We were lucky to catch up with Michelle McFarland recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michelle, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
As one of the largest, most successful bridal boutiques in the US we are in a unique position to source a lot of our own product. This means we can cut out the middleman and bring beautiful, high quality wedding dresses to our brides at a reasonable price. We also have control over design aspects in many cases which enables us source wedding dresses that are exactly what our brides are seeking.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
The Wedding Shoppe started out of a deep desire to leave corporate america and do my own thing. It seemed, at that time in my life, many friends, family and co-workers were all getting married. I began researching opening a bridal accessories store. We opened in December 1999 with veils, headpieces, jewelry, guest books, and many other bridal accessories. We added more merchandise and services as demand from our brides grew. At one point there wasn’t a single bridal accessory a bride couldn’t find at TWS. We added bridal gown alterations before we even sold wedding dresses. We began selling dresses in May 2008. Over the years we have grown to a point where we are fortunate enough to source our own wedding dresses from design houses all over the world. In many instances, we are creating our own designs through main stream designers and our factory partners. This allows us to bring unique and fashionable dresses to our TWS brides. By cutting out the middleman (mainsteam designers) we are able to provide high quality wedding dresses at a reasonable price. If mainstream designers are big Hollywood blockbusters, think of us as the cool, trendy indy films. Over the years my why has shifted from wanting to build a company I can be proud of to focusing on the amazing team I’ve cultivated over the years. My main focus is on taking care of these amazingly kind, beatiful and creative souls. It was important to me to provide not a job but a career with benefits, retirement, paid holidays and time off as well as many other perks. Because as we grew, I was not able to work with each bride any longer. In order to ensure the same level of service and experience I needed to build a team that loves our brides as much as I do. I take care of the team and the team takes care of the TWS brides.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
During the great recession (2007-2008) we were bleeding cash. Our expenses had doubled and internet selling was taking off like crazy. We were not seeing as many brides and those that did come had lower budgets for bridal accessories. At this time, running a business was very isolating and lonely. I didn’t have anyone outside of the business to discuss these issues with. I was invited to join an online forum called “Better Bridal Group”. Through this group I met a support system of other bridal store owners from around the world. I read every post on the forum and soaked up their knowledge. Until I joined this group, I knew I was just a couple more bad months from bankruptcy. I had massive debt and was worried I would bankrupt my family. Through the Better Bridal Group I learned how to run a more profitable business. I picked up my first few lines of wedding dresses and began digging myself out of the debt I had amassed over the last couple of years. I turned by business around and am now one of the most successful, profitable bridal stores in the US. I owe it all to the generous and caring members of the Better Bridal Group. I went from the verge of bankruptcy, lacking expertise and business know how to purchasing the group in 2016. I’m proud to say I’m one of the leading experts on bridal in the country.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Most area brides find us through word of mouth. By hiring the right team members I’ve been able to build my business. My bridal stylists are the kindest women. They go above and beyond each day to make saying YES to the dress the most memorable experience for our brides.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.theweddingshoppe.net
- Instagram: @weddingshoppemi
- Facebook: theweddingshoppemi
Image Credits
https://www.itclicksphoto.com/