No matter the occasion, no matter your dress size – Christine’s Bridal – friendly service and great buys!
OUR PRODUCTS
Christine’s Bridal and Prom is the Upper Valley’s full service source for all of your formal wear needs! Whether you are looking for the perfect wedding dress, plus size wedding dresses, mother’s dresses, tuxedos or prom dresses, Christine’s Bridal & Prom should be your first stop! Let me tell you why…
OUR STORY.
The year was 1999. The future bride to-be was searching for a wedding dress. She had met and fallen in love with the man of her dreams, and working on a budget, they had diligently been planning a mid-size wedding, which they were determined to pay for themselves. The last piece of the puzzle was the dress. She set out on a blustery winter day, with Mom in tow, and traveled to a local bridal shop, full of high hopes. The bridal store had been in business in New Hampshire for quite some time, and she hoped to have many styles to choose from within her budget.
Now, this bride to be happened to be a plus size. As she had been a plus size person all of her life, it did not occur to her that she was not the “standard” size in a wedding dress. Upon arriving at the shop, she and her Mother, previously so full of excitement, were greeted gruffly, and told simply “You’re looking for a wedding dress? You will be lucky if we have anything in your size. You are more than welcome to look – you don’t have time to order anything, but who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky.” And with that, the sales staff simply walked away.
By this time, as you can guess, the bride to-be was mortified. Determined not to let her emotions show, she took a deep breath, and went to look in the area the shopkeeper had pointed to. There, she found about 5 dresses, all in various states of shopworn disrepair. The dresses had not been cared for – they were not bagged – some were just barely on the hangers, and others appeared damaged – even sweat stained! So there it was. She and her Mom stood alone, in a remote, dusty, long-since forgotten corner of the shop, looking at wedding gowns that time had passed by. And, she started to cry: fighting the tears at first, but then unable to, as her Mom came closer to comfort her. Instead of feeling beautiful – instead of feeling excitement – instead of being able to see the person that her fiancee saw every day – the confident, assured young woman that she was, she saw herself only as a size, as being less than “ideal”.
Her Mom tried to make the best of the situation. As there was no sales staff to be seen, she awkwardly helped her daughter in and out of the dresses on the floor. Finally! They found a dress that fit, and, through her puffy, tear stained eyes, our bride to be saw a glimmer of beauty reflected back at her from the grimey mirror she gazed into. Was it her favorite dress? Was it the dress of her dreams? The style she envisioned when she walked down the aisle to exchange vows with the man of her dreams?
Who knows? So traumatized by the experience, the bride to-be simply said “I’ll take it”, so she would never, ever, have to endure being judged or treated this way by any others in this industry.
As they exited the shop, with not so much as even a thank you, the bride’s feelings of sadness slowly turned into a steely resolve. People did not deserve to be treated this way. They deserve something better – more choices, personalized service, and above and beyond, someone who actually cared about their customer’s needs and wants. Simply being in business because your Mother had run the business for years before you, was not enough. Businesses should not succeed based only on the reputation of others long since gone. She vowed to do something about it.
As many of you have now guessed, if you’re still with us in our tale, the bride-to-be was me. My name is Chris, and I am the proprietor of Christine’s Bridal & Prom. Looking back, although over twenty years have passed since that day, I still remember it as if it were yesterday. The shop I speak of has long since closed – in fact, several others have tried to open, but have failed for many of the same reasons. The truth of it is, anyone can sell bridal dresses. What make’s Christine’s Bridal & Prom different? The people that you will work with. I have never forgotten how it felt to be treated as if I were insignificant, and it is our mission to treat all of our customers the way we wish to be treated as consumers. It’s just like Gramma always used to say “Do unto others…”. We stock a FULL range of fashions in sizes 14-42W in wedding dresses. In our prom shop, we offer gowns in sizes 00-42W. We know how to accentuate the curves of a woman’s body to best highlight her shape and figure, and we take the time to make sure that her dress reflects her vision.
In 2011, Christine’s Bridal proudly launched their own line of exclusive bridal gowns and formal dresses. These dresses are affordably priced from $1000.00 to $2000.00, and now represent the bulk of the styles we sell within our store. They cannot be found elsewhere, and they are as unique as the brides that wear them. We choose not to publish pictures of these dresses online – people are always quick to imitate a good design idea – but we encourage you to call today to set your bridal appointment, and preview them yourself. Our designs are comparable to those that you see on popular television shows, but at a fraction of the cost.
We promise that you are going to love the selection. You’ll love our prices. You’ll love the way you look in our gowns. But most of all, we guarantee you’ll love our service. Call us today at (802) 436-1414 to book your appointment.
