Wedding Gallery in St. Charles, MO, designs and manufactures all of its wedding dresses domestically, shielding brides from the tariff surcharges and price uncertainty affecting 90% of the U.S. bridal market
While bridal shops across the United States grapple with tariff surcharges of 10 to 15 percent on imported wedding gowns, Wedding Gallery—a bridal salon and manufacturing facility in St. Charles, Missouri—has not raised prices, added surcharges, or experienced a single supply chain disruption related to the ongoing trade disputes between the U.S. and China.
The reason is straightforward: Wedding Gallery designs and manufactures every wedding dress in its collection in its own factory in the Frenchtown neighborhood of historic downtown St. Charles. No gowns are imported. No fabrics or production are outsourced to China or other overseas facilities affected by current tariffs. Every gown is made under one roof by a local production team overseen by the company’s founder and designer, Nagwa Abdelghfour.
According to the National Bridal Retailers Association, China accounts for approximately 90 percent of wedding gowns sold in the United States. When the Trump administration implemented tariffs on Chinese imports—reaching as high as 145 percent before being temporarily reduced—the bridal industry was caught in the crossfire. Bridal retailers across the country have reported adding surcharges ranging from $100 to $800 per gown, with some designers raising base prices entirely. NPR, CNBC, and the Associated Press have all documented the impact on brides and retailers, with some shop owners describing the current season as their slowest since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wedding Gallery operates outside this dynamic entirely. “When I started this business, the decision to manufacture here was about quality and control,” said Abdelghfour, who founded Wedding Gallery in 2006 after a career in the high technology industry. “I wanted to be able to stand behind every dress we make. I didn’t set out to be tariff-proof—but that’s exactly what we are.”
Domestic wedding dress manufacturing is exceptionally rare. The National Bridal Retailers Association has stated publicly that the industry lacks the skilled labor pool to produce gowns at scale in the United States, writing in a letter to lawmakers that “these dresses cannot be made in the United States” due to the shortage of workers trained in hand-beading, lacework, and embroidery.
Wedding Gallery has operated as an exception to that assessment for nearly two decades. Abdelghfour, who was born in Egypt and worked in the technology sector before moving to St. Charles in 2004, built the company’s manufacturing capability from the ground up. The wedding dress factory and bridal salon share the same facility at 801 N 2nd Street in St. Charles, allowing Abdelghfour to oversee production personally—from initial design sketches through fabric selection, construction, quality inspection, and final fitting.
The company’s production model offers several advantages that have become more relevant in the current trade environment. Special orders are manufactured faster than the four-to-six-month timelines typical of overseas production. Modifications to existing designs—such as changes to necklines, sleeves, or fabrics—can be accommodated during the manufacturing process. And the company offers what it calls a “peace of mind fit guarantee,” adjusting gowns after production if a bride’s measurements change before her wedding day.
Wedding Gallery’s collection ranges from $1,600 to $5,000, with the majority of gowns falling between $2,000 and $3,000. The company also maintains an off-the-rack inventory called the “Buy Me Now” collection, with Made in USA gowns starting at $1,000 in sizes 0 through 30, available for immediate purchase.
Those prices have not changed as a result of tariffs. There are no surcharges, no temporary fees, and no uncertainty about what a bride will owe when her gown is ready.
By comparison, the average American bride spent $2,100 on a wedding dress in 2025, according to The Knot’s Real Weddings Study, and industry analysts project that tariff-related price increases could add 10 to 15 percent to wedding budgets in 2026 and 2027.
Wedding Gallery’s salon and factory are located at 801 N 2nd Street in St. Charles, approximately 30 minutes from downtown St. Louis via I-70. The company serves brides from across the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, including St. Charles County, St. Louis County, and surrounding communities in O’Fallon, St. Peters, Wentzville, Chesterfield, Kirkwood, Brentwood, Maplewood, and throughout Missouri.
The salon operates by appointment only, seeing one bride at a time with a private, dedicated consultation. Abdelghfour and her team work directly with each bride from initial appointment through final fitting.
The current tariff environment has raised questions about the bridal industry’s dependence on overseas manufacturing. David’s Bridal, the nation’s largest bridal retailer with nearly 200 stores, has publicly stated that it is accelerating efforts to move all manufacturing out of China. Several independent designers have begun exploring domestic production options or diversifying to non-Chinese manufacturing facilities in countries less affected by current tariffs.
Wedding Gallery’s model suggests that domestic bridal manufacturing, while rare, is viable. The company has operated its factory continuously since transitioning from reselling other designers’ gowns to producing its own collection. It employs a local production team in St. Charles and has grown from a 2,000-square-foot startup to a facility exceeding 10,000 square feet.
“Every time someone says American-made wedding dresses aren’t possible, I think about the thousands of brides who have worn our gowns,” Abdelghfour said. “We’ve been doing this for almost 20 years. It’s not a theory. It’s our business.”
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For more information about Wedding Gallery, contact the company here:
Wedding Gallery
Nagwa Abdelghfour
16367249012
info@weddinggalleryweb.com
801 N 2nd St, St Charles, MO 63301
