Wedding
Dresses Outnumber Residents of Brinkley
Brinkley (population 3,600) hardly seems
the most natural place to find the largest
selection of bridal gowns in the South.
Yet right there
at 127 W. Cedar St. sits Low's Bridal & Formal,
a 25,000-SF temple to the matrimonial
celebration,
with more wedding dresses on the rack
than residents in town.
"Just years and years of trying hard" is
how owner Dorcas Prince explained it. "I
think it's that old adage, if you build
it they will come. But you have to be
patient enough to wait for it."
Prince's mother,
Margo Low, founded Low's Bridal & Formal
in 1977 in one room above Low's Drug
Store. Prince worked
for her mother until four years ago,
when Low retired and Prince and her husband,
Stanley, bought the business. Shortly
thereafter, they moved Low's from it's
longtime location on Main Street.
Low's Bridal employs 35, some full time
and some part time. In a typical year,
the store will sell bridal or attendant
gowns for 5,000 weddings.
Low's advertises in all major bridal publications,
in newspapers and on television, but
Prince said word of mouth is still the
store's strongest marketing method.
" Most everybody
that comes [says] my sister bought her
dress here, my mother [or] aunt recommended
that I come," she said. Customers
are drawn from all over Arkansas, Tennessee,
Mississippi and Missouri.
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The 4,000 bridal gowns in stock on any
given day range from $200-$6,000, Prince
said, but the average sale price is $800-$900.
While church weddings are still popular,
beach weddings on tropical islands are
also fashionable. Brides still tend to
be in their mid-20s, but there are many
older, career-oriented brides.
Regardless of the bride's age or style,
Prince said, the wedding business remains
virtually recession proof.
"It's kind
of like medicine: People always spend
money on weddings. Even
when times get tough, people still want
that comfort of, yes, things are going
to be OK and things are going to progress."
Arkansas
Business
Volume 18
Number 7
February 12-18, 2001
Copyright 2001, Arkansas Business Publishing Group.
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