The Wal-Mart of Weddings
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The Wal-Mart of Weddings
One company, David’s Bridal, outfits one-third of America’s brides—on the cheap.
Posted Thursday, June 11, 2009 - 4:13pm
That means that those who may not have set foot inside a discount shop like David's Bridal in the past are venturing in. "I think they're considering it even more than ever," says Gail Malecot, a bridal retail consultant. "These girls want to spend less on their weddings, across the board, from dresses to chair covers," she says. The real test for David's Bridal—and most budget-friendly retailers today—will come when the economy rebounds. Of course, therein lies the big difference between David's Bridal and Wal-Mart (WMT): People shop at Wal-Mart regularly, whereas David's Bridal is presumably seeing most of its customers for only one purchase (or not much more than one).
Photograph of a bride by Stockbyte/Getty Creative Images.
Comments
David's not the be-all of weddings
The previous two posters or their friends did not find their bridal gowns in a David's Bridal, and neither did my daughter. The fact is, David's carries a lot of dresses, but not all dresses in every size and not all dresses that suit a bride's taste or figure in every size. My daughter tried David's first and found nothing she liked. She was able to find a dress in a metro dress shop that elicited "Wow"s when she came out of the dressing room -- and she got it for $800. I couldn't find a mother of the bride dress at David's, either, so I have to wonder who is able to find something there.
my experience
I, too, had a similar experience as "tulleetal" did. In 2007 my gown budget (including alterations and accessories) was $750. Many of the shops I went into gave me one, sad, sorry dress to try on. I went to seven bridal shops (including David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo), but in the end was able to find a dress I loved, in my price range, in a local shop. But lets step back for a second. When else in your life is it acceptable, even considered a good thing, to spend many thousands of dollars on something you will wear one time? How is it even fathomable that the average, AVERAGE, cost of a wedding is nearly $20k? We have gone crazy here people. Of course the industry loathes David's, because it cuts into their profit share. They take advantage of your emotions and attempt to convince you that your entire marriage will be more successful if you would simply purchase this Monique Lhuillier. That your wedding (and marriage) are somehow subpar if you don't buy a designer gown. What you didn't examine in this article is the non-bride gowns they sell: bridesmaids, flower girls, mother of the bride, veils, shoes, and their sister company who rents out tuxes for all the men. While I didn't purchase my gown at David's, my bridesmaid's did. They actually had sizes for my variously-sized girls to try on. They even have a wonderful system whereas you can pick the color of the bridesmaids dresses, but your girls can pick the cut. Therefore your size 2 and your size 16 don't have to argue over which one gets to look ridiculous - everyone picks their own dress, while still coordinating, and everyone is happy. They also have locations all over the country, for my bridesmaids 4+ hours away to try on. This is an under appreciated advantage of the bridal chains. Try arranging flights and expensive cross country trips for a try-on session at your local shop, and see how well THAT expense goes over!
One point the article misses
One point the article misses is that it seems some bridal stores just don't want the business david's bridal picks up. Three years ago, when a close friend went wedding dress shopping in s. connecticut, we did the research and looked for places that carried designers who made dresses in her price range. She and her fiance were paying entirely for the wedding, and she had budgeted $800 for the dress. She and i went to at least 3 locally owned dress shops (frankly, we chose the absolutely most affordable looking in the area-- one of which went for an 'industrial chic' look... no carpet either). At each one, when we told them our budget, the clerk looked at us like we had pee'd on the carpet, to be honest. One (the 'industrial chic') told us point blank they really didn't carry dresses for less than 1000. Since we knew the designers they had, we knew they were simply choosing not to stock the more affordable dresses those designers made. For all 3, we weren't allowed to browse the dresses, either-- we had to describe what we wanted and hope the sales "assistant" got it (most of the time, they didnt). Needless to say, we left each one pretty dejected, and i had to pep talk my friend into believing it was not crazy to want a dress at that price. We tried David's Bridal too, and it was as to be expected-- impersonal, boring, cheap. But at least we weren't treated poorly, and if we had found something suitable we probably would have bought it there. Eventually, though, my friend did find a beautiful dress exactly in her price range at a nice little family shop just down the road from David's Bridal. And we even got to browse the dresses with the sales clerk to find it (it wasn't what she initially envisioned, but it looked perfect on her). The seamstress at the shop said the shop actually made a good amount of business altering dresses bought at David's Bridal. Each of the first three bridal shops were stuck in an old-school mentality--they hide the dress information so you can't comparison shop, they restrict you access to the dresses themselves, and they strong arm you into buying more expensive dresses by not carrying the more affordable designs. With the information out there these days, this kind of model deserves to die. And for some brides, a dress is a dress is a dress. Who needs the drama and cost if a simple dress off the rack will do?