Bridal Project

I loved every minute in this place. Kari is a very sweet lady and made the whole experience incredibly enjoyable. Too bad she’s only in the wedding dress business because I want to go back to her shop just for the experience again! She is truly top notch.

I am so excited to be done with dress shopping. For me, it was an overwhelming experience as we knocked out 6 places in less than two weeks. The highs and lows of budgeting and styles — and variation of designers just left me a little lost. In enters the Bridal Project Boutique.
I simply cannot share how wonderful my experience was. We booked a late appointment, and found the studio to be clean, romantical, and intimate. Soft music played in the background as Kari got to know me better (as well as my mom and MOH). She heard the budget and style I was intending for the big day and was off to pull some dresses. Mind you — I have looked at some loud dresses, frumpy dresses, dresses I loved parts of, but nothing in it’s entirety. Kari’s first selection did not wow me on the rack — but it WOW’d me on! She totally showed me things well within my budget, and pulled about 5 – 6 dresses for me. I loved the first and third I think. the rest where beautiful as well but not my style. She basically nailed my style right away with that first dress. She made me feel comfortable and beautiful as she pulled different accessories that would go with my dress. I never felt up-​sold, and if anything I really felt like she understood what I needed to spend on and what I could save on.
I ended up staying way past my allotted time, but she never rushed me out. She had my vision nailed down and I ended up leaving with a veil, a dress, a belt, and earrings — ALL UNDER BUDGET. I didn’t think I would have THAT MOMENT… but I ended up feeling it when I had my dress. I also love the idea that someone adored this dress and passed it on for another — for me to love! You can really tell Kari loves what she does and gets her drive from making a bride feel and look amazing. I am extremely grateful for the time and experience I had and can’t wait to show you guys my dress. Post wedding :)
Thank you again Kari. I would recommend your shop and services anytime.

Huge turnoff that the owner offered me to resell the second hand dress I was considering. It means that their claim that they only buy once worn is not true. They actually are willing to sell dresses that have been worn twice. Beware brides!

I don’t believe I have ever written a poor Unilocal review but after our experience I wished someone had so that I could have gone in with my eyes wide open to Bridal Project.
Unfortunately we purchased our dress when Melissa owed the store. We thought she was wonderful. My daughter loved the dress & we took it home & were told to come back for the alterations in two months. We returned in two months, Melissa had sold the store & we were introduced to Kari, the new owner. Nice, pleasant & seemingly professional.
We had the fitting & asked if a very small pucker in the waist where it was pulling could be fixed. We were told for an additional $ 200 it could. So wanting everything perfect for her big day we figured it was worth it. It was totally wearable. We returned for the next fitting to find the dress completely puckered all over in the waist. Kari was horrified & told us that Melissa had to know she sold us a defective dress. She said she would order belts but it totally changed the style of the dress & the belt would need to be 2″ wide, my daughter is a 0.
Long story short the dress was ruined due to the alteration. Kari offered to refund us the money not only for the alterations but also the dress. She kept the dress thinking she was refunding us. This was 3 weeks before the wedding.
We were beyond stressed, it had taken us two months to find this dress. Leaving Bridal Project I at least felt that she was taking care of business since she employed the seamstress who had ruined the dress. We went to a restaurant to collect ourselves & figure out what to do when we got Kari’s text saying THAT I HAD PURCHASED THE DRESS IN AS IS CONDITION & SHE WOULDN’T REFUND US FOR ANYTHING, NOT EVEN THE ALTERATION. From that point on she was rude & to date we have not received any refund.
It took us a couple of weeks to find a new dress & put an incredible amount of stress on us.
We had the final fitting the night before the wedding.
A very unfortunate, expensive, stressful situation made incredibly more stressful by the owner of Bridal Project.

I am not one to leave bad Unilocal reviews but felt this had to be shared. I still am in shock over the horrendous experience I had at Bridal Project. After purchasing my wedding dress from Bridal Project I returned months later for my scheduled alterations to find that the business had been bought by Kari, the newest owner. I went in for a routine alteration, taking some length off at the bottom and Kari told me they could easily smooth out a tiny bit of bunching that was occurring near a seam on my torso (it was an A-​line dress).
When I returned for the fitting, the bunching was significantly worse after the in-​house seamstress altered it. We sent it back so they could fix it and when I came back the second time it was far worse! All the fabric was bunching around my torso and it looked awful. Kerry recognized how bad it was and suggested we go to a second seamstress to attempt to fix the dress. We were there for about 5 minutes before it became very obvious that this recommended seamstress would not be able to do anything to fix the dress. She didn’t speak a word of English and just started poking large pins the silk dress.
So at the end of this disaster Kari promised me a full refund on the dress. She said it was the least she could do because there weren’t really other options for fixing the dress (except adding boning that she said would show right through the silk or covering up the mess with a thick belt).
This all happened 3 weeks before my wedding day. After leaving the alteration shop, Kari sent my mom a text message 45 minutes later saying she will no longer offer us a refund. She claims that she won’t give us a refund because we signed a contract saying we bought the dress «as-​is.» That would have made sense except that after her seamstress botched the dress it was no longer in «as-​is» condition.
I was left to find a brand new wedding dress 3 weeks before my wedding and had no budget to do so. Needless to say this was extremely stressful. The girls at Glamour Closet in SF were amazing though and they saved the day by helping find an even better dress and referring an amazing seamstress just 3 short weeks before my wedding!
After attempts to get a rightfully deserved refund we still have not even received a penny for the hefty cost of the dress or the alterations that damaged the dress! Kari was so incredibly unprofessional. It was the only negative experience I had throughout my entire wedding planning process and I would highly discourage any bride from shopping at Bridal Project.

I came here to help my friend find a wedding dress. Kari is super sweet and very knowledgeable about wedding dresses and styling. The boutique was very nice, chic, smells wonderful with scented candles and little cute decors.
Even though my friend couldn’t really decide on a dress. I am a wedding photographer and would definitely recommend brides to come here in the future!

This bridal shop is super cute. It’s really easy to miss so be on the look out for the sign. The décor is truly like something straight out of pinterest. Came with my bridesmaids and we started looking at dresses right away, we had the place all to ourselves! I picked out several and I had them pick some out for me as well. Kari helped me in and out of the dresses. This bridal shop is a little different from normal places, she doesn’t order anything they are sold as is. The dresses are either worn once before or sample selections, they are mostly designer sold at a cheaper price.
I tried on «the dress» and it fit like a glove!!! Girls, you know when its the dress right away, I could not stop thinking about it all weekend. So, on Monday I ended up purchasing the A-​line sweetheart neckline Vera Wang piece through the phone with Kari, I did some researching and the retail was around $ 4000 and I got it for a fraction of the price. I am so happy with the customer service that I got from Kari, she was warm and helpful through the whole process. I live in Arizona so I was stressing out about how to get the dress back to me. Kari was nice enough to go out of her way and ship it to me and she insured it!
Thank you Kari for helping me say yes to the dress!

FIVE STARS!!! Could this place be any more adorable?!
Location:
Right off Burlingame Ave, which is ideal! We stopped for drinks/​appetizers at Straits before heading over to the shop. Parking was a little bit of a hassle, but that’s the price you pay for heading to busy downtown Burlingame on a Saturday afternoon.
Shop:
So. Cute. It’s tucked away on Primrose, upstairs in an adorable little shop. You walk in, and to the left is a room full of dresses (!!!), and to the right the «show room» (ie: bride’s pedestal). The décor is adorable, lots of mirrors and natural light. The only downside was how warm it was in there, but it didn’t take away from how much fun we had.
Service:
Kari was AMAZING. She was informative, knew a ton about the dresses she had on hand, and asked the right questions. My sister had a style in mind, and Kari suggested going a bit outside her «comfort» zone and try on things she wouldn’t have normally looked at. Kari was right. My sis looked great in EVERYTHING (i could be biased…).
Scheduling:
This shop is by appointment only. Good thing I knew that going in! I emailed the shop about 2 months prior to when my sis wanted to go shopping and Kari has been fantastic about staying in touch!
Experience:
I did not go dress shopping for my own wedding, but had I chosen to do the whole dress-​shopping-​thing… THIS Is how I would have wanted it to be! 100% private (just the bride and her entourage + Kari)… 100% personalized… 100% attentive… 100% AWESOME!
THANK YOU KARI!!! We’re sending every bride your way!

Looking for a wedding dress is not an easy feat. After days of searching and trying on countless «no» dresses in SF, I am so happy that I made an appointment at Bridal Project because that is where my dress and I found each other and where I met Melissa. Melissa understood what I was looking for and helped make a major decision so smooth.
This isn’t your typical bridal shop where you can order dresses, the boutique has a lot of sample selections that you can take home that day you say yes. So come after you’ve tried on several dresses and with silhouettes in mind so that Melissa can guide you in the right direction.
The alteration process was seamless. Melissa helped me set up appointments around my busy schedule with Maria. at 8am on Mondays! Maria took my dress and made it even more special. I highly recommend having your wedding shoes with you at the alterations to actually see what your dress looks like with shoes on.
My husband LOVED my dress and still brings it up.

I’m not sure if I should write a review, technically I never made it to the store. I called two weeks in advance to try and make an appointment and left a message. Prior to that I emailed and got a response saying I would hear back within 48 hours… I never heard back. I called again and left another message. still no call back. I called a certain time and spoke with someone who was very nice and told me she would give me a call and let me know if they had any cancellations because they were full already have four appointments (A bit irritating considering I had called a week and a half prior to trying get an appointment and now they were booked).
Saturday came around and they called me at 3:30 to let me know they had a cancellation. This is two hours from my house… Not exactly a good heads up. Out of frustration I don’t really know how you run a business not calling people back and making your customers a priority. Hopefully they treat their customers better once there in the store.

Melissa was very helpful and professional. From scheduling, rescheduling to trying on dresses, Melissa has been a great listener.
She was very friendly, enthusiastic and helpful. I could tell she really loves her job :)
This is a boutique shop, choices were limited but they have a variety of styles to try on. What you see is what you buy. It’s a small cute shop, but you can comfortably fit 3 – 5 friends.
Most important of all, Melissa was not pushy, didn’t pressure me to purchase anything.
If I haven’t found anything before the big day, I will definitely revisit their inventory.

Unlike most bridal shops which have samples and then let you order in your size, this store only sells the dresses it has onsite. The vast majority of their dresses were strapless, and I was looking for a dress with straps. Between almost everything being strapless, and the limitation of the sizes on the shelf, there was almost no selection here. I felt like I’d wasted a trip and wished I had realized this before.
That said, the sales woman was very nice, and the studio is a nice space.

What a great experience!!! I went to Bridal Project with my mom and future mother in law this weekend and we LOVED our time there! There is something special about being the only ones in a boutique surrounded by amazing designer gowns that just makes the dress searching experience at Bridal Project so incredible! The boutique is SO cute and comfortable with great natural light flooding in. Fantastic music selection –aside from the love songs she had some classic Disney jams too… what girl doesn’t want to listen to her favorite Disney Princess song while trying on wedding gowns??? Fantastic gown selection too!!! GORGEOUS designer gowns at a much more reasonable price! This was a very special stop on the quest for the dress and I would highly recommend that other brides-​to-​be go check them out!

Melissa and Maria are absolute lifesavers! The Bridal Project was my fist stop when looking for a dress – as I’d heard amazing things about Melissa and her dresses from friends. I loved Melissa at first sight – she was super sweet, welcoming, and positive, and though I didn’t find my dress on this first «go“she was extremely helpful and accommodating. At that time, she had also mentioned that the Bridal Project does custom dresses, but I wasn’t ready to decide what type of dress I wanted and thought I needed to look around a bit more.
Fast forward about a year and dozens of other dresses, I found my dress elsewhere and loved it. Sadly, 2 weeks before my wedding, my seamstress cut my dress too short and completely re-​shaped the style of my strapless sweetheart neckline. I was left with a bumpy dress that did not fit properly and it was a little bit of a disaster.
We were so close to the wedding day that we figured buying another dress off the rack was the best option (which was so sad because I loved the fabric and cut of my dress) – when my mom reached out to Melissa (who she loved from the beginning). Melissa assured her that she and her seamstress, Maria, would do everything they could to help make everything work (even with a dress that was purchased elsewhere). After trying on some of her beautiful dresses, I decided that I wanted to salvage my dress – with Maria and Melissa’s help! With 1.5 weeks at this point, I was not expecting miracles, but that’s what happened:
We decided that we would need to cut my dress in half because the neckline was completely ruined and use the fabric from the detachable train to make a new top. I had no idea where to start – feeling stressed and defeated, I went to a few stores in Burlingame to get inspired. I found a black crop top in a style that I liked, so decided to purchase it and show it to Maria and Melissa as an example for a shape and style that I love (which was completely opposite to the strapless style of my original dress). I went back into the store and discussed the possibilities of using the top I purchased as a pattern and making a 2 piece (which seemed like it could be cute!). But, Melissa assured me that Maria could create a model of the top and attach it to the dress and make it look like it was meant to be – no problem!
1 week before my wedding (4 days after bringing the top to Maria) I was trying on my new (and improved dress!) The quickness and quality of work on this timeline was incredible and unbelievable. I loved the dress even more than the original dress! Not only did Maria make a beautiful top that fit me perfectly, but she did some additional tailoring on the shirt of the dress that made a huge difference in the overall fit. I love that I was able to make a custom dress – the new top, create a low «V» in the back, and I even found the perfect veil in Melissa’s collection.
Hands-​down, Melissa and Maria are standouts in this industry. I am so appreciative of their willingness to help me feel comfortable and beautiful on my wedding day – and really work hard on a ridiculous timeline. My dress really turned out spectacular, thanks to Maria, and I would highly recommend this shop for off the rack designer dresses and accessories and custom work! Melissa is the best and really cares about her clients – most of all, they did everything they could to make a bad situation into a great one and I will forever be grateful. Thank you so so so much!

I had no idea what to expect when I set up my first appointment to look at dresses– I had been feeling really overwhelmed in my initial online searches and wasn’t sure where to begin in my search. I was so relieved to finally meet Melissa. She was super welcoming and I had the entire shop to myself! It was so nice to get such a personalized consultation and to not feel any pressure. The selection was relatively small but varied, and I absolutely fell in love with the first three I tried on! The prices were very reasonable and Melissa was so knowledgable about the gowns, styles, and whole process. This was a great experience!

Just recently got my dress here and it’s absolutely gorgeous. Melissa is a
Professional, I felt welcomed and taken care of. The the atmosphere at the boutique is fantastic because of its interior, music and of course Melissa herself. I went there 3 or 4 times (including alterations) before the final purchase and each time I left the boutique in a great dreamy mood. The selection of the dresses is unique .Yes, the dresses there are pricy, and I wasn’t even planing on spending so much, but it absolutely worth it.

A very pleasant and stress free gown shopping experience. A variety of selections of designer gowns on consignment. Bridal accessories available. A spacious and intimate private area for brides to try on gowns. Full mirrors to see from every angle. Professional and helpful advice from a knowledgeable staff member.

I just bought my dress today, and I’m so happy that the one I loved was at Bridal Project! I was overjoyed to patronize this fantastic shop :) Melissa has such a well-​curated collection of gowns — in her little shop I found far more that I wanted to try at much larger places like Glamour Closet.
Melissa’s professional and authentic demeanor really put me and my friend at ease in the shop (which is so sweetly decorated!). She’s just really nice — not fakey at all.
My Marisa gown (a floor sample from Kleinfeld’s!) was $ 1600, which came in well under my budget. All the gowns here are very reasonably priced, and I definitely so a lot of cute styles under $ 1000.
I’m really excited to go back and get my alterations done as my date approaches! The fact that Melissa coordinates them through the shop is wonderful; it’s nice to feel like I can trust the seamstress.
Thanks for steering me here, Unilocal!
***UPDATE***
My wedding dress was a huge hit. Everyone commented at how it was so «me,» so perfect for our venue, and so stunning. And it was! I felt like a million bucks, like all brides should.
The alterations, too, were wonderful. Melissa has a fantastic eye for detail, and the sweet woman who did the alterations was obviously incredibly experienced and precise in her work. It took a few fittings to get everything just right, but it was no problem. On the day of my wedding, I never once had to adjust my dress. We’e all seen brides yanking up strapless dresses, but I didn’t need to! It just fit absolutely perfectly.
Get your dress here!

Wow, this place is truly PHENOMENAL!
My sister is the bride to be and we were a little nervous about dress shopping because the weekend before going to Bridal Project, we went to another bridal store that left a worried feeling in all of our stomachs. The prices were outrageous (not only the dress prices but alterations too!), the dresses she tried on were size 10+ (my sister is 5’2 about 115 lbs) so all in all it wasn’t that great of an experience.
THEN!!! We looked online and stumbled upon Bridal Project and WOW, are we so happy that we did. Melissa is absolutely great! She pulled dresses that were around my sister’s size (2 – 4) and that were around her budget. What do you know? My sister found her wedding dress after trying on only 3 dresses!!! The dress fit her almost like a glove! It was so much better seeing her in a dress that actually fit! We could practically picture her the day of her wedding.
I cannot say enough great things about Bridal Project. It deserves every 5 star rating that it gets. I will definitely be going back when my special day comes around! :)

Hey Unilocal could I give this place a 10 out of 5 stars? I really need to. Melissa and her team deserve nothing less.
I tried taking the cheap route to get a wedding dress (save some money for a house, right?) by ordering online. The dress finally delivered and… I didn’t love it. Okay gotta stay cheap let’s try the generic discount bridal store in 280 Metro in Colma. I tried on at least 5 dresses during my appointment and… I didn’t love them either. Now I have a dress I don’t want but I need a better one. Ugh I am short on time (6 months to wedding day) and have a set budget and I’m curvy and nothing fits and OMG BRIDE PANIC ATTACKS!!!1 D: ~_​~
Unilocal calmed me down like those clarifying moments in a romantic comedy. The reviews for Bridal Project made me extremely curious to stop by Burlingame and check it out. I e-​mailed Melissa, who was very fast on e-​mail replies. Like I was IM friends with her already. I must have given over 20 pictures of things I liked. We agreed to an appointment. The wedding entourage (mom, sister, maid of honor, aunties, and my flower girl) and I load up into a small waiting area during the appointment.
Melissa is so bubbly and fun to be around. I wanted to be bubbly and hyper with her trying on every dress that fit my dress size and budget. From the pictures I have sent previously and the quick conversations we had she figured out my personal style. I liked what she picked out. She helped me find THE ONE. Yes, I said Yes to the Dress just like on the TV show AAAAAHH holding back tears and joy just like on the TV show *dab tears to avoid ruining mascara*
Things That Were Awesome:
+++Dresses are sold on a consignment basis. Meaning you will get huge discounts on some fancy name brand dresses. Also means whatever is in store is their ‘stock’. Translation: No warehouse rush fees.
+++Alterations are completed in-​house, not some random outside location. Some alterations are done in a week! My dress got bustles put in. Wow when we tried it for fit I couldn’t even see them on my dress. It was like my dress was really that bustled length the entire time.
+++Bridal accessories (veils, earrings, hair pieces, jewelry, sashes) also available.
+++Veils/​hair pieces can also be consigned.
Things That Were Not So Awesome:
—When you can stick to your budget, ladies! For the dress I got at Bridal Project I was $ 200 over. It’s THE ONE but if you measured me on fitting my price budget I failed. (Pssst when you know the dress THE ONE you wouldn’t mind going a little over budget to wear it.)
—It does get warm in there after trying on multiple dresses. Bring some water and a small towel with you just in case.
—Bring or wear nipple covers!
—My flower girl was sad to find Bridal Project is not also called Flower Girl Project. Little miss that is too expensive! We’re taking you to the Quinceañera/​First Communion shop for your dress. (Little Angel in Tanforan FYI.)
Side Story: I was able to consign the dress I bought online to Bridal Project. Here’s hoping that the dress finds a happy lady to wear it on the big day!