Down These Aisles Is Matrimonial Bliss

To hear Carol Feinberg tell it, finding a mate is the easiest part of planning a wedding.

There are so many things to do--find a dress, order the cake, buy invitations, book a caterer, order flowers, pick out gifts for the bridesmaids, hire a band.

Meanwhile, bridal couples “usually have dual incomes and they don’t have quite as much time,” said Feinberg, president of We Do Inc., a bridal superstore in Dublin, Ohio.

Couples end up going to a variety of stores and other businesses to organize a wedding. So We Do and some of its competitors offer an alternative--one-stop wedding shopping.

We Do is almost like a Home Depot for the soon-to-be-married: a 26,000-square-foot matrimonial mecca that sells 600 styles of bridal gowns that cost from $300 to $2,500. Also in stock are dresses for attendants and guests, rental tuxedos, bridal party gifts, stationery, shoes, lingerie and jewelry.

The store makes referrals to florists, caterers, photographers, musicians, limo drivers and reception halls.

One of We Do’s competitors, Wedding Expressions, goes further, keeping photographers, bakers, florists and other wedding professionals on staff.

For Feinberg, a veteran retailing executive who was a senior vice president with Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., the $30-billion wedding industry was a niche waiting to be filled. She and an investor group opened the first We Do in October, and plan a total of 40 stores.

But retail analyst Ron Petrie of Roney & Co. in Detroit cautioned that for the superstore concept to work in the wedding industry, “people would still have to feel they’re getting a unique experience.”