Happy Monday, friends!!
As many of you already know, amongst the many, many hats that I wear (wife, mom, entrepreneur, blogger…. etc) I am a Wedding Dress buyer…. and its definitely one of the most fun and exciting parts of my job as a bridal boutique owner. I get A LOT of questions about bridal market every year and how we buy for the store, so I thought it would be fun to give you all the inside scoop of what goes on behind the scenes at NYC Bridal Market and how dress buying works. Having just been in April, I have lots to dish out!
I am fortunate enough to be able to take buying trips for The White Magnolia and Malindy Elene (our sister store to TWM) multiple times a year! We typically see new gowns in April where designers debut their collections for the Fall of that year (typically there is always a six month delay on gowns to do production time, just like when brides order their gowns). And then we see gowns again in October which is when the Spring collections for the following year are shown. April and October are both fantastic times of the year to visit NYC! What some people don’t know is that there are also bridal markets in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Los Angelos, but since most designers have factories and showrooms in NYC, I’ve spent the most time there! But more recently I have been attending the Chicago and Atlanta bridal markets since some of our designers have been generous enough to cover the cost of my trip!
Funny story and a little history…. I went to my very first bridal market back in April of 2010. It was when I was just toying with the idea of opening a bridal boutique. I had no clue what it was going to be called, where it was going to be, or how I was going to even make it in this new, unknown bridal world or mine, but nothing was stopping me. I went to about 6 market appointments while there and each appointment I learned a little more about how everything worked. I went ALONE to all my bridal appointments and my husband would meet me after each appointment at a coffee shop or bar around the corner from where my appointment was. How sweet is that?!?! Looking back, I was completely clueless…. and terrified! Just a 25 year old girl, who knew nothing about the big city, just wandering around in search for bridal gowns, ha! Eight years later, I feel like I could write a book on the ins and outs of the bridal world!
So each Bridal Market we spend hours putting together the most efficient market appointment calendar we can come up with. Each designer either shows their gowns at their showroom (typically in the garment district) or at a hotel where they rent out these beautiful penthouses where they show the gowns. Since we never know what traffic will be like or how easily we will get a cab, we try to consolidate our appointments by where they are in the city. Each appointment is typically about an hour and as soon as that hour is up, we are jetting off to the next spot! We typically we go see anywhere from 5-7 designers in one day, which leads to a lot of chaos at times, especially when we have our whole management team with us! I can tell you that I never get tired of the hustle and bustle that comes with bridal market. Its something about being in the city and racing around, grabbing coffee on the go, and slipping into your next appointment about 30 seconds before the gown presentation begins….. its amazing and I just love the thrill of it all!
A lot of people ask how many gowns a designer puts into a collection. Each season we typically see about 10-12 new gowns per designer. So that rounds out to be about 20-25 new gowns per year for that specific designer. Of those 10-12 gowns, we will typically choose about 5-6 from that designer that we feel are the best fit for our stores and our brides based on the geographic store location that we are buying for. It can be tough! Often times, we are left scratching our heads because there are SO MANY beautiful gowns in each collection, we want to buy them all!
Although buying and going to market it absolutely one of the highlights of my job, it also can be difficult at times as it comes with a lot of pressure…. Sometimes when we are presented with a more fashion forward collection from a designer or they have a handful of gowns that are outside of the box (think leather with metallic stud accents… I’ve seen it!), its hard to know if we are making the right decision in choosing a specific gown. What if everyone hates what we pick?!?! Fortunately, we’ve proven ourselves as successful buyers over the years and sometimes we take a gamble on a dress that we think is artistically gorgeous, but its just too over the top for out brides. That’s the name of the game. Fashion is bold, innovative, and ever changing so we like incorporating some of that into the store. Sometimes you have to throw some curve balls out there and see what sticks! Overall, I think our brides like seeing what is new and unique, but they also enjoy the traditional and classic styles that we bring back from market! We create a good mix.
Bridal Market also comes with some amazing perks! Beautiful settings to view beautiful gowns in (think pent house overlooking central park), champagne and delicious food at every stop, and meeting and mingling with some of our favorite bridal celebrities (Hayley Paige, Lazaro, Randy Feoli, just to name a few). But my favorite perk is a huge end of market party held by The Knot at the NY Public Library. Its completely over the top and amazing. Held only in October, you can always find our team celebrating a successful market at the party on the final night of market. Makes for some crazy hangovers the next morning when we have to fly home, but hey, its so worth it! Everyone is dressed to impressed and let’s loose, so its the perfect way to celebrate the end of a busy and successful bridal market!
