A Dolores bride, dressed by Say Yes Bridal & Boutique in Cortez, was recently in the running for the cover of the 2025 Durango Weddings Magazine.
Though the photo was not selected for the cover, the wedding will be featured in the magazine.
“I’m just excited,” Lindsay Fresquez, owner of Say Yes Bridal & Boutique, told The Journal. “This is the first time we’ve been in it. I think that’s a big deal, because we get forgotten over there. We have some really great vendors and really great things to offer here.”
Fresquez hopes people will realize that Cortez has options when it comes to weddings.
“Because we are in a much smaller area than Durango, I think there’s this preconceived notion that maybe we don’t have the latest styles or we don’t have the most awesome brands, and that is completely not the case,” Fresquez said.
The bride, Lexi Atkinson, shared her excitement about the magazine issue.
“It’s an honor to be featured and to be highlighted along with these incredible weddings from the year,” Atkinson said. “It’s exciting to come back home and showcase the area. I hope it showcases our incredible vendors and helps future couples in their planning.”
Say Yes has been in Cortez for four years, as of Feb. 1. The idea was born after Fresquez’s daughter went shopping for a wedding dress.
“My daughter got engaged, and we actually bought another wedding gown somewhere else. She didn’t get that special attention. I have a dream of when I take my daughter to find a wedding dress, there should be treats and lemonade and we get to sit and watch her come out,” Fresquez said. “What we experienced was high-pressure sales and limited try-on availability. We were really reduced to an hour, and we felt really rushed. We bought a dress, we got halfway home, and we were like, ‘What have we done? Do you even like this dress?’”
Fresquez wanted something different for future brides.
A few days later, Fresquez woke up with the idea of starting a bridal shop in Cortez that creates magical wedding dress shopping experiences for brides. She didn’t know where to start, so she dove into research. Soon, she found the designer the store now works with. The designer agreed to work with Fresquez on making the prices fit Southwest Colorado’s economic bracket.
“She negotiated my contract to fit our economic area,” Fresquez said. “I’m selling dresses that in the city sell for $7,000 or more, but they might only be $1,500 here. Our price range starts at $200 and caps at $4,000. We have a wide range as far as prices go, which I think is important.”
Say Yes works directly with a private wedding dress label, Premium Bridal, and is the only small boutique in the state that offers the line created by this label and its designer in Los Angeles.
Though the store was started with Cortez women in mind, Say Yes’s niche, right now, is out-of-town brides. Some brides have come all the way from Georgia and California.
“I would like to become the next Kleinfeld,” Fresquez said. “I would love to put Cortez’s wedding offerings on the map. I don’t think people have any idea about our caterers, our bakers … we have some really talented vendors in this area.”
One bride did go to Kleinfeld’s before Say Yes. She ended up buying her dress at Say Yes instead, writing a review that made Fresquez cry.
“Say Yes is the absolute best,” the bride wrote. “Lindsay and her team are so warm and welcoming. My first time dress shopping, I went to Kleinfeld’s in NYC. It was so disappointing and a very uncomfortable experience. Say Yes Bridal Boutique was the experience I imagined. Her shop is not overwhelming, her dresses are beautiful, and she works with your budget.”
To create the magical experience Fresquez had hoped for her daughter, the shop is booked out for three hours when the bride is shopping. There is no limit to the number of dresses or sizes brides can try, and the experience is catered with treats and homemade lemonade.
“There is no pressure,” Fresquez said. “I want them to enjoy their experience. I think from the moment they get engaged to picking out their dress should be all good memories.”
Since its start, Say Yes has grown in more ways than one. In addition to acquiring more square footage, the business provides wedding dresses, boutique-style clothing for women and gowns for formals such as prom and homecoming.
Say Yes also includes a makeup artist, wedding planning and rentals.
“We do take care of our gentlemen as well,” Fresquez said. “We use the same rental company that most bridal boutiques in the state of Colorado use, but I negotiated our contract so we are a little less expensive. The last two years, we have won retailer of the year for our men’s formal wear.”
And those who purchase their prom or homecoming gown from Say Yes will know their dress is one of a kind.
“We try to keep it very special for our young girls, so we only do one of each gown,” Fresquez said. “There’s no duplicates. If they shop in my store and they are going to the Cortez or Dolores prom, they’re not going to see their dress again. Not to say it can’t happen – somebody would have to scour the internet – but this reduces the rate of them seeing their dress.”
The Cortez Retail Enhancement Association echoed Fresquez’s goal of bringing more wedding business to the Cortez area.
“Lindsay and I both agree there is potential for really putting Cortez and Montezuma County on the map for weddings,” CREA’s AJ Dillon told The Journal. “Her store is right now single-handedly helping to make that happen. Our area has so many beautiful wedding locations, and along with Say Yes, we have vendors from florists to photographers to bakers.”
