Photo Credits: Rachelle Lynn, https://rachellelynn.co
“We are the bride of Christ.”
That belief isn’t just spoken at Bella Rose Bridal and Formal – it’s lived. This award-winning flagship Edmond, Okla. boutique, with three locations across the state, was built on more than just business savvy. It thrives due to owners Travis and Petra Simpson’s rock-solid faith, prayerful guidance and mission to treat every single person who walks through the door with dignity and respect, regardless of whether they purchase a gown.
It also has a unique niche: three separate-but-related businesses operating under the same roof – a bridal boutique, fine jewelry store and gun-and-gold shop. While selling different products they help each other out via clever cross-promotions and customer perks. This wasn’t necessarily what Petra and Travis envisioned in the beginning, but regular prayers and divine timing have guided their way.
“Put God first in all you do and everything falls into place,” Petra says. “We’re followers of Christ and I really feel that our steps are being directed and that’s our belief and our faith. We love what we do and are grateful every day that we’re able to serve our community and meet the needs of our customers – that’s our drive.”
Surprise Beginnings
Petra and Travis’s journey into bridal retail began in 2010. The couple, who met in college at the University of Oklahoma, had recently moved back to the Sooner State from Colorado to be closer to family. There, Travis had a 5,000-square-foot fine jewelry store in Spring Creek that he’d purchased as an investment a couple of years prior.
It was located next to a little bridal store, which the owner was putting up for sale. One day Travis – intrigued by the opportunity - came home and asked Petra if she’d be interested in purchasing it and running it as a family.
“And it was a total shock to me, literally,” the mom of three says.
After all, neither came from a retail background. While Petra has always loved fashion and working with people, she’d previously been in HR and sales/marketing for recruiting and headhunting companies while Travis, following three seasons with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins, worked in manufacturing.
And yet, following the departure of his jewelry store partner, Travis was “kind of learning at the seat of my pants” about retail and Petra viewed the boutique as a new adventure and challenge.
“So I said: let’s pray about it,” she says. “And here we are today!”
Of course, Bella Rose’s transformation didn’t happen overnight. Right after purchasing the 1,200-square-foot boutique, Petra and Travis moved it to a space in a nearby shopping center, which was approximately 4,500 square feet. The jewelry store moved with them, and although the businesses remained a couple of doors down from one another, they were close enough to cross-promote to customers.
From the beginning, their belief that “we are the bride of Christ” formed the foundation of their store.
“I kept thinking why bridal Lord?” Petra says. “We are the bride – Jesus – waiting for our groom – God. Once you accept Jesus, who died for us, into your heart and believe that he died to save you to live in eternity forever, God sends the Holy Spirit to live within you!”
And this spirit showcased in all they did, from the kindness they showed customers and staff to the way they helped their community.
“And everything took off from there,” Petra says. “That particular time was super busy. We had four dressing rooms on our bridal side, three on our prom/formal wear side and literally every 90 minutes we were running every dressing room with people just constantly waiting to get in.”
After about 10 years, a large building came up for sale. It was no more than 60 yards away but had a major incentive: it would allow both the bridal and jewelry stores to coexist under the same roof.
“And that was really one of our main objectives,” Petra says. “We’d never been together in the same suite or building, which is what we’d really wanted. We’ve always been 24 hours together for us is better than not being together.”
In 2021, they completed the purchase and moved down the street into their own building. Today, Bella Rose – in its fifth year in its own location – is one of three businesses under the same roof:
Walk in the front door, make a left and you’re at the fine jewelry store, comprising 1,200 square feet. Make a right, and you’re at the bridal shop, which has grown significantly to 9,000 square feet
While the jewelry store plays religious music all day “we’re open to all faiths and we love everyone, not just one group,” Travis says.
The same acceptance and love is true at Bella Rose, although it features a more diversified musical playlist.
In the middle is a 900-square-foot gun-and-gold shop, which Travis started as a result of his desire to buy and sell gold and silver, which he says are “now more important than they’ve ever been.”
This provides opportunity to offer fun cross-promotions, such as a shotgun wedding sale, where if someone spends so much on an engagement ring, they get a coupon to buy a shotgun or pistol from the gun store. In this way the stores help market each other.
“It’s just an interesting dynamic which, in my wildest dreams, I never thought of,” Travis says. “But we’ve had more brides purchasing the rose gold or leopard-printed guns; it’s hilarious.”
The jewelry store also cross-promotes to bridal, offering engagement ring buyers a perk for a wedding gown at Bella Rose. Dress purchasers get a perk on the men’s band – with up to 31 characters complimentary engraved – as well as perks on bridesmaids, wedding gown preservation and complimentary steaming.
And it works, too – Petra and Travis say a huge number of customers – as many as 95% – take advantage of said perks.
“For the most part my wife and I are very serving,” Travis says. “We understand – it’s not like it was 38 years ago when we got married. Prices are different so however we can help in little areas. If you’re loyal to us then we’ll give perks in different ways because we want to make sure that one, they’re happy and two, they’re getting a great product at a fair price.”
The Bella Rose Experience
Since the day it opened Bella Rose Bridal and Formal has had a simple mission: to be inclusive and serve every bride, in every size and every style.
“No matter who you are that walks through that door we want you to feel loved,” Petra says. “And we treat everybody the way they should be treated, with dignity and respect.”
This is, after all, part of their faith. To accomplish this, they focus on providing the very best experience.
“We really have a passion and love what we do, and I think it shows,” Petra says. “In past trainings (Wendy Rivera) would say: a dress is a dress is a dress. And I’m a firm believer of that. It’s the service, it’s the experience, it’s the environment, it’s the follow-up – those things are all-encompassing.”
Follow-up is huge for Petra, who makes a point to communicate and keep everyone – staff and brides – in the loop, whether she has an answer or not.
“People want an honest answer and they want to be heard and seen,” she says. “When you say you’re going to do something, you need to not only do it but be it. ’Be’ is an action word. It’s a really big deal.”
Their large inventory is kept in clear garment bags so, if a bride needs a dress that day, she can walk out of the store with one.
During the week, Tuesday-Friday, Bella Rose accepts walk-ins based on stylist availability. Fridays and Saturdays are by appointment but if there’s an opening, they’ll get the customer in no matter what, even if Petra has to take that customer herself.
“I love working with people because there’s never a dull moment,” she says. “There’s always something new occurring and I feel it’s very challenging yet very rewarding to be able to fulfill the needs of that request.”
Staff – who recently enjoyed bonding on a “treat retreat” outside of work – earn commission on every item they sell and love being able to boost their income via the store’s tip program. As well, they appreciate the fact their requests and needs are heard and taken seriously.
Altogether, Bella Rose Bridal and Formal fosters a positive, uplifting environment that draws people to it and brides constantly remark “feels different.”
“I want everyone to feel the love here,” Petra says.
And it shows – Bella Rose has won “Best of the 405”, an annual readers’ choice poll spotlighting the best Oklahoma City-area businesses, four consecutive years in a row.
“I am just blown away by that and I never could do it without my team and the support of my husband and family,” Petra says.
She recalls that, shortly after receiving that recognition, she was crossing a busy street to enter the store parking lot after a rainstorm.
To her left was a momma and papa duck with seven ducklings getting ready to waddle across the street.
“I said, ‘not on my time, Lord’, so I pulled out into the traffic and honked to stop everyone and off they went,” she says. “I said that was the best thing since January 1! And then Peter (Grimes, publisher of VOWS) called (about being profiled)!”
Strategic Expansion
Throughout the years, Bella Rose has received multiple inquiries about expansion into other areas.
Travis’s family is from Norman, Okla., a 40-minute drive from their flagship location, and Petra knew there was a bridal boutique in the area. One night in 2017, she peeked through its windows, checking out her competitors.
The next day, one of her consultants said: You’re not going to believe this; there’s a real estate agent who wants to know if you want to buy a store in Norman.
“And I just was like…wait a minute! How in the world could this have possibly have happened?” Petra says.
It was fate – Petra and Travis met with that owner of that store and ended up buying the business and all items in it (they lease the space). This became Bella Rose’s second location, which opened in 2018.
Next came Tulsa, a bustling city of 500k+ that had always been a popular location request. After all, many Tulsa brides traveled the 100-plus miles to Bella Rose’s flagship store, so it made sense to put a boutique here. This location opened in late 2019, right around the time COVID hit.
In between that, Petra and Travis – who’d originally dreamt about having stores all over the U.S. – also expanded to Amarillo, Texas, an agricultural city of about 203k that had also been the source of many Bella Rose brides.
However, given the realities of that four-hour commute – plus the fact Petra and Travis were managing three other stores, dealing with the COVID pandemic and constantly going in and out of Children’s Hospital to support their son as he battled a serious health issue – they only remained about six months.
“It was just too much,” Petra says.
So, they shut down the Amarillo store and today maintain the three Oklahoma locations. They work as a team on all stores, with Petra doing the marketing and sales/design and Travis handling the HR, payroll and operations side of things.
They have some family help too. Their younger son, in jeweler school, will assist Travis while home on breaks, while their college-bound daughter occasionally works the front desk and greets customers at the boutique. (Their older son is getting his doctorate in vet medicine in New Zealand).
Petra and Travis also have a team with whom they do weekly and quarterly meetings, maintaining ongoing communication between the three stores at all times.
“I have some really strong leaders in each of those stores that have been with me for a bit and they’re great – they know the industry,” Petra says.
They did choose to expand their reach in another way. In April 2024, they started a podcast – Candid Bridal – with the goal of educating and uplifting brides on a range of topics including custom changes, dress ordering timelines and veil lengths and styles.
“We just like to share the day to day and our goal is to be helpful,” Petra says. “It’s really just starting to grow right now, and we will have customers come in and say: we heard your podcast, so that’s exciting!”
Faith Forward
Today, Bella Rose Bridal and Formal is in a great place – thriving, busy and profitable. That doesn’t mean, however, there aren’t challenges.
Dealing with the ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs is a big one. Their best advice? “Be in communication with your designers to really get specifics because they’re fluctuating all the time and you need to make sure your margins are where they need to be to maintain profitability,” Petra says.
Additionally, Travis recommends, don’t separate the tariff charge on invoices.
“The consumer will NOT be able to understand that so we just try to mitigate that as much as possible and roll that into the pricing, which is a bit difficult in this industry because the pricing is so competitive,” he says.
In fact, it’s this competitive pricing and customers’ desire to price shop that necessitates differentiating yourself.
“And that’s been my goal: trying to get dresses or designers that not everybody else has, so I do have three private lines right now,” Petra says.
Another big challenge is the current economy. Travis and Petra feel it’s important to stay consistent and understand your community’s needs in a way that works for everyone.
“Don’t try to be the only one that’s making a nickel; everyone needs to survive,” Travis says. “My wife has gone beyond, helping other stores even and all kinds of things. She’s very gracious; I really appreciate all she has done.”
Their lives reflect a spirit of generosity rooted in faith, and they trust that when you walk in obedience and compassion, God shows up in extraordinary ways. During their son’s extended medical crisis, they experienced what Petra describes as “a peace that surpasses all understanding.”
“Our son had one failed stem cell transplant, radiation, chemo and two hip replacements, and the connections God provided would blow your mind but only God can!” Petra says. “He is out of the hospital and has just completed two years of college!”
Moving forward, the couple, who will celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary on January 24, are evaluating what direction they want to take Bella Rose. They’re currently “brain dumping” about the possibility of selling online.
“I think it’s almost necessary at this time to compete with everything else going on out there,” Petra says. “The consumer has that Amazon mentality where they want things NOW.”
They’re also enjoying time with family and their passions for travel and great food.
“God first for us no matter what but (after that) spending time with family is huge and we recognize that even with our employees,” Petra says. “Your family is very important in life because time moves so very quickly.”
Overall, they trust prayer, divine guidance and hard work will guide the way.
“We’re very driven people and we don’t take no for an answer,” Travis says. “We love to work, serve, grow and put out a great product.”
And, most of all, they remain grateful for the many incredible blessings on their journey.
“God is so good and I want to share him with everyone!” says Petra, who does a weekly bible study and dreams of teaching that message on a larger scale someday. “I love the ongoing challenge in this industry because so many things are constantly changing with regard to sales and being able to keep up with that. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are my firm foundation and, with them, anything is possible!”
