Golden Brides

I recently went into this store to see if I could find an inexpensive wedding dress. The dresses were over the top gorgeous and the selection fantastic. So gorgeous that I worried that they would not be within my budget! I was pleasantly surpised when they told me everything was half price because they were just opening here in BC. The dress was $1200 but I paid $600. Alterations were another $75 and the built in bra another $38. Very nice ladies and great friendly service.

I also wanted to get my daughter a dress as she will be a bridesmaid and I am very happy with our purchase. Dress was $295 but they came down to $125 including alterations and bra! They say that in the future if I need it let out or create it as tea length they will do that as well.

They carry sizes 2-30 wedding and formal wear as well as a few tuxedos. I highly recommend this new store.

Review #10 - 30 Day Yelp Challenge

This was our 3rd stop to find my friend's wedding dress. Compared to the other bridal stores in the area, both the exterior and the interior of Golden Brides is not as visually appealing. I also felt a little claustrophobic while I was in there. That doesn't really matter because you're there to find a dress, but doesn't that add to the experience?

Speaking of which, the dresses are pretty inexpensive (compared to other stores). The selection is huge and the styles and designs are actually pretty nice. Alterations are also quite inexpensive, which is a huge plus if you're a bride on a budget. The trade off to this the lackluster service. I mean, yea there's a huge selection of dresses, 3 full aisles to be exact. But leaving us to search for our dear bride's dress in all that lace, chiffon, organza, and silk without helping us? Nuh uh. I ain't no Dora the Explorer. It's a good thing none of us were tired or stressed that day, walking out would've been so easy. But we endured for our lovely bride (and because she was on a tight budget too).

The lady who helped us was very friendly, but her emphasis on making the sale is the price point. She kept mentioning price point and alteration costs over and over. I guess the philosophy in there is if "I'm charging people less, then they can find their own dress in that huge pile of white".

If you're interested, they also have a huge selection of prom dresses/evening wear dresses. But similar to the wedding dress area, you gotta find your dress yourself.

Overall I'd give this place 3.5 stars out of 5, 3/5 on Yelp. I don't know if I'd go back to this store. If I was a budget bride, I could probably see myself soldiering forward to find my dress in there.

WILL NEVER EVER go to Golden Brides again and certainly not recommend to anyone. Getting the dress was great until I wanted to return it ; any bigger store would have given my money back no problem. It ended up that my husband had to phone their "Store manager" which I think was a lie and the lady I dealt with the actual owner. In the end no customer service at all; Please take this as a warning; DO NOT SHOP HERE.

Sadly, Golden Brides was a victim of the crazy fire on October 10th in New Westminster that destroyed half a city block. No idea when it's going to re-open (if it does).

While my experience there wasn't the best (see my previous review), let's hope that the owners of this store and the others that were affected can recover and get back on their feet. For all the girls whose dresses got caught in the fire, if you visit their website (www.goldenbrides.com), they leave contact information on how to come up with a solution. Good luck!

Looking for a short wedding dress and was hoping to find an inexpensive one at that. There was just a ton of selection on bridal dresses, they had quite a few different short dresses, and there was a sale going on at the time. So far so good.

I actually found one that I really liked, and the woman who started helping me then said they could do alterations there. I didn't like that she was so pushy (she did it in a "nice" way, but still) but I did like the dress enough to agree to the deal she offered me with alterations included.

That was my big mistake: getting the dress altered there. When I came back to try it on I found the top part did not fit my chest correctly, the places were it had been taken in were crooked, there were now odd wrinkles created around the side panels of the chest, and the lace detail it had on the sides had even been cut up. It was awful for a "professional" job - something that the woman before kept saying to me over and over, that the alterations were "professional quality."

So despite the awful alteration experience, I'd still say that this is actually a decent place to find an inexpensive dress (do be warned you get what you pay for - quality isn't top-notch), but don't make the same mistake I did! Take your dress somewhere else if it needs to be altered!

Overall I enjoyed my experience here. Shopping for a short wedding dress is a challenge - many of the other shops along Columbia St. *cough*Sposa*cough* scoffed and made faces when I said I wanted a short dress. Walking in to Golden Brides my MOH and I were so excited to find a HUGE selection of short dresses in many different styles. In the end I got one that I absolutely love for $225 including alterations, cleaning, steaming etc.

The downside is that the service is kind of meh. We had to wait around a lot because there was only one person working at the time. And when I came to pick my dress up on the day they said it would be ready, it wasn't ready. And then when I did eventually get it home, I noticed that a number of promised alterations were not made. However, I did call and they assured me it was a mistake and that they would get them done. It's just irritating to have to go back there a 3rd time.

All in all I would highly recommend this place to any bride who doesn't want to spend a fortune on a dress but still wants to look beautiful. You might not get the "star treatment" that you might expect at other bridal salons - but for some people, that kind of attention makes us uncomfortable anyway.

Horrible!!! If I could give it zero stars, I would... It's the day before the wedding and they still haven't finished hemming the dress, wasn't ready last week when it was supposed to be, told us to come back in an hour and when we came back they said they haven't started working on the dress yet, seriously? Dont go here, unreliable, save yourself the stress, it's the last thing you need on your big day!!!

My first post on Yelp, because of my experience here.

This place does have a good selection of dresses, in every price range. I found one for $299, used. The first time I came in and found the dress, they showed me all the alterations they could do with it, anything I wanted. We agreed on putting a ribbon around the empire waist and sewing in a bra.

I came back at least a month after I paid for 1/2 the dress to see the alterations and try a second fitting. The ribbon was there, but there were pieces of thread all over it, as if they couldn't take the time to snip the loose ends. It also wasn't completely sewn on!

The bra was in place, but still didn't have enough support for my bosom which are about a C/D cup. Any time I bend over, or hunch my shoulders at all, there's a huge gap between the neckline and my skin. They said I might have to keep adjusting it. When I said, I don't want to spend the day adjusting my dress, they suggested that I was being "self-conscious"(!) and that's how it's supposed to look. I asked to try on a different dress with more support up top, but they kept on saying, "oh you look so pretty, what's wrong?" I ended up taking it home and paying for the rest of it, because I just wanted to get out of there.

I tried on the dress for my sister and she said I looked "trashy" because of the bust. I am taking it to a tailor.

So there was the dress part, and THEN they also called me on my cell, the first time I left the store, and asked when I was going to bring my fiance in, so he could get a suit. I said he already had a suit.

When I called to see if my dress was going to be ready for pickup, they asked where my mother was, and if she needed a dress. My mother does not live in Vancouver.

When I showed up the next day for my fitting, they couldn't find the dress! After 15 minutes of looking, it showed up.

I would not recommend this place.

Worst service and communication ever. It's run by clerks who speak very very poor English and do not bother to call you or anything about your special order. I placed a special order here and the lady who helped me assured me it was from the Mori Lee factory that makes genuine Mori Lee dresses. Like a fool, I trusted her.

Two months later I get a call in asking me to come in to see colors of the dress pattern that the factory had sent them. I already had my suspicions but I believe too heavily on trust... I waited an hour to see the said different colors of the pattern, and instead they show me actual PATTERNS. These were definitely NOT my dress's pattern and I was infuriated that they claimed they made real Mori Lee dresses. The lady even said she told me that they make "duplicates". What a lie. You are not even allowed to do that - Mori Lee could sue Golden Brides for false impersonation.

I did not do anything about it because I was nice, but thank the heavens I got my deposit money back. However, the two months I waited for my dress was wasted. The lady claimed I could not get a deal this cheap on my dress; however, I have just purchased it from a REAL retailer at almost the same price. Take that, Golden Brides.

In short, avoid this store - unless you really like stupid clerks, horrible service and cheap quality dresses.

I LOVED this place!! I was looking for a wedding dress that was unique and whimsical. A friend of mine had gotten me an appointment at a nearby bridal gallery and it was awful-- stuffy, boring, the same wedding dresses everyone else had. My friend and I were about to head home on the Skytrain when we passed Golden Brides-- the fantastic dresses in the window really drew us in. And we were not disappointed!!

They have literally THOUSANDS of dress options, in many different categories-- prom/formal dresses, bridesmaid dresses, wedding dresses, destination wedding dresses, short formals... LOVE IT! I tried on easily 20 different dresses, and found THE ONE. And we weren't hassled by stuffy salesladies-- the seamstress came over a couple of times to help lace me up, and to show me different alterations that could be made to adjust the fit. They even helped me pick out a veil. We had so much fun that my friend ended up trying on some dresses too. It was a blast!

I recommend this store to anyone who isn't into the whole wedding gallery thing (I know lots of girls are... but I'm just not!) It's also a fantastic place to find a unique formal dress. I can't wait to bring my maid of honour here to pick out her dress!

The prices are awesome (I paid only $300 for my super-fancy dress), the service is great... I just love it. Give them a try, you won't regret it!