Vanessa’s Modern Bride

I’m giving these folks 3 stars simply because I LOVED my dress that I bought from them and the fact that they re-​ordered my dress due to their psychotic seamstress and her outrageously rude comments and blatant-​ness. So, I actually really liked the girl who originally fitted me. However, the problem was she fitted me to a T. I am pretty petite at 120 lbs, when my dress came in, I was at 125 lbs. NOT A HUGE DIFFERENCE, but enough that the dress didn’t zip and the zipper broke. What a nightmare! As if you aren’t self conscious enough, and the wedding planning isn’t enough drama — Crazy Seamstress lady ended up yelling at me, telling me it was my fault for gaining weight — WTF?! I broke down in tears — my mom emailed the owner — the girl who fitted me backed up the fact that the b*&@# was crazy and luckily they reordered the dress in the next size. I’m not sure how it’s normally done because I had only been with 1 friend who ordered a dress at a larger dress shop and they ordered it 2 sizes big so it could be altered (which at first I thought was just a way for them to make money, now I would recommend it!)
Anyway — beware of Crazy Seamstress Lady and don’t gain weight!

Horrible, horrible experience. This was suppose to be one of the best times for me and it was horrible! I guess since Im not a size 2 the worker didn’t think she had to help me. I tried a dress on and she sat behind her desk drinking her coffee. I stood there with holding my dress up and she didn’t help me at all. I ended up leaving after 2 dresses since she refused to help. I wouldn’t buy anything from this store.

As an update, we are now in small claims court with Sophia (the owner) and her husband, James. They are still refusing to refund our money after admitting that they had made a mistake and the color and fabric had changed. Read our receipts VERY carefully as Vanessa’s does NOT take responsibility if the color OR fabric of your wedding dress is different than the sample you tried on. I believe this may be standard across some bridal salons, but you would hope, that a small business would be willing to work with their customers to solve this kind of problem if it arises, especially considering the majority of their customers are brides and this «dress» is the most important one they will ever wear in their lives. It’s been a non-​stop battle with this bridal salon and I would STRONGLY suggest brides DO NOT shop here as these owners are not interested in making their customers/​brides happy, they are just looking out for themselves and are unwilling to work with anyone. STAY FAR FAR AWAY. Our next court date is 3 weeks before my wedding … sad that I have to be in court with these people when I should be focusing on the most important day of my life … so sad. Wish they would just refund our money and take that dress and sell it – someone else may want it, I however do not. It is tainted and has bad energy and Im not interested in doing business with these kind of people.

Wow. Just wow. What a wonderful experience and what a gorgeous dress selection!
When I got engaged, my mother and I headed over to Vanessa’s to check out the selection. Prior to Vanessa’s we had looked at David’s Bridal and House of Brides. When we got to Vanessa’s we were shocked. First of all the atmosphere itself was just lovely and quaint. Exposed brick walls and an intimate feeling. There weren’t 10 other brides trying on dresses. They allow 1 bride to try on dresses at a time which made it feel that much more special. It’s a very adorable shop!!!
The quality of the dresses really blew us away. They weren’t even comparable to those at David’s and House of Brides.
I *think* Allison was the lady that was helping us find/​try on dresses and veils. She was amazing. We loved working with her and she really knows her stuff. We felt like we could totally trust her!
I tried on lots of dresses and liked them all. Everything was gorgeous and high quality! I finally tried on a dress that was totally NOT what I had in mind and BAM! Fell in love. Didn’t want to take it off. LOVE! I actually stood there on the little pedestal thing screaming and fist pumping. The dress was more beautiful than anything else I had tried on or even had in mind. I felt so beautiful. And it actually hurt my heart to have to take it off. Seriously. I fell in love. With a dress…
Alterations was actually a fun process!!! Sylvia does their alterations and wow does she do a great job. She really wanted me to be happy. I was a total pest at times, calling and leaving voicemails that the more I think about it I think I want to tweak this or that and can I squeeze in another alterations appointment? They were SO accommodating!!! We changed the neckline a little bit and had it made into more of a sweetheart. We added straps which really in my opinion made my vintage inspired dress look even better. The straps didn’t look like they just stuck some random straps on the dress (which had been my fear). They looked like they were always a part of the dress. They took the dress in just as I wanted to give my butt some shape and helped me find the perfect veil. I honestly LOVED all the people at Vanessa’s!!!
Sylvia truly did a FANTASTIC job with the alterations and she wasn’t happy until she knew I was happy. Allison did a wonderful job of helping me to find the perfect dress and veil and even earrings to wear on my wedding day. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I LOVED my dress and I truly felt gorgeous on my wedding day! I would highly recommend Vanessa’s to any bride! LOVED MY EXPERIENCE AND MY BEAUTIFUL DRESS!!! THANK YOU!!! :)

Upon entering this boutique my daughter and I were excited in that we believed we would have great unique selections and some personalized service.
UNTIL we ordered the dress, the same evening, only to get a call several weeks later informing us that the fabric and color of the dress that we ordered was no longer available and that we could take a chance order and see if we could still get it!!! WHAT??? Order a dress and take a chance to see if they could still get the color and the fabric??? Unbelievable
It only proceeded to get uglier when they simply REFUSED a refund. The gentleman that claims to be a bus partner not only speaks very little English, however, what he was able to spit out very well, was NO REFUND!!! He continued to hang up on me 3 times as I explained to him i need my money back until we could make a decision. He continued with NO REFUND and hung up again.
I am out $ 1200.00 and they simply won’t budge. How does someone do business with an owner that has no intention of even attempting to accept responsibility and refuses to make things right!!! BEWARE GIRLS NO REFUNDS… EVER

I would never recommend this place to anyone looking for any wedding/​bridesmaid/​prom dress. They did not have a large variety of dresses and were extremely over priced. The sales women are pushy and not kind to plus size women.

I went to Vanessa’s Modern Bride because I recently got engaged and live in the area. My mom and maid of honor were out together, so we thought we would stop by.
The store is very cute, and you come out of the dressing rooms and show off the dresses in the store. It makes you feel special and the pictures look great because it’s in a store (and not a small dressing room). The lady who helped me also went above and beyond letting me try on any dress I wanted — she picked out headpieces, veils and different sashes to go with all of the gowns.
The selection isn’t big, however, and they seem to have a lot of older dresses. I was disappointed that there weren’t a lot of dresses in my budget (~$ 2000), and that the person working with us didn’t know the designers. If the dresses are that expensive because they are designer — you should know what they are.
They were really rude to my maid of honor who was helping to ask questions about the dresses and write down what we thought. At one point she dropped her pen and the lady snapped at her.
Overall, a good experience — but I am definitely not going back. I would still suggest brides check it out if they have extra time. You might find a dress there you haven’t seen elsewhere, and the seamstress they had at the store seemed really good at making alterations to dresses to get a different look. They had a whole book of pictures of the different modifications brides made with their designer dresses (such as shifting the sleeves, taking in/​out the pick ups, etc).

I went to Vanessa’s because my step-​sister got her dress there and highly recommended it. That was back in 2008 and they had a much larger selection than they do now. Also, the dresses were quite dirty and ripped. I was disappointed in the limited selection, especially for girls who are not a size 6.

BRIDES BEWARE! Avoid this terrible store even though it’s cute from the outside. They are just out to make money and do NOT care about happy brides. I’ve seen it first hand– they are pushy and uncooperative. The tears aren’t worth it ladies and sadly Sophia D. Is in denial. Steeeeer Cleeear my fellow Unilocalers!

I have been going here for about five years for dresses for occasions ranging from prom, formals, cocktail dresses and most recently with a friend for bridesmaids dresses. service is always great as long as you have an appointment and know what the price range is before going. most of the dresses are not on display so being specific and doing your homework before you go will save a lot of time!

This quaint boutique has all the bones for a successful business: good selection, great location (with curb appeal too– their window always looks so beautiful), and the appeal of the personalized experience of a small shop. However, it seemed as though the only way you’ll get good customer care is if Vanessa so chooses. When I was in high school, I walked in to make an appointment try on a few Jovani prom dresses, and Vanessa was assisting a bride and was SO friendly and helpful, but was unbelievably rude to me (who was making an appointment… hello, future sale!!! Those dresses aren’t cheap). I only then kept the appointment because I had my eye on 2 dresses in particular, and not every shop is able to sell the brand.
When I came in for my appointment, the staff saw me (it’s a tiny place), but I wasn’t greeted. I eventually approached Vanessa, and she just walked away, grabbed her mother (who was working also) and told her to come «deal with me,» just as rudely. Her mother was sweet and attentive, and I was beaming when I found the perfect dress. The excitement quickly flipped when I was changing back into my clothes and Vanessa, without any forewarning, threw open the curtains to my dressing room, exposing me to the main floor of the shop, suspecting that I was taking pictures with my phone. I could NOT believe how I was treated.
I did buy the dress that very night… I called a different boutique in the area and ordered it over the phone, even though that one was twice as far from me. They seemed to appreciate the sale.

A good friend of mine found her dress at Vanessa’s for her Oct, 2011 wedding, and has had an outstanding experience with the salon. She is about a regular size 12, and had no problem finding dresses to try on. Some people might not be used to shopping at a boutique where the salesperson brings dresses to you, but it is their job (and skill) to find the right dresses for you! This isn’t David’s Bridal. My friend also said that the price range was much more reasonable here than in many of the bridal boutiques she tried in the city.
I ordered my bridesmaid dress about a month ago, and also enjoyed meeting with the owner. I found out I was going to be in town and could only make it in on a SATURDAY and she had no problem squeezing me in. Unfortunately, I don’t think they had any bridesmaid dresses that I could actually fit into… I am a normal size 16. But I had already looked online and picked a dress that I knew would suit my body type. I just wanted to look at fabrics and colors.
4 stars for a super cute boutique with great modern dresses and entertaining service, 1 off for lack of plus sizes in bridesmaid dresses.

My mom and sister-​in-​law (one of my bridesmaids) made an appointment to go look at bridesmaid dresses for my upcoming wedding. I couldn’t go, because I had to work. We all thought the dresses were beautiful both online and in-​person. First of all, while sitting they overheard a conversation where the sales person told the other woman on the phone to call back when she planned to «double «her expense for the dress she was interested in. Not very well received and it came off as very abrupt. Then, after trying dresses they loved they wanted me to come see the dresses so I could make a decision between their two favorites. When my mother called back to come in again to show them to me (with the thought of making a purchase between the two) she was told we could only come in on a Saturday IF we purchased. My mom stated that she thought we had come to a decision between the two, but it was dependent on what I (the bride) thought. In response, she was told that I had to come in on a Tues or Thurs between 6 and 8pm. There was NO getting around it, even though the weekend was the only time we, the customers could come in. I felt, as we all did, that we loved what we saw, but hated the attitude. We will go to Oakbrook and purchase our dresses. Too bad the customer comes last. They lost our business.

I had the most wonderful experience with Vanessa’s boutique. The dress was the first one I tried on and it fit my style and budget. Vanessa was so helpful and I loved the accessories that she helped me select. I have never felt prettier!!! Dorina, the seamstress, designed the most amazing bustle that was easy and beautiful for my reception.
A friend had recommended Vanessa’s and I was so glad that I followed her advice and headed to Arlington Heights. I felt so special at every visit to Vanessa’s and they were so excited for my big day! Their customer service is impeccable!!!

After two years I am finally getting around to rating my wedding vendors!
I purchased my wedding dress at Vanessa’s in winter 2006 (maybe it was early 2007), and worked with Lisa initially and later Vanessa. Lisa was an absolute pleasure to work with and made dress shopping a great experience. She listened to my vision (a simple lace dress) and helped me achieve that look: I got a beautiful, «me» dress within my budget.
I appreciate the accommodations Vanessa made for me (I had surgery and started alterations really late) and was always impressed with their professionalism.
I love the store, love the selection and love the staff — all around wonderful!

The big day has almost arrived, and I am SO pleased with my experience at Vanessa’s. Three fittings later, my sample sale gown fits me absolutely perfectly, and Dorina — the seamstress — created the most amazing and unique bustle — I will for sure post some pics! Dorina is a real perfectionist and sweet as can be — I felt like my dress was in very good hands.
During every visit to Vanessa’s, they made me feel special and taken care of — the customer service here is something you certainly won’t find at a larger shop. The flat fee of $ 375 for alterations (including pressing) is a real steal according to some other brides.
My mother will be picking up the dress on the day before the wedding since I don’t have anywhere to keep it without my fiancé seeing it! I’m excited about so many aspects of the wedding, but wearing that amazing dress is right up at the top of the list! :)
Ladies, Vanessa’s is not to be missed in the great gown search. Unparalleled customer service and an excellent seamstress make for a flawless experience. This bride is so happy!

Vanessa’s had great dress, but my experience there was not great. I felt like Vanessa was not listening to what I wanted in a dress. I told her I did not want specific styles, but she brought them out anyway. I tired them on to give it a chance. I did not like the styles and told her and she brought out more dressed just like them. It was so frustrating and I could not wait to get out of there. She also only carries dresses in really small sizes. I wear a size 8 in wedding dresses and she did not show me one dress that actually fit me. most dresses we couldn’t even get over my hips. I left almost in tears.

Dresses start at $ 1500. Service was friendly/​helpful. Uncomfortable with the fact that they do NOT tell you who the maker is untl you’ve purchased the dress, and that they bring the dress to you instead of you seeing all that’s available.

I wish I would have found my dress here, but I did not. Their customer service was great and they invested a lot of time in me. My only complaints would be the location (I live in the city) and the fact that they bring the dresses out for you. I always like to see what is available instead of relying on someone else. However, I highly recommend going to Vanessa’s. You could tell they really care about your experience.

This boutique is nice, but their selection is really slim. Vanessa was the person that assisted me and she was super friendly until a ton of people came in without an appt., and I could tell she was really frustrated. I had asked who the designer was of a headpiece and she said she couldn’t tell me unless I purchased it. I thought wow, if I was thinking of buying my dress there, I definitely wouldn’t be buying one anymore. If someone wants to buy a headpiece off the internet, they’ll find a way. And not telling them the designer isn’t going to defer them.