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Welcome to Wedding Day podcast with your host Sonja Babich, CEO of Iron Diamond Media, a leading wedding resource featuring seven localized wedding brands across the country and Dan Riggs, photography and videography expert and founder of Summit Hill Studios. Come along as they travel from state to state to connect with the most creative and well -respected professionals in the wedding industry. Every episode will arm you with the hottest new trends, wedding day tips and details, and they'll show you all the joys of planning your perfect wedding day.
Wedding Day podcast episode six is powered by The Society, Milwaukee Flower Company, and Two Birds Event Group. This week, we're in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home of Wisconsin Bride Magazine, talking to Christina Wegner from White Dress Bridal Boutique. In this episode, we'll discuss the process of finding the perfect wedding dress, share insights into the latest trends, the importance of selecting the right designer, and how you can fit all of it into your budget. Hi, I'm Jenna Cully, owner of LinenFX Minneapolis. I bet I can guess the third thing you did after getting engaged.
Number one, you called family and friends to share the good news. Number two, you started a Pinterest board. Number three, you realized that you have no idea how to bring that Pinterest board to life. That's where we come in. Let the design experts at LinenFX take your ideas and bring them into reality. We have everything including floor -length linens, charger plates, table settings, centerpieces, candles, pretty chairs,
lounge furniture sets, and more to make your event picture perfect. Go to our website at lineneffects .com to schedule your appointment today. That's lineneffects .com and see your Pinterest board come to life. So we want to know everything about Christina. So how did you get into the luxury wedding dress business with White Dress Bridal Boutique? So nine years ago, which is shocking that it's been nine years, I just felt like...
luxury was missing in Wisconsin. I felt like there was a lot of really great bridal boutiques. I'm from the Chicagoland area, so even though my fiance at the time, husband now, is from Milwaukee and we live here in Milwaukee, I did buy my dress in Chicago and I just felt like...
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that extra level of experience when the bride comes in. And just because I am so much of an experienced junkie, I don't mean like jumping out of a plane experience junkie. I mean like staying at nice boutique hotels or just doing all the little extra things that people do in the service industry. And I just felt like that was something I was passionate about. And of course I love fashion and buying dresses and doing all those things. And so tying all of that together in Downtown Milwaukee and the Third Ward just seemed like the perfect fit.
fit at the time.
One thing that we're chatting about before the podcast was one day. Yeah. Your wedding day is one day and it absolutely loved it. Just felt in my soul when you were so passionate talking about it. So tell me what you meant about one day to our listeners. One day is something that I've been hearing more now than ever before. A lot of prides. And I did the same thing. So when I got married 12 years ago to my true soulmate, I got engaged and we decided to get married.
five months later, not even knowing anything about the wedding industry. Like you have to book a venue, you have to get a dress, all the things. But I was thinking it's really just one day. We'll get a venue, we'll taste some food, we'll have a cake. I'll get a dress and then we'll go on our honeymoon because it's really just one day. Easy, simple, right? Easy, simple. But the thing that I look back on now is that because it was just one day, I went with a photographer who was less expensive. And so my husband and I have
of no photos of our wedding that are worth being framed. Because it was just one day, no reason to really do a rehearsal of the event. I also did not mic the woman who was doing our vows and she said so many amazing touching things about Corey and myself. I hired a professional singer to come in to sing the song as I was coming down the aisle. Didn't mic her either. And at six o 'clock on a Friday afternoon in the garden,
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and the cars that are going by, the 120 people who were at my wedding sat there for 45 minutes and heard nothing. Because I just didn't really think it was worth the expense to mic everyone. No need to do all those extra little things. So.
Or for example, my husband and his friends were like, we'll give a speech. And my three girlfriends were like, we'll also give a speech. But at the time I was like, it's fine. It's just one day. Well, my husband's three friends, I loved them to death, got up and gave speeches about my husband roasting him on his hair and all the other things. Like they had just come off the golf course after two rounds of golf. They were doing guy things. Oh, they were doing guy things. And boy did they think it was funny. But that was 45 minutes of my
Roasting your husband. Roasting my husband and not even anything like congratulations to the happy couple or memories about the couples. So when I hear brides coming in and they're like oh it's not a big deal it's just one day I'm like...
It's the day. It's where the magic happens. It's that one day that you will look back in those photos forever. So luckily for me, and I don't know if she still does this, so I'm not going to call around on it, but Gracious Events, Vesna, who I love, love, love, she did Day of Planning. Thank goodness that we crossed paths because she made sure that I was eating because when you're talking to 100 to 20, 150 guests for a while, you don't really
that you haven't had anything to eat all night. She made sure that I was at the aisle on time. She was...
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She was nothing short of amazing. And in looking back, if I had not had her, I think people probably could have been running out for extra champagne. Like there was countless things that could have happened. So I recognize that weddings are a big expense and they, whether it's a bride who was having three people and she wants to buy a dress from white dress off the rack and she wants to take it same day. I love that for her. If there's a bride who is going to have a couple hundred people or a hundred people at her event and she's got a little more time.
and we can work with her at the main boutique white dress, and we can customize a dress, love that for her too, but it's not just one day, it is the day. So skimping on all the things that really matter, like don't skimp on the photographer, don't skimp on being mic'd up, don't skimp on...
Anything. Anything. Don't skip on it. So everything that you were talking about there, the just one day reminded me of what I do, which is videography. Yes. You know, I mean, those are moments that with the speeches, you probably, you know, OK, we can delete the speeches of the roasting. Yeah. We can take care of that. But, you know, miking up the officiant so that your guests can see it live is great. Everyone, you know, they want to see that when they're in person. But having it on video and being able to record all of that audio is really important, too. It's forever. And on your anniversary, if you want to watch it back. Yeah.
Because after a while, you know, we get older. It just goes back to like all the details matter. But what I was saying to you, too, is like it's one day. But is the one thing that we all can relate to and connect with other couples on 100 percent? Because when you even bring up weddings, oh, they want to talk about their wedding day and then they want to talk about their wedding day. Yeah. And for years, you're going to always bring up great stories that happen or mean are good stories on your wedding day. Yes. But it's the thing that we can all connect with, which is it.
Again, the power of weddings. Correct. Yeah. It's just not one day. It's not just one day or the speech from the best man or the maid of honor. I mean, practice. Yeah. Because a great wedding speech can really start a wedding on such an amazing. Oh, my gosh. And I'm out. We speeches could be a whole nother podcast. I want to say keep it short and sweet. Yeah. Unless you know what you're doing. Exactly. Cheers. I love you.
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Congrats couple. That's all you need to do unless you have a degree in like or you you're a member of Toastmasters and you just are an incredible public speaker. Yes. Yes. Because if you can say some really sweet stuff, we you know, yeah, we'd like to see that. But most people can't know.
No, it's not the day to start. No, it's the day to start. No, we have a really good couple friends or a couple friend and their daughter got married and her sister gave a speech and she's a stand up comedian. Oh my goodness. To this day, I remember her speech. I mean, she.
She had everyone laughing. I'm like everyone should go to her There's actually a client that is called vows and speeches and he actually assists people really yeah, I was in speeches. Yeah, California look them up. They're fantastic Yeah, so Christina when they come or when they reach out to you to find the perfect wedding dress How does that look like how does that process start? Do you do? Pre -interview before they come or do they have to book an appointment?
So I would say 80 % of our brides will book online via our website. And then as soon as they book, they get a, you know, congratulations, we're so excited to see you, just a text acknowledging that we definitely see their appointment. And then about a week or two before the actual appointment, we'll chat with them, you know, what's your journey looking like? Do you have an idea of, you know, where your venue is? Things that they're liking, things that they're not liking. But then again, keeping in mind that,
they could come in envisioning long sleeves and all these things. And then after five dresses of long sleeves, they're like, I actually don't like long sleeves at all. But just really keeping an open mind, because I feel like when you look at so many photos or you're looking at Pinterest, you get an idea of what your wedding dress is going to look like or how it's going to feel or how you're going to see yourself on that day. And then you end up in something that's clean, classic and fitted. And you were thinking ball gown. And you're like, I look and feel like a million dollars.
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And then we end up taking a different direction I mean I feel like 60 to 70 percent of brides who come in thinking they want one thing end up buying something else Totally I hear that too because I get to be you know filming I get to be in these rooms when they're getting ready and and we do something called the dress reveal That's where the bride you know comes in and all her girls are standing there, and she turns around and everybody's I Always get to hear these stories about how this was not the first dress that I chose
I thought I was gonna get this and this and this and then I slipped this on and it was like, oh, yeah That's the dress. So true. Yeah. Yes So it is common to not come in with a idea and walk away with something else Correct and being open to that and embracing that Do you see a lot of brides question their decision when they realize this is not what I thought? Yes, but then that overall look and
Even if I haven't been working with the bride and I happen to come around the corner and she's with her group and she's standing in the mirror, they just have this look like I feel like a bride. Like this is it. I actually the example of that. So I walked in to this boutique and I wanted this fair wing dress that was in was like shaped with a flower, big flower design. Again, this was back in 20 something. I feel like we wore the same dress, but keep going. Literally.
Of course we did. And then I put on a Ramona and I look at myself and I'm like, is this it? It was the last dress. And the helper, the assistant walked away and I'm looking at my parents like.
Is this it? And you almost get emotional about it because you're questioning you're like, this is not what I thought. Is this really good? Does this really look good on me? And that satisfaction of your family being like, you look like a 10. Yes, 100%. 100%. Because it is, it's scary. It's a big decision because it's not just one day. It's not just one day. You know, when that goes back to who to bring with you, I don't think that the...
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the people, the guests that they're bringing, whoever it is, really realize what they're, how big of a job that they have. So when the bride comes out of the fitting room, if people aren't really seated or they're looking around, it's like she's just had this magical moment with the stylist in the fitting room. She's put this dress on. She's so excited. She walks out and it's like crickets. So I think, you know, staying, it's her day that day. So would you say, okay, because we're talking, okay, I went and I know this is not traditional.
I went with my wife to you did not I did no she asked me to go she asked me to go I went when Fiance's come yeah yeah so I went I went with her it was I don't know what it was called somewhere on Grand Avenue in St. Paul I went with her and I watched her try on all the wedding shop wedding shop yeah what up wedding shop and oh boy by that last dress you know I'm in there for her by that last dress I was like
this is it is this it please do you like do you think like the family is when they hear when you hear the crickets that you mentioned do you think that they're just like well it's usually crickets because they're so excited they've come into a bridal boutique and it and i completely get it they see all the beautiful dresses it's crickets because they're up
Even though we're like, please stay seated. We're here for you. We know all the inventory. So they're up looking around. They're looking at jewelry. Maybe someone's gone potty. So it's really their job to and we've now been saying, you know, she's going to be coming out because there's nothing like coming out when you're so excited. And there's no one there. It's like waiting for your husband at the altar. I love that you're saying this. Yeah. Yeah. It's to keep your butts in the on the couch or in the chair because the main actor is coming out to.
And when the bride truly finds something that she loves even though it wasn't her vision that maybe she's been talking about her she talked in the in the car on the way there or at breakfast like this is what I'm looking for and then everyone's feeling like that's what it's gonna be and it ends up like with your dress being something completely different Lean in with that. Yeah, she's having a moment and then if the mom says
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Well, there's other places to go. We should keep looking. She's she's about ready to have this moment where she's crying. And now you've just robbed her of that moment. Yes, less is more. So would you say that you prep everyone like you would when they sit down to say, all right, listen, let's have you sit down and let them know because a lot of people are oblivious to 100 percent. And I get that and I get that. When comes out. Yeah. When she comes out, you know, be excited. Tell her the truth. Don't tell her the truth. Like, what are we doing? Are we being honest? Are we so we're leaning into that a little bit more.
because I feel like...
The bridal industry has really changed. The bride has really changed. I feel like, you know, nine years ago when I opened, of course, social media was around, but I don't think that people necessarily were like, if I post this photo and I don't get enough likes on the photo, then it must be a bad photo. Well, it's not a bad photo. Maybe you just posted it at a time when all your friends or whatever was at work or something like that. So I think that there's a little bit of the bride coming out and wanting that reaction.
from them. They expect it. They expect it. So that can really rob a bride of her wedding journey, her experience with us, because people are not leaning in. Or giving the energy. It's not their day. It's her day. And they do everybody, I'm sorry, but everybody remembers. Yes. The day they buy their dress. 100%. They do.
So be picky and choosy about who you bring to the appointment. Be choosy and if you have Aunt Suzy who's really opinionated and wants to relive her wedding dress journey through you, bring her to your reveal appointment. So when you come out, you'll come out in your dress that you've already purchased with your veil and the only thing that she can say is, you look stunning. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited for you because there are no other dresses. She knows that's the dress. Correct. So be mindful of who you bring with you.
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I love so what's the reveal the reveal when her dress actually comes in and it's her actual dress We called a gown reveal where she puts it on in the fitting room And then it comes out when if she said jewelry or accessories or all the things we put everything on
Wow, that is amazing! Yeah, because it's been tailored now at this point. She already chose the dress. So she chose the dress five to seven months for the dress to come in and a lot of times the dress, especially at White Dress, we love customizing dresses just so that it's not the same dress over and over again. So the dress that they saw...
is definitely not the dress that comes in because she's made certain modifications to it. And that's exciting. But again, five to seven months to make that happen. Yeah, and that's a great, that's great that you bring that up. Like give us a little timeline of start to. So I give you a call and I'm a new client with a beautiful dress need. Yeah, from start to finish. Kind of with the connection call, which we were talking about. We asked, you know, how many people are they bringing? Because a lot of times brides are so excited and they should be. And they're like, I'm bringing 10 people. It's like that's 10 a pic.
opinions and it's too many. That's part of the questionnaire. I love that. We really try to remind them that too many opinions sometimes are just too many opinions. Really try to bring your core group that you know is going to be there for you and then maybe bring your neighbor or whoever else who is significant with you to your gown reveal. So who are they bringing? What are they thinking? What is their venue?
All those things are so important. It really helps us to really dial in that experience. So it's all about them. So I jokingly say it, I actually say we sell an experience that results in a wedding dress sale. Okay. So you said it's about seven months once you pick out the dress. It takes seven months for it to be tailored.
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altered is that the it takes the designer usually about six to seven months to produce the dress okay and then after that we'll have the gown reveal and white dress and then we recommend seamstresses in the area so then they take that dress and usually I would say about two months for alterations but ideally so in regards to when you should start shopping I always say start shopping when you're ready to buy because there are brides who maybe their their wedding isn't for a year but maybe they're about ready to start some
being really significant.
at school or at work, they've got this big project and they want to get through, they want to get their dress finalized and then start on that. So come when you're ready to buy, but really start looking a year in advance because we have all the samples a year in advance. Like the designers, we are so everything for 2024, we already have all that inventory and stock within the last two weeks, all of it has come in. So if you wait, it's not like you're going to see anything different. But the last thing,
want is to be calling the seamstress every day like where's my dress? You want that dress you know either hanging in your closet or at someone's house you know ideally a month before the wedding. And they say usually minimum eight months right to finalize the dress. Yes yes. Because of just the to get the dress the alteration process. Correct. So minimum eight. Minnesota Bride's best jeweler every year since 2010. Continental Diamond has an amazing selection of diamonds in
I love that you share that you like to go to Chicago for Fashion Week. Oh, yes. Please tell us about that. So it's just I mean, it's so many designers. They used to be all over, so.
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We do go to New York as well, but a lot of designers are showing in Chicago, so huge bonus for us. We can just drive down. But just walking around, seeing all the runway shows, I'm really picky about what I buy. So you can have a dress in...
Mikado that can look really wrinkly and be $5 ,000 or you could have a dress that's in Mikado It's just a better quality of material and not even close to that price point So I do mostly moms will say to me we've been to so many other bridal boutiques But there's just something about every single dress in the way that it lays I'm like, I'm a really picky buyer. You don't necessarily have to spend all the money on the dress
to get an amazing dress and you want to think about how it's going to bustle, how heavy is it going to be? How is it going to sway across the dance floor? I mean, there's so many different things and those are the things that I am just so dialed into. With fashion, you said that like you literally will watch the models go by. Yes. And go, nope. Oh, I do. I think we've talked about that before. I know. I get the line sheet and the model comes out. I'm like, nope. It's real. My buying check sheet is like no heart, no heart.
heart, no heart, and my team that comes with me, they're always like, she didn't like that one, she didn't like that one. But then again, once they're off the models, I always like to feel them, touch them, because maybe something that looked, and again, the model could be five.
11 and the dress is just a smidge short, but I'm noticing every I mean, I notice every detail about the dress. So maybe it was just how it fit that model, but it's still a great dress. So there's so many things. I think that's so cool. So again, educating the the listener and the viewer. So Fashion Week is when all the designers release all the new trendy wedding dresses for the upcoming season. So they actually invite media, bribe boutique owners.
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to view what the new collection is and then the bright boutiques will actually select what dresses they want in their stores. And that's also a way for designers to say, I want to be in your store. How can I get in your store? So it is a big deal to go out to those. So I actually said, I want to sit next to Christina and just enjoy the process. Because it is super, it's models doing the runway catwalk and wearing these stunning dresses. That is...
heaven for me. And I buy, I don't know if a lot of stores do this or not, but I buy.
I'm very decisive. So I buy at market. I think a lot of stores maybe will or owners will take notes and then they go back to the boutique. So by the time I'm arriving at market, I know what my inventory is, what I'm selling the most of, what the Wisconsin bride is looking for, colorway, what sizing we're selling the most. So I know exactly what I'm looking for. So every time the runway goes down, I meet with my team, we write the order and I'm on to the next thing. I, because the thought of coming home and buying
you know, 80 dresses. I...
That's a huge inventory. No, I want to do that. I'm going to Gibson's for a big steak. I'm having a super strong Cosmo or two. We're staying at the Waldorf. I'm going to get up and go to the spa in the morning and I'm going to drive home and I'm done. Right. Have two Cosmos. You deserve it. I do deserve it. Yeah, you do. Well, you're making sure Wisconsin brides are looking beautiful. 100 percent. So what are you seeing for trends with this upcoming wedding season from the market? So last year, a lot of clean and classic and I feel like brides are
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still leaning into that, but just over the last month I'm seeing more color than I've ever seen before. And I'm not talking like little house on the prairie color, I'm talking like, and not 1970s color where each bridesmaid would wear a different color, which they are wearing a different color, but the dresses are like.
they're to die for. And then are they bright, vibrant? Are we like, what kind of bright and vibrant and so are the so was the floral. I mean, it's a it's a colors coming out. It is. Wedding professionals are really excited about because it's been a lot of pale pinks. Yeah. White and I read this. Yeah. Yeah. It's time for color. It is time for color. And there are certain brides that can really lean into that and they love that. But then there's always that I just feel like.
The rules are gone and I am such a high visionary that for me, no rules is amazing. Like I am not a rule follower at all. No bounds. No bounds. Yeah. Yeah. But you always select. They're just every dress that you've shown or been a part of our fashion shoots are just always breathtaking. Thank you. Thank you. We love being a part of your shoots. Yes. I remember when we pulled this one that was Vera Wang. I'm like, Christina. She's like, we just
got it and I'm like, give me, give me, give me. Oh, it was just so beautiful. And I'm quick to get rid of my inventory. So if something's not moving or, you know, like with anything, you buy something, you buy a sweater, you buy a pair of pants and it's like, I loved it in the fitting room and I've had it for six months and I've never worn it. So it's the same thing with wedding dresses. So all of those dresses, I move over to my off the rack store, which you can purchase and take with you same day at 50 % off. So that's just a great option and it's just right down the street. So we're
One of the trends that I've noticed in the last 18 months or so has been the outfit change. Oh yes, I love the outfit change. We the second look. Do you have second look dresses? We do have second look dresses. A lot of minis. I'm hoping to see, because the minis are mini, which is really fun if you're, you know.
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super young and you're a hundred pounds and very fit and all the things. But what I tell a lot of girls is get a second look from off the rack because you can cut any dress.
and they're all 50 % off. Oh wow, clever. Yeah, love a second look. Love a second look with a sneaker. I'm all into sneakers. I'm all about the sneakers. Look at the Minnesota Bride fashion shoot of the current issue. It's a 10. A lot of short dresses with sneakers. am all about the sneakers. And get a bougie sneaker while you're it. 100%. So with going back to designers, because a lot of engaged couples, a lot of brides don't really...
are educated about wedding dress designers. Do you recommend them looking into designers before coming in being like, I really want to try a Veraway dress. Seeing that you sell it or not, but like, do you think that's a good way to like, kind of look for the style or the, or don't come in with a designer in mind? There are certain designers that will do a lot of customization. So for example, um,
Martina Leanna, we can take three dresses and make them into one. And when I first started working with them, probably seven years ago, I was like a little nervous about it. But if you're loving the top of a dress, but you want it strapless, we can make it strapless in production. If you're loving the cutouts on one dress, we can actually add those cutouts to the dress that you're liking. If you're loving the train of a different dress and you're loving the 3D florals, they can add that, but they can do all of that in customization, where before someone would have to
do that all with a seamstress and it comes in flawless. I mean it really is amazing. But then there's like Paloma Blanca out of Canada, very clean and classic where we if you like a top of one dress and the bottom of another we can push them together. But then we also have other designers who are like we design the dress the way it is and if you don't like the dress then you're not our bride. I mean they truly are like that but that's okay too because the dresses are beautiful. So find what you're looking for but at the same time
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time my team is so knowledgeable on all of our designers that if we know that she's wanting to make a lot of customizations we know where to lean into. Have an open mind. Yes, yes open mind. It's just a very fascinating to be like you have the designer then they go to you and before they get to the bride. Yes.
Like some of the brides just think that that's you produce these, you know, these are your dresses. They do. They don't know that it actually that you select the certain designers to come into your store. Yes. Some brides do actually feel like I make them in the back room. I don't even know how to DIY or DIY. DIY. I know, get corrected too, Christina. I don't know what that is. That's why we're so similar. I don't know where Hobby Lobby is. No.
If you need extra fabric, I can order that for you. Yes, I can take care of you. But it's true that like, again, they're just not engaged couples. They're just not educated. This is why we're doing the podcast is like, right. It's just super cool that you select the certain designers that are in your store. And there are it's for a reason because you know that they're going to take care of you to 100 and also the bride. They're going to come in on time. Yeah, not going to have any issues. And a lot of the times there, you're babysitting the designers being like, you're not doing your job. I don't.
want you in my store because you're not wanting that for the. Correct. Yes. So again, trust the process and just know that whoever you're buying from needs to be picky. They need to have a personal relationship. It's not just, you know, looking at line sheets.
through an email and just sending in an order. Like I've gone to market, I've felt the dresses, I've seen what the construction looks like, I've met with the rep. Like when I come into their booth, they know who I am, I know who they are, yes. What would be a red flag when you go try on a dress? Oh.
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would be a red flag. So of course they're not coming to your store because of course there's no red flags. 100 % 100 % But what would be something that you would be like that would make me nervous to buy my wedding dress there.
I think that they're, if I walk, this is true for me if I go anywhere. If I walk in and someone is very unorganized, if the front desk is unorganized, if they don't know that I'm coming, would be like checking into the hotel and they're like, so when were you supposed to be here? Okay, immediate, okay, if you don't even know when I'm coming, my dress is not coming in. Probably not gonna wanna buy from you. That's a great point. Or if the stylist has to keep leaving the appointment to go check on things and ask a manager, it's like, if that's the case, that's
just needs to be either re -onboarded or trained or that manager needs to be upfront with that styles to make sure that we're delivering the best possible experience ever. So when we come in and visit you, yeah, do we have our own stylist or is this stylist helping multiple people? You have your own stylist. So what's a stylist? Explain a stylist experience. So, um...
So obviously we've chatted a few times on the phone, so we have an idea. But a lot can change in two weeks. You might have gone, or the bride might have gone to a couple different stores, and she's like, I was actually thinking this when we chatted, but now after trying on a few things, I'm really leaning in this direction. So then the stylist is either, you know, repulling or things like that. But the stylist is going to know what customizations we can make, what the fabric is. Sometimes there are dresses that are too long to be bustled, and stores don't always talk about that, and does a bride wear them?
really want to carry around her dress all night long? Probably not. She does not. Yes. I mean some brides they want that drama of that so I'm always like let's shorten the train a little bit and go with a cathedral length veil so you get that look coming down the aisle that's such a wow but then you don't have to wear that veil all night long. I actually had a cathedral veil and it had a bustle in my veil. Oh look at you. It was for France. Oh of course I love it.
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They're in the room with you, right? Yes, they're in the room. So how should the bride come prepared? Great question. In the fitting room, like what should they wear? Yes. So I always say don't feel like you need to go out and buy anything, but nude undergarments, nude bra, always the best because it's not going to show through. If you're wearing like black panties and a black top, sometimes it's really hard to get an idea of what because it just comes through.
But you know, we're working with brides all the time, so if they want to forego their bra or whatnot, you know, we're fine with that. Is that one of your questions, like how comfortable you are to be working with a stylist? No, I feel like most brides coming in, I think they're grateful that they don't have to get inside into the dresses themselves because they're heavy. Not always, but they're just awkward. Yes, correct. They just, you know, they don't want to like tear anything. So you tear it, you buy it.
We tear it, we own it. Yes. So average pricing right now for wedding dresses. Luxury for us is.
So we start around 22 and we do go to eight. We don't have a ton of inventory in the $8 ,000 price point. But I would say 25 to 35 is really our sweet spot for luxury. And that really gives us some room to add any customizations. At the off the rack store, I would say if you're wanting to be all in anywhere from 1 ,200 to 1 ,900, you're great. And there are a lot of dresses at the off the rack store that we can reorder. So a lot of times people will say, I just don't want something that's
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used or off the rack. It's like the farthest thing because I'm such a stickler about any of my dresses. No broken zippers, no torn hems. So by the time that dress gets to my off the rack store, it's as close to a brand new dress as it could possibly be. Wow. So off the rack, like I come in, I buy the dress off the rack. And this is a store by the way. Yep. Yes. And I take it home. Like there's no alterations after that. Well you have to take it in for alterations but you leave with the dress the same day. You're not waiting.
five to seven months for that to come in. Oh, so you walk in and you just buy it. So where am I having that altered? You would go to a local seamstress. OK, yes. And we do have recommendations or I mean, a lot of brides will ask other brides where they have their dresses altered. Yes. Yes. And some boutiques do have an alteration specialist in -house and some don't. So that's also a great question to ask when you're selecting the dress. So then they know that's another part of the planning process is to find a good alteration. I feel like back in the day, probably
90 to 100 percent of boutiques had seamstresses in -house. I would say now, at least in the Milwaukee area, probably 70 percent do not. Oh really? Why do you think that that is? I think trying to combine the alterations with the dress just started to become a lot and really the seamstresses can run their own business. They don't need us. It's very true. And you want to keep it separate from that buying the dress experience. Yes, you want to keep it separate. And then you can be an expert in...
Dress buying versus being and we doing doing one thing well as opposed to doing we each have our niche And that's what we're good at yes alteration specialists they like to be in their own Probably home a lot of them are in their home space they could spread out yes So it's very common that alteration specialists are in their home, so don't be alarm. That's weird correct It's very common so many of them have moved into their into actual spaces now
So it's not like if you go to a doctor who is also practicing from his living room. Correct. It's a little bit different. Right. Like my dentist did like back in the day when I was growing up. Yeah. There are no, not like that. I don't want to go to that dentist. My husband is a dentist, so it's a lot easier for me. How about shoes? I know that's a big thing with selecting a dress. Should they should definitely, can they bring shoes when they already got the shoes? I highly doubt they got the shoes. They don't. Which is fine, but some brides do because they, you know, I,
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I'm always open for buying a great pair of shoes before I know what I'm gonna be wearing. But all the brides are on a podium. So the dress will for the most part look like it's gonna look with shoes and then buy your shoes after you ordered your dress and then you'll bring your shoes to the seamstress so she'll know how to hem the dress. Got it. How many appointments do you happen at a time at your store at the boutique? I would say 60 to 70 percent of our brides buy on their first visit and we really try to
Let them know don't be surprised like our inventory is amazing our stylists are amazing So don't be surprised that you will find the dress the same so you're coming in feeling good. Oh, yes, bring your checkbook We're ready. Okay, so are there multiple dresses like let's say I come in and I find the dress Yeah, do I pull the trigger? Do I jump in and buy that because it could be gone or is this a situation? We have many we'll be ordering it if you're at the main store, so we would go ahead and measure you
and order the dress and you would pay for it. If you're at the off the rack store we actually put it in a really nice garment bag and take a I said yes photo and do a little toast and off you go with your dress. When you buy the dream dress, do I expect to pay for my dream dress 100 % the day I select it when I order it? Sure. Or do I put 50 % down and then 50 % when I pick it up? What do you see as common? Great question. So we are a painful
However, we do offer an option where you can pay 60 % at the time of purchase and then the other 40 % the balance within 60 days and the reason why we do that is we want we wanted to keep rolling with production. I love that and I actually think it's great that Brides know how it works because we you do have to put down money to buy the dress from the designer. Correct like I'm paying for a hundred percent of your dress. Yep. Up front. Yep. And then of course you just pay your final bill and you get there.
So you're just making sure that it is delivered by your wedding day. 100%. So how many stores would you say that brides visit before they make their final decision? Well, hopefully one. Hopefully they're just coming to White Dress and we're able to find their dress. But I completely understand that it's a big purchase and it's a very special purchase. So sometimes brides are wanting to sleep on it. They want to go home and look at their photos, maybe go for dinner and maybe see a couple of other boutiques.
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I would say at the most three. I have seen on TikTok where there have been brides who are like first dress, second dress, all the way up to like her 75th dress before she, right? Because after a while it just becomes a sea of white and you can only like taste so many chocolate cakes before you know like this is the best chocolate cake. So it just, it starts to ruin the experience because it adds so much stress to the bride. It actually,
adds a lot of stress even to the stylist who's trying to stay in touch with her just to make sure that her journey is going well and that we've answered all of our all of her questions but if you go to the right boutique that has the right inventory and they know how to make customizations a lot of times it really can be a one -and -one -and -done situation. That's really good to know because I know I booked three spots. I went to five. You went to five? I went to five. Yeah. And every time I came out in a wedding dress I was like
And my girlfriend that was with me, I just took just my one girlfriend, the poor stylist when I look back she was like, is this your dress? And my girlfriend was like reading the magazine, she's like.
She acts like that in every dress. The worst bride ever. But I did end up, I had an idea of what I was looking for and I truly ended up finding that in the end. But there was a part of me that truly enjoyed that dress shopping experience. But at least I feel somewhat nice about it that I was in and out of the boutique in a quick amount of time. Trying on like four or five dresses, I was extremely decisive. So I wasn't there for two and a half hours trying on 30 dresses only to be like, I feel like,
like I need to sleep on it and keep looking but yes. Well it makes sense that you went to five because this is what you do for a living so you've you know you found all the things that you liked and didn't like. Correct. Yeah and I drove far for a few boutiques that I found on social media or they carried a certain designer that I wanted to try on back in the day we were like still tearing out photos and I wanted to try on those dresses and then once I had that helped me to really narrow down what it was that I was looking for and then I went
Wedding Day Podcast (41:09.327)
it all in like I bought the dress back in the day belt the veil the hair like I bought everything from one store because I wanted to be done I didn't want to be like okay now I have my dress now I have to try to find a veil that's gonna match or you know buying something from Etsy or I see a lot of times brides buying veils from Amazon and the main area of a veil at the top if that is not sewn all the way around and if it's not wide enough you could spend so much
money on a cathedral length veil and you walk down the aisle and it's literally like a strip of fabric because you skimped because you thought it was just one day on your beautiful cathedral length veil versus if you would have just spent a couple hundred dollars more with us maybe skipped an appetizer the day of the wedding and then your veil is all the way out and it's all the way down the aisle. It actually photos really well on brides too. I love veils on brides. It does so be mindful of the things that
that you're feeling are important and things that you're like, that's not really gonna matter. One of the things that is one of my biggest surprises is when they get the ring, they go get the dress right away. Yeah. And to me, I'm like, wow, that's like go get her. Go get her, tiger. But then they then they pick the dress. But what if it doesn't match the venue or the time of year? So sure. Do you ever give that recommendation? Like maybe you should get your venue first before you get the dress. I think the wedding's all about the bride. OK.
So if she loves the dress and if it's winter, we'll sell her a fur. Wouldn't you say that you're planning your wedding most of your life if you're a woman? Most women? Some women? Some do, but some don't. My best friend, she wanted to focus on being a doctor and then she found the right guy. I guess I'm getting married. I would say the women that are going from, you know...
right from getting engaged to buying the dress have probably been planning this for a very long time, right? So they think they have an idea ahead of what it is that they want. So they're probably not necessarily thinking about season or.
Wedding Day Podcast (43:12.877)
No, they're just probably looking for a certain style that they think will look best on them or something that they maybe saw at a wedding or they saw on TV or whatnot. Got inspired by TikTok or even just hopping on and following white dress bride boutique on Instagram and seeing, yeah, the stylist trying on different dresses because that's very in all the boutiques do different. I jumped into this one and they jumped into this one. So great because it really gives the brides an idea of what that inventory looks like. And if that boutique is going to really align.
with the bride and what she thinks that she's looking for. I was someone who did not really think about my wedding day. I didn't get married till I was 40. I was actually engaged four times before that and gave all the rings back because I was so focused on my career that it never even dawned on me that I was like, maybe I should get married and have a child. It never crossed my mind. And then I met my husband.
and he proposed five months into dating. So and then we were married five months later. And so I feel like everyone's journey is just so different. Everybody's love story is completely different. And however you want to celebrate it is your way to 100 percent. No rules. Well, it was so great to have you, Christina, today. It is great to see you. You're just so.
like empowering of like just running your own company and also just being confident with the products that you sell and like just showing all the details matter.
finding the perfect wedding dress. Thank you, I appreciate that. Wedding Day podcast, we are on social media of course. If you're listening on Spotify, you can check us out also on YouTube. You can see our faces, sometimes the audio podcast. You don't get to see who, I wanna see what Christina looks like. I wanna see what Sonya You have to come, we have to see what Christina looks like. Yeah, at Wedding Day podcast on all the socials. Yeah, so thank you for tuning in and we'll see you next time. See you, bye.