Julian Gold

This is the BEST bridal salon in town (with some killer basic goods, too) — here’s why:
The first thing you need to do is ask for Yolanda. I cannot rave enough about her. She is the best, most knowledgable, most helpful bridal attendant I have worked with (I tried on about 100 dresses in over one dozen shops, from Texas to NYC).
The selection is very high end. Be ready to spend $ 4−20K on a dress and seamstress work. It is worth it here, granted you have the budget. What I love about this boutique is that not a single woman in 10 months as purchased my same wedding dress. It is so unique and beautiful, and I love that they have such a big selection that the dresses can become so personal.
On to the shoe department. I also purchased my bridal shoes here. What I liked about Marcy/​Nancy (?) was: 1) She works on commission, but she still tried to sell me the $ 150 shoe over the $ 550 shoe because she thought it matched my dress better and that I would enjoy it more in photos. You know customer service is top-​notch when they put your needs before their bank account. 2) She spend almost an hour with me working on my shoe selection and offered to take them back before the wedding for some refurbishing before my big day, on the house!
My least favorite is the jewelry department. I understand that I am young and was wearing a tank top and no make-​up. However, I spend a lot of money in this store in other departments and was shocked that no one gave me the time of day. The older gentleman working the counter actually refused to help me. I was browsing for 20+ minutes and wasn’t greeted once. I originally intended on purchasing some items, but I can’t stand the thought of giving that staff any commission.
The make-​up counter is well-​stocked and the staff are very helpful. I purchased some items that I haven’t seen in large department stores.
Overall, this is a high-​end, beautiful boutique. Their brands are phenomenal, their sales are amazing, and the majority of their staff are experts in client services and in their fashion merchandise knowledge.

If you get the chance to try on bridal gowns with Barbie, consider yourself very lucky. She’s so helpful, kind, makes you feel comfortable, not pushy, and a total rock star. After shopping at JG, I traveled to Miami to try on some other bridal designers. The boutique I went to was rude, argumentative, pushy, and just overall terrible. If made me so grateful to have had such a fantastic first bridal try on experience– thank you so much Barbie and everyone at Julian Gold!

I attended a Tuesday afternoon appointment to shop for my bridal gown with my maid of honor. The first words Nancy asked me was what my budget is. I told her, and she asked if I was there to try on a specific dress. I said no, but I had a list on my phone of different styles from 4 different designers they carry. She immediately started looking up the dresses and announcing either that they did not have them in stock, or the price. I told her I knew the prices, and I was willing to pay those, that’s why I put them on my list. She basically ignored this. She asked if it was an indoor or outdoor wedding, but didn’t go further than that. I got bored with her just staring at the ipad, and got up to look at a few dresses that caught my eye. She saw, and said, «Oh, those are Monique Lhuillier» in this tone that basicaly said, those are NOT in your price range.
At this point, she had not asked my name, introduced herself, asked what MOH’s name was, shook our hands, never once asks me where I’m getting married, when, what’s my fiancé’s name, looks at my ring, asks about the proposal, what he does for work, what I do for work, anything personal about myself AT ALL.
Every rack she saw me look at, she announced the designer’s name. Finally she said, «well there’s more in the back, come on» and I tentatively followed her back. She pointed out the racks of dresses that were «within my budget». Then she asked, «so I guess you just want a pouffy traditional dress? Or lace?». She didn’t pay attention to the list I gave her at all (the answer is– none of those things!) She went to the rack, grabbed one and literally shoved it at me and said, «Here’s one.» I’m left there, holding it. She just stands there for a while as I dig through all the racks, and finally asks if I’m going to try on the ones I’m holding. She only then takes them from me to hang up in the back room dressing room (which has only one little seat, no pedestal, and bad lighting). MOH asks where she is supposed to sit, and Nancy tells her she can just wait out at her desk. HER DESK.
We go to the fitting room, and she tells me that if I want help after I get the gown on she will be outside. I ask if I get any shapewear or a bra and she gave me this hideous look, and told me no, because when you fit your dress, it will be without a bra so it’s best to do it without. I take one look at the sizes, and they are not sample 12s, but all 6 and 8s, and I know I will be hanging out of all of them. I’m dumbstruck, struggling to put on a big dress by myself. I get one on that I like, and feel really uncomfortable with how poorly it fits and how much it shows. She puts a strap on the back and I go out to show MOH, and because she’s sitting at the desk, I’m literally standing in the narrow hall to show her. Not a pedestal, not with nice lighting, nothing. I go back. I finally find one I really do like, but its an 8 and has about a 10 inch gap in the back. The back is the most interesting part. I mention to Nancy that it’s hard to visualize. She says, «well it’s not the hard, see this little piece on the side? That’s the back. Just imagine a lot of it.» I say I’m uncomfortable because it’s so exposing. She says, «Well I guess if you want this, you can pay a fee and I and I will get a larger sample size.» I feel so deflated, and mumble, «guess it would help if I wasn’t so fat.» She just looks at me with a smirk and shrugs. At this point we’re heading to show MOH, and I get so upset I look at her and say, «No, when a bride says she looks fat, the correct answer is that I don’t and I look pretty.» Again she just shrugs. I see MOHand burst into huge tears. There is a nice large fitting room right by the desk that she did not put us in, and I go in there and shut the door to cry, I’m so upset and humiliated and having no fun at all. Because the top is tight and I have no bra, I feel really unsexy and it’s hard to get a good idea of how it should look, so I once again ask for a bra. She tries to get out of getting me one, with several excuses, and I politely insist. She goes to a drawer and makes a big show of finding one of those stick-​on ones, unsticking the disgusting used cups, and hands it to me. She also just opened the door and came in at some point when I was totally naked. I covered myself with a cry (I’m very body comfortable around people I like. Not her). She just said oh, and shut the door. What?
I spoke with Barbie, the buyer, and the store manager, and both were aghast and totally apologetic. Unfortunately, the damage was done, and I left feeling utterly miserable.

I was so thrilled with Julian Gold! My mom moved down to San Antonio last year and it was my first time searching for a dress since my fiancé and I got engaged. We arrived and were invited to take the elevator upstairs to the bridal department. It was gorgeous and felt so exclusive! Barbie, our consultant, met us at the front and I was invited to find dresses that I wanted to try on. I found about a dozen and fell in love with several. When I narrowed it down to two, Barbie and the consultants were so helpful in suggestions. I finally made the decision and found my dream dress! When they put on a sash and a veil, I felt like the most beautiful bride Texas has ever seen. Barbie was so helpful, the selection was incredible, and the experience was unforgettable. If you want high quality with excellent service, go to Julian Gold!

I went to Julian Gold with my mother in search of my wedding dress because even though I live in Austin, my family lives in San Antonio. I called ahead of time and made the appointment because they had the Lazaro gown I had my heart set on. Sandra was our consultant and she was very helpful and patient since my mother and I had two very different ideas on what dresses I should try on. Sandra was great and had awesome suggestions after she noticed I liked the Lazaro but felt that something was missing, one of her suggestions completely altered the course of my wedding dress search. She introduced me to Martina Liana and even though I didn’t purchase a dress from Julian Gold, I left the store curious about the designer. I looked up Martina Liana, fell in love with a dress from her recent spring line and found a store that hosted her trunk show in Houston and ended up buying my dream dress there. I gave Julian Gold 5 stars because if it wasn’t for Sandra, I might have discovered my dream dress AFTER I had already settled for and bought a different one I didn’t completely love. I would have loved to have purchased the dress from Julian Gold but unfortunately the Martina Liana trunk show only came to that one store in Houston. Thank you for all of your help Sandra!

We came in as our last appointment after many other bridal salons. The salon is above the store front. The consultants were friendly, and not snooty. They had some very beautiful dresses, but were above our price point, about 1850-10,000+. Sashes were 400‑1000. Ultimately, we ended up going with a different dress. We also enjoyed the complimentary champagne/​mimosas and cookies. Also, all of the dresses are a size 10.

I went here for my potential wedding gown and left empty handed… not because lack of options but more lack of customer service. Not one person was friendly or helpful. I grabbed my belongings and told my grandmother and mother who accompanied me «let’s go, I’m over it». I ended up traveling to Kleinfeld Bridal in NY and purchased a Mark Zunino gown and couldn’t have had a better experience. Luckily I went there because Julian Gold was so unfriendly. I guess I should give more stars since it was a blessing in disguise…

I did not end up buying my dress here, but I was pretty close to it! My consultant, Amber, not only made me want to buy multiple dresses here, but also made me want to be her best friend.
Disregard any pre-​conceived notion that this high-​end retailer is snobby and unhelpful. They were friendly, down-​home, honest, and most of all, helpful without being pushy.
You walk upstairs into an intimate lounge with a few private dressing rooms (schedule an appointment!), where you’re immediately greeted and told to look around. Amber approached me and got an idea for what I like, then helped me pick out an insane amount of dresses to try on. Before we got started, they offerred us some champagne, which I definitely recommend partaking in during a day of dress shopping. We got to know each other real well as she helped finagle me in and out of every dress.
Of course, you’ll pay a higher price tag at a place like this since they carry designer gowns and are a full-​service bridal salon, but it was my favorite out of all the San Antonio shops we visited and I would encourage any bride-​to-​be to schedule an appointment with Amber here on their hunt!

So I’m one of the few male Unilocalers to review this place…
I went on Men’s Night, an event to ramp up for the Holiday season. We got to see all their clothes on models being shown off. They had an unbelievable selection of lingerie, coats, purses, evening gowns, bridal stuff, you name it.
The service was impeccable. They were most accommodating, and gave honest feedback on the items. They even offered to have someone try on the stuff for you are unsure of the sizes.
The prices may be a bit high, but you’re paying for top end quality, and service. The dressing rooms are clean, and have tons of mirrors. The whole store is so spotless that it gleams with shine.

The San Antonio Julian Gold is NOT the place to go for your wedding gown. Basically, all they did was point to the dress racks and zip up/​zip down. They didn’t help my daughter get in or out of the dress. Oh, the champagne was a nice touch, but we weren’t there for wine tasting. After 5 dresses the one that looked the best was one from «the back room», which they really don’t want you to go in. It was on clearance and when I asked if they would clean the dress (the bottom of the train was filthy) she commented, «The best we can». Really, for a $ 600 dress? No thank you. We left very disappointed since it was suppose to be the place for wedding gowns. Forget it unless you are prepared to spend thousands for terrible service just because it came from Julian Gold. We went to Impression Bridal in the Park North Shopping Mall. Wow, what wonderful service from our stylist, Merlina, to the manager, Jennifer, to the Vice President, Tawny. They were willing to listen, suggest, and give us all the help we needed. And their dresses are lovely. My daughter went with an elegant classic A-​line. Even our experience at Alfred Angelo was wonderful. Save yourself a wasteful trip to Julian Gold.

I really loved my overall experience shopping for my dream wedding dress at Julian Gold. I wanted to have the store be the first place I went … realistically thinking that everything would be out of my price range and that I wouldn’t get treated as nicely because of my budget. I really thought I would end up going to a number of other places.
However, we were treated wonderfully and I couldn’t have been happier! On my first visit, I was shown to the back room where there were dresses within my price range, and Amber was very nice to let my Mom and I browse through all the dresses without being rushed or pressured. She was very informative and offered great suggestions and advice — especially when we had a concerns about ivory vs. white!
Yolanda was extremely helpful as well, very sweet and patient. I made a 2^nd appointment for a few weeks later, so that I could choose between 2 beautiful gowns and to bring a few of my bridesmaids to see them. The folks at Julian Gold couldn’t have been more accomodating and helpful. Thank you SO much for making my wedding dress shopping experience everything I always wanted it to be!

I moved to Austin in August and when I realized this winter after getting engaged that I only had time to bring my three sisters with me to visit one designer (Vera Wang) in Manhattan when we were home for Christmas, I panicked. Not only did I not have time to visit more than one designer, but how was I going to buy a ball gown 2000 miles away and deal with 3 fittings and then having it flown to Texas?
I googled boutiques near to Austin who carried Vera Wang and came up with two in San Antonio. I won’t mention the first because they didn’t have dresses I was looking for and when I walked into the Julian Gold Bridal Dept an hour later, I forgot all about the first boutique.
I was thrilled, the selection was incredible, the buyer, Barbie has fantastic taste and excellent knowledge of all of the designer collections, including styles she had not selected for the boutique. Yolanda, the wonderful and patient woman who not only helped me in and out of my selections but as I was there alone, was kind enough to help me photo each dress to text to my sister for a virtual dressing room experience.
I loved every one of the gowns I tried on there, but one of the gowns I tried on in NY was still my favorite. Upon hearing this, Barbie informed me that she could in fact order it through Julian Gold and I could have my fittings done there in San Antonio instead of having to fly back to NY.
I am grateful for such excellent customer service and wonderfully helpful women and highly recommend Julian Gold to all new brides looking for their dream gown!

I came here playing the role of loyal bridesmaid while hunting down the perfect wedding dress. We wanted to find something that made our bride to be ‘look like a giant cupcake’. The bride set our appointments for exactly 10:00 am, and we all showed up on time but first we had to wait around for someone to be assigned to us to show us around. Our guide tried to get a grasp of what we wanted but we could have been saying anything based on what she started pulling for us as nothing looked like what the bride had asked for. 2 hours later, over 15 gowns and a whole bridal party staring at their mobiles we came to the decision that we just needed to move on to something better.

LOVE Julian Gold. They have everything a girl could want: shoes, handbags, jewelry, hip clothes, stylish evening gowns, makeup, fragrances, lingerie and wedding gowns!!! Friendly staff. Family run San Antonio business.

I don’t shop here for much. Not because I don’t want to but because it’s currently typically out of my price range to do so. But recently I was in need of a spectacular pair of shoes and Julian Gold was listed as a place to nab ‘em.
Friendly service right from the start. I was greeted at the door by warm smiles and helpful hands (and a complimentary glass of champagne which was great) and pointed toward the shoe of my dreams.
After time spent trying it on in front of the mirror and prancing around and squeeling like a little girl, my purchase was made. They even knocked 10% off the price thanks to a special they were promoting.
Loved my experience here from start to finish!

When I called off my wedding, the people at Julian Gold went above and beyond to help out. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced customer service like this. I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done.

I had searched for six months for a wedding dress and then gave up. It was not so easy finding a dress that was not puffy, full of sequins, glitter, blah blah you get the picture. I decided to go to this store on a whim after feeling way too much pressure from a bridal salon in Austin (Mélange) and I am so glad I went. Tip for salon salespeople, when you go into the fitting room to look at the dress please try not to step all over the brides’ belongings. i can’t tell you how great Velma was to work with. She was always helpful and professional. I never once felt pressured to buy a dress or spend more money. Buying a dress can be so stressful and it shouldn’t have to be. Thank you Velma for all your help.
A great little tip about the store is that it does look a bit intimidating, but there is really a great selection of dresses and they have some great sales. I got my Priscilla of Boston dress for around $ 1500, which I think is a great deal. The tailoring which was minimal was $ 200.
Why not 5 stars? On my first fitting I noticed a group of women getting treated lavishly with wine and the whole nine yards. I like wine too, but I was never offered any on any of my visits.