a beverage.
We looked through racks of dresses. The dresses were not in bags. My daughter chose a number of dresses to try on. Of the five dresses she put on, two of them had some kind of issue such as broken fasteners.
The staff seemed friendly.

I met up with a longtime friend and her other Bridesmaids at Mestad’s to select and try on Bridesmaid dresses for her upcoming wedding in August. We did successfully select a dress, but I didn’t personally find it to be the nicest shopping experience.
The Pros: The shop is very nice, adequate family/​bridal party seating is available, really large bridesmaid dress selection (color/​styles), and the prices seem to be average.
The Cons:
1. We were provided with one fitting room for three bridesmaids and two flower girls — although we are acquaintances we don’t know each other well enough to be stripping down to our skivvies in a group setting. This really extended the length of our appointment significantly as we had to «take turns.»
2. Additionally, as a group of ladies in many different sizes I was rather appalled by the sizing of the sample dresses they had in the store! Out of the three of us I was the only one who could really «try on» the dresses since they were around a size 6 – 8. The other, bustier, ladies could slip them on but they weren’t very flattering as they wouldn’t even cover their upper assets (when they could get the dress on at all). We live in a society where the average women is NOT a size 6 — so I would think they’d offer more of a variety in dress sizes for the purpose of finding a style that is flattering to all bodies.
3. Our consultant was very kind. However, after an hour and a half we finally picked a dress and a color and were ready to go order only to find out that the color swatches our consultant provided the Bride for the dresses we were trying on were incorrect. So the color dress she had chosen was NOT available to be ordered. We had to return to square one and discuss finding a different dress, or ordering dresses in a color other than what the Bride originally wanted. This was pretty frustrating, but after some deliberation the Bride chose a different dress color.
I haven’t received my dress yet, but I will update my review if anything outrageous occurs once we pick them up. I guess if you have a petite group of bridesmaids this shop would be really great, but it might be a little frustrating/​embarrassing of an experience otherwise.

My review would be the same as the others. I too was surprised by the experience as I had heard negative from others. Either way, no pressure, great selection and privacy in trying on dresses. I too think there could be improvement in the lighting of the facility. Overall, good experience.

I was hesitant to make an appointment at this bridal store after several horror stories from brides in my area (more on that later). However, I went ahead and booked my first bridal gown appointment there since they offer the largest selection in St. Cloud. Upon entering, I was immediately greeted by staff members and introduced to my attendant. She showed me to my fitting room and we had an informal discussion about the type of dress I was looking for, she then explained to me how dresses were organized in the store and let me explore. I liked that I was allowed to pick out my own dresses, but the attendant also made suggestions.
I tried on a total of 6 dresses. I felt like the attendant gave us adequate time to evaluate each of the dresses. What I was most impressed by was that, after spending 1.5 hours looking at dresses, the attendant did not pressure me at all to purchase a dress. She even acknowledged since this was my first bridal appointment to shop around, think it over, and come back for a second appointment if I had one I was still interested in. The drawbacks were the poor lightening in the bridal room (supposedly being fixed soon), not being allowed to take photos of the dresses (though the attendant did let us at the end with the two dresses I was considering purchasing), and the attendant’s lack of knowledge about the dress alterations and how to store the dress. Beyond «selling us the dress» she really couldn’t tell us much. The store itself does not provide alterations for the dress.
However, I went back the next day for a second fitting (the store was very accommodating and let me schedule an appointment that day) and the attendant at the second appointment was able to give me a lot more information on alterations including the estimated cost, how to determine sizing, the style of dresses coming out next year if I wanted to wait, and the benefits and drawbacks of doing a hollow to hem order. She also gave me the option of buying the dress off the rack. She was able to answer all of my questions. The attendant even helped us look at every area of the dress and pointed out any areas that there were snags so we would know it before we purchased the dress. But again, I was given no pressure to buy the dress.
In the end, I decided to take the dress off the rack for a 20% discount. The attendant said that the designer of my dress did not allow the store to discount the dress. I had called other shops and looked on the internet the day prior and the price I ended up paying for the dress was significantly less than any of the other used (much less new) prices for that dress that I found. I ultimately felt better doing this because I did not have to worry about the dress coming in time or any miscommunication between the designer and the bridal store.
Most of the brides I read that had negative experiences with the shop were those that did not make an appointment or were not able to return a dress. Calling to make an appointment is polite etiquette at any bridal shop. When you purchase a dress, the agreement clearly states all dresses are final sale and cannot be returned under any circumstances. I felt that the attendants were upfront about that. Overall, I had a really positive experience with this bridal shop and am very happy with the dress I purchased! Although every bride’s experience is different, I do think this shop is worth a try.