Delaware County Health Director Turns Passion for Wedding Dresses into Growing Bridal Store

MEDIA, Pa. (CBS) — A Delaware County health care executive with a passion for wedding dresses launched a successful career as the owner of a bridal salon.

Debbie Collins is the owner of The Dress Matters, a bridal boutique on North Providence Road in Media. By helping brides find their dream wedding dress, she is living her own dream.

“I love brides, I love dresses,” Collins said. “I love everything about the wedding industry.”

She’s been in business for 10 years, but her journey hasn’t been easy. Collins took money from her 401(k) to open a bridal shop.

“Traditionally, black business owners have a hard time getting loans, so I didn’t even go down that route,” Collins said. “I didn’t even try to get a business loan.”

She claims she made no money for the first four years of her business and only started making a profit in the fifth year.

“A couple of customers didn’t want to buy from a black business,” Collins said. “So one customer came in, asked who the owner was, one of my employees pointed at me and the customer immediately left. And I think that was the first time I experienced racism.”

Despite the discrimination, Collins never lost sight of her dream. She said that, for the most part, owning the store has been a great experience.

“I’m all about supporting any small business, and being a Black-owned business makes it even more special,” said Alexis Flores of Ardmore, who came to The Dress Matters on June 13 to try on wedding dresses.

Collins still works full time as an account executive at Keystone First. But she loves watching her side business, the bridal salon, grow.

“It was exciting to go from a one-woman show where I was doing everything by myself to now having seven to eight employees,” Collins said.

Customers have shown support.

“Debbie was great,” said Holly Blair of Wallingford, who bought her dress at Collins and moved to Japan after her wedding. “She’s so positive, so nice every time I come in. She always has some words of encouragement.”

Collins shares this advice with Black entrepreneurs: “Follow your passion and never give up.”