Working in retail is no walk in the park, but every once in a while, a customer walks through the doors and completely tests the limits of human patience. In a resurfaced episode of Say Yes to the Dress that has retail workers absolutely fuming, one bride took the title of “Bridezilla” to a whole new level. Meet Kia, a 33-year-old bride from Vancouver, who brought a massive red flag to her appointment and left viewers wondering: Was this a real bridal appointment, or just a staged scam for television?
The Ultimate Red Flag: 100+ Dresses
Every bridal consultant dreads a client who has already exhausted every boutique in town. Before Kia even stepped into a fitting room, she proudly admitted to the cameras that she had already tried on “way over the 100 mark” at previous salons.
Even her own entourage was visibly drained by her impossible standards. Her friend bluntly stated to the cameras, “I feel exhausted to be dress shopping again… I just can’t take these girls to anymore bridal salons.” When your own bridesmaids are begging for the shopping to end, you know it’s going to be a long day for the consultant.
The “Frankenstein” Custom Gown Solution
Consultant Christiana knew she was in for an uphill battle. Kia’s demands were contradictory. First, she tried on a stunning, fully-beaded Mark Zunino mermaid gown, but rejected it because it was “too trendy.” Then, she tried on another dress with different beading, but hated the silhouette.
Knowing that Kia had seen everything the bridal world had to offer, the Kleinfeld team decided to pull off a miracle. If the perfect dress didn’t exist, they would build it. Christiana and the team visually combined the two designer gowns—taking the beading Kia loved from one dress and attaching it to the flared bottom of another. It was a custom, high-end “Frankenstein” dress designed specifically to meet her impossible standards.
The Betrayal That Furious Viewers Won’t Forget
Looking at her custom creation, Kia was practically glowing. “Can I cry now? This is amazing,” she gushed. “Why did we not think of this sooner?”
Her entourage cheered. The consultant breathed a massive sigh of relief. The magical Say Yes to the Dress moment was perfectly set up. “Are we saying yes to the dress?” they excitedly asked.
But in a twist that made viewers scream at their televisions, Kia completely shut it down. “I feel like I need to think about it,” she flatly replied. “We are saying a very, very strong maybe.”
The disappointment in the room was palpable. After trying on over 100 dresses across multiple salons and forcing Kleinfeld to custom-design a look, she walked out empty-handed. But the real kicker came at the very end of her segment. An end-credit voiceover revealed the ultimate betrayal: A few weeks later, Kia ended up saying yes to a dress at a completely different salon.
Fans immediately flooded the internet with theories. Did Kia ever actually intend to buy a dress at Kleinfeld? Many viewers are convinced that she was a “fake bride” or a paid actor planted by TLC producers to stir up drama and waste the consultant’s time for television airtime. Others believe she just wanted to play dress-up at the famous New York salon with no intention of spending her budget there.
Whether it was heavily edited reality TV drama or a genuine Bridezilla moment, one thing is certain: Retail workers everywhere felt Christiana’s pain.
Do you think Kia’s appointment was staged, or was she just the ultimate time-waster? Sound off in the comments below!
(Watch the incredibly tense stockoom showdown in the full clip below)
*All media and video rights belong to TLC / Discovery*
🔥 MORE WEDDING DRAMA YOU CAN’T MISS:
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- 👉 Caught Stealing a Wedding Gown With the Most Absurd Excuse Ever!