Featured Vendor: Bellissima Bridal Salon
It’s common for a bridal salon to be known for its beautiful wedding dresses. What is uncommon, however, is for a bridal salon to help brides save thousands of dollars on a new wedding gown. Moreover, it is even less common to learn of a bridal salon owner who goes the extra mile to coordinate a once in a lifetime experience for a bride, who would have otherwise never had the privilege. These are just a few examples of what makes Bellissima Bridal Salon so special. The team cares and gives back!
Detroit Wedding Day was given the opportunity to sit down with Nancy Gies, the co-owner of Bellissima Bridal Salon, to learn how she and her team help Metro Detroit area brides make their wedding day special. This is a recap of the interview which shares examples of how this bridal salon positively changed their brides’ lives forever and it all starts with the dress.
If a tweet was crafted that described Gies, it would read “she has a heart for the bride that goes well beyond the bridal gown”.
Gies, a former wedding coordinator turned business owner, built her business by establishing lasting customer relationships. It all started 25 years ago when she began coordinating weddings for her church.
Gies said, “I’ve been in the wedding industry forever. I started out as a wedding coordinator for my church. In the meantime, I started working for Marie’s Bridal in Troy, while I was doing wedding coordinating. I took a class to get certified. I also worked at a florist at the Townsend in Birmingham. I wanted to make sure that I covered all angles of the wedding industry. If I was going to coordinate weddings, I wanted to make sure that I knew how to do it all.”
After nearly a decade of working, Gies left the industry and expanded her working experience to include marketing for an educational learning center, as well as for charity fundraising for a number of non-profit organizations. The shift in her career gave her the change of pace that she needed after several years in the industry. It also gave her a new insight into business in general. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, after a down economy in 2008, she quickly gravitated back to the wedding industry due to her vast knowledge and experience.
She returned to work at Maria’s Bridal but to her surprise, she discovered that the owners of the business were thinking about retiring. During the final days of the business, Gies and her fellow co-worker Julie Nikolic saw an opportunity to start their own bridal business. Both Gies and Nikolic over the years had experienced great success selling the Maggie Sottero bridal line and they hoped that their good fortune would continue if they carried the line of bridal dresses at their own store.
Armed with sheer grit, determination, and diverse experience, Gies was on the hunt to find the ideal location for her new business. Knowing that she had the backing of her new business partner, Gies grabbed her sister Joyce and toured the streets of Rochester in search of a building. Once she found the perfect location, she stepped out on faith one afternoon in January 2010 and secured the lease on the building using her own funds, filled with the belief that this was going to be the beginnings of a new thriving business.
By April of that same year, the new business owners opened the bridal salon. They even invited Gies’s sister Joyce to join the team as an intricate part of the business. They named the business Bellissima Bridal Salon, which means beautiful bride in Italian.
Gies stated, “We opened around April 15th. We had about ten to fifteen gowns. It was so empty, but we knew they were coming. So, we opened with the Maggie Sottero line.”
Over the years, the salon has featured different designer gown lines, but their core line of designers includes Maggie Sottero, Sottero Midgley, Rebecca Ingram, and Martin Thornburg.
The Brides
Gies indicated that most of her business is from customer referrals. Moreover, the business gets a good share of walk-in traffic due to its prime location at the corner of Second and South Main street in Rochester.
“Our biggest struggle here is that everyone thinks that we are going to be too expensive when they walk in the door, but our gowns start at $800. We top out at $3,000,” Gies said.
She shared that even though she publicizes that the bridal salon offers very affordable gowns, many customers still believe that because of the salon’s location and elegant bridal gowns, that the bridal dresses are probably too expensive for them to afford.
She shared many comments made by previous customers after they discovered how affordable Bellissima’s wedding dresses actually were. She recalled one customer saying, that they were nervous about coming here to the salon because they believed the gowns would be too expensive. They indicated that they considered not coming in because of this belief in fear of being disappointed.
Gies stated, “We end were the Birmingham stores start. I will challenge anyone who sells $10,000 dresses, that I can make my brides look better”.
That is a bold statement. However, she says her customers agree.
It all begins with the bridal consultation. To ensure the highest level of personal attention for each bride, customers must arrange an appointment with a consultant. The salon features two fitting rooms and the attentive assistance of a bridal consultant throughout the entire fitting process.
Gies says that the goal of Bellissima is to give the bride a wonderful bridal salon experience without the costly price tag.
“That was our goal from day one. We decided that we were going to be affordable,” Gies said.
Modern Brides
When asked what challenges or trends are facing today’s brides, Gies replied, “Brides are on their own schedule, their time, their budget, their way. Today’s brides are more challenged with busy schedules and multitasking. I’ve been in this industry for so long. The girls use to come in with their moms and maybe their maid-of-honor. Now everyone comes in with a group. It’s an event! From the time that they get the ring on their finger, everything is an event.”
She shared that she planned her own wedding years ago but says that planning a wedding today is quite different.
“Weddings have changed drastically. They were not as detailed. You went to a venue. You bought the package at the venue. You then did a few little things and just did it.”
Today, brides pay much more attention to the details. This is a recurring theme throughout the entire wedding planning process.
Advice to Brides-To-Be
“Make it your own. Make it personal. Stop worrying about what everybody else says,” said Gies.
Gies shared that she has often been in the fitting room with a bride who fell in love with a particular dress only to be discouraged with her selection once unveiling the dress to her accompanying entourage.
Gies said, “When brides come in with 5 to 8 people it can be a bit overwhelming. While those guests will have differing opinions, the bride has to listen to her heart and her own feelings. She has to remember her vision.”
Gies makes several other suggestions to brides that are not limited to the bridal salon experience.
Pick a venue and a date
“Once you’ve gotten that beautiful ring, take a moment to make some plans such as selecting a date and venue,” Gies states.
Making plans for these are just as important as selecting a wedding gown according to Gies. Brides need to remember that they are the center of all plans and that gown will dictate the vision that the bride has created.
Get a Plan
Establish your wedding plans. Get your vision. Don’t get ahead of yourself,” explains Gies.
Enjoy yourself
Lastly, she said, “Enjoy yourself! Don’t be so serious. Brides get so caught up in being serious. It’s supposed to be fun. Hopefully, you only get to do this once. That is what we try to do here. We are very relaxed. We’re not high pressure. We tell brides to take pictures. Nothing is better than seeing yourself in the dress; not a picture of a model,” said Gies.
She shared that many salons don’t permit photographs to be taken but Bellissima Bridal consultants actually encourage the brides to take photographs during their fittings. In fact, the staff often asks the mothers who accompany the brides if they are taking pictures of their daughters.
Complete a project and put it away
“When you’re planning a wedding, the biggest thing that I taught my daughter and I would tell any bride, is once you get something done put it in a box and put it away. If you bring it out or start second-guessing, you’re going to spend twice your budget. Put it away!” Gies suggested.
How Social Media has influenced the business
Because of the immediacy of social posts going viral, Gies is cognitive of the importance of being on top of her game. Even though challenges may arise in the business, for instance, a bride may gain weight after the initial fitting, Gies and her team are prepared to resolve unexpected issues. With her many years of experience in the industry, she has seen it all. As a result, she is prepared for the challenge.
Bellissima Bridal Salon even has a seamstress on staff to offer on-site alterations. This solves many common concerns by itself. Gies shared that many brides aren’t aware that having a seamstress on staff is not a service provided by all bridal salons.
How Connecting with one Bride Changed Lives
During the interview, it was obvious to see that Gies, genuinely had concern for her brides. She described herself as an organizer but as she continued to talk, it was obvious that she was much more than that.
“I’m an organizer. I like everything in order and scheduled. I don’t know if it’s a fault but I get very connected to my brides,” Gies said.
She shared a story about a bride who came into the salon with whom she made a special connection with several years ago. She mistakenly assumed that the customer was just under the weather.
She began to tell a heartfelt story. “I had her in the fitting room and I said it sounds like you have a really bad cold. The bride said, ‘no I have CF, Cystic Fibrosis. I told her that my daughter was a nurse and at the time was very involved in CF. So, we started talking and we just connected. She was struggling to try to plan this wedding financially because she had been in the hospital so much. I ended up helping her get her dress. I gave her a discount and ended up coordinating her wedding. I brought all the stuff that I used for my daughter’s wedding to help decorate it. The whole shebang. We just went all out for it. It was awesome.”
“That was a bride that walked into my fitting room. I tend to get a little attached to my brides,” Gies said joyfully.
A Giving Heart
Gies is no stranger to giving to those in need. She recalled a time when the bridal salon was featured in the news after she gave a new wedding dress to a bride whose gown had been destroyed days before her wedding.
“I immediately called channel 7 that night. It was something like 11:00 p.m. I said that I just saw the story. I asked them to contact her for me? I’ll get her a dress. Then, they sent her to me.”
She then shared another story about a bride who purchased a gown from another business, but for some reason, the other bridal shop was unable to deliver the dress in time for the wedding. Again, Gies and her team stepped up to save the day for yet another bride.
She laughed, “I’m always helping somebody.”
Today you can find Gies spreading joy helping coordinate the Woodside Bible’s A Night to Shine, a special prom night event dedicated to young adults who have downs-syndrome.
Gies shared, “Last year I got involved. They have a shopping day where all the girls get to come and pick out a dress. It’s like prom night. We use to carry prom and mother’s dresses so we donated a bunch of dresses. Last year I helped them run the shopping day for the girls. My whole family volunteered that night. Because it was such a success, I got a call from the director saying ‘Nancy you did such a good job helping us, how would you like to run it this year?’”
Being a natural organizer, Gies stepped up to the challenge. She rounded up dresses that were still in inventory from the year before. She then contacted a bridesmaid store and another business to make the shopping event successful. In all, she was able to secure over 300 dresses, in addition to the dresses that she had on-hand.
“It was a grand success. It was pretty special,” Gies happily reported.
In fact, she was commissioned to help organize the organization’s 2020 event. In addition to helping coordinate this event, Gies hopes to raise funds for the worthy cause. Her passion to help this organization and other non-profits are important to her. She continues to find new ways to connect her business to support various causes that are close to her heart.
In addition to her involvement with a Night to Shine, Gies also supports the Ann Arbor Brides Project, a non-profit who accepts gown donations to help raise money to support families touched by cancer.
“Every six months we have to order new gowns. Once or twice a year we get discontinued lists and then they discontinue the gowns. We end up with these gowns. So, I hooked up with the Brides’ Project in Ann Arbor. All the proceeds go to women’s cancer research. We donate to them probably an average of 30 to 50 gowns a year,” Gies said.
What’s New
Gies shared that they are now featuring their own exclusive line of wedding gowns. This new featured addition is sure to be very popular with today’s fashion-focused brides. Additionally, the salon also carries a wide variety to plus size gowns in inventory.
Words of Advice to Sustain a Long-Lasting Marriage
Gies is a true wedding expert in every sense of the word. Not only is she versatile and well accomplished in the wedding industry but she has been in a loving marriage with her supportive husband since 1976.
Detroit Wedding Day asked her to give a closing word of advice to soon to be married couples. Gies stated, “God should be the center anchor of your marriage, first and foremost. Be best friends as well as partners, but it has to be a God-centered marriage before anything else.”
Learn More
To set up a private bridal consultation at Bellissima Bridal Salon or to learn how to help support one of the many causes that this business is involved in, contact Nancy Gies. The website is bellissimabridalsalon.com or visit their profile page at detroitweddingday.com/gallery/bellissima-bridal-salon.
Don’t be surprised if she has a positive impact on your life as well.
