Fairytale Brides on a Shoestring Boutique

I made an appointment and showed up and did not get welcomed. They took a walk in before me. Being a regular size 14, there were almost no dresses in my size. One I was given was a size 22. After trying on one dress I left as still no service. This is the first place I went and left in tears.

I was drawn to this place because of their commitment to charities that empower women. I knew that I wanted to have a unique wedding dress and when I stumbled upon this place on Unilocal,I had a good feeling. I made my appointment online, and for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I received a confirmation email and phone call from the owner, Donna, who is also a volunteer. The place was small and a bit frenzied as four other brides showed up when I did. Donna and her team divided and provided attentive help to each of us. The dresses ranged from $ 100-​$ 1200+, gently used– brand new. I tried on four, and I knew the fourth was the perfect wedding dress for me. Donna and her team were kind and professional. So glad to check the dress off my list, and that I got to be a part of Donna’s vision to give back.

My family and I made an appointment and came here for my sister. We found the staff to be rude and condescending as soon as they doubted the seriousness of out shopping trip. It started when the my sister didn’t specify a wedding date on their info card as she and her fiancé are still determine the official date. Then she kept saying she didn’t want to bring out her best dress for us because she thought we’d love it. She asked repeatedly if we were really shopping.
She may have thought we were wasting her time but no customer deserves to be treated with such contempt. The experience made us anxious and angry and it made my sister cry, which was heartbreaking.
This place is nice in theory, non-​profits are cool. But this staff is not.

This is such a great bridal boutique! The dresses are gently once worn, but absolutely stunning! You would never know that another bride celebrated her special day in the same dress. All the dresses ranged from $ 400-​$ 800 and, the best part, all the proceeds went to two local charities!
I went without an appointment (although I recommend that you make an appointment. I got lucky that there were no other brides that day.) The attendants there were wonderful and helped me try one as many dresses as I wanted. They made it a lot of fun. I was not really sure what I wanted when I went there, but they were able to translate my wish-​y wash-​y ideas into dresses I liked. I said that I liked lace and didn’t want anything poofy and they pulled beautiful dresses that I loved. I really enjoyed my experience here and would definitely recommend to a friend!

I LOVE this boutique! I made an appt. online with ease. When I arrived at the shop, there was another party there and one consultant named Carolyn. She was warm, friendly and made all of us feel at home. I was alone at this appt., and Carolyn was quite attentive to me while providing exceptional service to the other party (bride, mom, sister and friend). We all helped each other and gave feedback as we tried on dresses. It was wonderful! I could not choose between two dresses and will be going back this weekend with my family for ‘the vote’. The other party did find the dress of her dreams and we we all elated! Donna, the owner, came joined us later and jumped right in to contribute her expertise and energy to the event. Actually, both the other bride and I will be volunteers at this BRIDAL HEAVEN! I start next week and cannot wait! Every bride should have such a phenomenal experience! I intend to do my part to give back what was given to me. The dresses are amazing, prices are affordable. There are shoes, veils and accessories to complete your look. You will find it easy to say YES to the dress at Fairytale Brides!
Thank you Donna and Carolyn for your kindness and hospitality! I will recommend your shop to everyone I know.
By the way, this is a non profit boutique. All proceeds are donated to charity! Blessings, blessings, and more blessings! I cannot say enough good things about this phenomenal experience!

The people who work here are really nice I found my dress here which made me really happy the second day I came back to pick up my dress the manager was there named Donna she was very rude and unpleasant to be around I came back to try my dress and had the seamstress there too to see if I wanted any alterations but then I told here I did not want to make any changes and the manager got really mad. Overall it’s a good place besides dealing with the manager they have unique selections.

Recently bought my dress from here, Great customer service and quality wedding dresses. I found my dress and accersories to go with my gown for a decent price. You cant go wrong here, the dresses wont break the bank and the staff are friendly and helpful. I would absolutelty recommend this place to new bride to be’s.

I bought my dress here during September, and not only was I given excellent customer care in picking out a dress, I bought a beautiful wedding dress and matching veil for only $ 450! They had all different styles of dresses that were in perfect condition. I had to remind myself that these dresses were donated because they all looked brand new! I tried on about 10 different dresses and had to choose between three options. I was worried I wouldn’t find a single dress never mind three!
Thank you for a wonderful experience!

Had a not so positive experience here.
Most of the dresses in my size were ivory (I prefer white) and about half of them were damaged (sequins falling off, zipper broken, stained, or ripped).
While changing, I heard a lady say I was top-​heavy and then complimented the other bride-​to-​be that because she was slim she could fit into anything and look great. I started to feel awful and she kept comparing me to the other bride while I was in the dressing room. Not what I want to hear while shopping for my wedding dress!
The other two ladies were nice, but the third ruined the wedding dress shopping experience.
Note: the majority of the dresses I saw today were $ 600 – 800, which seems a bit pricy for used dresses.

Fabulous operation and excellent selection. Went here as a result of a wedding dress fiasco with a friend without high hopes and within 1 hour was able to find many gorgeous dresses at rock bottom prices. We left with one dress for only $ 200! And were able to put it on hold for a week prior to paying in full to pick it up. Staff is completely volunteer and anxious to help out. They also accept bridesmaids’ dresses for donations. A seamstress is available upon appointment too. Worth looking at!

Made appt and got online confirmation, Store was closed and Donna did not pick up phone :(

Recently I was researching D.C. area wedding boutiques where I could look for dresses when I was on spring break from my masters program. My mom put me on a fairly tight budget, so I was looking for bridal boutiques with affordable dresses, without having to resort to a large chain. Luckily, while looking at the Unilocal reviews for another boutique they steered me in the direction of Fairytale Brides.
When you walk into the boutique, it’s a small, intimate environment where you’re greeted by one of the volunteers. Since the boutique is a 501©3 or non-​profit, each person working there is a volunteer and actually wants to be there, which accounts for their wonderful attitudes! They will be honest with you (while being kind) about how the dress looks. The attendant will start off the appointment by letting you sweep the store and pick out the dresses you want to try on. They will also inform you that wedding dresses usually run two sizes larger than your street size, so don’t panic.
While the dress selection isn’t huge, there are definitely a variety of dresses to choose from. They get their dresses from personal donations as well as donations from local department stores when the dresses are considered «out of season.» I would say there is something there for everyone, especially if you’re patient enough to try on several dresses.
I ended up getting the second dress I tried on, a gorgeous Paloma Blanca gown. The price-​tag said the dress was originally $ 1,500, but online I found that it was actually selling for around $ 3,600 and I paid ¹⁄₆ of that price! On top of that, all of the money you spend on the dress goes towards charity, which is incredible.
As another poster said, before you go anywhere else, check this place out. It is definitely worth a look. The worst thing that can happen is that you don’t find your dress. The best thing that can happen is that you do and donate money to a good cause!

I’m writing to thank the attendants especially for wonderful experiences at Fairytale Brides. I cringe at the name, but smile at the mission.
I visited on two occasions as a bridesmaid: first, to help the bride try on dresses and second, for the bride to purchase the dress she put on hold.
After dealing with a boutique bridal shop and David’s, another bridesmaid, bride, and I were relieved and delighted to head into Fairytale. From the get-​go, the attendant welcomed us warmly even though we were walk-​ins, explained the mission of the store, and oriented us to what we’d find. She and another attendant helped us throughout the day but did not hover, letting our merry group work through the options and try around 10 or so dresses between us. When two other scheduled brides arrived, the attendants continued to treat us well even with divided attention. We had so much fun interacting with the never pushy, always genuine volunteers and we appreciated their tolerance and enthusiasm for our multiple trying on sessions.
Between the brides, friends, and relatives, there were a good number of women in the shop but the store never felt crowded and it was a very pleasant experience. We ended up developing rapport with the other, very sweet brides, one of whom actually suggested a stunning designer gown for our friend. Indeed, that gown was the clear winner of the day. My friend ended up holding and later buying the gorgeous dress by Leanne Marshall, the designer of Project Runway fame — at over 75% off the retail price.
Of the shops we visited, Fairytale had the most variation in silhouettes, styling, sizes (there’s a great plus size selection and we saw a number of women who looked incredible in the many options they tried), fabrics, and reasonable price points ($ 100-​$ 800). NOTE: If you are reading this in early March, there’s an absolutely lovely Pronovias gown for ~$ 800, just waiting to be snagged!
One of the benefits/​challenges of Fairytale is «what you see is what you get» so you could walk away with your actual dress that very day, or it could be gone tomorrow. If you need time to deliberate, they offer a one week hold for a $ 50 deposit. If you decide to purchase the gown, the $ 50 is applied towards your purchase; if you do not, the money becomes a donation to the charity of the month — a great model, we thought.
I did want to highlight that on my second visit, the volunteer immediately recognized me from the week before, even though I came in after the bride and was in sweaty gym clothes. She was so genuinely nice and friendly, and I smiled the whole time, being in this comfortable and warm environment.
I just want every bridal party to have the awesome experiences we had — and, hopefully, the thrill of finding an amazing dress, for a reasonable price, in support of worthy causes! If you are easygoing, flexible, and willing to dig through the selection (which I personally found way more fun than the boutique experience), you might be handsomely rewarded. If nothing else, you’ve spent an hour or two with good people!

If you and looking for something locally owned, small, and for a good cause please check out Fairytale Bride on a Shoestring in Rockville!!!
This was the second place I went to try on dresses.
When I got into the building I was welcomed by a beautiful mirror that said welcome and my name. I thought that was so nice and sweet of them to do that!
Everyone was extremely helpful and kind to me and my mother. I didn’t get help from just one person, I got help from 3! Everyone there is a volunteer and any dress you buy goes to charity. So it really is a beautiful cause. Net proceeds are donated to Rockville Pregnancy Clinic and Victims Rights Foundation and other charities focused on empowering women.
Before you make a pricey decision on your dress, please check this place out. You might just find the one and save A LOT! As for me my wedding is in October so I still have a few months to make my decision. I plan to check in with them again later on to see their new shipment of dresses!

Having had experienced many pushy bridal shops for my daughter’s wedding gown I was so impressed with this bridal shop for my future daughter. We absolutely love that the proceeds go to women’s charities. All of the saleswomen are volunteers and are very helpful. The prices are fabulous. I repeat: fabulous. Retail stores mark up the prices so it is wonderful if a Bride can find a brand new or gently used dress here. All the dresses are professionally cleaned and look brand new. We found dresses many sizes unlike bridal shops where dresses need to be ordered. Many dresses can be altered with a seamstress. My future daughter came with an open mind and found THE dress different from what she thought she wanted. It was brand new with the tags. The dress retailed for 60% more. I donated two beautiful Mother of the Bride & Groom dresses which have been idle in my closet. It is gratifying that the gown proceeds will benefit other women.

Fairytale Brides has a great selection of dresses for all budgets. The staff is friendly and helpful.
If you’re in the market for a wedding, prom, or bridesmaid dress you should check them out!

This place is definitely a hit or miss. The girls there are super helpful and made you feel very welcomed. I did see a mixture of consignment dresses that are genuine, knock offs or cheaply made. It’s easy to tell the difference. But they do have something for everyone. They aren’t a big shop, but I do see them growing. I didn’t buy my dress here but would recommend to others.

I had an excellent experience here. I found the perfect dress at an amazing price. Donna and Roshi were so easy to work with, extremely helpful and extremely knowledgeable.

I walked in to this boutique and was amazed at the options that were presented to me. Donna was more than accommodating and attentive as I searched through the dresses. All of them were beautiful and with the proceeds going to such a great cause, I knew I was going to find «the dress» here. And I did. I am 6’3″ and I was able to find a great dress to fit me. I would definitely recommend this boutique to any bride-​to-​be!

I was literally in tears a few weeks back when I found my dress at this boutique. I was scared being a curvy girl that I would be unable to find a beautiful dress for a low price. When I walked into the store I was amazed of all of the beautiful dresses that were in plus sized. The best thing was that Donna was very helpful and attentive to my questions and concerns and did not pressure me to buy anything. I actually left with a dress and my wedding is still a year a way, was only going to browse because I was sure that I wouldn’t find anything but boy was I wrong. You can see my beautiful Maggie Dress in the picture above. I would tell anyone to look her first before going to a high priced retail store. You will regret paying 1000 $ for a gown you may only wear 4 hours and with Fairytale Bridal I felt like a princess even though my budget is very small. Will be back soon to pick up my wedding accessories .
Thank You Donna for your help!