Mariel’s Bridal Boutique

I absolutely LOVE Mariel and her team at Mariel’s bridal. They’re fun to work with but also very affordable and professional all the way. Mariel helped us personally during dress selection, fittings and jewelry decisions. I valued and appreciated her advice and feedback and she made everything so effortless and easy. Totally fun experience, I’d highly recommend any bride include Mariel’s Boutique in your dress searching experience! xoxo

I can’t speak for the dress ordering experience as I did not ultimately purchase here, but highly recommend checking it out. Mariel was so sweet and helpful. Really made me feel comfortable and clearly very knowledgeable of the merchandise.
PROS:
+I was allowed to look through the dresses
+Viewing room was huge! It was in the back and we had it all to ourselves. The size of a small shop on its own!
+ They had a fair amount of the styles I wanted.
+ Mariel was great about calling me back right away when I had some questions and left me an in depth voicemail. She was flexible about pricing. She also returned my emails relatively quickly.
+ Upscale boutique feel with an array of affordable pricing.
+ No shady business practices like a couple of other nearby stores seem to practice.
+ She really picked out some nice dresses for me along the lines of what I was looking for.
CONS:
–She was a little late to the appointment, (5 or 10 minutes), but it wasn’t a big deal. It’s a professional, but also laid back environment. Take a seat and make yourself comfortable. The appointment was almost and hour and a half long and I did not feel rushed so it all worked out.
— Not open on Sundays.
In the end I found a different dress elsewhere closer to where I live at enough of a discount that it made it to good to refuse, but I was definitely very close to purchasing from Mariel! Her warm, sincere, nature, combined with the beauty and selection of the store make this a wonderful bridal shop. I would highly recommend it!

Went here today to be measured for a bridesmaid dress and left very frazzled. The girl there told me she would not do it unless I bought a dress there. She was not very friendly at all. Kind of rude. No help. I will not be going there for my dresses in the future.

I decided to go to Mariel’s because I live in Redwood City, love to support the local businesses, my parents spoke to the owner who was so accommodating, and the Unilocal reviews were so positive. I made and appointment with Mariel, but she said she would not be there on Saturday. I made an appointment for when they opened on Saturday and I might as well have just walked in. We were early and still sat in the store for 20 minutes. It did not phase any member of the staff that we had an appointment. Since the store had just opened, there was one other party there and two employees. We overlooked that and was finally greeted. The women who helped us was very nice, but pulled dresses that I stated I did not want. I found a dress that I was luke warm on, and would have bought it there if it was in my size. She took all my measurements and said that on Monday she would call me to let me know if the company had my size and could get me a dress before my wedding. It is now two months post appointment at Mariel’s and I still have not received a phone call. The women helping us was really nice and accommodating, so the lack of correspondence is puzzling. The Monday after my consult I went to Trudy’s in Campbell and had the entire opposite experience. Do not go to Mariel’s, go to Trudy’s!!!

I searched all over Unilocal for a bridal shop that had high marks for great service. I’m kind of shocked to see that since February the rating for this shop have dropped. I have nothing but good things to say about Mariel, her shop, and her service. I live in San Francisco and made the drive to Redwood City several times to shop, for fittings, and finally to pick up the dress. It was worth every mile.
When I first met Mariel, I had been to several boutiques in San Francisco and was suffering from price shock. I’m a level-​headed person and do not see the purpose of spending several thousand dollars for an item that will be worn for a few hours. (Actually, I only wore it for 2 ½ hours because I changed into a chipao for the reception) Mariel has a nice selection of Maggie Sottero gowns and I found the perfect gown for my destination wedding. Mariel’s service in the dressing room is outstanding! She laces every loop in the corsets and helps you as much as you want. I’ve tried on dresses in shops before where they only lace every other loop or just hand you the dress and you have to struggle into it yourself.
I also found it easy to talk to her and she was very good at suggesting dresses and staying within my budget! Not once did she try to go over my budget.
After the sale, alterations were inexpensive and done quickly. I had a bit of trouble deciding how I wanted the dress bustled, so the seamstress did a French bustle (hated it) and then did a regular bustle. It took an extra week to get it right, but I had a beautiful finished product.
Thank you, Mariel, for a wonderful experience!

Addendum to my previous post. Loved the dresses… Just don’t get your alterations done here, PLEASE! I paid $ 350 which was steep in my book and the alterations came out terrible. You could just barely see my shoes in the front (which is what I wanted) then the left side dragged on the floor while the right side was in line with the front… I went back for 5 fittings and in the end it was tolerable but you could find better, cheaper.

I didn’t want to review this place unless (a) I actually bought my dress from here, and (b) went through the whole cycle of alterations with them. As of last weekend, this process was finished, so here goes.
I went to several bridal shops before buying my dress from this one. I took my best girl friend and my best (not straight) male friend with me to help me choose a dress. My male friend brought champagne and glasses in case we found The One. One shop wouldn’t allow my male friend into the fitting area, and that same shop wouldn’t allow us to drink the champagne (bummer, because I was pretty sure I had found The One).
I went into this shop and was helped by Mariel herself. She allowed my male friend into the dressing area (there were no other customers in the dressing area at that time) — brownie points! When I tried on one of the dresses she brought back, I decided it would be The One. My friend asked if he could bring the champagne in, and she told us to go for it. Lots of brownie points for that one! (Point of reference: The dress was the Casablanca 1831.)
I went to a bridal shop in SoCal so I could try the same dress on in front of my mom. Out of curiosity, I checked the price tag. The SoCal store was charging $ 300 more than Mariel charged. More brownie points for Mariel!
Because the dress was a Casablanca, I got a free hollow-​to-​hem fitting. When the dress came back, it was the perfect length. A few months later I came back for alterations. I picked up the dress last week and it fits perfectly.
So, I got my dress, with alterations ($ 89), for under $ 1,000. Not bad!
My fiancé got his groomsmen’s vests and ties from here, and that process was a breeze. We gave her our groomsmen’s measurements, and she ordered them for us. When the company she ordered from failed to deliver some of the pocket squares (which we ordered with vests and ties), she had them ship the pocket squares to my fiancé ASAP.
It really is too bad we may never have to come here again, because we both received outstanding service, and for me, the price was right. This boutique is definitely worth checking out!

Terrible service.
Went in to get measurements in May and open an account to order dresses for my bridesmaids closer to the wedding date. The lady wanted a deposit, saying it was to «hold the account open». She mentioned nothing about ordering anything.
Fast forward to December. I had to change my wedding date, venue, everything for my wedding due to problems with the reception site. I had been attempting to call Mariel’s bridal since July to get my deposits back and either never got a call back, or got a woman with a think Hispanic accent who couldnt understand me.
I finally got hold of the owner who told me that she had already ordered the dresses and if I didnt want to pay for two dresses I dont want, I’d have to forfeit the deposits. Since I didnt want to get stuck with $ 400 worth of dresses I didnt want, I opted to forfeit and she said she’d email me the paper I needed to sign for that. Still havent received it.
So Im out $ 150, dont have the paperwork I need to get out of the $ 400, it took six months to get it «resolved» and I was misled in the first place.
I would not recommend this place to even the worst bridezilla.

I was in this store for about 15 minutes and quickly realized it wasn’t for me. They’re probably very good at quinceanera dresses and prom but can’t recommend their wedding selection. It’s a bit sparse though if you’re on a budget most things looked to be $ 400 — $ 1500.
Nice enough sales people and they seemed fluent in Spanish (pero, yo hablo mal español)

Shopped a few bridal shops and go to know the wedding dress designer names and this one has most of them — great selection — my daughter tried on 4 that she loved and were gorgeous at great prices — the lady that helped us was great and we found a beautiful dress and ordered it. Great shop with a great selection of dresses and style and even lots of bridesmaids dresses too!!! Great service, nice people.

ohhh my god i love this place! every time i go they are always willing to help! i love that its a family buissness! thats a big plus! they are just great in every way possible! :) if there were more than 5 stars i would give them a 20!

I bought my wedding dress here– the dress is 5 stars but the experience is 1 star. I had a very nice experience during the first 3 visits in this store, so I finally bought my gown here. The gown I chose has designs at the bottom so this means the boutique has to get my height and heels measurements to send manufacturer. a length alteration at no cost! I thought I got a deal! Well, Mariel’s mom measured me and I just trusted her.
The gown arrived and it was 3 inches long. I had to get an alteration and PAID for it, when it was their fault anyway!
When the seamstress was there to get my measurements, maybe I spent more time than I am supposed to with the seamstress and Mariel’s mom told me that «they are paying the seamstress time too» (with a fake smile on her face)… Well, I paid for her to do my alteration, didn’t I? And how about my time and gas that you wasted by coming back and forth for the alteration I am not supposed to have anyway? Mariel’s mom is old and fragile and it was hard to deal with a sales person who is just like your grandmother (whom you also have to give respect too).
The gown ended up short!!! I also notice that right side is longer than the left. But, I was running out of time so I just changed to a lower heeled shoes. So in total, I spent 400+ more than what I have to.
If you have time to deal with this mess, I recommend this boutique.

This was about the third place I went to. They did not have a very large selection and the service was ok. I saw a lot of lace and puffy dresses that were NOT what I was looking for. There was one person working that day, so I guess it was a good thing I was the only one in the shop that morning. They did not help me in and out of my dresses but did help me pick some out.

this is by far the best place i have been to so far on my search for a wedding dress. the shop is clean, well lit, and the dresses are easily accessible to view on racks (i’m not a fan of the places where you don’t get to see the dresses and they just bring out the ones they think you will like). mariel is sweet and down to earth, and gave her honest opinion with every dress i tried on. i found multiple dresses i loved with truly reasonable prices (one that was in the $ 500 range which seemed like a steal). this is thankfully not one of those hoity toity places where everyone treats you like you’re not important if you don’t look like you have a lot of money. i would highly recommend this cute little boutique!

Like Mia C., this was the first shop I went to, and Mariela (the mom), Dana (cousin), and Mariel (owner) were all there. They were very sweet, not pushy at all, and allowed me to select the dresses I wanted to try on.
Mariel’s dresses are all very similar — A-​line, kind of poufy, longer trains. I couldn’t find any sheath dresses to try on, but it was a good place to begin to get an idea of what might look good on me. Dana’s English wasn’t great, but she was very sweet and helpful. I probably won’t buy my dress here (limited selection), but I definitely appreciated having Mariel’s as my first stop.
P. S. At least for the summer, they are open on Saturdays (opening an hour later and closing an hour earlier I believe). Also, you do not need an appointment to drop by (at least not during the weekday).

I went here based on the reviews of other Unilocalers and brought my wedding dress in to get it altered. After calculating the cost of the dress it costs me almost 400!!! Granted there are about 3 – 4 layers depending on front or back… but 400!!! That’s a lot for alterations! I think it would have cost me that much if i had just done it back in Beverly Hills where I bought my dress!
I must admit though, the people there are really nice and accomodating, it’s the price that kills me!

I love Mariel’s bridal! i really do. this was the first shop that i went to and they made me feel so comfortable and welcome. there is no pressure here. they are just really sweet and helpful. the dress that i thought was going to be it was here and i did not pick it out myself, mariel did. the prices are rockin… they had one really gorgeous dress for like $ 500 i think… a real steal in the bridal world. true, it’s small, it’s not fancy, but i think that they just want to help you and for you to be happy and that counts for so much when you’re looking for your wedding gown.

Mariel’s Bridal is a small downtown store. Not many dresses. The sales gal is young and helpful. They are not very pushy. But, I don’t think they will be a good place to find wedding grown if you don’t know what you want. Because they have so few choices. For me they are ok. Because I already know what I want. Their price mid-​range. I didn’t buy my dress there because I find the dress I like at some where else.

Mariel’s doesn’t seem very fancy on the outside, but their selection of dresses aren’t half bad. The prices definitely can’t be beat. I found one dress here I liked very much, although in the end I found one I liked better. However, if you’re on a tight budget, definitely stop here. The samples are kept clean and neat, and the service is wonderful. I was helped by Mariel herself, a young, vibrant woman, who was extremely professional. She also picked out a couple of very beautiful dresses for me to try on. If I hadn’t found «the one» elsewhere, I probably would have bought a dress here.

First of all, I believe this place is called «Mariels Bridal» instead of «Amriels Bridal». Don’t know how it got mixed up on the listing…
Located at downtown Redwood City, Mariels Bridal is a family operated bridal boutique that’s small but has a nice & formal feel to it. The selection may not be large, but the samples are clean, new and all in very good shapes. It looks like the place update their selection pretty frequently.
Mariel and the older lady (I believe she is Mariel’s mother) are both very friendly and helpful. They seem to have lots of experiences in the business and know a lot about alterations. They actually do all the alterations themselves! The pricing is reasonable here (the Maggie Sottero dress I was interested in was less than $ 700, and they charge between $ 50 to around $ 200 for alternations depend on what’s needed to be done).
I am still shopping around in search of «the dress». But Mariels Bridal is definitely one of the «I might come back at the end» shops on my list.