In its early years, David's Bridal operated both boutiques and wedding dress warehouses where a bride could get a designer-like wedding dress on the cheap. "We get people who are getting married in two weeks and just don't have the time for all of that," Youtie told the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 1991.The formula worked. By 1999, David's Bridal employed 1,445 people, operated 80 stores in 30 states, and had reported more than $132 million in sales.
May later merged with Federated Department Stores — or, as we know it today, Macy's. In order to offload some of its debt, Federated put David's Bridal up for sale, and in 2006, investment firm Leonard Green & Partners bought it for $750 million.But the sale came at a time when the bridal industry was beginning to change.