Hidden Gems: Meet Jessica Brooks of The Dress Shop

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Brooks.  

Hi Jessica, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story. 
I first fell in love with weddings while working as the Vice President of Operations for a wedding and events venue, planning 300 weddings a year. I loved everything bridal, and when an unexpected opportunity came up to work with a few partners and open a bridal salon, it was a no-brainer. Through my years working with brides, I had heard horror stories of their dress shopping experiences. I was given a beautiful gift of being able to open a space just for the bride – to make her feel her best, look her best, and ultimately have the best experience ever. I love that we are able to make lifelong memories with our brides – it’s such a special, unique career!  

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way? 
One of the interesting things about selling bridal gowns is that we are not just working with the bride – we are working with her family, her friends, her new in-laws, and all of the relationship dynamics that come along with that. We have been blessed to work with the most amazing and incredible women ever, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t had our challenges.  

I think our biggest struggle early on was learning how to handle all of the different personality types, especially when they overshadow the bride – or are downright mean to her. It’s so important that the dress shopping experience be the BEST day for a bride. Our biggest success story, I think, is in the special care we take with each bride and every group to stop any potential problem before it begins. We have a very specific training process that each bridal stylist undergoes to ensure they are adequately prepared to handle all personality types and scenarios, and see and stop potential conflicts before they begin.  

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The Dress Shop? 
At The Dress Shop, we believe in empowering women. We believe in raising each other up, promoting women’s sense of self-worth, inspiring confidence, and encouraging well-being. We believe all women are beautiful, and we strive to ensure each bride feels that beauty inside and out while working with us. We believe that every woman deserves to have an uplifting experience in our store, including our brides, guests, and staff.  

The Dress Shop strives to help brides feel confident, comfortable, and educated from the moment they book an appointment, with every interaction with the store, and even after their wedding day. We offer the highest quality customer service, dresses, accessories, and alterations to create a luxurious bridal experience for brides and their guests. Our store is unique in the extensive stylist training, the customer experience, and the customization we provide to every appointment. Each bride has a private bridal suite for herself and her guests. Brides who want a more celebratory experience can add catering, champagne, and a gift to their package. In addition, we are able to customize gowns to create a one-of-a-kind look for our brides. We hold our brides’ hands through every step of their bridal gown process until the day of the wedding. We have a team of the absolute best bridal couture seamstresses who work with our brides exclusively to ensure their gowns are flawless on their wedding day.  

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success? 
What is The Dress Shop About? Empowerment & Positive Energy.  

Empowering Our Brides: We want our brides to leave here feeling and looking their best. Our bridal experience – from the second a bride first contacts us until she leaves here after her last alterations appointment – is designed around helping her become stronger and more confident around her body image, herself worth, and her inner beauty.  

Empowering Our Staff: Our staff is highly trained and detail-oriented, but also completely empowered to take care of our clients. There is a brand ownership and responsibility for our brides amongst the staff, and I completely back our staff up and give them full power to make our brides’ experiences magical. I am so blessed and so proud of the amazing team we have.  

Positive Energy: My honest goal for this store is for every single person who enters this building – whether it be an employee, a bride, a guest, or a vendor – to leave feeling SO GOOD…feeling BETTER than when they came in. As women, we have a beautiful opportunity to empower each other, to build each other up, and to help each other grow and heal. If we can share our positive energy and love to make the world a lighter, more beautiful place than we’ve done our jobs. 

Contact Info:

• Email: info@tdsbridal.com
• Website: tdsbridal.com
• Instagram: the.dress.shop.bridal
• Facebook: the.dress.shop.bridal
• Other: TikTok: The Dress Shop Bridal

Image Credits
LMD Photography