Find Your 'Cold Chill' Gown at Boulevard Bride

The process of wedding gown shopping can seem overwhelming. It has to be the perfect dress, custom-designed to match your specific requirements.

Boulevard Bride, a locally-owned bridal shop in Lake Saint Louis in its third year of operation, understands this process well and responds in kind.

"When a girl comes in, she really gets that personalized, one on one service," said owner Deborah Sitze. "We try to get to know the customer in order to match a gown with her personality and body type."

Though self-proclaimed as having no experience in the field of retail bridal wear, Sitze certainly has a knack for the business. "You can tell on their faces when they put the dress on," Sitze said about helping customers find the right dress. "They don't have to say a word. If they really love the dress, they won't take it off."

Sitze has a name for said dress, which she invented after experiencing it herself. "We call it the 'cold chill' dress, because when a girl puts a dress on that is meant for her, we all get cold chills."

Sitze spent the majority of her career in insurance, but wanted to try something new. "I was looking for something totally different that was just fun. This opportunity came up and I took it," she said.

The bridal store moved to Lake Saint Louis from Wentzville last October, a move Sitze said she was destined to make.

"Over the course of my career, I have been drawn to Lake Saint Louis three times for business," Sitze said, and on her third stint stayed.  "I say third time's a charm, and I love the Lake Saint Louis area," she said. Sitze said she is looking forward to becoming more involved in her local community as well.

Boulevard Bride found its niche seeking out beautiful gowns at affordable prices, Sitze said. "Most of our gowns are under $1,000," she said. "In today's world, that's really good."

Boulevard Bride focuses on having an impressive variety for a small store - over 75 bridal gowns and over 100 bridesmaids dresses in stock - while featuring unique designers not seen at other nearby bridal shops.

"One very popular brand right now is Ella, which is a division of Essence of Australia," said Sitze. "Those have done very well."

Other designer lines found at Boulevard Bride include Forever Yours, Christina Rossi and DaVinci. The shop also features accessories and dresses for mothers and flower girls, along with bridesmaid dresses and tuxedos for men.

Sitze is up to any challenge, and especially loves assisting brides who are unsure of which direction they want to take the gown. "We like that, because then we can pick a couple of different styles to find the right fit," she said. 

The shop has the ability to perfectly match dress swatches with tuxedos to take care of the entire wedding party. Sitze has a "very reasonable seamstress with years of experience," she said, that she refers clients to for tailoring.

According to the Boulevard Bride website, gowns can take 12 - 14 weeks to ship and deliver, so if you're planning on a fall wedding, it's not too early to start your dress search now.

Boulevard Bride is located at 300 Lake Saint Louis Boulevard. It is open Tue. - Fri. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sat. 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Evening hours are set by appointment.