Business ProfileforMinerva's Bridal Suite

We were promised a wedding dress in October 3021 for a December wedding. We were told for several weeks that the dress was delayed but should be in the next week The owner, Jim, asked us to come in for a fitting and we were told the dress was in the shop. It was not. They wanted us to accept a size 22 dress when we had ordered a size 16. The dress did not fit and the bodice was too large to simply be altered We were told they would do same day alterations when the dress arrived. They called with a size 14 that they let out to be a 16. It could've altered to fit properly. This time they said we would have to come in a fourth time to alter the dress a week before the wedding. We finally took the dress home and altered it ourselves. Our home is an hour away from the shop, so we spent 6 hours driving back and forth. We were lied to about the dress delivery. I spoke to the owner to let him know how dissatisfied we were with his business snd the only solution he offered was to cancel the sale a week before the wedding. Even though the dress selection was very nice, I would never do business with Minervas again. The owner is rude, deceptive, and inconsiderate of his customers. The dress costed $3000. I would expect a more professional way of treating customers

We are sorry that you feel that we did not meet your expectations. You were given an estimated ship date in late October. The ship dates we give our brides are always estimated and can be delayed by circumstances out of our control. Your dress was delayed due to the "Port Crisis" that is currently disturbing our supply chain. This is a nationwide problem and is not specific to our industry or our store. Most of our brides are aware of the shipping issues happening in our country at the moment.

We worked tirelessly to solve the delay with your dress. We were in constant contact with you and the designer once we discovered the issue. We had a total of 3 dresses overnighted to our store on two occasions. They were the same style just different sizes. We ended up altering the size 14. We let 2 inches out and the dress fit nicely. We offered to do the bustles, gave a petticoat worth $135, and any tightening of the dress for free. You took the petticoat but rejected the rest. You then had your sister tell us that you believed that you should not have to pay the balance of your dress. Your balance was over $1300. I don't think we were rude in explaining to your sister how ridiculous this request was. We understand the stress and apologize for the delay. That does not obligate us to give you the dress at half price. The only reason the refund option was given is because you didn't think it was fair to pay your balance.

We would recommend any bride that reads this review to plan your wedding gown purchase early in your wedding planning process. Our designers are taking up to 6 months to produce, then you have to account for any shipping delays and alterations. This customer purchased on July 24th for her wedding on December 12th. We realize the stress brides have when they are up against a short time frame. Also, please expect to make at least 2 trips back to the store for alterations and pick up. We have and will always strive to work fairly and honestly with our brides. We feel that this bride would not have been satisfied unless she received a $1300 discount, and that was never an option. However; We do apologize that you were unsatisfied. We wish you the best of luck and you will look amazing on your special day tomorrow.

I understand that there were issues with imports at this time. Our biggest issue with this business was that we were given so much misinformation rather that simply telling us that the dress was delayed and they were working to find a the dress we ordered in the correct size and color. Instead of telling us the truth, we were told their were delays several time, then finally told they had my daughters dress in. So we went in expecting a fitting and to be taking her dress home because the shop said they would gladly do same day alterations since the dress was so late.
We got there to find they had the style dress she had ordered..one that was white instead of champagne, and one in champagne that was 3 sizes too big. My daughter was in tears and felt deceived, because she had been told that her dress was there. I let the owner know that a white dress wouldn't work since all the rest of the decor was centered around champagne dress. And the other dress was way too large to be altered to fit properly. The shop called us back later that week and told us they found a champagne dress that was one size smaller than we had ordered and they could let the dress out. We were relieved and went the next day to get the dress altered and bring it home, because they had promised same day alterations. The wedding was approaching quickly and except for the dress, things were going smoothly we got to the shop, and with a few minor alterations, the dress would be okay. But then we were told that they would not complete alterations that day as promised, and we would have to come back again the week before the wedding. Fortunately, my daughter is a good seamstress. So rather than having to cancel pre wedding plans to make another trip to the store, we took the dress with us and my daughter did the alterations.
Frankly, dealing with Minerva's was an unpleasant experience primarily because they they kept making promises that were not kept...for delivery and alterations. The shop does have very pretty dresses, and we would have gladly worked with them to solve the problems with my daughters dress if they had just been honest and upfront with us. Instead, the owner was rude and almost condescending. And after all the stress over this dress, the owner's way of dealing with us was to offer to cancel the contract we made with him with just over a week until the wedding? That was just one more very poor way of interacting with a customer. So we paid the balance due for the dress, and did our own alterations rather than having to deal with this shop again. Honesty and consideration for my daughter's feeling rather than deception would have gone a long way towards making this a more pleasant experience for all.