As a mid-30s gal who never thought she would get married, when my honey popped the question it rattled my cage a little. The Dress. My sister was married in 2010 so I was familiar with how this worked and I could only assume it would be like bathing-suit shopping at it's worst.
I started looking at places in LA since the family wanted to be involved. I tried on dozens of dresses, but no dice. I then went to two shops in north Scottsdale and wasn't impressed by the inventory. I had seen good reviews for Destiny's Bride on yelp but was leery of the inferred price gouging and stuck-up service so often the norm in Old Town Snottsdale.
Ummmm, WRONG. My sis and I went in and were blown away by the service and inventory. The shop has an AMAZING viewing area with natural lighting, fantastic true-to-life (not "fat" or "skinny") mirrors and room for you to walk around while trying on the dresses. They don't ply you with booze to distract you and there is no pressure to buy. Furthermore- they let you photograph the dresses as you try them which is huge! Ladies, photograph yourself in the dress. You will be shocked at how some dresses look great while others look awful in pics.
Unrelated bonus: underground parking!!!!! Excellent for summer time shopping.
I did buy a beautiful gown from them. It fit off the rack, only requiring minor alterations which were done quickly and reasonably. The dress was several years old so they gave me a discount, which was way cool. They stored my gown free of charge for the 10 months between the purchase date and wedding date. I also bought a veil. The veil gave me sticker shock, but doesn't anything associated with weddings cost triple what you would expect? (Ladies, it take like 2 months for the veil to arrive, so plan ahead. This was news to me.) All these items were nicely pressed and given to me in a fantastic garment bag since the wedding was out of state. Destiny's Bride made one of the most integral parts of the wedding stress-free and easy.