Balina is one of 6 bridal stores I recently visited in Austin. Looking, of course, for a the perfect wedding gown. After the treatment I received at Baline, I would *never* consider purchasing a dress from them, nor recommend the store to another person. My friends, who accompanied me to help me find my dress, were rudely told not to touch the wedding dresses. I was also told that friends-of-the-bride were not allowed to pick dresses for the bride. After selecting several dresses to try on, the staff of the store told me I could not continue looking at more dresses, and that I already had too many to try on. I was asked my budget, and told I could not try on dresses outside of my budget. The consultant who helped me was inefficient, and lacked knowledge of the products. She could not, for example, tell me the materials that dresses were made out of. After 45 minutes, my consultant told me her next appointment was in, and that if I wanted to try on anything else I would have to schedule another appointment at a later time. My overall experience at Balina Bridal was horrific. These are people with huge egos, terrible customer service skills, poor knowledge base, and shameful manners.

Pros: None. Same dresses elsewhere!

Cons: Poor service, unkempt bathroom, small changing rooms, rude!

Beautiful salon. All the dresses are lovely! Had a great experience here. This place was the first salon I visited to try on dresses. I was lured all the way from Dallas by Pronovias trunk show. The sales lady first asked me a lot of questions about the type of wedding I was going to have, as well as my style to find out which designer might suit me the best. I didn't find anything on sale (although you can get a fantastic deal if you're lucky), but found a gorgeous Jane Wang dress that I loved, although it was at the outer limits of what I was willing to pay for THE dress. I decided to shop around a bit more and check out some other designers, but I really liked the ambiance, the dresses, the service and the overall experience. This week I drove back to Austin and back to Balina Bridal, looked at some Demetrios gowns but ended up ordering THE dress.