Wow. Ya know, I had the idea months ago to start doing “featured vendor” posts over here on my blog. I wanted the opportunity to SERVE others through my photography business, and I thought this was such a good way to do it. In my head it went kind of like this – I reach out to some of my most love and trusted vendors that I’ve worked with over the years, offer updated photos for their business that they can use on social media, on their websites, etc, and also create posts about them on my site for future brides to hopefully find resourceful for their wedding planning endeavor!

When brainstorming a list of vendors I wanted to reach out to, The Bridal Cottage was one of the first who came to mind. I’ve been blessed enough to work alongside this amazing team of women for years now, on real weddings AND many styled shoots and I couldn’t think of a better business to ask be my first featured vendor post than the ever so iconic Bridal Cottage. Lindy, the owner of The Bridal Cottage, gave us all the good info and knowledge within the questions I asked her for this post so we could better help wedding couples in Arkansas get prepped for their future Bridal Cottage experience!

Grab yourself a snack, a cup of coffee, and get cozy & comfy for an amazing post about an amazing team & store with so much heart and so much love to give their sweet brides, grooms, wedding parties, and families.

Tell us a little about your business?

We are The Bridal Cottage, located in the Park Hill District of North Little Rock since 1979, and we have been serving brides for almost 50 years! We have roots in our community, and so much love for it. All of our brides become part of our big Bridal Cottage Family!

Can you tell us a little about the heart behind The Bridal Cottage?

There is so much heart here!!! And so so much magic! I know that might sound a little cheesy but it’s true! Not many stores can say that they have honestly touched so many lives over so many years. We have such a rich and beautiful history here.

The Bridal Cottage started two doors down from our current location in a little gray house in the Park Hill Historic District almost 50 years ago. The owner and founder Una George started off with a few dresses, and both her and her sister were seamstresses! They held bridal appointments downstairs, and they had a little room where they did alterations on the top floor. Over the many years the Cottage grew and in the ’90s they sold it to sisters Beth and Vikki. Because of the growth they moved the Cottage two doors down from the original location into where we are today! 

Almost 12 years ago, I bought my wedding dress at the Cottage. Little did I know that just a few short 6 months later I would be the owner! I had such an amazing experience finding my wedding dress here! It’s a memory that will last with me forever! Vicki, the owner at the time, was actually my consultant and she was so kind and so sweet and really cared about my vision for my dress! Soon after purchasing my wedding gown, a dump truck ran the red light on the corner and crashed into the front of the Cottage. Taking out the front area as well as the dressing rooms, and then the truck landed in the building next door. No employees were injured thankfully and because of the nature of the store it actually hit the national news! Vicki at the time moved back into the original Cottage, if you can believe it, and was preparing to just close the store. 

After I got married and came back from my honeymoon I went to visit her to see how she was doing. I’m not sure what drew me to her but I’m so glad that I did! She told me she was closing and I just couldn’t even imagine not having The Bridal Cottage here! Thinking about my experience, and how many other brides I knew must have had the same experience I did, I couldn’t imagine all of that just being gone, with future brides unable to have that same magical experience at The Bridal Cottage. So after just under a month of marriage I went home to my new husband and told him that I wanted to buy the store. And here we are today! 

What is the heart you ask? Our heart is each and every one of the brides who have passed through these doors over the years. They leave a little sprinkle of their happiness that future brides can feel when they come in. The heart is my team that truly believes in empowering women and fulfilling the dreams of brides. We see brides come in with their mothers and even grandmothers who found their dress here, who had their special moment at The Cottage! These legacy brides are so special, because they remind us of the beautiful legacy of The Cottage and what we stand for–creating life moments for brides that they will cherish and remember forever.

There are little mementos around the store that remind us of the traditions The Cottage stands for. We have the jewelry case from the original location. We have Una’s original veil hook to hang up our cathedral veils. We have my great-grandmother’s Chester drawers. My wedding cake topper sits on one of our shelves. We have framed a little promotional piece that The Bridal Cottage gave to brides back in the ’80s. Just these little things remind us of where the Cottage began and where we are today.

Aside from wedding gowns, do you offer mens attire and bridesmaid dresses? Bridal accessories as well?

Yes! We are a full-service bridal shop! We not only do we offer wedding dresses but we can dress the wedding party as well! We have an exclusive line of bridesmaids dresses in this area. We also rent and sell tuxedos and suits as a Paul Morrell retailer. We have a wide array of bridal accessories from veils to belts to jewelry!

How far in advance do you suggest brides order their wedding dress? What about mens attire and bridesmaid dresses? 

• We are a specialty order store, meaning we carry one sample of every dress and then we order off of that sample. Specialty order is fantastic because it means the bride gets to have a dress that NOBODY else has tried on! We suggest ordering your dress around 8-12 months before your wedding, which allows time for the dress to be made & shipped and time for alterations, which we recommend allowing 2-3 months for. If you’re getting bridal portraits before the wedding, also factor in time for the portraits to be taken, edited, and printed into your timeline! 
• Bridesmaid dresses take about 3-4 months for shipping, and 1-2 months for alterations, so we suggest ordering bridesmaid dresses 4-6 months before your wedding!
• For purchasing tuxes and suits, order 4-5 months before the wedding, and for rentals, order at least six weeks before the wedding! 
• If you don’t have that much time, don’t panic!! We have options! The majority of our designers offer rush delivery, and keep dresses in their studio that we can get in sooner! We also have a selection of sample sale dresses which can be purchased and taken home that day!

What do you love most about what you do?

I love the ability to connect with someone on an intimate level within minutes of meeting them and being able to, then, create an amazing experience specifically tailored to them. I get to assist and help empower women from all walks of life. It truly is an indescribable feeling to watch a bride find her dress and witness every insecurity of this vanish as if they were never there, simply because she feels so beautiful.

Do you take walk-ins? Or should brides set an appointment?

We are by appointment! Finding your wedding dress is a memorable life moment, and we believe EVERY bride deserves to have that life moment be special and beautiful. Being by appointment only allows us to give every bride that personalized one & only experience that she deserves to have! 

Making an appointment guarantees each bride has a personal, dedicated & trained consultant who is able to focus wholly on her and guide her through the process of finding Her Dress! It also means each  bride and ehr entourage will have a personal viewing area and each bride will have a private dressing room throughout her appointment!

Brides, your wedding day is a day meant to celebrate and reflect your unique love story, and we believe the experience of finding that perfect dress is an important part of writing that story. While you are here, you are actively writing this part of your story, and we want it to be the absolute best it can be. Being by appointment only enables us to do just that!

We are also by appointment only for bridesmaids and tuxedo parties. If we are completely booked for that day, we can place you on a waiting list and contact you if an appointment becomes available!

What is the best way to contact you about setting up an appointment?

The best way to reserve your appointment is on our website! We have a handy little scheduler where you can see what appointments and appointment times are available. It can be found here at https://www.bridalcottageonline.com/request-an-appointment. You can also call us at 501.753.4138 to schedule an appointment!

Is there anything else we should know about The Bridal Cottage in general?

Finding your wedding dress is a life moment, and our priority is to empower brides and help her create that life moment. We want to create a safe space, with no pressure, so that brides can feel free to express themselves and to find the dress that is going to celebrate them! THAT is what it means to serve brides!

Our consultants have a three month training process before we ever work with a bride on our own, and we have weekly group trainings to stay sharp! At your appointment, brides can expect to be put into many different styles and silhouettes during your appointment so that you can see what you like and don’t like on you and then we go from there. You don’t have to try on before your first appointment because your consultant will guide you through the process of seeing everything you need to see in order to help your dress find you DURING your first appointment. We are in the business of creating, facilitating, protecting and defining LIFE MOMENTS! 

Finding your dress is a life moment and we are meant to be your guides. We have to know our inventory, what dresses look like on brides, how to communicate with brides and communicate well. We problem solve, we counsel, we protect, we create space, we guide, we are careful and specific with paperwork and ordering, we are everything we need to be to create a stress free environment and unforgettable experience for every bride who walks into our store hoping to find the dress of their dreams

The most important thing in this whole process is that your heart and your mind is open to finding your dress the minute you begin your shopping experience! “Just trying on” implies that you’re not ready and as consultants here at The Cottage, we do NOT encourage you to do anything before you’re ready. It spoils the experience and hurts more than it helps. Your moment is important, and it happens in unexpected ways, at unexpected times, and you can’t recreate it. So we encourage you to protect your moment, and only start shopping when you are READY to say yes to your dress, with all the people you need with you! We’ll handle the rest! 

We carry dresses for you to try on in sample sizes 8 – 30, and are able to order gowns in sizes 2 – 34! Our special order dresses start at $1200 to order and go up to $3500, with $1700 – $2200 being our midrange. We have a sample sale section with some gently loved gowns that are 50-75% off!

We have different levels of appointments, it just depends on what kind of experience you and your entourage want to have! From our top-tier Pinnacle appointment, which is $225, to our VIB (Very Important Bride) appointment, which is $175, to our Bubbly Bride appointment, which is $30, and to our free Signature Bridal appointment! Our Pinnacle and VIB Appointments are in a private area of the store, can seat more guests, and include special amenities such as treats, champagne throughout the appointment, florals, and more! Our Bubbly Bride and Signature Bridal appointments are 1.5 hours, can accommodate up to 5 guests, and come with a personal, dedicated consultant! The Bubble Bride appointment includes a bottle of champagne or sparkling grape juice throughout the appointment, and the free Signature Bridal includes a champagne toast when you say yes! 

Each of our brides are our family. Our team of consultants is a family! Several of our consultants and brand ambassadors are Bridal Cottage Brides! We love each and every one of our brides, and fiercely seek to protect and empower them. When you become a Bridal Cottage Bride, you are joining a beautiful tapestry of brides, each with their own unique story, sharing their joy and hearts, and leaving little pieces of their love in this magical place. When you step into our store, you’re stepping into our home. That’s why we’re called the Cottage.

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