Hannelore's Bridal Boutique

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106 N Lee St (at Conveniently located in beautiful historic Old Town Alexandria)
Alexandria, VA 22314

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(703) 549-0387
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Hannelore's Bridal Boutique - Alexandria, VA
Hannelore's Bridal Boutique - Alexandria, VA
Hannelore's Bridal Boutique - Alexandria, VA
Hannelore's Bridal Boutique - Alexandria, VA
Hannelore's Bridal Boutique - Alexandria, VA
Hannelore's Bridal Boutique - Alexandria, VA
Hannelore's Bridal Boutique - Alexandria, VA
Reviews
( 23 )
( 6 )
( 2 )
( 10 )
( 31 )

Best

I'm a middle-aged male who stumbled through the door at Hannelores in sandles, shorts, and a t-shirt in search of a vest and bow tie for my tux. The owner, Pamela, was a delight ...

Worst

My mother, my aunt, and I went to Alexandria to search for a bridal gown. We entered Hannelores to make an appointment (which I'll admit, is unorthodox.) Of course we were asked p...

Satisfied Bride!!! 11/26/2010

After visiting numerous bridal boutiques with no luck (a few being in Alexandria), I came across Hannelores. Before visiting any of the bridal salons I went to, I always read the reviews first. Given 90% of the reviews against Hannelores are negative, I was hesitant but still in need of a wedding gown! So I made my appointment, actually when I called to make my appointment the receptionist spent about 10 minutes explaining to me their upcoming trunk show, how it worked, what to expect, etc...very pleasant! So one of my bridesmaids and I arrive at 10am on a Saturday, we were greeted right away and given an information card to fill out. Moments later I met Kimberly, my consultant. She took us right upstairs and into her office, where we discussed my likes/dislikes, price point, etc. Then we walked out and began browsing, she did limit me to 5 dresses PER trip, however, I agreed with that, if I didn't like any of the 1st five we'd go pull more. I saw a beautiful Lazaro gown on display and more
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Can we say RACIAL DISCRIMINATION. 11/9/2010

If I could give this place a zero I would. My sister is getting married and we both thought it would be nice to go see gowns on a Sunday. I got there first and noticed we needed to have an appointment. The receptionist upfront just looked at me without greeting me. I stated that I just noticed you needed an appointment if I could make one. She told me to make one over the phone instead. So then I asked her if I could just look around. She said not the wedding dresses but the bridesmaid dresses. Another customer came in with the same questions but she was obviously treated better and was shown towards the gowns because she was white and I am not. Can we say RACIAL DISCRIMINATION. It's obvious I went there because we have the money to buy a gown. They lost an excellent customer because of racial or class discrimination. I don't appreciate it and it shouldn't be tolerated!!! DO NOT GO!!!!!! more
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Worst dress shop ever! 11/6/2010

Stay away from this estabishment! My fiance, who is a petite marathon runner, was told that she was "too broad" to fit into their sample dresses and she should go to David's Bridal or somewhere. The bridal consultant was extremely rude and I would hate for anyone else to have such a horrible experience. more
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Don't Go Through What I Went Through 10/29/2010

All I want to do is prevent another bride from going through what I went through. If you decide to go to this store, because of their unquestionable selection, I recommend you make your appointment with the store manager, and only deal with her directly for the total duration of your relationship with the store. Insist she is present, and remains present, for any fitting you later have. (Good luck with that because she's the busiest person there.) My initial salesperson told me they couldn't order samples, and couldn't customize a dress. We ended up doing both after a lot of heartache over the initial order I placed. Later, the seamstress I dealt with told me one thing in our fitting, and then another in front of the manager when I questioned the finished product. In the end I brought my dress home, knowing it wasn't perfect because I had no faith they would fix it. I felt trapped the entire time, and regret not walking away from my deposit months ago when I might have stood a more
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Not so Satisfied 10/12/2010

Every time I went there the staff was unhelpful, they made helping me find what I needed seem like a bother. The dress selection wasn't bad, but they were SO unhelpful about everything. \r \r The fitting went terribly, they had ordered the wrong size for me and I had over $100 in alterations. They were unhelpful and unresponsive when I asked about ordering another size. There was nothing about the establishment that I would recommend and everyone else in my bridal party felt the same way. \r \r I have hear Hitched in Georgetown is MUCH better! more
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Someone needs to physically assault these people! 8/20/2010

I was so disturbed by this experience I?m writing a review to every web site possible, a letter to the owner and contacting the better business bureau. In my opinion, this place should be shut down. Here?s my story;\r \r I call to make an appointment. I then inquire about the average cost point for a dress at Hannelore?s. I?m transferred to ?Bridal Consultant? who was a complete obnoxious B but I wanted to make the best use of my time in Alexandria. So I kept my appt. as it was on the way between 2 of the 5 bridal stores I mapped out to visit in 3 hours. \r \r With no receptionist or person to greet us in sight, we (my mother, sister and friend) walked upstairs. There were 3 -4 women pretending to work but helping no one. I found a dress that I loved on a manikin. I pulled out the price tag and was delighted to find it reasonable. One of the nasty women came over and rudely asked who I was and if I had an appt. I was prepared for the attitude since I visited Katherine?s more
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Snobby Service 8/16/2010

I have to agree with the majority of reviewers. I went in and they immediately assumed I could not afford the dresses. The lady told me right away in a condescending manner that their dresses start at 1500 and go to 12k, and then asked if I that was going to be ok. A better way to do it would be to ask what designers and price range you are considering so they can better assist you. Obviously, they are more concerned with money than anything else. more
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SNOBS 6/6/2010

My mother, my aunt, and I went to Alexandria to search for a bridal gown. We entered Hannelores to make an appointment (which I'll admit, is unorthodox.) Of course we were asked point blank what our budget was and we answered-and I couldn't believe it, but one of the salesclerks actually smirked. Another took us upstairs and preceded to point out gowns that were "the most beautiful gowns she'd seen"-and those were thousands of dollars over our budget. They were so arrogant I had no desire to even return to the store. I called and canceled my appointment. The thought of walking through the doors made me feel sick to my stomach. more
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A truly terrific experience 5/25/2010

I have to say that I disagree with most of the reviews of Hannelore's on this site. It sounds like a lot of the people who posted to this site have based their reviews on one visit sans appointment (nearly all upscale bridal salons in the DC area require an appointment; this is not unique to Hannelore's) or a phone call to the store and haven't gone through the actual purchasing and alterations processes.\r \r Several different people helped me find my wedding dress, veil and jewelry at Hannelore's, and everyone was extremely helpful and accommodating every time I visited. Both Hannelore and Pamela, her daughter, assisted me on numerous occasions, and went out of their way to help me with things without me even asking, such as picking out THE perfect jewelry after I had complained about another set of jewelry I purchased somewhere else that I later decided I did not like.\r \r Additionally, the alterations department at Hannelore's is fantastic. My dress fit perfectly after the first round more
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Hannelore's Bridal Boutique is lacking customer service and are SNOBS 1/2/2010

Believe the other reviews- Hannelore's, for being so "upscale," has awful customer service. They are very snobby and rude. It started when I made my appointment over the phone. The woman told me my appointment lasts only an hour and if I was running late I "had" to call them because they won't take me. I was also told that their dresses start at $1500 and was asked if I knew this. I told them I understood. When I first sat down with my consultant she asked what designers I had in mind. I told her Pronovias and Monique Lhuilier. She then stated "Well Pronovias starts at $1500 and Monique starts at $4000. You're ok with this?" I looked her in the eyes and immediately said "Yes." She proceeded to raise an eyebrow and then stare at me without saying a word for a good 6-8 seconds! That might not seem like a long time but during an awkward moment, it's an eternity. She then asked us to come upstairs- while going upstairs my friends wanted to leave immediately because they were more
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Sub par service 12/10/2009

My mother and sister went to Hannelore's in order to find bridesmaid dresses. The store does have a great selection but the staff has been anything but helpful. Four of my six bridesmaids had issues with getting follow-up on their dresses being sent. One of my bridesmaids was told she would have to incur additional shipping expenses to get the dress on time, even though it was the salesperson's fault. Eventually it was shipped overnight free of charge but not without putting up a fight. I personally bought my veil and bridal shoes from the store and loved the selection. Although I am happy with the actual products, the customer service has been very sub par. It is hard to contact anyone via phone or email and I had to inquire about the ship date for my veil three times before my credit card was even charged. I would not recommend to other brides even though the selection is good unless you have a lot of patience and don't mind following-up a million times with the staff. more
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Hannelore's Bridal Boutique is a Snob House 11/23/2009

The staff is extrememly rude and snobby. We made an appointment, but unfortunately we were running late. Becuase we were late, they wouldn't let us try on any dresses, even though we drove an hour to get there. And had we been on time, we would have been trying on dresses at that very moment. It wasn't crowded, there was no one in the dressing rooms, and the consultant was sitting around doing nothing until her next appointment. They were indredibly rude in the way they spoke to us. I would never recommend it, in fact, I will make sure to tell any and every bride to avoid this place. more
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Hannelore's Bridal Boutique is dissapointing 11/9/2009

I have to agree, the store staff, from sales consultant to management is horribly rude. I have never experience such horrible behavior. They do have a lot of events and wide selection, its sad that horrible customer services tints the store image. Be careful, you don't need extra stress they give you. I ordered my wedding dress from there but refused to get my bridesmaid dresses because of the service/attitude. more
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FABULOUS experience!!! I even met Anne Barge! 10/22/2009

Hannelores was my first ever dress shopping appointment, and it could not have been more exciting or special! My mom and aunt were in town, and we went for an Anne Barge trunk show (as I have always loved her designs) at 10am on Saturday morning 9/19/09. We found THE dress almost immediately and went back the following day to make the purchase and get my measurements taken. My sales associate, Sally, could not have been more friendly, welcoming, or helpful. Right off the bat she understood my vision for my formal wedding and did not push me to get the sale. Additionally, Anne Barge was at the trunk show and spent at least a half an hour in my dressing room on both Saturday and Sunday and giving me advice on flowers, veils (which we also purchased that day), and the like. I loved Hannelores so much that one of my bridesmaids and I went back and found the Jenny Yoo bridesmaid dresses that I we are now ordering from Ashlynn. I could not be more pleased with the service I have received fro more
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Terribly rude, unprofessional sales associates. Avoid. 10/12/2009

A perfect example of uppity attitudes from those who are supposed to be assisting potential buyers. I'm currently in the process of making wedding plans. My fiance' & I have not yet set a date, but I've been looking around for potential gowns. Upon a recent trip to Old Town, my future mother-in-law pointed out the shop as we were passing by. I commented on one of the gowns & she suggested that we go inside to take a look. We were not greeted by anyone, nor was there any signs indicating that we were not allowed to be in the store without a consultant. Several sales associates saw us and never once offered to help us. That was fine, I wasn't intending on trying anything on, I was simply looking to see if they might possibly carry one of the designers I had been looking into -- unlikely, as they seem to carry a very generic line of overrated domestic designers. Overall I was rather unimpressed and we were preparing to leave when a middle aged sales associate approached us and rudely dema more
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USE HANNELORES AT YOUR OWN PERIL. 9/1/2009

BUY DRESS AT HANNELORE'S AT YOUR OWN PERIL. 2 weeks before the big day, we have to go elsewhere to get dresses. Never even gave us warning! They're liars.\r \r They messed up our wedding orders countless times. They even lost our folder with all the information to boot.\r \r If you are looking to get a wedding dress or bridemaid dresses here... I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO LOOK ELSE WHERE.\r \r You will think that all is fine because they are flatout lying to you along the way about status, etc until days before the wedding when they give you that little surprise -- SORRY, DRESS WONT BE READY AND WE WONT HELP YOU WITH PLAN "B".\r \r It's their policy, it seems, to have brides cry in their showroom because of mistakes or terrible service at least 3 times. When you see someone crying in the showroom -- DO NOT ASSUME IT'S BECAUSE THEY FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS. More like a nightmare in the making. more
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Top-notch experience...highly recommended 8/7/2009

I read quite a few negative reviews before heading to Hannelore's and, since my experience was so incredibly positive, I felt compelled to post. I went to Hannelore's to look for a gown for myself, and Danielle could not have made the experience more pleasant. She was absolutely wonderful, struck a great balance between letting me look around and suggesting things for me to try, and seemed to be tuned into my personal style right from the start of my visit (I brought magazine pages of dresses that I liked, as I have a hard time articulating what I want in a dress). After she helped me try on over a dozen dresses, she wrote down some information for me about an upcoming trunk show of the designer who made the dress I liked best, which was great. She also said that if I found another dress I liked by that designer she could order it for the trunk show, yet I wouldn't be obligated to buy it. On top of my phenomenal experience with Danielle, the gentleman downstairs in the men's formal more
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100% recommended! 7/19/2009

After reading these reviews, I have to post about my experience. I have to say that I had a wonderful experience with Hannelore's from the second I called for an appointment until I picked up my dress the day before my wedding.I had been to 7 dress shops in the area and I was very frustrated and confused. Not that I'm overly picky...I have a large bust that I am self-conscious about. On the day I went to Hannelore's, I had had a terrible experience with a shop in Manasas (the owners daughter was trying to sell me a very frumpy gown and wouldn't let me try anything that looked different). I called Hannelore's and asked if they had any last minute appointments. They did and we met with Patricia that afternoon. She was so fantastic! Patricia asked about the other shops I had been to, the dresses I had tried on that I liked, what I did not like, and my price point. We looked through the racks and pulled out SEVERAL dresses. They were having an Ann Barge trunk show but we looked through the more
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Hannelore's has lots of high-quality dresses 7/18/2009

Despite the bad reviews, I decided to visit this store anyways and had a good experience. My consultant allowed me to look through thier selection and pick out dresses that appealed to me. In addition, she also pulled some dresses she thought I'd like. I think many brides looking for dresses in the 1-2K range would be dissapointed here. Most dresses start at 3K, with the avg. price being around 4K. If you are looking for a higher quality dress, then make an apointment, show up on time, and have a ball! more
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Customer not MISLEAD 6/4/2009

In response to the review @ Alterations. ANY high- end store charges for any work done to the garments that they sell. If you don't need any alterations then guess what no-charge! So the work costing the same amount of $200.00 in another store proves we were more than fair. more
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Hannelore's Bridal Boutique, established in 1984, has earned its reputation for outstanding service, selection and style. Over twenty designers' collections are represented; Gowns start at $1500+.

Owner Message

  • <p>Over twenty designers' collections are represented; many of which are exclusive in the Washington area to Hannelore's. Large spacious dressing rooms allow the bride privacy when selecting her gown. The professional staff is skilled in assisting the bride throughout her visit. Once you've experienced Hannelore's you will understand what shopping for your bridal gown should be like.</p> <p>Gowns Start at $1500+</p>

    * Accessories
    * Bridal
    * Bridesmaids
    * Flower girl
    * Mother of the Bride
    * Shoes Salon
    * Tuxedo

Additional information
  • Hours: Mon 10am-6pm ; Tue 10am-6pm ; Wed 10am-8pm ; Thu 10am-8pm ; Fri 10am-6pm ; Sat 10am-6pm ; Sun Noon-5pm
  • Neighborhoods: Old Town
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