New Bridal Store Brings Spanish Style and Craftsmanship, Adding New Flair to Houston’s Wedding Scene

Heads up, would-be brides. There’s a new player in town when it comes to bridal gowns and the Spanish brand is intent on an inclusiveness that embraces both size and affordability. Pronovias just opened in The Houston Galleria with offerings that range in size from 2 to 32 and start at a budget friendly $1,800.

The company’s North America president and managing director Amanda McCormick Bacal zipped through Houston in advance of the opening to discuss the brand that is on the move to capture a hefty slice of the nation’s burgeoning bridal market. Recognized throughout Europe for more than 50 years and boasting more than 1.3 million Instagram followers, Pronovias opened its first U.S. flagship store in New York at then end of May and put out the welcome mat in Miami in early June.

The Houston boutique, Texas’ only Pronovias, opened two weeks ago as the company continues expanding across the country.

“The bridal market in the U.S. is tremendous and there are a lot of brands. But it’s a fragmented market,” Bacal tells PaperCity. “There’s no one dominant player. So there’s a lot of room for growth. For us there is just a lot of opportunity for us to grow our business, both retail and wholesale.”

We chatted about the company while seated on a bench outside of Saks Fifth Avenue with a view to the Pronovias boutique on the second floor above us. City inspectors had not yet arrived to grant the necessary permit for visitors. So my look-see at the cushy Pronovias environs would wait until the following day. At that point, I found Bacal’s description to be spot on.

“We’ve designed it so that you feel like you’re invited into someone’s home. We call the front of the store the ‘living room.’ It’s very welcoming with seating areas (and an array of both billowing and slinky gowns). It’s feminine but also very modern,” she says. “And then as you go further into the store, we have what we call the ‘salons,’ seating areas with fitting rooms.

“They are large, very gracious fitting rooms and ample seating so that we can accommodate all the guests that come with the bride — her mom, her best friend, her sister. We want to accommodate any size of bridal party.”

Pronovias artistic director Hervé Moreau, based in the company’s Barcelona headquarters, employs his couture experience in his native France in the bridal gown designs. The Houston shop includes the Pronovias line, created for the modern, fashion forward bride; the glamorous Pronovias Privée line; and the haute couture Pronovias Atelier with prices starting at $3,500.

“All Atelier gowns are made in Spain,” Bacal explains, “and depending on the elaborateness and the level of craftsmanship, the price points go up.”

All Types of Wedding Dreams

The Pronovias price points for bridal luxury offer a refreshing reprieve from the five-figure price tags of gowns by Oscar de la Renta, Monique Lhuillier and the like.

Beyond bridal gowns and accessories, the Houston store carries Pronovias’ newest design line, Party Edit or occasion wear.

“It’s fabulous. It is fashion forward — long gowns, short cocktail dresses, jumpsuits.” Bacal says. “But really chic, designed for a wide range, purposefully from every age demographic from mother of the bride to guests at the wedding. It’s really sort of your social occasion dressing.”

Bacal allows that while walk-ins are welcome in the Galleria boutique, she recommends appointments for brides. Those appointments for working with a stylist are good for two hours, giving brides the time try on a number of gowns, determine what looks best on them and what fulfills their dreams. Appointments can be made online here.

“One of our core values is our sense of inclusivity and we have really brought that through all aspects of our brand,” Bacal says. “Whether it’s in age, in ethnicity, in size, we have expanded significantly our assortment of extended sizing so that our dresses can be ordered in any size from a 2 to 32.

“It’s been a real focus of our company because we say at our core, we want to dress the dreams of every woman around the world.”