Denise Buzy-Pucheu, founder and owner of The Persnickety Bride, said steep tariffs on imports from China are hurting U.S. businesses, including bridal shops and wedding dress designers. Some of the brands she carries have added a tariff surcharge.
Courtesy of The Persnickety Bride; Photograph by Stella Blue Photography
Days after President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on imports from China, Denise Buzy-Pucheu sat on the couch in her bridal boutique and fired up the shop’s iPhone.
In a video later posted on Instagram, the founder of The Persnickety Bride in Newtown, Conn. spoke directly to brides and prospective customers and outlined how the 145% tariff on Chinese imports would roil the bridal business, in particular.
Almost all bridal gowns are made in China or other parts of Asia — and so are many of the fabrics, buttons, zippers and other materials they use. Skilled seamstresses are hard to find and often come from older generations in the U.S. And manufacturing in other countries, where labor generally costs less, has put the prices of high-quality bridal gowns within reach for many American families.
“This type of work is not just not something you can pick up and bring to the United States,” she said in the video. “We just don’t have those technicians here to do that.”
Tariffs on Chinese imports have hit a wide range of consumer goods, including T-shirts, patio furniture, baby strollers and toys. Yet the bridal gown and special occasion apparel business illustrates the damage duties can cause to small businesses ingrained in the global supply chain.
Most of its sales come from independent shops across the country that carry bridal gowns, tuxedos, prom dresses and more. They cater to customers with firm deadlines, tight budgets and high expectations, often making custom orders placed weeks or months before an item is made or shipped.
On top of those dynamics, the industry is particularly vulnerable to the tariffs. An estimated 90% of wedding dresses are made in China, according to the National Bridal Retailers Association — though a growing number of brands have moved manufacturing to other parts of Asia, such as Myanmar and Vietnam. The industry group represents approximately 6,000 wedding and special occasion shops across the U.S.
David’s Bridal has sped up moving its production out of China because of tariffs. By July, it aims to produce all of its dresses in other countries, including Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
David’s Bridal
The particular pain the industry will feel has led it — like others highly exposed to tariffs — to push for carveouts from the duties. In the past two weeks, NBRA has launched a letter-writing campaign to U.S. senators and representatives to urge lawmakers and the White House to allow an exemption. The industry already pays a tariff that started during the first Trump administration, along with a separate duty.
A White House spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Trump would consider an exemption.
Some big names in bridal gowns started an online petition, including Stephen Lang, the founder and CEO of Trenton, N.J.-based brand Mon Cheri.
Lang said he’s lost sleep over the tariffs. He worries they will put the 120-employee company he started in 1991 — and many of the shops that carry his dresses — out of business.
Many of those stores were already struggling to cover expenses like rent and employee wages, he said. And the boutiques’ business models have felt squeezed as some customers use them as “try-on shops,” only to buy a similar, cheaper alternative online.
If shops and dress brands close their doors for good, he said not just businesses — but also the ritual of finding garments for special occasions and family milestones — will be lost.
“Our industry is going to get wiped out if it doesn’t change,” he said.
If tariffs continue at the same level, mom-and-pop shops like those owned by Sandra Gonzalez will have to make tough choices. Gonzalez, the vice president of NBRA, said dresses she carries in her Sacramento, Calif. shop have cost her between 5% and 25% more because of tariffs.
She’s held off on raising prices, but she said she’s not sure how much longer she can wait.
“It’s on a week-by-week basis,” Gonzalez said.
Sticker shock for brides
For many brides, wedding dresses already cause sticker shock.
A bride in the U.S. spent an average of $2,100 on a wedding dress, according to the 2025 Real Weddings Study by The Knot, a global company that sells wedding-related services and has a directory of wedding vendors.
And that’s not the only expense on the list. Altogether, the average spending per wedding totaled $31,428, according to The Wedding Report, a market research company for the industry. Some estimates run even higher: The Knot puts the average cost at $33,000, while David’s Bridal estimates it is an average of $37,500.
The financial crunch brides already face has made it more urgent for bridal shops and designers to find ways…
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