Denice, the owner of Grand Bridal, sewed and modeled her own prom dress as a teenager. That detail sits halfway down her About page, between a first 4-H dirndl skirt made at age eight and a wool coat that won her a Bernina sewing machine in the Make It Yourself with Wool contest. She worked in alterations at a bridal store in Ames through college, raised four children on her husband's family farm, and opened Grand Bridal in downtown Spencer in March 2021.
While her children are growing up fast, Denice has decided it is time to share her talents with Northwest Iowa and is thrilled to bring Grand Bridal to downtown Spencer!
That line closes the About page, and the shop she built is a 7,000-square-foot store on Grand Avenue downtown. Bridal fills most of it. Prom has a smaller, steady place of its own.
The prom side of a bridal store
The prom collection draws on five lines: Jovani, Amarra, Portia and Scarlett, Colors Dress and Kate Parker. The online catalog is extensive, and the store is clear that the racks hold only part of it. Not all gowns are available in store, if you are interested in a specific gown please feel free to contact us or request an appointment! If a style number is saved on a phone, send it before the drive, and the team can tell you whether it is on the floor or needs to be ordered.
Jovani gets the spotlight on the blog. A spring prom trends post there featured four Jovani gowns to show off fit-and-flare shapes, off-the-shoulder necklines, bold color and sheer overlays, and the shop wrote that it gets so excited about clients looking for the perfect prom dress.
Appointments are required for wedding dresses and bridesmaids, and the FAQ does not extend that rule to prom. Calling during the January to March rush still makes sense if you want a consultant's full attention. The store's in-house alterations, led by an owner with more than 25 years in bridal alterations, are built around wedding gowns, so ask at purchase what a prom hem or strap change would involve.
Grand Avenue and the lakes towns
Spencer is the shopping town for this part of northwest Iowa, and Grand Avenue is its main street. Families come in from Spencer High School, from Okoboji in Milford and Spirit Lake to the north, from Sioux Central in Sioux Rapids, Clay Central-Everly, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn and Emmetsburg. For most of them a Grand Bridal visit means a downtown afternoon instead of a long day on the highway.
Grand Bridal prom questions
Which prom designers does Grand Bridal carry?
The prom catalog lists Jovani, Amarra, Portia and Scarlett, Colors Dress and Kate Parker. Not every style shown online is in the Spencer store, so check on a specific gown first.
Is there a fee to shop prom at Grand Bridal?
No fee is listed for prom. The paid Luxe and Grand Experience packages on the site are bridal appointments.
Can Grand Bridal get a prom gown I found in its online catalog but not on the rack?
That is what the catalog note invites. Contact the store or request an appointment with the designer and style number, and the staff can check whether the gown can be brought in for you. Leave extra weeks for an ordered dress, since anything special ordered still has to ship to Spencer with time to spare before the dance.