Say Yes to the Dress

[chonies]

All the sales consultants are so brittle and shrill, except for Flo, who seems to be okay-ish, although she seems quiet. My sister pointed out that on SYTTD:NY, the consultants typically go above the budget by only a few hundred dollars (in most cases), but on SYTTD:ATL, they seem to be far more cavalier with the brides' budgets. It could be the editing, but I would agree.

I really don't like this series so far.

[petitesuite]

Has anyone else noticed that the ATL dresses seem to be much more expensive? I'm not sure if it's just the episodes I've seen--but based on those, I've seen one bride in ATL say she can spend $4000 and have the consultant make constant references to how she might not be able to find a dress with that budget, while in the NYC version I've seen plenty of people get dresses for much less than that.

[tabby]

I don't like the Atlanta show as much as the NYC one. Maybe it's because the sales staff seems so unpleasant. I understand that Lori wanted to do this show, and maybe her staff doesn't, but they're afraid they'll lose their jobs if they refuse? Monty isn't really an employee of Bridals by Lori, either, so they may resent his presence (and his use of the term "jacked up," which doesn't mean the same thing to me that it means to him). In any case, I don't think the shop is coming off very well.

I saw an old re-run of the NYC show last Friday, where the bride took the infamous Pnina "stripper fairy" dress and made it even tackier by swapping out the bottom with one that was cut up to the top of the thigh. At least the wedding didn't take place in a church.

[angelaudie]

I agree Atlanta's big problem are the sales staff. They seem to downright hate their jobs. They are often rude, snappy, and just act like they are doing the bride a monstrous favor. It's like they forgot they are being paid to help the bride find a dress. That's not a favor. That's a job.

I really hope Monty isn't part of the next installment (I'm sure this version will be picked up for another season). He comes across as mean spirited. The only reason he's there is because the producers probably got it in their heads that this version needs a Randy. They seem to have forgotten Randy is sweet and supportive.

TLC has been rerunning the Claudia episodes. I forgot just how delusional Claudia was! Now, there were times I thought the managers were unfair to her (like the time Claudia found a dress a bride liked but the bride was all, "Oh I don't want to stop shopping just yet!" and they blamed Claudia for losing the sale) but for the most part she was an awful consultant. She rarely listened to the brides' desires and the concept of a budget was a foreign one to her. Yet, when one of the managers asked her to name a weakness Claudia said she had none. I can't blame the store for letting her go.

[Mutagen]

Bumping after 8 YEARS....

Not to be the crumudgeonly fan who hates anything new, but I'm not into the hourlong, more reality-show type format. I want to look at crazy expensive dresses and watch family members bitch each other out. Nothing more complicated than that.

[boxofrocks]

A fun alternative is "Keasha's Perfect Dress" with the former SYTTD consultant. The short-lived show took place in Toronto 5-6 years ago and I suspect the storefront existed only for the show. The channel adds clips every week and the associates has a nice, supportive tone. Most important, it features the DRESSES!

[ladytrentham]

YouTube has clips of the British version of SYTTD. One of the consultants is David Emmanuel, who with his wife, designed Lady Diana's wedding dress.