Ring O Roses, Sydenham, London

I must admit I had a similar experience. I found a gorgeous dress there for a great price, which I loved, but then that was not what I was delivered. It took more than a year, a lot of stress, trips and phone calls and us having to pay a considerable amount of money to fix it, and I still did not get the dress I actually ordered. And not once did anyone ever apologize to me for the inconvenience.

The dress was delivered with a completely different neckline to the sample I tried on. We sent it back and it came back with a real bodge job, done very badly so it actually deformed the bodice. I tried to send it back again but they refused and said the seamstress could fix it. Except of course she charged us for that, and did not do what I asked. At the final fitting I was quite horrified to see what she had done, but had to put up with it as despite trying to sort this out for a good 18 months we had run out of time. The seamstress also turned up extremely late to our fittings twice, despite us having had to get up early to travel from hours away.

In the end, my dress turned out ok with some last minute fixes while it was actually on me - although even at the wedding there was some lace flapping off which my bridesmaids had to pin. It made the whole experience really stressful and I still feel I did not get the dress I ordered. And the female manager/owner was extremely rude about the whole thing, never once apologized or admitted any mistake. It's a shame, it could be a great shop but the service really let it down. I would avoid..

This place is awful with poor aftercare and disgusting customer service. Good up to point of sale and then want to rush you to fit and collect your dress! This place reduced me to tears and made an already stressful time unbearable! Not to mention that the sale dress I was sold was shoddy, unfixable and found online from another bridal shop brand new and a lot cheaper!! I urge anyone not to waste money here and check out the amazing bridal shops in Bromley and Eltham! After the nightmare with this shop I ended cutting my loses and buying a different dress elsewhere. Avoid like the plague!!!

I purchased my dress from Orange Blossom. I liked the dress however

the service left a lot to be desired. The staff members were generally unfriendly. They refused to let me try on my dress after the seamstress had altered it simply because she was not there. It is not the type of service a bride to be expects. It is supposed to be an exciting love filled time, and regrettably i always felt uncomfortable everytime i left the store. The only reason I purchased the dress was because I was in a rush to do and I loved it. I however do not recommend that anybody goes to orange blossom. (sydenham branch)

Michelle

Such a amazing friendly and helpful shop I was served by the assistant and she was spectacular and such personal service she gave and fittings with a lovely lady called pat needles to say I found my perfect dream dress which looked stunning on our big day which had my now husband in tears thank you and pat and all the staff who became like friends to me I would recommend this wonderful shop to anyone

Really want to say a big thank you to the staff at Orange Blossom, You all were wonderful in helping me find my wedding gown. The first dress I have ever tried and that was it nothing else came close. The other dresses I tried were all lovely but my one just is everything I could have ever imagined, me and my mum are still talking about it everyday. I can't Thank you enough for your understanding and for encouraging me to try all different styles and shapes. Not long to wait and I will be back for my fittings, I have already told three friends to make appointments as you ladies are the best. Many many thanks XXXXXXX

I hardly know where to start. The main focus of staff was to preserve the condition of the sample dresses and not provide a warm and friendly environment. We were handed gloves immmediately on our arrival and the customer service assistant showed little interest in finding out about our personal tastes or any of the wedding details. The stock was poor but that could be the result of visual merchandising. The accessories were the same and we were shocked to be handed clogs to try on with a wedding dress and a bouquet of worn fake flowers. We were not allowed to take photographs 'unless buying!' and we were made aware of the discount available only if we purchased on the spot. Back to the gloves. We had to wear those with the dress on which was very distracting. I complained to the store and the last line of their response reads 'I trust that clarifies our position and you would, appreciate, if you had the experience working in the store all our policies are for the benefit of the bride.' I think that says it all, dont you?.

I again should have listened to other reviews.

I booked to come up, driving 30 miles and struggling in the horrid area to park. I rang to ask about parking...ha. No answer.

I finally got in to the dark showroom. From outside it looked tacky and the dresses on display were a joke. I was ignored for at least 15 mins until my mum got fed up and made a bit of a fuss.

My appointment was not in their book.

Somehow that was my fault.

They could not see me.

There was nobody else in the shop.

Go figure.

What an utter waste of time. Staff too rude.

I wish I had read the reviews before making the journey to this 'Bridal' store. I had seen a particular dress that I wanted to try on and was informed that this was the only shop in the South East stocking the sample gown. I made an appointment and a 60 mile trip to get there. The woman who served me was pleasant enough after much enticement from me by way of politeness, the other member of staff clearly would rather not have had customers! It was dark and dirty, the dressing area tired and shabby - and we were made to put on revolting gloves that I am sure were dirtier than our hands! I was told that due to the fact my wedding is 4 months away I couldn't have the majority of the dresses they stock, fair enough, I tried on 4 in all of 20 minutes - you aren't encouraged to take time to consider your dress. There was one that I liked, not the dress I had made the trip to see, and was told that I could get a larger size in time and have that altered. I called 2 days later to be told (by the second assistant I believe) that 'No, you can't have it, no we can't order it and no there aren't any in the country you can have'. Do not spend your money here, there are so many lovely boutiques selling the same make gowns at better prices who treat you as you should be treated at such a special time.

I cannot believe this place has the nerve to open their doors and trade in this unprofessional way.

After being glared at by the crone behind the counter she eventually let my party in. If I book in advance and it is pouring rain, I do not expect to be left outside while the staff stare at me through the window.

After finally getting in I cheerfully smiled and tried to give my name.

She gave me a withering look, spoke over me and informed me that I was only allowed two guests.

As I had only two guests, I agreed and pointed this out.

Her response was to say'two only'very loudly. I then realised that another party a good six feet away was being included as mine. I again tried to point this out and mid sentence she said 'Well that will be ten pounds'.

Ten pounds to try on a dress? Seriously?

This is perhaps the tenth shop I have been to with my wedding and others and I have never heard such a thing. Yes it is time consuming to dress someone but if that is your policy inform people when they book.

Feeling increasingly irritated I did not want to pay this unless I actually thought there was a winner in the dress.

I asked if I could wander and have a look in the frankly, huge, cold and unwelcoming showroom.

'PUT ON THE GLOVES' she barked. Confused I saw her gesture to a pile of grubby gloves for me to wear should I touch the precious gowns.

They are dresses, not ancient relics (like this charming member of staff). But again, weird as it is tell me when I book.

At this point I spun on my heel and exited the shop, never ever to return.

Do yourself a favour, do not give these rude, ignorant people your hard earned money.

Terrible place. I went and selected my dress and they called me later to say they couldn't do the fitting as the dress maker's husband had died. I was so sorry for the poor woman but they told me that there was nothing to do about it. They offered me (and made it clear that this was the only time) a different day and time when I was not available as I am a teacher and it was my class's sports day. So Ultimately, I was not going to have my dress in time for the big day. The woman who called me was so rude about it throughout and as I got more frustrated with her she started to imply that I was insensitive to the dress maker even though I think discussing someone's personal circumstances with a customer is wrong and unprofessional. I did repeat again that I was very sorry about that but now I was short of a dress I didn't knowwhatto do. The manager then phoned me and left an incredibly rude message and told me to come and pick up my dress. My mum went to collect it and they gave her the wrong size dress, thankfully it actually ended up fitting! Plus an inferior train that was not stitched properly. I believe this was on purpose.. I found a different dressmaker and all was well but it was horrible, heart breaking and I was made to feel like a nasty horrible individual because I asked if I could still have my dress fitted ( that I had already paid for) with a different dressmaker when the one assigned for me had left due to horrible circumstances. Can you imagine how it felt? Sydenham branch- avoid like the plague.