wedding gown stress 😭
i am based in SF and our wedding is on july 11th, 40 days from now, overall budget $150k. i am having a slight crashout about the whereabouts of my dress and don't know if i'm reacting appropriately or whether i should be finding a backup.
i traveled to panache bridals of beverly hills in late october 2025 and i found my perfect dress there. it is a big ballgown and the bodice is liquid organza 😍 the designer is annarita bride and the cost of the gown is $13,500. a lot, i know, but it's everything i wanted in a dress and no other dresses came close (except for the phantom stars atelier jimmy choo gowns i've seen online and could not get my hands on 😭).
anyway i paid $8650 at the time as my deposit/initial payment, with the rest being due at the time of pickup. they told me about 6 months since the designer had to make the gown, and i happily thought i had everything sorted. they told me to call again mid-may, so i did.
they told me the dress was on the way, coming from canada, and that they'd have a tracking number soon but to expect the dress to arrive in store by the end of may. i called them almost every day last week asking for some sort of update and was basically told "the dress will come at the end of may and it's may 28/29/30 so why are you stressed out?" 🤪
okay well it's now june 1st, i called them again today, and somehow there is still no tracking number, no update on where the dress is, and no estimated date for its arrival at the store. i am now lowkey panicking at this point, and the stylist has been saying several red-flaggy things to me such as:
🚩"oh, i don't even suggest for my brides to start their alterations until about a month before. sometimes you might lose weight and then it won't fit anymore"
🚩"i have to be on top of 5 dress orders right now and communicate with the designers" okay maybe i'm being mean but that doesn't sound like that many and it's your job
🚩"it's natural for you to be stressed because you only do this once but in our business, this timeline is common" um is it??
i sent them an email since (my mistake) all communication had been by phone till now, saying i need a tracking number and delivery date by EOD wednesday. i am ready to find a backup if needed but that would be disappointing. i will threaten them with small claims court if needed. if anyone had a situation like this, am i overreacting? what should i do?