By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Lee Welling has a business proposal for the right person, or people — being the fairy godmother for brides-to-be.
Welling has owned and operated Blush, a bridal boutique at 100 S.Main St, Bowling Green, for nine years. Now it’s time to step aside and let someone else help young women find the wedding gown of their dreams.
For Welling her own dreams now are of “toes in the sand” and taming the jungle that her garden has become.
Welling is looking for someone to purchase the business. “I hate the thought of closing it up. It took nine years to get to the point where people finally know there’s a bridal store in Bowling Green.”
The ideal, she thinks, would be a couple of women in their thirties. A partnership would make operating the shop, which is open Wednesday through Sunday, easier to manage.
“I just want to give them a key and everything stays — the decorations, the paintings, whatever they want,” Wellin said.
“It’s really enjoyable if you like fashion,” “If you like pretty stuff, you’re surrounded by it and you’re showing it off to people who want to see it and are delighted when they see it. You’re kind of like everybody’s fairy godmother. You make their dream come true.
“When that girl turns around, and she’s found the dress that brings her joy, you see it on her face. It may not be the dress that’s the most flattering on her, but when her face says it is, it becomes the most flattering. … There’s a lot of happiness here.”
Welling gets asked about the dreaded, ever needy “bridezilla.” She’s encountered one occasionally, but it’s far from being the rule. In any field there’s demanding customers.
“For the most part, they’re looking for your experience and expertise. They’re swimming in uncharted waters, so being able to help them make the right decision is rewarding.”
Having the latest fashions is key. New styles emerge twice a year, though some persist. Back 30 years ago when she got her first taste of the bridal business working in a friend’s shop, strapless gowns were the new fad. She’d spend time reassuring young brides that the gown’s bodice would stay in place, and that she would be able to wear it in the church. Only now does she see a shift back to sleeves and straps. Not that dresses are getting more conservative, in some styles fabrics are shearer and necklines are plunging.
With shifting tastes, “moving inventory along is crucial,” she said. But having older styled dresses on hand means “you can also make somebody’s dream come true because you can give them a gown they love for $200.”
About a third of her customers come in with a firm idea about what they want. “They’re not always right.” Still that’s what Welling will show the bride “and then we can move into a different direction,” she added. “More than half the girls walk out of here with a dress they say: ‘I never would have picked that out for myself.’”
Still not everyone has the same taste. The right dress is the one “that’s going to make them happy.”
Welling started the business as a consignment shop in her home on North Main Street. The Michigan native did not set out to be a bridal shop owner.
For 18 years, she was a boat pilot of a 64-feet double decker paddle boat first at Kensington Metropark, Milford, Michigan and then for a private golf course. She also had her real estate license.
She moved to Bowling Green when she married Wayne Welling.
A widow, she attended a surprise birthday party “for my first sweetheart.”
They hadn’t seen each other in 37 years. She ended up marrying him and moving to Bowling Green.
It was 2010 and the economy was in the tank. She sat at the dining room table contemplating her options. She did have a real estate license, but it wasn’t a promising time for that.
She didn’t want to go back to waitressing. She did have that experience working in her friend’s bridal shop.
The time was fortuitous. The two Welling sons, Nick and Shane, had gone off to college, so the two downstairs rooms were open for inventory and a fitting room.
When the business outgrew that space, she moved to the current Four Corners location.
The first few years were tough, but the business has been doing well for the past several.
Welling is offering to act as a consultant for a few months to anyone who wants to take Blush over.
That could include going to the bridal market with them. “I wish someone with more knowledge had gone with me. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement, but it’s best to go slow and not pick up too many lines,” Welling said. “The first mistake I made was I had gowns that were much too expensive for this area. There’s a cap on what people will spend here. And if they have more to spend they will go to a different salon. If I want to sell to this community, you have to know your market.”
What works in Bowling Green is a personal touch. She likes it when brides go to big box stores first where shopping can be like a cattle call. At Blush each customer gets a personal consultation.
Welling concedes she learned about the business side as she went along. “I know there are much better ways to do business. I don’t have a degree in business. I never wanted to be a business owner. I just like selling pretty dresses.”
