Mariana Hardwick

I was extremely nervous to go wedding dress shopping as although I’m not considered plus size, I am a traditional size 14 which in wedding dress world can be a struggle. I had the lovely Alyssa at Mariana Hardwick and she made my experience absolutely amazing. She made everything I tried on work, even if the dress didn’t zip up she worked her magic with other material to ensure it was covered and I could get an idea of what it would look like at the back. Alyssa was absolutely spot on with recommending dresses she thought I’d like and I could not recommend Alyssa enough. She thoroughly explained the wait times and process with me but also tried to allow some flexibility with timelines where she could. I left feeling great about my experience and have just put my deposit down on a dress!Thanks so much Alyssa!

With only days before the Wedding, I walked into Mariana Hardwick hoping the ladies there could help me. My original dress didn't quite work out the way I had hoped, and with tears in my eyes I saw Frida and asked for help. She was so kind and loving and let me try on what I liked and found the perfect solution for my two day turn around dilemma. Lee was able to make miracles happen and the team worked long hours and were able to create the most perfect dress for my shape and my choice of lace even. The detail was exceptional and we all had tears when I out the dress on the day before the Wedding and it was sincerely perfection. I cannot thank the ladies at Mariana Hardwick enough for what the achieved and created for me, for us, in the time they had. They made me feel beautiful... they made me feel special, like every bride should feel. For this I am eternally grateful. Thank you! xx

I had booked an appointment without knowing that they're not able to make a wedding dress for me, as they're all booked out until May/ June 2023, and my wedding is in April 2023. Unfortunately, I didn't receive any form of communication prior to the appointment about this despite them insisting that they had emailed me about it. I was happy to just leave, as I had other bridal store appointments booked for later in the day. Although, it would have been nice to have been notified prior to the appointment.However, I was greeted by Violet, who offered to show me dresses off the rack upstairs. I tried on the first dress I saw, and it fit beautifully, and will only need a small alteration to perfect it. Violet was also able to suggest a place for me to get it altered. She was very helpful throughout the process with her little tips on how to style the dress and how to do up the veil. She also really encouraged my bridesmaids to take lots of photos to memorialise the moment. It was really nice seeing what the dress would look like in photos, which helped cement my decision to saying yes to the dress!Mariana Hardwick really has a lot of beautiful gowns, particularly strapless ones, if that's what you're after.Unfortunately, lost one star due to the poor communication/ booking system.EDIT: Dropped another 2 stars because although I bought the dress off the rack in July 2022, I also got a veil from them. On Oct, I followed up to ask when I’d get the veil, was told it’ll arrive in Feb 2023. Come Feb, I have to follow up multiple times to get a response on ETA before finally being told it was going to be shipped on the 18th of Feb and will only take 1-2 business days to get to me. I waited 2 weeks before following up again as I still hadn’t received the veil yet. After following up twice, they finally responded with a tracking number that shows they only booked it in for shipment on the 2nd of March, 2 weeks later than promised. It was probably finally shipped due to my follow up emails insisting on getting the tracking no as proof. Being told it would only take 1-2 business days to get to me, I still haven’t received it on the 6th of March and sent another follow up email because now it looks like they never contacted the freight forwarder to pick up the veil from them and it was most likely still sitting in their warehouse. When I emailed and called them, the lady who picked up was quite short and unapologetic to my situation, and told me that they’d respond to me shortly and then hung up. They never responded to me via email to apologise for the stress and inconvenience they have caused me, but I know that the veil has finally been shipped today (7th of March) cause I got the confirmation text and email from the freight forwarder. I am so glad I did not order a custom dress from them because I cannot imagine the stress I’d be under if something like this has happened to a veil.

Don’t waste your time! As with many of the one star reviews, it is due to unprofessionalism and rude staff. As with many of the brides who waited months for their appointments, I too, was told that my order could not be fulfilled in time. It was awful that we weren’t informed as part of an “embarrassing oversight” but the worst part was the eye roll from the manager when she heard my date was 9 months out. As if I had committed some sin or was a complete idiot for trying. Just let us know so we can spend our Saturday mornings productively elsewhere buying our dream dresses. Based on the number of 5 star reviews with pics, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were offering some incentives for positive reviews.

I planned my engagement turned 'surprise wedding' on a very short timeline. With less than three months to find and create my perfect dress, I became nervous that I wouldn't find something in time (other bridal stores refused the quick turnaround).From my first appointment, I was immediately settled by the calm, naturally lit environment of the Mariana boutique and was impressed with the condition the dresses were in, attentiveness of the staff and personalised feel (unlike other, local bridal stores).I was cared for by Jessy, who met me with a smile and positive confidence. She understood my requests and the vision I had right away and assured me we would find the perfect look and fit for my occasion.. and she was right!I appreciated her honesty and genuine opinions and was stoked to learn all dress prices quoted included all pattern- making, manufacture, design and alterations -all occurring IN-HOUSE!; no unethical practices here!).The transparency in cost from the outset was appreciated (no 'added alterations costs).There were several trials to ensure I was 100% happy and my dress fit me perfectly. I felt like a rock star On the night!From start to finish, I could not be more satisfied with the customer service, attention to detail and 'no problem' attitude I experienced.I can wholeheartedly recommend Mariana Hardwick for any bride to be!

The girls here are so unprofessional, rude & just disrespectful, especially the older lady. The whispers, eye rolls and attitude is just disgusting. I went to quite a few designers for my wedding dress and Mariana Hardwick was absolutely the worst experience. Show some class.

I recently married on the 10/3/23! I was lucky enough to have a Mariana Hardwick wedding gown custom fit to me, I wore the ‘Hailey’ gown.What a beautiful experience this was. I adored my dress and was so lucky to have Nieve (I hope I’m spelling this correctly) at your South Melbourne boutique measure me up at every appointment. She was so lovely and accomodating to my wishes for the dress.Thankyou so much for a truly wonderful experience!The only reason I’ve given four stars is because for one of the appointments there was a mix up on the days. They had booked me in on a day that the boutique was not open and I had travelled to get to the store with family to discover it was closed, and we had all adjusted our work schedules for this appointment.Warm regards,Aliesha Madden

I walked into the Mariana Hardwick, South Melbourne store 6 weeks prior to my wedding day. I was very emotional as my first gown I purchased elsewhere, wasn't what I dreamed of. Jessy greeted me with her grace and once I walked into the store, I knew I was going to fall in love with one of the amazing dresses. I found the dress of my dreams. From the start, Lara made me feel comfortable and constructed the gown to suit me perfectly. Word's can't describe how grateful I am that I was able to find my perfect wedding gown in the Mariana Hardwick store. On my wedding day, from the beginning to end my guests couldn't stop complimentating my dress. I felt elegant, beautiful and flawless in the Ilaria gown. Thank you, I will be forever thankful x

Lara, Frieda, Jessy and the team at Mariana Hardwick,I have not long returned home from our Wedding in NZ and am bursting to say thank you for creating such a beautiful dress for me. I felt so comfortable and elegant on the day. The beading on my dress looked absolutely gorgeous and sparkled up on the snow. I had a ball dancing all night in it and was sad to take it off at the end of the day. I cannot thank you team enough.I chose the bodice of one dress and the bottom and fabric of another, they helped me make my dress into one that was personal and perfect for me. The style was exactly what I was after and fitted me like a glove.Being interstate your team made it so very easy for my dress to be made and fitted and everything ran on time for my trips down to Melbourne. Lara & Frieda were both warm and caring in their demeanour and I felt as though I had made special friends with them through the process.

I had an absolutely amazing experience at Mariana Hardwick. I chose a beautiful custom made to measure Amal" gown. I was under the assumption the made to measure process was going to be stressful