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Something old, something new

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Photo by Sydney Cromwell.

Tracey Watkins grew up in Homewood, but she never thought she would one day own a bridal shop in town.

“I graduated from Homewood in 1978 and when I marched down this way, I would have never seen this coming,” Watkins said.

When the Malcolm Auto Services property went up for sale, Watkins and her husband decided to purchase it. The Malcolm family are old friends, and bringing the building into another family business was fitting.

“It’s contiguous to our building [for Watkins Cleaning], and it made a lot of sense,” Watkins said. 

Watkins said the idea for a bridal shop fit in with their family business — Watkins Cleaning has heirloomed and cleaned dresses since the 1950s.

“It just seemed like a natural flow for me to pick this up,” she said.

The building is currently under renovation, turning the vintage building into Village Bridal, a store Watkins hopes ties the old, including a pulley mounted to the building’s ceiling, with modern style. 

Village Bridal will bring in designers and lines not currently sold in the state of Alabama, and she said the charm of Homewood helped when they were appealing to designers from New Zealand and other countries.

“They just love the idea of Homewood,” she said. “They love the free-standing, vintage-style building.”

With two daughters in their early 20s, Watkins said she realizes that some brides are stepping away from traditional, church weddings. She wants the dresses at Village Bridal to reflect those changes and fit a wide range of weddings. The dress lines at the store will include glamour, artsy, bohemian and traditional styles.

Keeping in line with Watkins Cleaning’s family atmosphere, Watkins’ two daughters are also helping around the store. One designed the shop’s logo and both are helping with design elements and music choice, and they’ve also inspired the business side of things.

“We’re going to try and be kind to the dads of Homewood,” Watkins said, noting all dresses will cost between $1,100 and $3,500. 

The goal, she said, is keeping the dresses high quality without hurting any checkbooks. Watkins Cleaning will also offer discounts on heirlooming dresses purchased at the store. Watkins also said having dry-cleanable dresses is important to help maintain dresses.

“A lot of dresses can only be spot-cleaned, but you’re going to end up ruining your dress that way,” she said.

Village Bridal will be appointment only, and brides can stop by or call ahead to schedule an appointment. The shop includes three fitting rooms and three sitting areas for family and friends. As a sample shop, Village Bridal will have a variety of styles to choose from and clamp the dresses to fit at the initial trial. If the bride finds a dress, they will follow the designer’s specific measurements to find the best size to order.

“And then our seamstress, she will size it to perfection,” Watkins said.

Watkins also plans to offer private appointments before or after regular business hours. These appointments will cost money, and the brides will have the whole store to themselves as well as drinks and snacks.

The store won’t open until after Nov. 1, but Watkins said she’s already hoping to one day expand. 

“There’s a lot of things we couldn’t do or wouldn’t be able to do well,” Watkins said. “This, we felt confident that we could do this.”

Village Bridal is located at 1701 28th Ave S. For updates on renovations and a look at the store’s wedding dress lines, follow @villagebridalhomewood on Instagram.

Village Bridal will carry the following lines:

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