2:37
- style
- January 27, 2024
Bride charged more for alterations that match skin
A couple is calling out a wedding dress shop for discrimination.
Video by Faith Bernstein
2:37
While Tookes explained that she didn't initially have the courage in the moment to speak up, she later told Kirchner who told \"GMA\" he was \"livid\" and \"in disbelief\" that something like this could actually happen to someone — especially a bride.
\"I was extremely shocked and upset that something like this could even take place,\" he said. \"For a brief second, at an utter loss for words just imagining how this experience must have been and how this even came to happen. I was ready to put a hole in the wall.\"
Kirchner isn't one to let things slide, and mentioned that's why he decided to share the incident with their TikTok followers and the bridal community.
Tookes has also been in touch with the boutique and said that they have been apologetic and taken accountability for their actions, realizing how wrong they were to charge extra for the brown built-in undergarments. The dress has also now been offered to her free of charge.
Additionally, the dress designer has contacted the boutique to ensure the in-store policy reflects the designer's views on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), and has encouraged DEI training for all employees and local suppliers, according to Tookes.
The couple chose not to name the bridal shop, with Kirchner saying \"what we're not gonna do it drag people's names through the mud.\"
Since posting, the video has been viewed more than 3.6 million times along with more than 9,000 comments — and an outpouring of support as well as others sharing their personal hiccups with the wedding industry.
\"I knew from growing up as a Black woman that some things that I needed to fit in and have the right colored garments would sometimes be a bit more money or a bit more effort, and I just didn't realize that this was an issue that affected so many women,\" said Tookes. \"It shouldn't be an uncomfortable experience to shop for your wedding gown.\"
She continued, \"I have a great honor to be able to represent a massive community of women, and it's been great hearing their stories and hoping that this attention brought to the issue can hopefully make a positive change.\"
While Tookes initially loved the dress she chose, she says she didn't love the experience and is now on a new journey to find one that honors her values.
The New York-based model and HR specialist has received a lot of support from the bridal design community. She's been encouraged to check out Black-owned designers, and she's now leaning more toward that direction.
Tookes' advice for other brides searching for the perfect dress is to do your research, and make sure the bridal shop has inclusive policies ahead of time to spare you any negative experiences.
\"I think that bridal industry and beyond, the standard can no longer be fair skin,\" said Tookes. \"I think to represent all brides there has to be a change from within to stop making beige, nude the standard.\"
She continued, \"Brides should be treated like the beautiful people that they are, and I think to make anyone who falls outside of the expected skin tone feel weird needs to be a thing of the past. Go in with the expectation that your bride needs to be the focus of your attention in the appointment and treat her that way. I think that should be the shift.\"
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Style/couple-calls-wedding-shop-charging-bride-extra-undergarments/story?id=106707978","legacySlug":"/style/story/couple-calls-wedding-shop-charging-bride-extra-undergarments-106707978","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"01:50","publishDate":"01-27-2024","updatedTime":"20:21","updatedDate":"05-01-2024","socialImage":{"alt":"A New York-based couple is calling out a wedding shop for discrimination.","credit":"joeyandtessa/Instagram","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/tessa-wedding-dress-main-ht-jt-240126_1706302082912_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"1/27/2024 01:50:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":106707978,"headline":"Bride charged more for alterations that match skin","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA WEDDING DRESS DISCRIMINATION","description":"A couple is calling out a wedding dress shop for discrimination. ","duration":"2:37","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2024/01/240126_gma_digital_weddingdress_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["84144316","84342628","102369148"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"January 13, 2022","headline":"Couple goes viral for $500 wedding, $47 wedding dress","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/bride-viral-47-wedding-dress-tying-knot-500-84144316","id":84144316,"image":{"alt":"Couple goes viral for $500 wedding, $47 wedding dress","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/brokenbrough-ht-rc-230113_1673633092456_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Courtesy Niann Hill","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"April 27, 2022","headline":"Bride spends less than $10 on wedding dress","section":"style","slug":"/style/story/bride-spends-10-wedding-dress-84342628","id":84342628,"image":{"alt":"Bride spends less than $10 on wedding dress","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/wedding-dress-gty-jt-220427_1651091724218_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"August 18, 2023","headline":"Wedding dress charity for military, 1st responders loses dresses in flood","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/charity-donates-wedding-dresses-military-1st-responders-loses-102369148","id":102369148,"image":{"alt":"Wedding dress charity for military, 1st responders loses dresses in flood","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/brides-across-america-1-ht-thg-230818_1692378630618_hpMain_2_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Brides Across America","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Bride charged more for alterations that match skin","description":"A couple is calling out a wedding dress shop for discrimination. ","duration":"2:37","uploadDate":"01-27-2024","publication":"01-27-2024","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2024/01/240126_gma_digital_weddingdress_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2024/01/240126_gma_digital_weddingdress_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/style/story/couple-calls-wedding-shop-charging-bride-extra-undergarments-106707978"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144059","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133143081","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:style:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"style","title":"Bride charged more for alterations that match skin","pubTime":"20:50","pubDate":"01-26-2024","modTime":"16:21","modDate":"05-01-2024","taxonomyTags":"none","id":106707978,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"Faith Bernstein","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Bride charged more for alterations that match skin","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA WEDDING DRESS DISCRIMINATION","videoId":106707978,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/style/story/couple-calls-wedding-shop-charging-bride-extra-undergarments-106707978"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/106707978","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/106707978","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};