AniA Collection

10/27/09

Amazing experience even for far-away brides!

by danistar

My mother had fallen in love with a beautiful Badgley-Mischka gown in NY where we live, but no one was able to get it in time for my wedding less than three months away. I desperately started calling stores that sold Badgley-Mischka - and I came across the amazing ladies of AniA.

Helena was a dream come true. She was so prompt and really worked hard to get the dress rushed to us. She stayed in contact with us throughout the whole process so we knew precisely what was going on. It wasn't easy for her, but she managed to get the EXACT dress we wanted in the EXACT color - and it could be shipped to us in time! In fact, it actually reached us a few days early. My mom and I burst into tears when we saw the dress - it was flawless and a perfect fit.

I wish I had ordered all of my gowns from there. The service, pricing, and attention to detail are unparalleled. They treated me so well even though I only ordered one dress - I bet their customers are completely spoiled!

I cannot thank Helena and her team enough. My mother looked and felt like a million bucks at my wedding, and she will continue wear her dress to many formal events. AniA Bridal made my wedding day perfect for my entire family. You're the best!

• Pros: Incredible customer service, both in person and via phone

10/22/09

Amazing Selection and Gracious Staff

by portlandgirl21

I went in to AniA when I first got engaged purely out of excitement. They have beautiful dresses from a number of my favorite designers and some that I didn't even know how much I loved! I hadn't really formulated an idea of what I was looking for yet and just wanted to get a sense of how different styles looked on me. I can understand how it might be trying for people to work on commission to spend their time and efforts on someone that has no intent of buying anything, but the woman who was helping my (Karen I think?) really seemed to share my excitement. Not only was she extremely knowledgeable and welcoming, but she did a great job of showing me a wide range of styles and helping me decide which few to focus on when I'm ready to dress shop for keeps. (which will definitely be at AniA!!)

• Pros: great service, lots of selection

10/22/09

I bought 11 dresses I like them so much!!

by Tara080809

Amazing personal attention, called all my wedding party and coordinated for me, Altered very impossible dresses, even designed my own unique bussle for my unique dress!

The Team at Ania Bridal was so professional and took the time to get to know me and my family. Elana made my wedding day and dress buying process so easy and fun! She helped me coordinate bridesmaids in many states and even helped me connect with Jennifer the dress tailor who created a unique bussle for my dress. When a bridesmaid ordered the wrong size dress and lived out of state Ania Bridal helped her alter it perfectly 2 days before the wedding.

One of the most amazing things that stands out in my mind was how attentive the shop was to my family. My diabetic sister had a low blood sugar while we were dress shopping and they found her juice. Every person in the shop went above and beyond their job descriptions.

I would tell every bride to go to Ania first. I personally went to 4 other shops and felt rushed to make a decision. Ania let me try on as many dresses as I wanted and helped me choose dresses in my price point. When I found my dress I never looked back with regret.

• Pros: amzazing follow through

10/22/09

Lucky me!

by lindsayb81

Due to an unforeseen situation, my now husband and I had to bump up our wedding date and had to plan it all in 4 weeks....including finding a dress! After having been a bridesmaid several times, I knew that there would be no way to order a dress at a bridal salon and have it altered quickly enough, so I bought a dress online. Disaster. Thankfully a friend brought me to Ania. Once I walked in, I was doubtful that I could find anything in my price range because beautiful, expensive dresses were dripping of the wall. Sweet Karyn was my fairy god mother. For real. She asked me "if you could have any dress you wanted regardless of price or time frame, what would it look like?" I thought I would humor her, confident that I wouldn't find a dress. Wrong. She buzzed around the store, picked out several options and within minutes I had two amazing dresses that I couldn't believe were in my price range. I cried, my friend with me cried and even Karyn got a little teary eyed. Jennifer did an amazing job altering it and super quickly (less than a week!). She transformed an already perfect dress into something I absolutely adored. AND she made sweet flowers from the scrap fabric for my hair. A lot of amazing things happened for my last minute wedding to be perfect- Karyn, Jennifer and the Ania staff were on the top of that list.

• Pros: Friendly service, affordable but beautiful dresses
• Cons: only got to wear the dress once!

10/16/09

Found My Beautiful Dress Here!

by maija81

I feel terrible that I am getting to this review a whole year after my wedding day but just like "they" say, better late than never...I hope. I just wanted to share my experience here because I found many of the City Search reviews helpful when I was on the hunt for my dress. I went into several Portland metro area dress boutiques and ended up finding my perfect dress here at AniA Collection. This was the first place I went and to be honest I did not have a good FIRST experience here. I left bummed and discouraged. Sometime later I received a call from an AniA employee. Her name was Helena and she was following up on a previous email inquiry I sent prior to my visit. I shared with the woman that I was told there would be no dresses in my price range there and basically I felt shooed away. She influenced me to come back in and give it another go. She took such great care of me, picking out several options for me to look through. She found the most beautiful and affordable Augusta Jones gown for me. I ended up spending only a tiny more than my budget but I felt it was worth it for a fabulous wedding dress. Every time I went in there after that initial experience I was treated very well and everyone was helpful. There ended up being a snafu with the brides maids dresses from ANOTHER local shop and Helena came to the rescue. She helped to pick out similar styles and we found even better quality and priced dresses. She definitely made it worth my time and money. She was so helpful and really gave me a unique experience. Although almost every thing went off without a hitch, there were some altering complications. When I went to pick up the dress the day before we left town it was all wrinkled. I left it over night and was able to pick it up the next day, but it was out of our way. Also, it ended up being a little too long. I know that their 2 alterations gals were swamped during that busy season, and they probably should have had more help.

• Pros: Unique Selection, Helena and 'most' Customer Service
• Cons: Expensive, Busy

07/14/09

A GREAT BRIDAL SHOP

by pdx926

The first time I stepped into this shop, I didn’t have an appointment and I figured that everything they had would be over my $1,200 budget. To my surprise, I was greeted immediately by a friendly girl at the front desk. When I told her that I didn’t have an appointment, she said it didn’t matter and she would get someone to help me. Two seconds later, another girl came out from the back and started asking me questions about my dream gown. Before I knew it, I was in a dressing room with several gorgeous gowns and all within my price range! While I ended up finding THE dress at another shop, I really wish that I would have bought it through Ania. The staff is helpful, nice, accommodating and friendly. If you haven’t found your dress already, visit this shop. They have a beautiful selection and are willing to work with you and your budget.

• Pros: service, location, selection
• Cons: parking, higher prices

06/04/09

This Place Rocks!!!

by steph1414

I showed up at AniA on a Sunday afternoon a month and a half before my wedding. I didn't have an appointment because I didn't know any better! Morgan greeted my sister and me with a big smile and told us that an earlier appointment had cancelled so she had time to help us right then. I picked out several dresses to try on and Morgan put me at ease immediately with a process that I had sort of been dreading. After trying all of them on, I told her which one I had my heart set on- it was so beautiful! She told me the price and I realized it was about $3,000 out of my price range. Minor detail! Morgan suggested that we talk to their seamstress and see if she could make me an affordable version of the dress, just with different material. It was just that easy! Morgan didn't miss a beat when she realized my price range was on the low end- she still remained professional as ever and found a great, creative solution for me! I recommend this store to anyone who wants a stress-free dress-buying experience. Thanks Morgan!

05/16/09

The PERFECT bridal shop!!!

by BreeBumblebee

I showed up an hour late to my appointment due to a series of accidental mishaps, which is bad enough on a normal day, but this was on a Saturday during a HUGE fifty percent off sale, so you can imagine how busy they were! However, when I arrived I was greeted by Karyn, who was as polite, friendly, and eager as ever to take as much time as she needed to help me out! Even though I was an HOUR late on a sale weekend!!! Karyn didn't rush me at all, in fact she kept encouraging me to chat and tell her all about what my idea of the perfect dress was. She helped me go through the racks and pick out a whole stack of gorgeous dresses and seemed delighted to help me try each and every one of them on!

They had an incredibly diverse array of beautiful styles to choose from, as well as insane deals (Karyn went out of her way to hook me up with an seven hundred and eighty dollar dress in PERFECT condition for fifty percent off!!). She also made sure I had all the connections for dry cleaning and alterations so I didn't have to stress out over any of it! It's clear that they're true professionals and they love what they do!

• Pros: An amazing selection and even more amazing customer service!
• Cons: None!

05/05/09

Helpful, understanding, not pushy staff

by whitters5225

Selecting my wedding dress was a very trying experience for me. When I finally arrived at Ania I had been shopping for a dress on and off for a year. I did not really have poor experiences other places, but they weren't great either. I had just not found the right dress.

I feel so lucky that I got Karen as my consultant. She was so helpful and really listened to what I wanted my dress to be like. The first dress she picked was the one for me! I really appreciated the relaxed atmosphere, not being pushed into ordering. Even though I was running out of time, Karen kept telling me we could make it work and not to worry (which was very different from all the other places). She also went out of her way to try and get a designer to make the bridesmaids dresses the way we wanted and did not push us to order something we didn't really want when they wouldn't. I have also dealt with several other staff members on the phone and in the store and everyone was very pleasant.

My dress actually came early and it is more beautiful than I imagined! I can't wait to send them pictures of me in dress! Thanks so much Ladies!

• Pros: Beautiful dresses, great staff
• Cons: Did not experience any

05/04/09

Absolutely AMAZING!

by JDavidson

I went to AniA Collection and was provided with the BEST customer service from Lisa. She was helpful, supportive, honest, nice and very classy. The entire experience was a joy...especially compared to the other two shops I visited later that same day.

I love the dress, I love the service and I am so happy I chose to buy from AniA!

• Pros: Best Customer Service in town!
• Cons: None