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New bridal shop in Dallas offers unheard-of perk: wedding dress exchanges

A&Bé Bridal Shop, a Minneapolis-based company, opened its third location nationwide in Dallas' Design District in late 2015. The team behind it hopes to create an environment in which brides can shop confidently, without stress or buyer's remorse.

If you've been married recently, you're already thinking: That sounds impossible.

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Finding "the" dress can be one of the most difficult parts of planning a wedding. A&Bé co-owner Anna Walsh knows the stress of dress shopping and the pressure that can influence brides into capriciously buying a gown, only to fall out of love with it once it arrives. So A&Bé has a policy called "Love Your Look" which allows disappointed brides to apply the purchase price of their original dress to another dress in the store if they change their minds.

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There are limitations: A bride who requests extensive customization on her dress, for instance, may not be eligible to utilize the return policy.

Intricate details and lace overlays are seen aplenty at A&Bé. Any bride with a bohemian side...
Intricate details and lace overlays are seen aplenty at A&Bé. Any bride with a bohemian side will find a number of dresses that suit her style.(Brooke Burchill)

Still, many shops won't take back a wedding dress after it's been purchased, so this policy is rare.

"We're trying to find you the right dress," Walsh says, "and we want to make you feel good about it at the end of the day."

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For the same reason, A&Bé is a non-commission-based company. That means brides won't be talked into a dress they don't like just so the salesperson can take home some extra cash.

"We understand the magnitude of this event in these girls' lives," says Dallas store manager Mandi Smith. "They've been dreaming of [finding] this dress for a really long time, and if it's not here, we understand."

A&Bé Bridal Shop carries dresses by 16 designers, 10 of which hadn't previously been available in Dallas, Walsh says. The shop offers well-known brands like Nicole Miller as well as up-and-coming designers such as Katie May. Dresses tend to be feminine and whimsical in style and range from $1,200 to $7,000.

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The wide spacing of dresses on A&Bé's displays means you won't be digging through jammed-up...
The wide spacing of dresses on A&Bé's displays means you won't be digging through jammed-up racks in search of a particular style.(Brooke Burchill)