One of the things I have enjoyed about opening a bridal shop is getting to meet new and unique people and the questions they ask. When people understand that I have recently opened, I get asked an unexpected question, “How did you find all the wedding dresses and open up?” A follow-up question is, “Did you have to buy all these?”.
There is a lot of research first, it is not just about buying wedding dresses (even though that is one of my favorite parts). Really, when I was thinking of opening a bridal shop, I looked at dresses for hours and days and weeks and months. Seriously, I spent more time looking at wedding dresses than my daughter did before she married.
Final version of business cards
Then, I reached out to some designers, and I was willing to travel. First steps were getting a business license, establishing a website, and things like business cards. The costs and time of these vary depending on where the shop will open up and what level of DIY you want to put into it. I did it all DIY. That means, literally, standing in line at the county clerk’s office and watching a lot of videos on how to build a website. Designing business cards can take a really, really long time too, or you can choose to use a stock card. I didn’t use a stock card. These steps said to the wedding gown designers that I wasn’t just a single bride or two friends trying to get a deal. I needed that information in hand to begin seriously talking to people about what it would take to open a bridal shop.
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Next step was getting admittance into a market. Most independent retailers attend a “market”. A market lets stores look at options from many suppliers all in one place, and the markets usually last only a few days. This is where the designers present their latest wedding dress designs. Markets only happen a couple of times a year in a few cities across the United States. I found the bridal market closest to me for travel cost savings; I needed to take my friend for another perspective on which dresses to buy. Wanting to put all my money toward the dresses (because, yes, I have bought all the dresses you see in the boutique), I chose a bridal market that was with-in driving distance and offered a wide range of wedding dress designers.
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My best friend and I had a great time at market. We talked to a lot of dress designers, made a lot of lists and chose options that were not available in other bridal gown boutiques here in Tennessee. I wanted to make sure the dresses were unique and provided options to brides.
So that was how I found all the wedding dresses and designers that are now available at Bridal House of Nashville. It is also a surprise to most brides that I too wait for the dresses that become samples. It can takes months for my sample wedding dresses to arrive. These are real wedding dresses- wedding dress samples are not different or simplified.
So it took almost a full year from the time I started doing research till Bridal House of Nashville presented wedding dresses ready to sell. It was an exciting journey that I am glad to share with you.
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