Helene's Bridal is a local bridal shop in Winnipeg.
They are located at 422 Portage Avenue.

The selection is aimed towards a more frugal budget. They have many gowns and accessories for brides and the bridal party. The styles are very similar from one gown to the next but there are 100's to choose from. When I walked into this establishment, it was already very uninviting. What pulled me in was the 50% off Sale sign in the window.

Me and my bridal party, along with mothers, walked in and we weren't even greeted. We had been in the store for about 15 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us. I'm big on service and this turned me off. But in the spirit of hunting for the perfect dress, I listened to the girls and kept looking around. Once a consultant finally figured out I was the bride, she didn't even ask me what I was looking for, what style or colour. She just started walking around the store saying "this would look good on you" or "how about this?" I told her I'm fine and I'll look around myself.

After finding about 3 dresses that somewhat interested me, I showed myself to a change room. Eventually a lady came around saying that I should have asked to get a room. Hello?? I'm spending $1000+ and you want me to do your job for you? She's the one that should be doing everything to make a sale. After trying on the final gown, it was a lace up in the back, I stood outside the room holding the dress at my chest and waited. The associate finally looks at me and asks "do you want me to do that up for you?" ???? No, I want you to stand there and make me do the dress up by myself. Wow, how disappointing.

I politely said I'm not sure I can trust this place to get my dress on time and took the gown off. The lady walked away and we all showed ourselves out the door. No thanks, come again, no here's my card, here's the style number of the dress... NOTHING!!

If you're in Winnipeg and looking for a bridal shop, keep walking past this shop and continue up Portage. There you will find Theresa's Bridal for a smaller budget and Stella's Bridal for a more open budget.

Good luck with the hunt ladies and be sure to stay away from Helene's!