We were lucky to catch up with Laurie Dickman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Laurie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Ha, that’s a funny question because I never wanted my store to bare my name. I was thinking of some combination of my kids names, or my grandma or something different. But my husband and my kids, who are my biggest supporters, all said to me, “Mom, this is your store and it needs to be your name.” It’s kind of funny when someone comes in and then I introduce myself, they say “Oh you’re THE Laurie” I still chuckle quietly to myself, because in my head, I’m just me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Laurie’s Bridal is a multi award winning, private, one on one gown shopping experience. For me, it’s not always about the sale, but about making sure every customer has the best experience they possibly can and look and feel their absolute best in whatever they may purchase. If they don’t find something here, that’s completely ok. I have over 30 years of bridal and special occasion experience. Everything I bring into my boutique has a purpose. I’m not the store to come to to play dress up, I’m the store you come to when you want to buy a gown. Whether it’s a bridal gown, mother of the wedding, prom or Bat Mitzvah dresses, all of my gowns are attainable in price.

The best compliment I receive are referrals from past customers and the customers who chose to come to me because of my reviews. I love what I do and it shows every single day.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

We all know there are lots of bridal shops in Arizona and each one of us have different things to offer. I respect all of my competitors, I never disrespect or discredit them and we all have our own little niche. Well, I had one bride (Who I still communicate with today) She had been to so many bridal shops before me and still hadn’t found her gown. Before I put her in anything, I asked her all the questions I usually will ask a bride and didn’t feel that she was looking for something so unusual so I couldn’t understand why she wasn’t finding her gown yet. Long story short, while she was standing in a gown, she realized she wasn’t able to commit to anything because her mom had passed away a couple of years ago and she was emotionally having a hard time going through this journey without her. She started to tell me about her mom and right then, we both started crying. I told her that her mom was here with her right now, and this was her gown and that was it. It was quite a powerful moment. Sometimes it’s not always about putting the gown on and knowing it’s the one right away, it’s just finding out what their why is and digging a little deeper. Buying a gown is an emotional journey and I am with my brides every step of the way.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The easiest answer to this question was learning how to pivot my business during the pandemic. Like almost every industry, the wedding industry was hit really hard and with basically no warning. My industry requires me to me near my customers, help them in and out of gowns, sit and talk with them, etc. Well when we had to shut down, it was “Wow, now what?” Once we were allowed to reopen, there were all sorts of restrictions on amount of people in the shop, masks, sanitizing everything etc. I even learned how to sell gowns on Zoom, The biggest pivot for me was becoming “by appointment only” and limiting the brides guest count. This has turned out to be great and all of my brides appreciate it. Buying a bridal gown can be a very overwhelming and emotional process and my job is to make that easier for my customers. Too many people usually equals too many opinions, plus they’re not distracted by so many other brides in the shop at the same time. I help keep my brides focused with the task on hand, helping them find their perfect gown.

So now, 2 years later, I’ve changed up my inventory to be able to sell gowns off the rack for all of my customers, so they won’t have to wait for their gowns to arrive. It’s never too early to say “I found my gown!”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lauriesbridal.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauriesBridal

Image Credits
Elizabeth Douglas Photography Studio 616 Ryan Nicole Photography Brooke and Doug Photography