Mary George Dodson says she used to think she might call a daughter “Amelia Grace.” Pretty isn’t it?
“‘Amelia’ is on my mother’s side of the family, and ‘Grace’ is my grandmother’s name,” Dodson explained.
But 2½ years ago, she opened Amelia Grace Bridal at 116 Market St. in Greenwood, and she and her husband, Caleb, a Leflore County farmer, chose another name when their 9-month-old daughter was born. What’s her name? “Molly,” Dodson answered. She had a smile in her voice. There wouldn’t be two Amelia Graces in the family.
Dodson’s a business owner with a full plate. First, she’s a 29-year-old wife and mother from Greenwood who works during the week in the office of her father, George Saunders, who farms near Itta Bena. Second, she’s the sole owner-operator of a store that’s a little different from most retail establishments because access is by appointment only.
You can’t just walk in.
Bridal boutiques, it seems, aren’t set up for browsing through gowns on the rack. They instead offer personal service to brides-to-be who are shopping for a wedding dress. That’s why Dodson requires an appointment, which people make through her website.
At Amelia Grace, there are dozens of dresses — about 125 total, and Dodson works with each customer on her selection. An appointment might take a couple of hours, she said.
Mary George Dodson picks a gown from the more than 125 wedding dresses she has in the store. Brides-to-be try them on, pick one and it is ordered in the right size. (By Johnny Jennings)
Dodson wasn’t planning to open a bridal store before she became interested in looking at wedding dresses for a friend.
“My friend got engaged in the summer of 2018,” she explained. “We were trying to find places to go. I sat up at night Googling — looking at bridal boutiques.” The more she learned, the more intrigued she became, and there wasn’t a boutique in Greenwood like those in Memphis and Jackson or, for example, a particularly successful boutique in Brinkley, Arkansas, that has attracted brides-to-be for decades.
She moved forward with the idea, talked to owners of bridal boutiques far and wide, developed a business plan and looked for a location in downtown Greenwood — eventually leasing what once was a pool hall and in the early 20th century likely was occupied by a mercantile family, the Kantors.
As the dust settled on arrangements for the business, there was still plenty to do inside the store, which has ancient brick walls. It has been completely revamped for a clean-as-a whistle, pretty-in-pink (Dodson loves the color) interior.
Also, there was the matter of inventory. Lucky for Dodson, she located a woman in South Carolina who was retiring after 12 years in the business, and the lady agreed to assist Dodson as a consultant. They went to market together in Chicago, and the consultant walked Dodson through all of the decisions that had to be made there, including a choice of brands.
Inventory arrived in 2019 in time to handle another big event. “I was my first bride. I got engaged in June and picked up my dress the next week in my store — and opened (the store) in July.” She and her husband were married at First Baptist Church of Itta Bena in December that year.
Meanwhile, she began selling wedding dresses. When a bride-elect arrives, usually with a small group of family members and friends, Dodson likes to be prepared. That’s why she asks the brides-to-be to provide information ahead of time about their plans and preferences. Customers usually arrive with ideas about what they want to buy, but these can change in a split second. Dodson is always ready if that happens.
Molly Henderson Cooke, who grew up in Greenwood but has resided in Nashville, Tennessee, since 2017, is one of those who switched.
“I am not one of those girls who has had their wedding planned for years,” said Cooke. She and her husband, Charlie, were marrying in Montana Sept. 4, so she was looking for a dress that fit into a mountain environment. She was considering satin without much adornment. Instead she chose lace, even though she is “not a big fan of lace.”
First, she had to be persuaded to visit Amelia Grace; she had an appointment at a boutique in Nashville.
But her mother, Beth Stevens, executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, reasoned with her about it, since Cooke was going to be in Greenwood anyway.
“Just to appease her, I said that we’ll go look; we’ll go see what they have. And lo and behold, I left with a dress, and I was just shocked.” Cooke saw the dress on a mannikin. She tried on a dress and then the one from the mannikin, and she stopped. She said she thought, “This is it. I don’t want to confuse myself. I don’t want to try on any more.”
Cooke explained, “It looked like Montana. It looked like a mountain wedding.” She paired the champagne-colored silk, which had two different laces, with complementary cowboy boots. Cooke wasn’t the only one in boots. Everyone at the wedding wore them.
Cooke didn’t literally leave the boutique with her dress. Those at the store are too large for many brides. This allows Dodson to fit a dress to a bride, take measurements and order the right size. If adjustments, such as hemming, are needed, a nearby retailer,Toni Tubbs, makes them. After that, the gowns are ready for their brides.
Mary Kathryn Ola O’Dell of Greenwood visited Amelia Grace a year before she and her husband, Brantley, were married in September 2020. Their ceremony was delayed because of the pandemic, so she had to wait to wear her dress. But when she did, it definitely was the one she wanted. O’Dell said that she, like Cooke, was surprised by her pick. “I think it was only the second dress I tried on,” she said, and she had arrived to look for something simple. But she chose a dress that was “very detailed, with a bit of sparkle.”
“Mary George was absolutely the best. She was great. She helped me tremendously. She made it fun and easy,” O’Dell said.
“It was nice and convenient getting it locally and not having to travel.”
Cooke made another point. Wedding dresses might cost $2,000 or $3,000 at many places, including at Amelia Grace. But they cost more at high-end boutiques.
“There are dresses in there that look like they are $10,000, but in there, they are a quarter of that price,” Cooke said.
Dodson noted that some brides-to-be might have a budget that would accommodate a pricier dress, but if they are able to spend less on their gowns, then they can redirect the savings to other wedding-related expenses.
She expects to be offering her assistance and dresses to more and more brides. Dodson said 2021 was a good year for the business, which she truly enjoys.
There’s a lot in her life with her job at the farm office and Caleb and Molly — two Amelia Graces would have been too much — and the boutique. But she is looking forward to doing well in 2022.
“I really love weddings in general,” Dodson said, “and all of the processes that bring happiness to Greenwood.”
- This article first appeared in Leflore Illustrated, a quarterly magazine published by The Greenwood Commonwealth.
