Owner Candice Gold opened the shop in 2020 in downtown Tomball and relocated it to East Main Street in 2021. (Kayli Thompson/Community Impact Newspaper)
Candice Gold opened Evangeline Bridal with one thought in mind: She wanted to make it like Tomball—small, cozy, intimate and charming. Gold said the original location for the bridal shop on West Main Street, which opened in 2020, was much larger, but when her lease was up, she told the landlord she needed a smaller location. The shop relocated to the east side of the tracks in September 2021. Gold said Evangeline Bridal is the only bridal shop in the city of Tomball, and she grew up in the Tomball area.
Hoping to give brides a better experience than she had when wedding dress shopping, Gold said she decided to open a bridal shop despite having no background in the industry or running a business.
The shop offers a selection of 100-150 wedding dresses, veils, accessories and preservation kits. In opening her shop, Gold said she did not want to be like the big-city bridal shops that have thousands of gowns and book multiple brides at once without much privacy.
Gold said she wanted to create an intimate, cozy boutique shopping experience where the bride feels special, whether that is with complimentary drinks, a dedicated stylist or staggered appointments. “It allows us to spoil the brides. … We really want them to feel like they are so special. This is their day. It’s all about them,” Gold said.
Gold said she and her team enjoy pampering the brides and helping them find the perfect dress.
She said she and her stylists watch brides’ body language as they try on each dress. Gold calls it “the swish”—a movement brides tend to make when they love how they look in a dress.
However, helping to find the perfect dress has gotten harder over the past few months as supply chain issues from the pandemic have affected the shop. Gold said it is taking longer for both gowns and veils to ship. If a bride ordered a gown in March, it would normally arrive by May. But shipping times have been extended until July.
As such, she said she encourages brides to book appointments sooner, choose from the Canadian designer available at the shop—since the factory is not overseas—or select a sample gown to take home off the rack and have altered.Gold said she has to be aware of what dresses are going to ship fastest to fit a bride’s timeline, which includes calling designers regularly.
“It’s a constant knowing of all the things when you’re with a bride,” Gold said.
Evangeline Bridal
205 E. Main St., Tomball
832-497-7799
www.evangelinebridal.com
Hours: Tue.-Sat. by appointment only
