Best Place to Buy the Dress You Only Wear Once
I Do I Do Wedding Gowns
15932 Luanne Dr
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
(240) 243-0050
Spend one hour in a crowded dressing room at any David’s Bridal or one afternoon at a pretentious boutique’s high-end trunk show, and you’ll pray to whatever is holy for a third way to find The Dress. I Do I Do Wedding Gowns in Gaithersburg is the answer. Dresses, both new and on consignment, range in price from $99 to more than $5,000; most are under $1,000. The shop that began as consignment-only 21 years ago in a Potomac basement still relies on consignment for the bulk of its sales, but it’s also a full-service salon—meaning you make an appointment, you get to take your time, and it’s very likely that a lovely, unpretentious woman will help you find just what you’re looking for. You might even be able to afford it. The owner, Jacqueline Zeranski, bought her dress there nine years ago for under $400 and still stocks plenty of gowns in that price range. She doesn’t accept gowns more than two years old; most are either unaltered or altered only once. Alterations, if you choose to have them done there, are contracted through independent seamstress Dawn Brooky, who has been working with the shop for 19 years. Her prices, too, are extremely reasonable. “We think we do provide a good service to people in this area,” says Zeranski, “especially for people who have a hard time finding their price point”—and their dress.
—Jule Banville
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Comments
3:08 pm
I am *shocked* that the Washington City Paper would give this store a positive review. I found the owner to be dishonest, incredibly rude and condescending. What's more, she makes regular practice of misleading customers about her merchandise. Her consignment dresses cost only slightly less than a brand new dress would cost in a competing store but she will say anything to make a sale. I wouldn't recommend this store to anyone.
7:40 am
I would highly recommend this shop for dress purchase. Super nice and attentive staff, did not feel pressured to buy, did not feel rushed through appointment, and they really went out of their way for me as a dress buying customer.
However, BIG WARNING LADIES, I strongly encourage you to look elsewhere for alterations. By the time the seamstress at this location was finished with my dress I had done a complete 180 in terms of how I felt about my gown. My gown is a very simple style, no beading, no lace, just simple and beautiful. Unfortunately a dress this simple must be impeccably finished as every little mistake shows. In my case the seamstress gave me back a dress with popped stitches, visible stitches, a lining that was completely uneven and too short in several places (thus causing the dress fabric to pucker and not fall straight to the floor) and overall sloppy workmanship. Her attitude was intimidating and hasty and at the end of the experience I wondered why she even wanted to work with brides. I ended up having to pay someone else to fix the mistakes she made as the dress couldn't be pressed until the hemline was corrected. All of that had to be done this week, one week before my wedding. Truly the worst experience of my entire wedding process! Nothing like spending over $1,000 to end up in tears over how bad your dress looks.
7:41 pm
To "stay away"
Your comments are undtrue, slanderous.....Ms Brooky is the best seamtstres(spelling ) in the State of Maryland for sure. You should apologize to her.Unless, you are just a mean, nasty creep...I hope not.....
Jimmy V
3:21 am
I am getting married on January 22, 2009 and had my dress chosen, bought and altered by Ms. Brooky in about 2-3 weeks time. She was excellent, and make the dress looking OUTSTANDING with only one fitting. The French bussle she put in was gorgeous too. I would definitely recommend her. She also has an incredibly helpful and positive attitude I must say - something that really encourages brides when they're in there.
I do I do was recommended to me, and I would definitely recommend it to others. I will say that one woman was pressuring me on my second trip there but I spoke to the owner and she found me the PERFECT dress. So, ladies, don't give up until you LOVE IT! Good Luck!
10:42 am
I am totally shocked to read what Jean wrote about Ms Brooky as I found her to be absolutely fabulous. My dress had quite a few problems when I bought it and she found a solution to each and every one of those and made me feel like a princess in my gown and made the dress look fantastic on me.She is just incredible with her creative ideas and fun to work with as she is quite playful in attitude.