In the 1950s, a petite woman named Madie Ella Leonard opened a fine dress store in a tiny Alabama town. Convinced that mixing the fashions of the Big Apple with service drenched in Southern charm would create a shopping destination people would have to revisit, Madie purchased her first few lines of inventory and stocked the shelves with finery that would make any Southern lady swoon. Though met with a lot of people who told her tiny Alabama couldn’t handle couture, Madie went on to operate one of the most influential dress shops in Alabama – dressing Southern women for over 40 years.
Madie, who passed away in 2013, shared her love of fashion with her nieces – who she treated like the daughters she never had. With the same love of couture and desire to bring something new and innovative to the bridal market in Huntsville, Madie’s nieces opened White Dresses.
White Dresses, a couture bridal shop located in the quaint Village of Providence, blends couture bridal gowns with service drenched in Southern charm. Our Alabama bridal shop offers Southern brides a carefully curated selection of exclusive couture gowns coupled with a personal shopping experience that ensures each bride has the attention needed to select the perfect wedding gown for her special day. Since opening, White Dresses has been chosen as the best bridal shop in Alabama by Alabama Magazine, has been selected as one of the best bridal boutiques in Alabama and Tennessee, and has been featured in numerous print and online publications.
Photograph by Mandy Owens Photography