Bridal Business Policies

added April 2010

Leanne,

I’ve just discovered your website and have spent many hours the past few days soaking up your knowledge. If you would like to send my email to Rebecca in Utah, I would be happy to open a discussion with her on adding sleeves to strapless dresses. Personally, my policy is: “If you buy a dress on sale that doesn’t meet temple standards, don’t expect me to bail you out.” And, yes, that makes me unpopular, but I’ve yet to see a strapless dress altered so it looked like it was meant to be that way.

Again, the website is great. Thanks for bringing helping us feel like we’re not alone.

Laurie

Hi Laurie,

You sound a lot like me. I happen to love the strapless style and when constructed right it can fit any body type. Unfortunately, brides often choose this style for the wrong reasons. Some have told me it was the only choice. I know this to be not true. It is a lazy bride who buys a strapless gown for this reason. I know of many alternative choices. What I think is more likely is that some slick sales person convinced the bride that the dress can be altered to make the sale. That leaves it up to us to fix it as best we can.

I hope my site can help some of these situations, either by educating brides or alteration specialists. I so believe that we can help each other. Thanks for writing and letting me know someone gets it!

added June 2009

Dear Leanna,

My wife and I are Americans who recently opened a bridal store in Odessa, Ukraine. Odessa is a large city with approximately 1.2 million official residents but the population is really closer to 2 million. Our shop has officially been open for five days now and we've seen quite a few visitors. There have also been a number of girls who have tried on quite a few wedding gowns. They seem to have liked the dresses but they also admitted wanting to continue searching around at different stores, which is certainly understandable given the fact that there are over 50 bridal shops in Odessa. The problem, as you well know, is that when girls try the dresses on, the gowns eventually start showing wear and tear. And, since we have absolutley no experience in this area, we're not sure how likely these girls are to return and become clients. We certainly don't want to sacrifice the quality of the gowns for girls who have little intention of returning. At the same time, however, we're not overly excited about the prospect of turning customers away.

So what we've temporarily decided to do is tell the ladies that they're more than welcome to try the wedding gowns on, but only after making appointments in advance. This seems to be the general practice for some of the more elite salons here, but we're not sure if this is the best course of action from a business perspective. I know that you're probably not a business consultant but you probably understand the way these ladies think much better than we do. So, due to your wealth of experience in this field, I just wanted to consult with you first. Do you have any advice on how we conduct ourselves in this particular area? We'd certainly be more than very grateful for any thoughts you'd be willing to share with us!

Respectfully, John

Hi John,

How neat of you to write. My father's family is from the Ukraine. I hope to some day visit your Country!

What you are asking is common to all wedding salons all over the world I would think. I really don't know about brides in Europe, but here they want to shop. Asking for them to make appointments I think would not be a great move. My best friend has been visiting bridal stores with her daughter and they have just told me that they decided to buy a dress from a certain store because of their selection of gowns to try on. My friend's daughter is a robust size 20ish and most stores have only 12 or 14's to try on. She was very turned off by the attitude of the sales people in these stores. Many brides understand that you try on a gown and then imagine it in your size and get measured for ordering, but my friend just could not visualize the gown she was liking 3 or 4 sizes larger than the trial gowns. When she found a store that had larger sizes for trial she was overjoyed and ended up ordering her gown there even though the price was a little more.

It's a big risk having gowns for trial. They can be harmed in so many ways. A way to protect the gowns is to have an attendant assisting each bride with her fitting. This gives a great service boost to the ambiance of your shop and makes the bride feel special. Be careful that these attendants don't power sell the brides. Let them give honest advice and opinions. The brides can tell when a sales person is being less than honest when she says they look beautiful in everything they put on.

Have a way to let brides try on gowns alone too for some will not like a stranger in their dressing room. Has a sales lady near by to check on her often, but don't be obnoxious. The attendant or the hovering sales person needs to inspect the gown carefully after each try-on and while the bride is still there in case any harm was done. This can be done while the gown is being hung back on the hanger so it doesn't look obvious.

Before letting a bride try on gowns get her information. Name, address from her driver's license (don't let her just tell you), and phone number. This is to protect you in case she does hurt a gown and you find her difficult to deal with. Brides don't generally mind this.

Keep in mind that many a bride is using you to only see the gown they fully intend to buy off the Internet at a reduced price. She will not care about how she treats your property. Protecting your gowns in important but you can do it discreetly.

I hope this helps,

Loved your site. Thank you!

I work for a "chain" and find myself at odds with their policies many times. They do not recognize the craft. Each bride is special and I hate conforming to their cookie cutter alterations. They will not touch bust seams!!! I do them all the time.

I admire your bravery in striking out on your own. I am so afraid!!

I found your site because a few brides found me recently - and asked me to do their gowns. I am becoming a little known for my creative bustles. I was looking at prices and needed a starting base.

I wish I had the bravery to strike out on my own - I am so afraid the customers will not be steady! I also feel I have much to learn! I am picking up techniques all the time! I have been sewing for about 30 years.

Are you open to discussion and helping me? I live far enough away to not give you any competition - but I can certainly refer to you!!! My daughter lives in Cincinnati!! I live in Pittsburgh, PA.

Thank you again for your site.
Maria

I can give general answers with email, but it's really hard to help people solve specific questions without being able to see the body in the garment that is in question. I should think with 30 years of experience you have what it takes to do this. It's scary at first, but as long as you can stay open minded and let yourself continue learning, you can do well. I learn something new almost every week. The bridal gown manufacturers never stop changing things so you have to keep up with them. The way you did something last season may no longer work this season because the construction methods have changed. It can be frustrating too, but I love puzzles, so I just look at each new situation as a puzzle and go about solving it. It often takes a lot of time, but if you can have patience with yourself and let your creativity guide you, it can be very rewarding.

Bridal Business Policies

Got any questions or comments?

Got any questions or comments?