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How A Little Girl's Fantasy Wedding Came to Life with the Help of TJ Formal
Review by Jessica Lang on July 29th, 2008
As a child, I have pictured my wedding as an entirely different thing; I never knew I needed money to have my wedding in a castle, exactly on the day of the first snow fell. Well, as I grow up, my childish fantasies evolved into something more realistic – I wanted a simple, yet elegant wedding. If you’re one of the many brides-to-be who have dealt with their weddings hands-on,
you’ll know how anxiety could run high when choosing “the” perfect dress, not just for me, but for the whole entourage as well. Shopping for the perfect dress and going through many online venues that sell dresses, it was hard to distinguish between reputables brands.
Most of this review of TJ Formal will cover my personal experience.
The Dress Dilemma
Since I felt the dresses would make or break the wedding day’s spirit, I just knew I had to choose my wedding dress meticulously that would best fit me and of course, make me glamorous on my day.
I’ve been eyeing on a Sottero dress for the longest time and I knew this $700 strapless, one-piece sweetheart gown is the dress I’ve been dreaming about. But I plan to save the best for last; so
in case I gained a few pounds while prepping up for my wedding, I wouldn’t look like I borrowed my wedding dress from someone else.
My dress choices for the entourage were a problem; since most of my relatives would come to New York a day before the wedding, I couldn’t invite them to my personal dressmaker and have them fitted.
I bet this has happened to many of you and insisting that your entourage take time to travel is just asking too much. With everything I’ve completed on my wedding preparations so far, completing
the dresses for my entourage has been, by far, the most exhausting of all wedding preps.
A revelation: I can Shop Online!
Being a non-techie as I am, I have always been skeptical keying in my credit card numbers online; I just felt anyone could take it instantly. However, a co-worker suggested
a website that her sister used in buying her attire since prom until her wedding day; even showed me pictures of the wedding that made me change my mind.
Of course, I made my own research about TJformal.com. Unlike other online wedding shops that just came out of the blue, this wedding store has been around since 1969 in Missouri as a tailor shop for men,
but only debuted their online storefront in 1997. Since TJformal.com started their prom line for 1998, they have collected numerous business partners and designers only from the industry’s best clothing manufacturers.
With brands like Bonny, Alfred Sung, Mori Lee and Maggie Sottero under their collections, I just couldn’t help but be blown away. Plus, they have dozens of happy customers, who have sent in their pictures of events
where they wore the dresses, which is a plus for me as I wouldn’t want to regret buying online. Within an hour of browsing the website, I knew TJformal.com was a trusted brand.
However I was not too crazy about their
"All dress sales are final." Good news is they will take dresses back if you find a flaw or a mistake in your order and cover all expenses in shipping
both way of the dresses. You have 3 days to inspect the item upon receiving it.
It is understandable for most specialty shops to have strict return policies since each dress is so unique in its size, color,
and styles. It would be impossible for the shop to sell a returned dress again. In worse case scenario if your wedding has to
be called off, TJ Formal will accept returns on dresses but with a hefty fee. That is better then nothing.
I am happy to know they make the guaranteed that they inspect dresses first prior to shipping them out and I would be covered in the cost.
They are much more relaxed on their return policies on other items such as shoes and accessories.
Those can be returned with a small restocking fee as long as they are in resellable condition and not worn.
My experience with TJ Formal
I had exactly eight weeks until my wedding. Everything reception-related were completed, all I needed to do was finalize my entourage’s attire. The collections of bridesmaids, mother of the bride and flower girl dresses at TJ Formal are
organized by “in-stock”, “on sale” and per-designer or per-manufacturer, so browsing through them were quite easy.
Since my theme was red, gold and pink, all I had to do was filter the dresses to match my theme, list down the dress choices for my mom, bridesmaids and flower girls that were perfect for budget.
I would have thought I’d be choosing between 2 to 3 red dresses, but with such a huge wedding lineup at TJ Formal, I knew I had to ask my entourage for help. I sent them a list of dresses and made them choose which ones
they like. The great thing about this is each design had a size guide for them to check, so I wouldn’t have to bother them to go down to New York for fitting. The size guide was not a general sizing instructions you may see in other stores, but TJ Formal had guides for each of their manufacturers.
It was also very easy to locate their contact information as their number is boldly displayed on almost every pages if I needed to contact them. They also have an online operator available to chat.
I am happy to know that I can reach out to them immediately without having to drive myself insane clicking through nested menus just to locate a phone number like at many other online vendors.
Once I collected their sizes and dress choice, I went online, placed each one on the shopping cart, paid and had them shipped to their respective homes. A week later, my cousins and girlfriends called up one by one
ecstatic about their dresses. Being a bridesmaid thrice, I never got “that” excited to wear my maid dress. I was so proud of myself having shopped online hassle-free.
Surprise Surprise
A day before I was scheduled to buy my Sottero dress at a local wedding salon, I decided to browse the TJ Formal collection of wedding dresses just for the sake of it. One dress caught my eye; it was an elegant Maggie Sottero sheath
silhouette made of Taffeta. It was unbelievably gorgeous and with a price $215 less than my original Sottero choice, I knew I had to grab this one. Unfortunately, I wasn’t good in getting my sizes and I was afraid I’d mess it up,
so I called up their customer service and was greeted by a representative named Linda. She assisted me in measuring everything – from my bust, to my waist and down to my hips – I could imagine she was just behind me helping me
fit the dress personally. When my dress came and I tried it on, I knew Linda had everything to do with how my dress fit me perfectly. I would be thankful for her help forever.
TJ Formal saved me from all the stress I would’ve experienced in completing the entourage’s attire. If only I were paid by TJ Formal for advertising their services every time someone asked about the dresses throughout the reception,
I would’ve earned hundreds of dollars. But shopping at TJ Formal has been a pleasurable experience and it was all worth it, especially since I was a first-timer and for the most special day of my life.
TJformal.com made the wedding dreams of the little girl in me possible and I would recommend them to anyone without a doubt. I hope my experience and review helps.
My rating of them: 9.2/10
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