Local wedding dress shops impacted by tariffs

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - Many women dream of the day they find the wedding dress of their dreams, but soon the cost of that dream could jump based on tariffs.

Local bridal stores are getting creative with the way they handle the expense. At Michelle's Bridal, they are adding a line to their invoices specifically for tariffs. This way, if the percentage changes, or tariffs are cancelled, they can refund the bride.

"The vendors we get our fabric, bridal gowns, mom's dresses, bridesmaids, everything else, 90% of them are manufactured in China, which is the country being tariffed now," said Morgan Stone, owner of Michelle's Bridal. "Half of our designers were having to charge people about 8% of what the retail price is. Other designers are up to 14%."

Stone knows the added cost is not ideal and is trying to help brides as much as possible. They are encouraging people to shop their sample dresses and hoping tariffs pass soon.

At Elite Bridal, they are seeing an 18% increase in the cost of their dresses. So far, that increase hasn't been passed down to brides. Executive Director Sara Michael says they are trying their best to take on the increases to keep dresses affordable.

She says the tariffs are unavoidable in the bridal industry.

"The production of wedding dresses is not done in the United States," said Michael. "From the designers we work with currently and the designers I've worked with in the past, they're all being made somewhere else. So they're having to travel through different countries, no matter what, to get to us. So I don't think there is a company that I know of that could avoid it. "

Michael says for now, brides won't be charged extra. But if prices go up more, or tariffs are sill in effect, that may have to change.

The White House says China faces up to a 245% tariff on imports as a result of its retaliatory actions.