Modern Brides Inc.

Regal Drive SW has a bridal history. The Huntsville Business Journal, in a 2024 profile of owner Pat Morgan Pullam, noted that the street was once known as "Bridal Row" for its many bridal shops. Modern Brides opened there in 1986, when Pullam was 30, and it has stayed on Regal Drive ever since. The same profile calls it the ninth bridal shop in Huntsville. The idea came from her father, Robert Young, a part-time wedding photographer who suggested pairing his photo studio with a bridal shop. Over the years the business narrowed its focus, and the profile lists formals for special events among the things it specializes in today.

The name says bride, and wedding gowns still anchor the shop on the Huntsville side of the counter. For high school shoppers, though, the line to read is the one on the store's homepage, which describes Modern Brides as a full service bridal, prom, & tuxedo boutique. And there is one policy prom families should know before anything else: bridal gown shopping is by appointment, but the appointments page says prom shoppers are welcome to come in any time during store hours with no appointment needed.

A prom room with a long designer list

The store publishes its prom designers on a page of their own, so you can see the lineup before you park. The list runs to nine names, and the online prom collection adds a tenth:

Nine prom labels give a Huntsville shopper real room to compare silhouettes and price points. Sherri Hill and Jovani are the labels many girls already have saved on their phones before they walk in. Alyce Paris, Rachel Allan and Amarra are long-running prom names, the kind a mom may remember from her own senior year. Portia and Scarlett and Ava Presley lean a little more fashion-forward, while Morilee and Sophia Thomas widen the choice of silhouettes. With that many labels on one floor, a shopper can compare several looks without leaving Regal Drive.

Homecoming has its own section on the website, so the store is worth remembering in late summer as well as in the spring. The five homecoming labels overlap with the prom list. A sophomore who liked a Sherri Hill short dress in September can come back for a long one before junior prom.

Prom is not the only dressy night on a Huntsville teenager's calendar, and the site has a separate formal designers page for that reason. It names seven labels, Alyce Paris, Portia and Scarlett, Amarra, Rachel Allan, Sophia Thomas, Jovani and Sherri Hill, which makes the store a sensible stop for a winter formal, a banquet or a pageant as well.

Fit, tuxedos and layaway on Regal Drive

For prom, the hem, straps and bodice can be handled by the same shop that sold the dress, and a couple can settle the dress and the date's suit at the same counter.

• Alterations

  Fittings scheduled with an in-house seamstress, for gowns and suits

• Suits and tuxedos

  Jim's Formal Wear and Allure Men, each with its own page next to the gown collections

• Layaway

  A 90-day plan; ask at the counter how it applies to a prom purchase

The store pulls from all over the metro. Huntsville City Schools runs Huntsville High, Grissom, Columbia, Jemison and Lee, along with New Century Technology High School. Madison families come in from Bob Jones and James Clemens, and Sparkman High School students come down from Harvest. Pullam told the Business Journal that mothers now walk in saying she did their own wedding decades ago and bring a daughter or granddaughter along, which is the kind of loyalty a store earns by staying in one spot since 1986.

When the Huntsville Business Journal asked Pullam about the secret to her success, she needed only two short lines, and they fit a long-running local store in this part of north Alabama.

Customer service. Trying to just make sure that your customer gets what they're asking for.

Quick prom answers for Modern Brides on Regal Drive

Can I put a prom dress on layaway at Modern Brides?

The about page lists a 90-day layaway plan among the store's services. Ask at the counter how it applies to a prom purchase.

Which prom designers does Modern Brides carry?

The prom designer page lists Sherri Hill, Jovani, Alyce Paris, Ava Presley, Morilee, Rachel Allan, Amarra, Portia and Scarlett and Sophia Thomas, and Faviana appears in the online prom collection.

Does the store handle prom alterations?

Yes. Fittings are done with an in-house seamstress, and the store offers alterations for gowns and suits.