Jenny Appel(Bride)

I found Bridal Brillance to be the best bridal store I visited, and found the dress of my dreams there. 

The selection was fantastic - many beautiful dresses, and the service was really helpful and friendly.  Belinda and Joan were so lovely to deal with.  They also were prompt in thier email coresspondence to me on any queries I had along the way. 

They opened especially for me when I first visited as I couldn’t make it within their regular business hours. 

I absolutely LOVED my dress, and they even arranged to get it to the seamstress for me to have the fitting done once the dress arrived.  Everyones tastes are different, they have a selection wide enough to allow you to try many different styles. The prices were a lot more reasonable than any of the dress stores I had been to in the city. 

I highly reccomend (and have done to other friends getting married) Bridal Brilliance, it’s worth the trip.
Thanks Belinda and Joan!

Pip(Bride)

Thank you so much to Belinda and Joan at Bridal Brilliance. I had a fantastic experience. Joan and Belinda compliment each other so well.
Belinda totally listened and understood my requirements, I can be pretty particular with detail. Belinda made it so simple and easy for me. I had a few challenges with shoes, hair piece etc and she had all the solutions, she totally went out of her way to make sure my day was perfect. THANK YOU!

Justine Russell - Cowan(Bride)

I am also shocked by these past reviews!!

My experience with Bridal Brilliance was nothing short of incredible.  I found both Joan and Belinda to be attentive and honest - which was very refreshing.  They were helpful and organised.  I have gone on to recommend them to not some, but all of my friends and family.  My sister also bought her dress there just two months ago and so did one of my best friends. We all had lovely experiences, which is what shopping for your wedding gown should be.

The quality and range of dresses that Bridal Brilliance offer are beautiful.  Their dresses are unique and made by highly regarded designers and yet they do not overcharge.  I encourage you to go to Bridal Brilliance and make up your own mind!

Sally Asmundson(Bride)

Belinda and Joan were amazing, the dress was gorgeous and I had so many comments on it. You guys were so helpful and went out of your way to make sure everything was just right. Excellent service and expertise - I recommend you to all those getting married!

Angela McCool(Bride)

I purchased my dress through Bridal Brilliance and I cannot speak highly enough of the service I received or the dress itself. Both Belinda and Joan were so patience and attentive helping me chose a dress that was really suited to me and the type of wedding we were having. They listened to what I suggested I would feel comfortable in and was looking for and they also encouraged me to be brave with my selection so that I could get something really special.

There shop was full of beautiful dresses and I had no doubt when I walked in there that I would find the right dress for me.

Our wedding day was very special and I got so many positive comments about my dress, it just made for a perfect day.

I was extremely happy with all parts of this purchase and experience the shop, the service and the result. I couldn’t have asked for more.

I can’t thank you enough Bridal Brilliance!!!

March Bride to Be!(Bride)

I am shocked to read the above reviews!! I have recently purchased a Bridal Gown off the wonderful friendly ladies at Bridal Brillance!!
My experience was nothing short of everything I thought it should be when you are looking finding trying on and purchasing your one and only Gown for your special day.
My experience far out does that of Modes or any other bridal shop I went too.
Belinda and Joan were so helpful welcoming and made me feel right at home. They made me feel like I was thee most beautiful bride in my special dress.
And my dress is nothing short of AMAZING, everything I ever dreamed of and more for my special day.
Belinda went out of her way to order 2 different pairs of Benjamin Adams shoes for me to try on. And held both my shoes and dress for me untill I was ready to pick up.
I would happily and highly recommend Bridal Brillance to anyone (and I have and will continue too).

Well Done Belinda and Joan!! Keep up the good work. And Thank you!!

Disappointed Bride-To-Be(Bride)

Awful, awful place to go.  Don’t bother wasting your time and money.  Awful ladies there to deal with - neither of them know what customer experience is.  I am not surprised at all the bad reviews below.

Before going to Bridal Brilliance, I have read some mixed reviews already on online wedding forums.  However, given that their try on fee was only $30, it appealed to me as most places charge $50.

What a huge mistake I made and a complete waste of my travel time and my $30.  I tried on about 3 dresses in total which is a real disappointment because that works out to be $10 each! 

Never again - lesson learnt!  Future brides don’t bother going there!!!

Sophie(Bride)

I had a terrible experience at Bridal Brilliance. I wasn’t looking for my dress but had heard they did mother-of-the-bride dresses. I rang them up saying we had seen dresses on their website and did they have them available in store? They said they had a huge range all available in store.

We made the 40-50 minute trip from the North Shore and when we got there found they only had three dresses all in size 14 (we had told them we were looking for a size 8). When we complained they said that we could order any dress and they would get it in. We obviously didn’t want to do this as we wanted to try dresses on.

To top off our wasted trip, the attitude of the woman serving was rude and nasty. Never again!

Sian(Bride)

My experience with Bridal Brilliance was unpleasant. Before I made an appointment I emailed them to explain my wedding dress dilemma (being that I’ve lost 20 kilos and although I need to order a dress now, there’s still four months til the wedding and I know that I will have lost more weight by then, therefore no longer fitting the dress I’ve purchased). They said no problem, come in and we’ll talk through your options. I arrived with my bridesmaid to find the place was full of other brides and their entourages (so much for having an appointment), so it was hardly private. The two staff did not indicate that they remembered my email at all and were clearly not interested in telling me about my so called options. They wanted to know what size I was (18) and my budget. They then directed me to the plus size section and left me alone to look at the dresses. They had about 6 dresses in a size 18 or above and all but 1 was hideous. They were all heavily beaded, covered in sequins, or made of really heavy cheap looking material. It became pretty clear to me that the staff were not interested in helping me at all, and that trying any on was not an option for me. I can’t think of anything worse than trying on a dress in front of a room full of simpering women I don’t know. I also felt like I was treated with disdain the moment I walked in the room, for daring to be bigger than a size 10. I left within 10 minutes of being there, after having driven 50 minutes to get there from the North Shore with high expectations of being helped by the staff to find a solution to my problem.

Melanie D(Bride)

My experience with Bridal Brilliance was the worst experience during my wedding planning!!  It is a real shame that these nightmare experiences occur during a time that is meant to be very exciting and hassle free.
I have been to every other bridal store in Auckland, as well as ones in Hamilton and Wellington (so about 15 bridal stores in total).  Every store that I’ve been to I’ve had a wonderful and enjoyable experience except for Bridal Brilliance.  Unfortunately it just so happened that BB had “my” dress, and I had no choice but to had to deal with them – and what an awful nightmare it was.

It started when I contacted them via email asking whether they had the style I was after, I emailed photos through so they see exactly what I was after.  Belinda replied and said yes they certainly had a few I could try on, and that I should pop in and view them.  When I did turn up, they had about one I could try on.  That was the first sign of trouble – luring me into the shop by lying that they had a few for me to try on when clearly they didn’t.  I was asked to pay the $30 try-on fee upfront, even though I only tried on two dresses in the end.  I felt completely short changed, and my bridesmaid almost kicked up a fuss but I nudged her to not do so as I didn’t want to make a scene nor be on the bad side of BB in case I had to buy a dress from them. It turns out the second dress I tried on ended up being “the one” so I was stoked to have found finally found it.

The real nightmare began once I paid for my dress.  Customer service was almost non-existence to begin with, so imagine it declining further after making the decision to go with them.  Now I must say, I find it strange that they ask for 50% deposit (that is fine), and the remaining 50% to be paid within 30 days of you saying yes you want that dress.  Most stores in Auckland allow you to pay off the dress during the 3-4 months you are waiting for it to arrive, and some even allow you to pay it off once you have had your final fitting i.e. as long as it is fully paid off before you take it home.  Not BB - they require full payment before the dress is even shipped.  Beware ladies, it is a huge risk to take!

During the time I was waiting for my dress to arrive, I found it difficult for BB to answer my questions via emails – it’s like they didn’t want to know me once the sale was made.  On a number of occasions I had to email up to three times to get an answer on something.  During the period I was waiting for my dress to arrive from overseas, I asked if I could pop in to try the sample on again and bring along my mother seeing she hadn’t seen me in the dress. BB lied to me and said that they were fully booked out on that day and said to me (in exact words) “they need to concentrate their attention on the other brides since they have already spent quite some time on me”  WTF?  Firstly, they had only spent about an hour on me and that was trying to win the sale, and secondly even if they did spend days on me (which they didn’t), you don’t say that to your clients!!!!!!  It was clear that they no longer saw me as worthwhile to spend time on since the sale was made and they needed to move on.  To lie to me that they were fully booked out was ABSOLUTE RUBBISH, I got my friend phone and pretend that she wanted an appointment – she got one straight away – yes for that same day. 

Other than getting the dress that I wanted, everything else was awful and if I had the choice of going through it with Bridal Brilliance again, I wouldn’t.  That is not how the wedding experience should be – it should be a happy experience that you don’t hesitate to go through over and over again. 

It is clear that they are only after your money, please stay away.  I don’t understand how businesses like these can exist and keep running.  Also, don’t be fooled by the “family run business” non-sense.  All I can say is BRIDES BEWARE: STAY AWAY FROM BRIDAL BRILLIANCE.

Emma(Bride)

Purely hated my experience with them! Felt pressured into buying a dress I loved so much and they basically used that against me. Told them I couldn’t afford to get it or even pay a deposit at least Four times!!Not much selection for maternity dresses either and every dress that was brought out for me, total of 5 were not what I wanted!

If anything I left there feeling like there had to be something better! My hunt continues…..........

SKT(Bride)

I did not enjoy my recent experience with Bridal Brilliance. I went there with the intention of hiring a dress, and they were one of the few vendors in Auckland who advertised that they have dresses for hire. Upon arrival I was instantly asked of my budget, so I stated a number on the top of my head - which was more than what was quoted to me from another hiring vendor. I was instantly pointed towards the sale section, and there were not very many in my size; when I asked to look through the non-sale dresses, the shop lady was almost reluctant.

I picked four dresses to try on, two from the sale section and two from the non-sale section. When I asked to try on the two from the non-sale section, the shop lady again seemed reluctant and constantly reminded me of how the non-sale ones will be a lot more expensive, even though I kept replying her that it was fine (thinking that I was paying $30 to try on dresses, so might as well).

While I was trying on neither of the ladies offered to stay with me to help me into the dresses - I had to poke my head out and ask for their assistance (there was nobody else in the showroom). One of the dresses looked quite good on me, and one of the ladies commented about how there was a girl who tried it on the day before who “would have loved for the dress to fit her” - basically implying that she was fat - which made me a feel a bit bad for that girl.

Not a good experience overall, I did not feel valued as a potential customer and literally could not wait to get out of there.

Gemma Bardsley(Bride)

I booked my appointment at Bridal Brilliance with weeks notice, and also provided Belinda (the owner) with my size, upon her request.  When I showed up on the day, there were around 4 dresses in total that were either my size, or the couple of sizes above me, (all of which were not the most beautiful dresses I’d ever seen) and that was it.  I thought seeing as she knew my size in advance, that she would have either booked me in when there were plenty of dresses for me to try, or she would advise me to hold off until she had them.

After trying all of the dresses on that would fit me, I was feeling a little disheartened as the ‘pretty’ dresses were in a size 10 and under.  While getting changed, one of the Bridal Brilliance staff members (not Belinda) welcomed in another bride, only to say quite loudly “oh aren’t you lovely and thin”.  Now I find this a very odd thing to say to anyone, let alone a new client, while another client is still in the showroom.

Once I had arrived home, I decided that this was not good enough and it had actually upset me.  I contacted Belinda to tell her and received a very nice apology from herself, as well as one from the staff member in question.  Belinda offered me another date to come back (free of charge) once she had more dresses in my size.

I went back, and quite quickly found the perfect dress, although it did need some alterations.  It was a fantastic price and I was very pleased with it.  As the alterations were very simple, Belinda offered to drop them in to a dressmaker with instructions of what to do, she also confirmed this via email the same day.

Two months before the wedding, I contacted Belinda to ask when the alterations should be finished and she didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.  I forwarded her the email she sent stating the alterations would be done, and her response was basically “my apologies, I didn’t do this, here is the dressmakers phone number, you can liaise with her.”  I was so upset, seeing as it was only two months to go and I now didn’t have a completed dress like I thought I did.  Thankfully, the dressmaker, Ruzika of Art Dressmaker’s in Auckland, was amazing, so at least I got that out of it!

Overall, I was quite disappointed with the service I received from Bridal Brilliance, as well as the lack of care once the sale had been completed, however their range of dresses (during the second visit) was very good, as was the price I got my dress for.

Viv van der Houwen(Bride)

The two ladies there work together to run a successful business from hime set in the hills by Whitford. The set up makes it a relaxing drive and when you get their it’s a lovely feeling. They are flexible as to when you can pop into to see them which made it easy for me coming from Takapuna-Whitford. Their selection of dresses is amazing and vast ...very current fashions plus have the traditional styles that you may be looking for. ..and the gowns are reasonable priced. They will give you an honest answer and work really hard to find a style that suits your body shape. What you have in mind may not sit right when you try it on so you have to chose for your figure…then you cannot go wrong and will feel comfotable on the day and get lots of flattering comemnts.

Belinda also referred me to loads of other top suppliers that she had dealt with) so if you were stuck on whom to go to at least you had some pointers. I bought a dress off the rack which may have been tried on 3-5 x. It was still in good order (not marked nor creased). Due the fact that I was not ordering a brand new pristine dress which wold take 3 months to arrive from oversease (due to time pressure / short lead time to my wedding)...Belinda very generously gave me all the standard dress alterations that it required in order to sit perfectly - for free. I got it bustled up and the sides altered in 3 places plus the top ruffles stitched down. It cost me zero!! They referred me to a dress alterations lady Robyn in Botany who used to be a wedding dressmaker. Robyn did an excellent job, and listens and had ideas of her own and we made the dress look fantastic and added a designer shoulder ruffle to one side of the dress so it wasn’t completely strapless. This looked very Paris high fashion. I of course paid for this extra design element.

I had purchased a veil from Bridal Brilliance and even though I had opened it and tried it on once Belinda and her step Mom kindly let me exchange it as another style suited the dress more. They are very understanding to to this as I had also purchased a veil made by Felicity from Felicity’s bridal in Auckland city and she was mean (aalthough comes across as sweet as pie) and would not exchange it even though I had tried it on once. Felicity said it was for hygiene reasons. Which is questionable as I work in medical industry and there are lots of antibacterial wipe and sprays that can gently wipe the plastic comb for make it germ-free -and free from hair oils and antibacterial!! I am so glad that I did not purchase my dress from Felicity’s as the non flexibile attitude would put me off when I’m about to spend a couple of thousand dollars! 

Thank you Bridal Briliance. You shine above the others!

Anonymous(Bride)

I was excited to try on some wedding dresses & had booked in at Bridal Brilliance for a weekend appointment. The trying on experience was fun, but I am sad to say that is where the fun ended. I found my perfect dress very quickly & was told the price by one of the staff members. Upon paying for half of my dress, a different member of staff had written down a different price (more than what I had been told). I called them the next day to let her know what had happened & she changed it back to the original price. She called me the day after that & said that I must have been mistaken (the 3 other people that were with me all heard the first price I was given) & that she wanted to split the extra she had charged me, which turned out to be $100. Now, to me, when you are spending thousands of dollars on a dress, you would not expect this treatment, I decided not to argue as I didn’t want my one & only experience of buying a wedding dress to be completley awful. My dress needed a couple of alterations & I decided that instead of getting them done in Auckland, I would get them done in my home town.

So I phoned Bridal Brilliance less than a week after I had first seen them & asked for my dress to be steamed (as it was creased) despite the fact that I was getting it altered. I explained that I would be picking the dress up (& accessory I had also purchased) in the weekend & gave her a date & time. Upon arriving to collect my dress, I found that it was not steamed & that the accessory I had purchased was still on display for people to try on?? The lady assured me the dress did not need a clean as it was brand new. I paid the balance of the dress & it was presented in a clothing bag (which I was thankful for) but my accessory (which is very delicate) was merely wrapped in tissue (because they couldn’t find a box for it) & was put in a plastic bag. Not good enough for that sort of money.

Once I got the dress home, I took it out of it’s cover & was thinking how much I loved it only to find big black marks underneath the train (from people trying it on prior to me purchasing it) & also a black smudge on the outer silk layer of the dress, someone had obviously stood on it, there were also make up marks in the bodice of the dress. So much for not needing a clean.

Fancy spending thousands of dollars on your one & only wedding dress to be really dissapointed with the service. The reason I did not kick up a fuss when I picked my dress up is because I felt that even if I had voiced my dissapointment, that the staff wouldn’t have cared & I would have just gone round in circles. Such a shame to have purchased a beautiful designer dress to be let down by things that should never happen when you are organising that exciting element of getting married.