photo courtesy of AfroTech
A married couple, Ashley and Charles Young, have gone viral for co-founding an online bridal company that specializes in creating stylish and flattering bridesmaids’ dresses for curvy Black women. As reported in an interview with AfroTech, Bridal Babes got their start by bagging a $250,000 deal on Shark Tank and going from a small Maryland bridal company to one of the most uniquely popular companies in the game.
Bridal Babes received a boom in traffic after appearing on season 14 of Shark Tank last year. The Young couple came in looking for $250,000 with 10% equity. However, they earned a similar deal with Emme Grede for the same amount with 20% equity.
Ashley said, “She’s [Grede] really hands-on and digs into all the details with us. As far as exposure, of course, you get the huge uptick in sales that everybody talks about, but also we saw an influx of people coming in through that virtual consultation platform so much so that we had to like release new dates,” Ashley said.
The couple used the $250,000 funds to expand upon their already refined dresses with new designs, more restocks, and a more extensive inventory. Ashley and Charles are hoping to popularize some of their other stock, including rehearsal dresses and robes.
The Youngs pride one feature as being one of their most innovative. Bridal Babe is dedicated to being inclusive for all sizes and body types by focusing on accessible designs that enhance the already beautiful body types of many different Black women. They do so by incorporating virtual consultations regularly for their clients.
Charles said, “We would have a client meet with a stylist, and that will really help trim down exactly what the bride wants ’cause we have so many different dresses and so many different styles. But you’ll really direct them through the process of picking the perfect style for all the bridesmaids of all shapes, shades, and sizes.”
The couple started Bridal Babes after they started planning their wedding back in 2015, and they went through the complicated process of trying to find Bridesmaid dresses that suited their friends. In the process, they decided to go completely nontraditional by wearing body-tight dresses that went viral for their beautiful fit.