The bridal fashion designer shuts down the idea of a difficult bride after working in the industry for 30 years
Randy Fenoli of Say Yes to the Dress fame has seen his fair share of demanding brides through the course of the series’ 22-season run.
Still, he says he takes issue with the term “bridezilla.” In fact, he doesn’t even believe that kind of a bride exists. Instead, Fenoli insists that the pressure of picking the perfect dress is enough to make anyone act out.
“People ask me all the time, ‘How do you deal with bridezillas?’ ” Fenoli said at an event announcing his partnership with Princess Cruises in New York City on Thursday. “I have a woman in front of me that has never done this before and she’s anxious. This is the most important garment she will ever wear and everyone’s putting pressure on her.”
He noted that managing the “entourages” brides often bring along for consultations and shopping trips can actually make the experience more stressful for women.
“If you want to buy a car, you go buy a car. You want to buy a house, you buy a house. You don’t bring along your childhood friend and your mother-in-law and say, ‘Well what do you think?’ You don’t need their opinions,” he added.
Part of the stress of finding a wedding dress, Fenoli explained, comes from insecurity.
“[Brides are] just so afraid that they’re not going to find something that they look beautiful in. And I have to say in 30 years, I’ve never sent a bride down the aisle naked, so I guarantee her she will find a dress,” he added.
Fenoli also gave a playful nod to his hit TLC series in his chat, saying, “It’s really harder for a woman to say yes to a dress than it is for her to say yes to the groom.”
As he’s planning his own wedding to fiancé Mete Kobal, whom he proposed to in December 2022, Fenoli told PEOPLE that he is reminding brides to “prioritize what’s really and truly important” about their weddings.
“There’s only a few things that last after the wedding. You’ve got your photos, your videos, your partner and the wedding dress. Everything else is gone. The cake’s gone, the music’s gone, the venue’s gone, the flowers die, and everything’s gone, but the memories are there and you see those in photos and the dress,” he said.
Fenoli spoke out about his distaste for the “bridezilla” term while announcing his partnership with Princess Cruises, through which he’s hoping to alleviate brides’ wedding-planning stress.
He was named the brand’s “love and romance ambassador” to consult on on-board weddings, and will also host a dedicated bridal fashion cruise in December. Fenoli called the partnership “a match made in heaven.”
“[Princess Cruises’] attention to detail, everything they do, I think is really reflective of who I am and my brand,” Fenoli said. “I want to make sure that every bride is taken care of with the attention to details of every dress and everything. And I’m just so excited about this bridal fashion cruise.”
Brides who are in need of dress advice or who don’t want to be labeled a “bridezilla” will get the chance to enjoy presentations from Fenoli and one-on-one consultations with the self-proclaimed “king of bridal” on board the cruise.