Childhood best friends Mallory Gritsch and Bri Buzick open Holland Bridal Shoppe in Pella
On Dec. 16 of last year, Mallory Lynch steadied her way down the aisle on the upper floor of Toast, the Ankeny wedding venue.
She locked arms with her brother, Deckar, as they arrived at the altar and greeted her now-husband Spencer Gritsch, the boy from Brooklyn, Iowa, who she met during their junior year in college after she saw him on Snapchat.
The floors were lined with Christmas trees. Her dress was lace-covered. Hair pieces fell in the front and the rest was pulled into a tightly held ponytail. The couple spun into one another's arms during their first dance choreographed to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."
She had dreamt about this day since childhood with her maid of honor Bri Buzick. But somebody was missing. Mallory's dad Chris Lynch died on Jan. 20, 2022, after a long battle with primary progressive multiple sclerosis that started in 2001 and a serious COVID-19 diagnosis that led to an 11-day hospital stay, where he passed away.
"Bri stayed with me the night he passed because I didn't want to leave his side," Gritsch said.
Grief inspired Gritsch to quit her day job as a teacher and write a new life chapter. One year after her dad's death, the childhood best friends opened a boutique bridal shop, Holland Bridal Shoppe in downtown Pella at 727 Main St.
"People come to Pella to get married even if they don't live here, which I don't think is super common of small towns the size of Pella," Buzick said. "We see the flowers, we see the venues, we see the photographers and we're like, 'It has everything you need except where a bride would get her dress,' and we've always talked about that, even since high school."
'We haven't left each other's side since'
Gritsch and Buzick, both 27, met in fifth grade at Jefferson Elementary School in Pella while practicing softball.
They danced together at Steppin’ Out Dance Studio in Prairie City and played basketball, softball and soccer. They shared sleepovers and spilt secrets. They took prom pictures and partied after graduation at Pella High School in 2014.
Then, they went their separate ways. Buzick enrolled at the University of Iowa while Gritsch studied education at Iowa State in Ames, but they quickly came back together.
“She transferred to Iowa State, and we haven’t left each other’s side since,” Gritsch said.
After graduation from Iowa State, Gritsch became a special education teacher focusing on students in fifth and sixth grades. Buzick enrolled at the University of Iowa's College of Law and went on to work as a family law attorney at a downtown Des Moines firm.
In 2022, Spencer got down on one knee and proposed to Gritsch in March before Buzick got engaged in April to her fiancé BJ Stokesbary, a developer breathing new life into the Dutch community. The "underwhelming" experiences they shared during dress shopping after their engagements led to the idea to start Holland Bridal Shoppe.
"Girls dream of this since they're little kids and then to just kind of show up, try some on and be like, 'OK this is it.' I think there's so much lost in translation there," Buzick said. "It really could just be amazing and after we went through it ourselves, we were kind of missing that feeling."
Shortly after they came up with the idea in April 2022, a rugged menswear store Stierenhuis vacated its space and closed in the city's downtown. The same month, Gritsch exited teaching after a battle with exhaustion and a need to grieve in the wake of her father's death.
"It was just really hard, so I quit without a plan," Gritsch said.
"We went from thinking somebody else should do this to we could do this, and it could be a success," Buzick added.
On a Wednesday in August, they found out the owner of the building was looking for renters. By Saturday of the same week, they hopped in a car and drove to Chicago for their first bridal market, where shop owners select dresses to sell in store.
A next-generation contemporary take on wedding industry norms
At Holland Bridal Shoppe, the hometown girls hope to cultivate an intimate and curated experience for brides. The pair wants to combine tried-and-true wedding traditions with a next-generation contemporary take on industry norms.
Holland Bridal's dresses feature a wide array of styles that are aimed to appeal to romantic brides with an elevated taste. Gritsch and Buzick both said they wanted price points to fit brides with any budget at the downtown shop. Dress prices range from $1,000 to $5,000.
“I think our style of dress matches the vibe of our space, so you’ve got the exposed brick, girly and feminine accents, trendy chairs,” Gritsch said. “I would say just kind of feminine and elevated. We want the dresses to feel expensive because they are high class, but we also want it to be affordable for people."
They offer brides and their loved ones lightly chilled Champagne and pink pieces of candy. Anybody can pull dresses during the appointment-only visits. Gritsch and Busick want to provide a comfortable dress shopping experience for brides of any size.
"There is so much pressure for how you're going to look on your wedding day if you're a woman and it makes the actual trying on of dresses experience intimidating and scary and we just want to take whatever pressure off of that that we can," Buzick said.
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Wedding dresses at the shop include looks that are reminiscent of celebrities' recent weddings, such as a mini dress with a bow veil that looks like it came straight out of the chapel where Kourtney Kardashian tied the knot in Las Vegas last year with drummer Travis Barker. Other more traditional dresses that combine elegance with modern flair could have easily been found during Kate Middleton's wedding to Prince William.
“We want to appeal to a broad audience of brides, especially when we’re pulling from the metro, small towns around Pella, etc.,” Buzick said. “I would say we’re really just focusing on classic styles with a slight bit of trend to it, so what we’ve been saying is the perfect mix of timeless and trend."
Happily ever after happens at Holland Bridal Shoppe in Pella
Gritsch started a new job recently as a real estate agent for Home Realty in Pella.
Maybe happily ever after doesn't just happen in castles with manicured lawns in the countryside. Maybe they exist in downtown Pella, past cornfields, on Main Street with the people who always stick by us.
Through good or bad. For better or worse. In life and death. The girls who met playing shortstop grew up and opened the kind of bridal shop that only existed in films about fairytales.
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"I think the only thing that truly could make this happen is I'm doing this with my best friend," Buzick said.
In June, Buzick will wed Stokesbary. Her last name will change, but some things always remain. Her maid of honor is that same girl from fifth grade.
Where to find Holland Bridal Shoppe
Location: 727 Main St., Pella
Contact: 641-204-1528 or hollandbridalshoppe.com
Hours: By appointment only Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Jay Stahl is an entertainment reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow him on Instagram or reach out at jstahl@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Childhood best friends open Holland Bridal Shoppe in Pella after tragedy
