Say Yes to the Dress

At Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City, 30,000 square feet filled with what the store claims is the largest selection of wedding dresses in the world awaits any eager bride-to-be who can manage to nab an elusive appointment. The famous dress shop has been in business since 1941, but it wasn’t until 2007 that it became the renowned setting of TLC’s now long-running reality show Say Yes to the Dress. For 20-plus seasons, each installment of the show has centered on a handful of different brides, depicting the emotional highs and lows of wedding dress shopping. Kleinfeld’s consultants are shown bending over backwards to make every bride’s dreams come true no matter what budget, time, or familial constraints might be in the way. Then, when an appointment seems all but lost, Randy Fenoli, Kleinfeld’s former fashion director turned independent consultant, is brought in to save the day. Fenoli began his run in season 2 and has become not only a beloved fixture of the series, but also a driving force behind its indelible contributions to the wedding industrial complex. In the end, the lasting legacy of Say Yes to the Dress and its spin-offs (Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, Say Yes to the Dress: England, and more) may be the expectations it has given a generation of viewers about what their wedding should look like—and how much it should cost. —Megan McCluskey

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