- Tariffs imposed on China by the Trump Administration are increasing wedding dress costs.
- Judy Prokop, owner of Bridal Traditions, has been helping brides for 28 years, 90% of wedding dresses in her store are imported from China.
- Prokop expects dress prices to increase 300-400 dollars.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It's every brides dream to find the perfect dress, now that dream is getting more expensive because the Trump Administration is imposing more tariffs on Chinese goods.
Judy Prokop has been helping brides say yes to the dress at Bridal Traditions off of 140th and Center street for 28 years.
"Fulfilling lots of the dreams of, of many brides and love every minute of it," said Prokop
90% of the dresses in the store are imported from China. Prokop says they're good quality and great prices.
Dresses in her shop average between 1,600 and 2,000 dollars. Prokop expects dresses to increase by 300 to 400 dollars by the end of the week. However, in the last three decades, prices have not changed much, and the Trump Administration's tariffs on Chinese goods is unprecedented.
"Weddings are expensive anyway, you know, and then to add this on top is it's gonna be harder," said Prokop.
And it's not just brides who are going to have to pay more.
"It's not just the bridal gowns but also all the other bridal attire we carry, bridesmaids dresses, mother's dresses, everything is having a, a tariff put on it," said Prokop.
She is already hearing from vendors about how much it's going to cost brides.
"This is now just beginning to, it's supposed to go into effect this week. In fact, we've gotten notification from several of the designers that the tariff fee is going to be 20%," said Prokop.
Worried brides have already called into the store hoping to buy their gown before the price hike hits.
"We did have someone call back that was in on Saturday and purchase the dress that she'd found on Saturday," said Prokop.
Dresses currently on the rack will not be impacted, however, if you have to order a different size, the price will likely be higher.
