Say Yes to the Dress
Encyclopedia
Say Yes to the Dress is a TLC
reality series which follows events at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City
. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profiling brides as they search for the perfect wedding dress. Common themes include: overwhelming advice of friends and family, the ability of the "perfect dress" to help a bride overcome personal difficulty, struggle with weight concerns, and the challenge of staying in budget, especially in the case of dresses by Kleinfeld's exclusive designer, Pnina Tornai
(one of the few designers ever mentioned by name in the show.) Dresses sold on the show range from $1,300-$40,000.
. She worked there for twenty years. After she left Saks, she was employed by Casual Corner
and Geoffrey Beene Company in executive management positions. She then purchased the Kleinfeld Bridal store with Ronald Rothstein and Wayne Rogers on July 9, 1999.
in 1964 and received his law degree from the University of Miami
in 1968. He then became a member of the Florida Bar. In 1976, he started his own consumer products company named Oh Dawn, but after eight years, he sold Oh Dawn to an American Stock Exchange company. He did however stay on in an executive capacity for several more years. On July 9, 1999 he purchased the Kleinfeld Bridal store with Mara Urshel and Wayne Rogers.
, but she has spent the majority of her twenty-five years in the retail industry at Kleinfeld. She works alongside Nicole Sacco and Joan Roberts.
and Nautica
before Kleinfeld.She got her wedding dress at Kleinfeld.
TLC (TV channel)
TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
reality series which follows events at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profiling brides as they search for the perfect wedding dress. Common themes include: overwhelming advice of friends and family, the ability of the "perfect dress" to help a bride overcome personal difficulty, struggle with weight concerns, and the challenge of staying in budget, especially in the case of dresses by Kleinfeld's exclusive designer, Pnina Tornai
Pnina Tornai
Pnina Tornai, born in 1962, is a wedding dress designer from Israel. She has a made a name for herself by selling dresses in Kleinfeld Bridal salon on the television show Say Yes to the Dress. She started out with a dream to be an actress but that got put aside when her third husband convinced her...
(one of the few designers ever mentioned by name in the show.) Dresses sold on the show range from $1,300-$40,000.
Mara Urshel
Mara Urshel is one of the co-owners of Kleinfeld. Earlier in her career in the retail industry, she served as senior vice president and general merchandise manager at Saks Fifth AvenueSaks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
. She worked there for twenty years. After she left Saks, she was employed by Casual Corner
Casual Corner
Casual Corner was an American retail clothing chain founded in 1950. It operated stores under the names Casual Corner and Petite Sophisticate. The chain operated more than 525 stores at its peak.-History:...
and Geoffrey Beene Company in executive management positions. She then purchased the Kleinfeld Bridal store with Ronald Rothstein and Wayne Rogers on July 9, 1999.
Ronald Rothstein
Ronald (Ronnie) Rothstein is one of the co-owners of Kleinfeld. He was successful academically; he graduated from Wharton School at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1964 and received his law degree from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
in 1968. He then became a member of the Florida Bar. In 1976, he started his own consumer products company named Oh Dawn, but after eight years, he sold Oh Dawn to an American Stock Exchange company. He did however stay on in an executive capacity for several more years. On July 9, 1999 he purchased the Kleinfeld Bridal store with Mara Urshel and Wayne Rogers.
Randy Fenoli
A specialist who helps the other consultants and is often right with his dress choices. He is very good at his job.Dorothy Silver
Dorothy Silver is the Director of Sales and Merchandising for Kleinfeld. She began her career in New York as a floor manager at Bonwit TellerBonwit Teller
Bonwit Teller was a department store in New York City founded by Paul Bonwit in 1895 at Sixth Avenue and 18th Street. In 1897 Edmund D. Teller was admitted to the partnership and the store moved to 23rd Street, East of Sixth Avenue...
, but she has spent the majority of her twenty-five years in the retail industry at Kleinfeld. She works alongside Nicole Sacco and Joan Roberts.
Nicole Sacco
Nicole Sacco is the Director of Fittings and Sales at Kleinfeld. She has worked there for seven years and has many responsibilities, primarily helping consultants with their clients, whether it's finding a dress, closing the sale, or just making sure the client is happy. She works alongside Dorothy Silver and Joan Roberts.Nitsa Glezelis
Nitsa Gleelis is the Director of Alterations at Kleinfeld. She was born in Kos, Greece, and has been in the retail industry since she was twelve years old. She has worked at Kleinfeld for eighteen years. She works alongside Vera Skenderis.Joan Roberts
Joan Roberts is the Director of Sales/Bridal Manager at Kleinfeld. Before coming to Kleinfeld, she had worked in the retail industry for twenty five years. She works alongside Nicole Sacco and Dorothy Silver.Camille Coffey
Camille Coffey is one of the several bridal consultants at Kleinfeld. She was first introduced to Kleinfeld when she was shopping for a dress to wear to her son's wedding. She applied for a job and has been working there ever since.Vera Skenderis
Vera Skenderis is the Alterations Manager at Kleinfeld. She was born in Athens, Greece. She has been working in the retail industry for thirty four years. She works alongside Nitsa Glezelis.Audrey Pisani
Audrey Pisani is one of the several bridal consultants at Kleinfeld. She was born in Brooklyn and has worked in the retail industry for twenty years. Fifteen of those years has been spent working in bridal wear.Keasha Rigsby
Keasha Rigsby is one of the several bridal consultants at Kleinfeld. She has been working in the retail industry for fifteen years. Six of those years has been spent working in bridal wear. She was first introduced to Kleinfeld when she was shopping for wedding dresses with her cousin. She met one of the co-owners, Ronnie Rothstein, applied for a job, and has been working there ever since.Debbie Asprea
Debbie Asprea is one of the several bridal consultants at Kleinfeld. She has been working in the retail industry for eighteen years. She has been with Kleinfeld for fifteen of those eighteen years. She attributes her love of fashion to her father, who was a dress contractor.Sarah Valasquez
Sarah Valasquez is one of the several bridal consultants at Kleinfeld. She had previous experience in the retail industry, working at Macy'sMacy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
and Nautica
Nautica
Nautica is a US based apparel brand of the VF Corporation featuring primarily men's sportswear. Nautica was founded in 1983 by clothing designer, David Chu, and a partner. It was purchased for cash and stock in 1984 by State-O-Main, a New York based apparel company. State-O-Main changed its name to...
before Kleinfeld.She got her wedding dress at Kleinfeld.
Series overview
Spinoffs
- Say Yes to the Dress: AtlantaSay Yes to the Dress: AtlantaSay Yes to the Dress: Atlanta is a TLC reality series which follows events at Bridals by Lori in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profiling brides as they search for the perfect wedding...
(July–September 2010) (July 2011-) is the first spinoff, which focuses on Bridals by Lori, a bridal shop in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Other than the shop, staff and production company (NorthSouth ProductionsNorthSouth ProductionsNorthSouth Productions is a television production company in the United States that was created by Mark Hickman and Charlie DeBevoise. NorthSouth creates and produces original programming for a variety of broadcast and cable networks including Discovery, TLC, History, A&E, MTV, VH1, SyFy, OWN:...
produced the Atlanta series), the elements are the same as the original series. The Atlanta series itself also led to two spinoffs:- Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids (July 2011-) is a spinoff focused on bridesmaid dresses. This spinoff is focused on the bridesmaid showroom at Bridals by Lori in Atlanta.
- Say Yes to the Dress: Monte's Take (July 2011-) is a podcast hosted by Monte Durham, co-host of Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta, and TLC Interactive Producer Candace Keener. The weekly podcast provides listeners wedding tips and tricks.
- Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss (September–October 2010)(April 2011-) is the second spin-off. The shop, staff, venue and producers are the same as the original series, except that all of Kleinfeld's clientele on this program are brides that are plus-sizedPlus-size clothingPlus size clothing is a general term given to clothing proportioned specifically for overweight people. Also called Outsize in some countries , this term has been losing favour since the 1990s...
. - Say Yes to the Dress: Randy Knows Best (April 2011–) Randy Fenoli, Kleinfeld's fashion director, uses top ten lists to share his tips on a variety of bridal categories.
Video on Demand
- Say Yes to the Dress Season 4
- Say Yes to the Dress Season 5
- Say Yes to the Dress Season 6
- Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss Season 1
- Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta Season 1