From left: Staff members Jensen Yu, Lori Wisher, Debbie Barrett, Leigh Kerin and owner Shana Lepsis (seated) work together to help shoppers find their wedding dress.[/caption]
When a woman shopping for a wedding dress walks into a bridal shop, the shop needs to make her feel relaxed and at home as she shops for her special day, which is what The Blushing Bride Boutique in Frisco offers, owner Shana Lepsis said.
Lepsis opened The Blushing Bride Boutique in November 2011 after her youngest son started going to school full time.
Ready to get out of the house, Lepsis said she thought about opening a fashion boutique until she came across a space on Main Street in old downtown Frisco. It was a house with less than 800 square feet.
“I had a vision when I walked in there because it was three rooms that float into one another,” Lepsis said. “It was nice and open, tall ceilings, really bright and the center room was like a 360 [-degree view]... I thought it would be an amazing bridal boutique.”
Lepsis learned everything she could about the bridal industry by attending bridal shows in Dallas and Chicago and meeting with designers.
She opened her first location in the house on Main Street, but more than a year later, moved the shop to its current, larger location of nearly 6,000 square feet.
Dressing rooms offer space and natural light for brides.[/caption]
The boutique, also located on Main Street, is meant to be a one-stop shop for the entire bridal party, Lepsis said. The shop carries dresses for bridesmaids, flower girls and for the mothers of the bride and groom. The shop also rents out suits and tuxedos.
Given the bigger space, Lepsis said she now offers dresses for other special occasions and formal wear for proms and homecomings.
Lepsis said the shop is not a high-pressure sales environment, which contributes to helping a bride shop stress free.
“What we can offer over other places is that feeling of being comfortable and having a beautiful, memorable experience,” Lepsis said. “We’ll never be able to talk somebody into buying their wedding dress because it’s such a special emotion that is felt by that specific person when they put that dress on.”
About 75 percent of the gowns in the boutique cost less than $2,500.
The boutique also offers jewelry, garters and shoes.[/caption]
“We’ve really wanted to show brides that they have amazing options at that price point while also providing options for the girls without a budget.”
Lepsis said the shop has become a destination boutique for many women throughout the country. Shoppers have come from Arizona, California, New Mexico, New York and Louisiana.
Lepsis said being in the bridal business has put her in the position to empower women.
“We make everyone feel beautiful, and it’s so awesome to see that transformation when they come in and they’re so inward and when they leave they’re so outward,” she said. “I think it’s such a rewarding feeling to be able to encourage and speak into them so they leave a different person.”
