ROANOKE, VA – Every bride wants her dream day. And you may not know this, but Roanoke is actually a pretty hot spot for all things weddings.
But when it comes to global politics, the prices of beautiful wedding dresses may start to go up soon - impacting not just brides, but small businesses right here in Roanoke.
Before you can get married, you have to say ‘yes to the dress’ - and Ivory on Campbell has been helping brides from all over do just that for almost a decade.
“To bring the luxury wedding dress shopping experience to the Roanoke area, but make it attainable for every bride despite her price point,” Marketing Director Taylor Garcia said.
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Taylor Garcia is their marketing director - and understands that planning a wedding can be a pricey process.
But with potential tariffs on China, that process may get that much more expensive.
Some of the most common wedding dress fabrics, like lace and silk, are made mostly in China.
”The process of making a wedding dress is so in-depth and intricate and special that it’s something that’s going to take us a long time to be able to achieve here in the States,” Garcia said.
The price increase will depend on the dress, but Garcia says it could up the price by several hundred dollars.
Taking an $1800 dress to $2100 or more.
“I’m afraid, for the industry,” Patina owner Bonnie Jackson said.
Jackson planted her dress store, Patina, in Roanoke nearly 40 years ago.
She’s worried a price hike from tariffs could push people to buy online.
“I don’t know if retail stores will be around forever, because of the internet,” Jackson said.
Garcia says dress stores help drive the local economy.
“They really spend their entire day down here. They’ll come shopping for their dress, and then they’ll go to Billy’s or somewhere to celebrate to eat, and then they might go shopping on Market StreetStates after,” Garcia said.
As for Patina, Jackson hopes people realize the impacts stretch all the way to our backyard, and continue shopping small.
“I hope the tariffs go away. That would be a good step,” Jackson said.
For a quick explainer of what tariffs actually are, click here.
