One of the first things I did when I was ready to build out the store was ask the neighboring businesses who they used. Luckily, everyone said Design 2 Construct, a construction company located right in Jackson, WI. Their build outs looked great, which included a vet clinic, dentist office and of course my landlord, Fred Astaire Dance Studio.

I had a basic sketch of how I wanted the space to look and when meeting with the designer, they brought that vision to life. It was so crucial for me to visualize how people would walk around the store, how high the closets should be so the dresses don’t touch the floor, but they are also easy to reach. My dad even designed a gorgeous recessed ceiling light for a chandelier I picked out.

The build out took longer than I had anticipated, but knowing what I know now, I can see why. I quit my job in September of 2013 and it wasn’t until March of 2014 I was able to open my doors. We originally planned for January of 2014, but holidays and some delays pushed it out a little longer.

One of the harder things I needed to do was pick out finishings. I was so set on having “dusty lavender” as my color.

I knew what all the other stores had as their “theme” so I needed mine to be different. I was also set on finding sparkly lavender wallpaper. I can’t even count the number of hours spent trying to find the right swatch to order.

Oh and the chandelier, I knew it would be the right one when I saw it. I sound like a bride now ha ha. I found the perfect antique looking silver branch chandelier with smoky grey crystals. It was just fancy enough without being pretentious because I wanted to have a laid back feel in the store.

One of my favorite days was when the signage was hung. With having a corner unit, I was able to have a sign on both the North and West sides.

Yes, this meant twice the cost, but I had highway visibility so it was worth it to me! It was a goal in life to be able to use my last name on a business. The bridal industry worked out well when your name is Bucci. Bucci’s Bridal was an easy decision, even if it’s hard to pronounce for some. “Think of it like Gucci, but with a B!” Oh the number of times I’ve explained it that way.

Back to the build out. It will be done in phases, you start with plumbing, concrete, electrical, HVAC units etc. The foundation needs to be set before any walls go up. Once that is done, then you can start on framework for the fitting rooms, bathroom, break room and storage.

I loved checking in with the team to see how things were progressing. My dad has a background in a lot of this so he would be jumping in quite a bit to see how things were developing. If I had a question, I usually asked him to explain something better to me.

Once the walls were painted and wallpapered, flooring was installed and the drop ceiling was complete, it was time to move in the dresses. I could only afford so many as an initial investment, which was 50.

I remember hand steaming each dress so it looked freshly pressed, ready to be hung gracefully from its hanger.

Filling up each closet with brand new styles from designers no one else carried in the area is what I was most excited about. I wanted Bucci’s to offer an unique selection of dresses so they felt they found something special.

My favorite line that I carried was Soft by Rosa Clara. These dresses had a very Gatsby inspired style. Soft English net, tons of hand tied beads and sequin and flowy embroidered sleeve and train details. In fact, the dresses were so popular, they’ve been featured in Milwaukee area publications, including the cover of M (Milwaukee) Magazine.