Taylor Young understands the power of “I do.” The 23-year-old last month opened Ever After Bridal on Walnut Street, a quiet offshoot of Moorpark’s main thoroughfare High Street. Young wants to separate herself from competitors by selling more than white dresses – she wants to provide an “experience package” for customers. “No other bridal shop offers that,” said Young. She explained that chain bridal brands, and even some boutiques, often hurry dress-shoppers out the door if they don’t seem intent on purchasing right away. In contrast, she admires the nurturing, experience-based business model employed by Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan, which draws patrons from all over the world on the TLC series “Say Yes to the Dress.” “My intention is to get it to the point where people want to (travel) to Ever After Bridal, not for the sales, but for the experience that we offer,” Young said. Package deals Experiences start with the Rose Package, which gets shoppers two refreshments, a set of handcrafted champagne flutes and a remembrance photo taken inside the shop’s Cinderella carriage for $30 per guest. Next is the Ruby Package, which tacks on an extra beverage and a spread of pastries for a total of $40 per guest. And at the top of the line is the Diamond Package, which touts four beverages per person, champagne flutes, pastries, photos and a two-hour private experience with the shop entirely to yourself — feel free to try on every dress in the store — for $85 or $65 per guest, depending on the size of the party. “If I was getting married, that’s the one I’d choose,” Young said with a laugh. Ever After Bridal currently offers dresses from designers including Maggie Sottero, Rebecca Ingram, Atelier Pronovias and Willowby, covering all styles from ultra-couture to bohemian-casual. Average dress prices range between $1,300 and $2,500, though some — like one gown dripping with Swarovski crystals — are as expensive as $9,000. Entrepreneurial awakening Young said she always wanted to start her own business but wasn’t sure what route to take. She worked at jobs in catering, venue services and event planning before landing gigs at David’s Bridal and smaller boutique bridal shops. “I realized I’m really good at complimenting women with a dress,” Young said. “I told my mom I wanted to open my own wedding shop. I was sick of making other people money when I could do it myself.” In November, she went to the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks on the night that a gunman entered and killed 13 people. “Surviving that gave me the drive to not let it fail no matter what,” she told the Business Journal. “I kind of went home thinking, ‘the clock is ticking, I need to do this.’ And to cope with everything, I dived into this all the time.” Young cited support and assistance from the Borderline community as key to Ever After Bridal’s smooth opening. She also credits her mother for backing her startup and passing along her business savvy, learned through years owning and operating nurseries in Ventura County. Eventually, Young sees Ever After Bridal opening locations in Tennessee and North Carolina, and is determined to create an in-house design brand called Ever After Designs, though not immediately. “In this world, you kind of have to establish a name for yourself before people are going to put any trust in you or put any money into you as a designer,” she said. “But I will design my own gowns.”
