St Anthony’ S Bridal

I donated my wedding gown to this charity in December, 2015. I delivered it to the Rockville location along with two copies of the completed donation form, as instructed on their website. The woman who collected my gown assured me that they would officially sign the receipt and send it back to me through the mail. Four months and many emails later I still have not received the receipt. I have had numerous emails with Melanie R. Cameron, whose signature says she is President of St. Anthony’s Bridal. On February 16, 2016, she wrote «I apologize for the delay in your donation receipt. We have looked, and we are still not sure where the receipt has gone. However, we are writing up a new one, and including our own SASE with two copies, and we are sending it out in the morning via post.» It is now March and they still have not sent the receipt. I tried filling out the form and emailing the PDF to them. All they needed to do was add a signature, scan, and email it back to me. Still nothing. I did some research and could find no record of this charity that claims to be a 501©3 Organization. I think that this is a fraudulent charity that is pocketing these very expensive donations and not providing a receipt because they do not want to have a record of the transaction. I would strongly advise that if you are considering donating your dress, please do not donate it to St. Anthony’s Bridal in Rockville, Maryland. Find a reputable charity that will provide you a receipt for your donation.

4.5. We are going to Hawaii and are planning on taking some professional photos. I wanted to maybe look for cheap accessories and Tada! There is St. Anthony’s. St. Anthony’s bridal shop is a Catholic charity organization and they have all kinds of donated bridal goods. I didnt expect much at first, but surprisingly they offer some really decent goods.
They accept donations from bridal shops, so they have some brand new items. You will find wedding gowns with tags attached. I didnt need a wedding gown, but they sell all their gowns for $ 150, and some of them are on sale for $ 75 – 100. Other nonwedding dresses were selling for as low as $ 35 I think.
What surprised me today was that they had brand new oscar de la renta shoes donated from oscar de la renta shop. Apparently Oscar de la renta donated over 200 pairs. Most used shoes were selling for $ 10, but these were a steal for $ 60.
The lady working here is super sweet and amazing. I also wanted to give them a high rating because this is a fantastic place to donate your gently worn (hopefully without any drink/​food marks) wedding gowns. I saw a woman kinda sobbing when she came to donate her gown because she was so sad to let it go. But your gown will get to see the light again and let someone shine so you are doing something really good. The season of love is back, so maybe think about donating your dress to St. Anthony’s.
Warning: Payment by Cash or Checks only
Located inside Dogtopia. A little hard to find
Open from 10am-​12pm only on Saturdays

I have bought four dresses here: my two wedding gowns (one with was a $ 1200 David’s Bridal ballgown with a chapel train with lace pearls crystals and chiffon and the other a chiffon Grecian style column dress with a court train and a sequined waist band), a floor-​length hand-​made lace mantilla veil for $ 15, a royal blue evening gown with a court train that I used as a bridesmaid dress for $ 35 and a brand new champagne colored Maggie Sottero wedding gown with the price tag (mermaid style with crystals originally $ 2500) for $ 300 from their new couture section. I have brought several friends here to help them find their dream dresses and they have found them here. I am a bargain hunter, but to find dresses with barely any use and at such a great price is purely a steal. I mean, a Maggie Sottero never-​before-​been-​worn-​with-​price-​tags-​still-​on-​it champagne colored evening gown. They are also willing to share their vendor list with brides, which have vendors that offer discounted services for their brides. I did not have a super low budget wedding, but I found their mission to be Christ centered and selfless. I LOVE ST ANTHONY’S!

If you are looking for a preowned/​donated dress at a great price with a good-​sized selection, then this is the place for you! All wedding gowns are only $ 150 and they have affordable accessories as well. The volunteer staff here are terrific. My mom and I initially had some trouble figuring out how to tie the corset back to a dress and they helped us learn how to do it. They then brought me dresses that they thought I would like based on the first dress I picked out. They allow you to put dresses on hold for a week or two (great if you need some time to decide and get the money together). They clearly enjoy helping brides feel beautiful, and they treat everyone with dignity and respect. After trying on some other dresses, I ended up getting the first dress I tried on! The label says Maggie Sottero, no alterations were required, and I got a matching veil for $ 15. Very good quality for much cheaper than David’s Bridal. Even if my dress hadn’t been there I found another one that I think would have gotten. Though I didn’t need one, they told me that they have a seamstress who can do alterations.
The location is a bit hard to find and they are only open for a couple of hours per week. If you are looking for a designer dress then you may get lucky, or you may not. But if you’re just looking for a wedding gown that makes you feel beautiful at an amazing price, then this place is definitely worth a visit. And perhaps best of all, your money goes toward helping couples with smaller budgets have wonderful weddings.
Make sure you bring cash or checks, as they do not take cards.

The location inside Dogtopia is kinda awkward and the hours are slim, but this organization does amazing work.
I didn’t get my dress here (see enraged David’s Bridal review), but I did donate mine to St. Anthony’s after realizing that (a) my DC apartment is not going to grow space to hold onto it, (b) my NYC apartment is darn near smaller than my DC apartment, and © I’m not that sentimental. I have the fondest upon fondest memories of my wedding day, but I would much rather another bride experience the joy of a nice dress than keeping it held hostage somewhere in my house.
I just dropped off my dress, but from the peek I got, there seemed to be a load of goodies to choose from. As another reviewer mentioned, don’t shop by size: just get it tailored the best you can if you find a gem in a few sizes up. And there’s a bagillion other accessories, including room decorations, so go nuts.
Glad to know this service is available! I recommend to all former brides seeking to rid themselves of their dresses and to upcoming brides who can’t afford (or don’t want to spend a fortune on) a new one.

I had such a great experience at St. Anthony’s Bridal. The ladies working/​volunteering there were all so helpful and easy-​going. I felt like I was shopping with a bunch of my female relatives and friends, but I had never met them before! No pressure to buy, no pressure to hurry or limit the number of dresses to try on. Completely the opposite of the stiff/​uptight/​high-​pressure experience of an appointment at a bridal boutique. The fact that all dresses are $ 150 is secondary to the comfortable atmosphere of the place. I think I tried on 10 dresses, and fell in love with 3 and had them put on hold for a couple weeks.
I highly highly recommend a visit to this place for people who believe that shopping for a wedding gown shouldn’t be a stressful experience. I also love the idea of reusing, recycling (my engagement ring is from a vintage jewelry store), and the concept of providing wedding services for people who are less fortunate. The ladies at St. Anthony’s all seemed committed to their mission to help out brides on a low budget, and sincerely devoted to the idea that everyone deserves to have a beautiful wedding. I almost don’t want to reveal how great this place is, since I will go back to look at more dresses, but if I hadn’t found St. Anthony’s Bridal I would be feeling completely discouraged about buying a gown that’s not hundreds/​thousands of dollars, and in an environment that I feel comfortable in, so I wanted to share this with those who are like me. Also, it’s for a great cause!

This is a great idea: any wedding gown is $ 150. Go crazy.
This is one of those deals where your experience really depends on what they happen to have on the day you go. When I went, there were a few dresses that still had tags on them, never worn. But there were also a few with pen marks, etc. on them. I managed to pull a few that looked new, but had been altered, so I know they were worn at some point.
Which brings me to another point. Do not just shop in your size here. I am a 6, but found dresses in the 8 and 10 racks that had been altered down enough to fit me.
The ladies working (? volunteering?) are helpful and BTW, you can put dresses on hold for 2 weeks!
Worth a stop if you are on the hunt for a wedding gown. You might not find anything but you never know.
Open 10 – 12 on Saturdays; located inside Dogtopia.

I love St. Anthony’s Bridal’s mission. They charity rents wedding dresses for free to brides who can’t afford to spend more than $ 3000 on their wedding receptions. For those who don’t fit that budget, they sell their dresses for $ 150. Most of the dresses are used, but some are brand new – donated from a bridal salon after they aren’t sold.
The shop itself is only open in two hour windows on Saturdays. And it’s a little hard to find, as it’s just a room in an office building that houses DogTopia in an industrial park behind Rockville Pike. But the women who work there are sweet and helpful, and St. Anthony’s really cares about making a wedding afforable for its brides.
I don’t actually fit the budget parameters they have set up, but I did try on several dresses with the intention of buying. None fit me quite right, but it was a pleasant experience. I would recommend giving them a try if you’re looking to buy a dress for less and don’t mind one second-​hand.
Also, they rent out other bridal supplies for free as long as you meet their budget requirements.