East Dundee bridal salon with all-male staff trying to return to reality TV with 'Bridal Boys'
David Gaffke has two philosophies to which he attributes the success of his East Dundee bridal salon.
First, all women deserve to be treated with respect. Second, men know best how to appeal to the real client: the groom.
The dresses at Complete Bridal are affordable and realistic, varying in sizes and styles, Gaffke said. But what makes the shop a novelty in the industry is the all-male staff - men who are taught to be complimentary, deferential and honest while helping a bride find the perfect dress to impress her groom.
"This is not your normal bridal salon by any means," Gaffke said. "We have a really unique atmosphere here."
Gaffke and Chicago-based production team eleventh Hour Entertainment want to capture the salon's distinctive qualities in "Bridal Boys," a new reality TV show they hope will soon get picked up by a network. The show will highlight real brides with realistic budgets, Gaffke said, while also focusing on the dynamic of the shop and its staff.
"The spirit behind the show is so much more than just finding the perfect dress," said producer and director Kevin Hanna. "It's a profile of a group of men trying to make their way in a female-dominated profession, and David taking his staff and helping mold them into the young gentlemen he thinks they can be."
Complete Bridal made its television debut in another reality show, "Best in Bridal," which aired on FYI network in 2014. Producers had taken notice of Gaffke two years earlier when he sent an angry letter to "Say Yes to the Dress," saying the show was unrealistic.
Complete Bridal and FYI parted ways after one season, Gaffke said, noting "Best in Bridal" focused too much on his competition with Shelley's Bridal Couture in West Dundee, and "not enough on my guys and the fact that we're different.
"The network and I went back and forth on the whole concept of the show," he said. "We just didn't see eye to eye."
Believing his salon has more to offer reality TV fans, Gaffke brought his original idea to eleventh Hour Entertainment last summer, and Hanna jumped on board.
"We both agreed there was still meat left on the bone. There's still story left to be told," Hanna said. "We came back with a new concept behind the familiar format of bridal show reality, and I think it's really going to turn the genre on its head and redefine it for the generation of people that are still hungry for reality TV but want to see something new."
The Complete Bridal staff recently completed filming a sizzle real, which will be sent to various networks - Bravo, TLC, Logo TV or E! - in hopes one will be interested in the show, Hanna said.
If "Bridal Boys" takes off, each episode will feature one bride trying to find her perfect dress, Hanna said. The rest of the time would be spent getting to know the staffers and following their relationships with one another.
Between pulling pranks on each other and getting into catty arguments, Gaffke said, there's never a dull moment in the salon.
"It's all about selling gowns and really having a good time," he said. "It's like a brotherhood."