Here is a thread that I desperately wish I would have found before doing business with Angel’s Bridal Boutique and Angela Vaden. It appears Angela is very good at squelching anything negative said about her through online reviews and forums.
She has changed her business name, shut down facebook groups, deleted group members who posted negative comments, and was recently booted out of the etsy community due to being “reported” by her customers. She blogged about this and said she simply decided to “shut her Etsy shop down.” 8/9/2011
Here is another similarly related thread:
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/beware-of-angela-vadens-wedding-dress-shops
Please feel free to share your own story in the comment section below, but let’s try to keep comments “clean.” Thanks!
I am a seamstress, and have been sewing for over 30 years. When Angela first showed up on Etsy, I reported her numerous times to Etsy admin. She was featuring photos that she didn’t take of dresses that she didn’t make. This is a common scam on Ebay – it’s JUST WRONG TO DO THIS. She basically stole photos from websites (Amsale, Pnina Tornai, Monique L) and claimed that she could custom make the dress.
In her profile, which she later edited, she admitted to just taking up sewing as a way to release her creative talents. I was appalled ! ! ! She had just started sewing when she opened her Etsy bridal shop. Buying a $100 brothers sewing machine and some white lace does NOT make you a bridal couterier. I knew this would mean that many brides would be disappointed with her work.
Her feedback was so deceptive. All this glowing feedback was for dresses that had yet to be delivered. One after another, brides proclaimed that they couldn’t wait to get their dress. Close analysis reveals that there are relatively few positive feedbacks for delivered goods. She knows how to work the feedback game… wait for 4 months before delivery and feedback can no longer be left by the buyer.
In Jan 2010, she was Called Out on the Callin’ at on Etsy blog – a sorta of shame blog featuring less than desirable Etsy sellers. I hoped that brides would google shop name “yourfairytalewedding” prior to purchase and get the real dirt on this gal.
Recently, she opened a nice little retail shop in Carthage. Unfortunately, her online orders had to take the brunt of this endeavor. She cut corners on her orders, substituted cheaper fabrics, ran late with delivery times, and then bitched out anyone who tried to speak up.
Bottom line is – her Etsy brides paid for this new store she opened. And they got screwed in the process.
My heart goes out to all of you. I’m so glad Etsy shut her down. Her little store in Carthage won’t last long. Her customer service sucks and she’s totally unethical. Not a good business model for success in a small town.
Wow! Very interesting observations indeed. I am so thankful that her Etsy shop got shut down as I believe that was how the majority of brides found her. Her dresses on there had thousands of views.
I. too, thought her way of accepting feedback was a bit wonky. Of course you will leave positive feedback if your dress has yet to arrive and you have yet to be disappointed about it.
I honestly hope good things for Angela. That she can learn to listen, deal with people, and take honest criticism. I have found in my own life that a failure to do so means sure misery.
Thanks for your comment!
I am also a seamstress and I highly doubt that Angela was actually making these dresses. I also suspected something was odd back when she had her first shop, the numbers weren’t adding up, I found it far too difficult to believe that someone with minimal sewing experience could be whipping up fancy wedding dresses in just a few days.
The photo of her in front of the sewing machine made me laugh. Looks like she borrowed a friends sewing machine and a piece of fabric. The photos of the dresses from her “studio” look like they were pulled out of a box all crumpled. Why were there never any photos of works in progress? Why would she never let anyone see until it was completely finished? I smelled the bullsh*t long ago and after doing more research I came to the conclusion that she was probably buying cheap wedding dresses and attempting to alter them… There is one dress that was shown with a ton of pleat like folds down the bodice and that was the dead give away for me.
I am so glad that she is finally off Etsy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried her scam again.
Interesting thoughts! I was very skeptical that she made my dress from “scratch.” My gut feeling was that she was booked, should have never taken me on as a bride, and scrambled at the last minute to find something to send me so that she would not have to refund my money. I think she just had my dress “lying around” the shop.
It is sheer speculation/gut feeling on my part… she is very good at hiding the “truth” so I may never know it.
The only protection provided to the buyer in her contract is that if the dress is not there by your wedding day, you will be offered a full refund. Mine came the day before… so no refund for me. Thanks for the comment!
Wow, after reading your story I was shocked. It sounds very similar to my own.
I also wanted a custom, not-your-average-strapless-floor-length dress and when I found Angela I was very pleased. I thought, I’ll be getting a new dress, made to fit me, with exactly what I want. Perfect. I asked her to combine two dresses, also knowing that she wanted to have some ‘artistic license’. My first warning sign should have been when she sent me the sketch of the dress. She said that she had hurt (maybe broken) her hand and could not draw very well (but she could sew…?). Anyway, when my then-fiance-now-husband saw the drawing he laughed. A lot. And he said she probably made up the thing about her hand because she knew she couldn’t draw. Ok, well, maybe. But she could obviously sew, right? All those beautiful dresses!
I should also mention that I, too, needed the dress pretty quickly. I placed the order in June and needed it for November. She said it would make her busy but that she could absolutely fit it in.
I messaged her sometime in August, I believe, to check up on the progress and clarify some questions. I had a very specific lace in mind and asked her several times what she was going to use. She didn’t answer me at all. I was completely in the dark about any details of the dress and had no choice but to trust her. I had already paid and had no more money.
Then, in October, I began to really worry. I asked her if she would be shipping soon, and she said she would ship in November. But, my wedding being in mid-November, I really wanted to have the dress sooner. I asked if she could ship earlier. She then responded in a way that made me feel like I was being a crazy bridezilla. So I backed away and waited until November.
A week before my wedding, the dress had still not come, and I had received no tracking number. I sent her a message. She said it had shipped. The next day, she wrote back saying she had made a mistake and the dress had not actually shipped yet. BUT, she would not be able to ship it until I signed the contract. What contract? Never, ever before had she mentioned any kind of contract to me. (Keep in mind that she is till finishing her sentences with smiley faces). Whatever, I signed the contract and she said it was being shipped priority.
Wednesday, before my wedding, I got the dress. It was stuffed in a box, for starters. But when I tried it on was really the depressing moment. It was cheap, stiff, and looked terrible on me. It was about 2 sizes too big as well. I am very petite and part of the reason I got a custom made dress was so that I wouldn’t have to do tons of alterations or look like I was drowning in fabric. Well, I tried to console myself with the idea that, once it fit me, it would look great. Friday before my wedding, when I should have been managing the reception set-up, I was having my dress altered for $150.00.
Sadly, even after the genuinely good alterations, I knew it was a terrible dress. My only saving grace was that I had a really cute sweater and that it was November. I was able to cover a lot of it up.
For a long time I was just mad at myself for being so idiotic to order my dress online and trust this woman. I am so relieved to see that I am not the only one who had problems, that she really is scamming people, and that it’s not all my fault.
Like you, I don’t wish mean things for Angela, but she did a very bad thing to me, and I hate to think she has done the same to others. I’m outraged at the money I lost and the fact that she made me feel anything less than radiant and gorgeous on my wedding day.
I’m glad you are exposing this scam. Thanks.
Oh my gosh! This story, again, sounds eerily familiar. I am so, so sorry this happened to you. Don’t worry. There is no way she can keep this up for long…
I have had ongoing issues with Angela over the last few months culminating in her finally sending me my “reworked” dress shoved in a medium sized priority box (just how all brides would like to receive the gown for the biggest day of their life). Incidentally my fiance and I took a picture of this to document her “customer service.” This has been the worst business experience I have ever had as a customer. I was told she would rework my dress, since she made a major error the first time, using the wrong material for the bottom of the dress. I was told via email she had already removed applique to be placed on the tulle (the fabric the skirt was originally to be made of). The “reworked” dress I received had a layer of tulle put on top (poorly I might add), the applique was right where it was before, so she lied in her email to me. So the work she claimed to have done in her email was never done.This “work” has been going on for over a month as I have waited and it is now 2 weeks before my wedding. I will never do business with her again and am considering seeking legal action. I hope other brides find this and make the choice not to work with her.
Oh my goodness! I just saw a picture of the box that she stuffed your dress in on the weddingbee forum. Horrifying! I hope that you are able to “make do,” I’m sure your wedding will be lovely. Also, please take comfort in the fact that through brides sharing their honest feedback and true stories about Angels Bridal Boutique, other brides will seriously consider doing business elsewhere. Thanks for the comment!