Pat Morgan Pullam opened Modern Brides, a bridal boutique in Huntsville, in 1986 at the age of 30. It was the ninth bridal shop in Huntsville and is still located on Regal Drive, once known as “Bridal Row” because of its many bridal shops.

Pullam, who planned to be a nurse, got the idea for her bridal shop from her father, Robert Young, a part-time wedding photographer. Her brother Greg, also a wedding photographer, wanted a larger studio. Her father suggested combining the photography studio with a bridal shop, creating “the complete wedding center,” offering everything from tuxedos and floral arrangements to catering and honeymoon travel.

Over time, they focused on profitable services and streamlined the business. Today, Modern Brides specializes in wedding dresses, bridal party attire, suits, tuxedos and special occasion evening gowns and hosts North Alabama’s largest bridal fashion show, the Celebrations Bridal Event.

Pullam recently sat down with the Huntsville Business Journal to talk about the changes in the wedding industry over nearly four decades and how it has remained successful.

How have you managed to keep your business relevant in the ever-changing wedding industry?

Brides would come to us to have their bridal portraits done because we were photographers – bridal portraits aren’t really something they do much these days – and they would talk about their bridal business. They would just talk, but we would listen. My dad always said, you have to learn from it. Whatever they say, you can’t be like that. When they talk about their service, you have to provide better service. When they talk about the hours of the store, they don’t stay open long enough, you have to extend your hours.

He would take other people’s criticism and say, “This is what you don’t have to do. Be better. Change your hours, change your style, change your services. Improve things to meet the needs of customers.”

I took his advice and tried to correct things like that. We made sure we were open a little later to accommodate people who finished late. A lot of stores were closed on Monday, and Monday was one of our busiest days of the week. (Other stores) closed early on Saturday, while we were open all day on Saturday. Little things like that helped us to provide good service.

What do you like most about owning your own business?

I love the wedding industry. I love everything about it. Every client is different. Every wedding is different, the clients are different and their needs are different. I love meeting new people, and every day you meet new people, it’s not always the same bride. Every year it’s a completely different group of clients.

It’s funny when they come in and the mom says, “You photographed my wedding 25 years ago,” or “You photographed my wedding 40 years ago,” and then there’s the granddaughter, the daughter, the whole family, and you see how that family has grown. That’s very satisfying when someone comes in and still remembers you. Then they pull out their phone and show you their wedding photo, and I remember every dress. I may not remember the person’s name, but when I see what they wore, I recognize the dress.

How has the wedding industry changed?

Besides style and fashion, the whole style of a wedding has changed. They have all kinds of ideas, for example, people get married in a cave or in a bamboo garden. I have a bride who got married on a glacier last weekend. They flew to a glacier in a helicopter. They fly to Scotland, England or Alaska to get married. They have a lot of very extravagant weddings.

In the old days, everyone got married in church. You went into the reception hall of the church and were given cake, nuts, mints and punch and there was a big gift table. That doesn’t happen anymore. Now there are off-site venues and the weddings are themed. Some people want it rustic and will go for a barn option, others want something very elegant and may go for a hotel.

What is different about your company today than when you founded it?

Everything is by appointment, which wasn’t the case before. When I started, every single person who walked in the door was served. Maybe one person would come, maybe six people would come, and you had to serve as many people as you wanted at once, and that was harder.

After COVID, everything changed. Then only a certain number of people could come into the store at the same time. That changed the whole way we do business. Now everything is by appointment, not because we limit the number of people in the store, but because we really liked that personal contact.

How do you balance your private and professional life?

I’m a workaholic, a type-A personality, and a perfectionist. In my personal life, I’m so tired that I don’t want to talk to anyone when I get home. So I don’t have a great balance, but I have the balance I want. I want peace and quiet when I get home. I just want to sit down, have a cup of tea, and watch TV. After talking on the phone and in person all day, and attending meetings all day, I’m ready for peace and quiet when I get home.

What was the secret of your success?

Customer service. We just try to make sure your customer gets what they ask for. There are so many things we do that are included in our price that other stores don’t do at all. When someone purchases a dress, they can buy it off the rack or order it custom, totally their choice. We offer free dry cleaning on the dress if it’s purchased off the rack and any repairs a dress needs are free. If they want to keep it here until the day of their wedding, we do that for free. We iron it before the wedding. The only thing we charge extra for is alterations. We are focused on full service. You don’t have to pick it up and take it and go to a seamstress and then find someone to iron it and find someone to store it.

What business challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

One of our biggest challenges is staff. It’s hard to find people who want to work and do what you ask of them. I’m lucky; the girls I have are great, but I’ve been through so many.

The people from my dad’s time, my time, and my kids’ time – who are all in their 50s and late 40s – all have a great work ethic. People today don’t have a great work ethic. First of all, they don’t think they have to work, but they think they’re worth $25 an hour. They’ve never had a job before, but they think they should be paid that much money because they want that much money. I just keep trying until I find someone who will work.

Cover photo: Courtesy of Heather Edstrom Photography