Here Comes the Bride in Mission Valley.

^{Photo by Tara Sharp}

When asked what brides-to-be typically say when they walk into Here Comes the Bride for the first time, manager Rebecca Martinez doesn’t skip a beat:

“‘Oh my God, this place is fabulous!’”

Although it doesn’t look like much from the outside, this Mission Valley bridal boutique is a bright, airy, modern space, complete with chandeliers, a marble floor, white leather couches and, of course, wall-to-wall rows of frothy gowns.

“When you walk in, it gives you the feeling you walked into some place special,” says April West, who found her White One dress at HCTB for her recent January nuptials. “Some of the other stores, well, they feel like the back of a dry cleaners; they are overwhelming. I really didn’t enjoy dress shopping until I went to Here Comes the Bride.”

Prior to its relocation a year and half ago, HCTB spent nearly two decades in Hazard Center. And while the new building’s layout and décor make a great first impression, the large, personal dressing rooms are really the main attraction.

“The rooms are a big hit,” says Martinez. “That’s different than other salons, which usually have tiny dressing rooms. Here, the brides don’t have to come out in front of everyone else to see themselves in the gown. We have large, private rooms that are quiet, serene.”

On a given day, there are about 300 dresses in the store, organized from the left side of the room least expensive to most. This is a range of about $600 to $6,000, says Martinez, who has spent four years with HCTB and oversees the other women consultants. She adds that this wide price range is uncommon for a bridal shop and offers patrons a greater selection all in one place.

“Most shops either go from $99 to $1,000 or are $3,000 and up,” she says.

Rebecca Martinez with a Lazaro gown.

^{Photo by Tara Sharp}

On this particular Sunday, the farthest right corner is occupied with the Lazaro trunk show. Since the store only carries a small selection from each designer’s collection, this traveling trunk show allows customers, for a weekend, to see the entire collection in person.

Lazaro is known for its intricate, handcrafted beadwork and happens to be one of the most popular designers HCTB carries. And those painstaking details don’t come cheap; the dresses are in the $3,000 to $5,000 range.

Another one of the shop’s top-selected—and less pricey—designers is Pronovias, whose Spanish-style dresses include one of this year’s big gown trends: ruffles. Paloma Blanca’s super lightweight dresses, ranging from around $1,500 to $2,800, are also doing well.

In addition to ruffles, lace is another dress element being requested by many shoppers.

“California brides are very different,” says Martinez. “They want simple, a gown that can be worn at a beach wedding. The ball gown is coming back, but with lighter fabrics and empire waists instead of the traditional skirt’s shape straight out from the natural waist.”

All the dresses at HCTB are custom, so the designers will change the dress for the bride: make it proportionate to the bride’s body or change the neckline if she requests it. This, coupled with one-on-one consultations, give brides a personalized experience that has them buying dresses and recommending the boutique to their friends.

“Other shops can’t even compare,” says Nancy Reifman, who’s been a consultant at HCTB since September and has 13 years of bridal experience under her belt.

While the bride might not buy a dress the first time she steps into the store, says Martinez, the store has a good track record with looking versus buying, and it has a lot to do with the close rapport consultants have with their brides, even calling them if something comes in they might like.

“Consultants make the difference; the brides feel like they are taken care of,” says Martinez.

This was a large part of what impressed West: “The ladies that work there really encourage you to find a dress that you’re happy with.”