Low's Bridal & Formal*

Brinkley – population 3,600 – hardly seems the most natural place to find the largest selection of bridal gowns in the South.

Yet right there at 127 W. Cedar St. sits Low’s Bridal & Formal, a 25,000-SF temple to the matrimonial celebration, with more wedding dresses on the rack than residents in town.

“Just years and years of trying hard” is how owner Dorcas Prince explained it. “I think it’s that old adage, if you build it they will come. But you have to be patient enough to wait for it.”

Prince’s mother, Margo Low, founded Low’s Bridal & Formal in 1977 in one room above Low’s Drug Store. Prince worked for her mother until four years ago, when Low retired and Prince and her husband, Stanley, bought the business. Shortly thereafter, they moved Low’s from its longtime location on Main Street.

Low’s Bridal employs 35, some full time and some part time. In a typical year, the store will sell bridal or attendant gowns for 5,000 weddings.

Low’s advertises in all major bridal publications, in newspapers and on television, but Prince said word of mouth is still the store’s strongest marketing method.

“Most everybody that comes [says] my sister bought her dress here, my mother [or] my aunt recommended that I come,” she said. Customers are drawn from all over Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Missouri.

The 4,000 bridal gowns in stock on any given day range from $200-$6,000, Prince said, but the average sales price is $800-$900.

While church weddings are still popular, beach weddings on tropical islands are also fashionable. Brides still tend to be in their mid-20s, but there are many older, career-oriented brides.

Regardless of the bride’s age or style, Prince said, the wedding business remains virtually recession-proof.

“It’s kind of like medicine: People always spend money on weddings. Even when times get tough, people still want that comfort of, yes, things are going to be OK and things are going to progress.”