After more than four decades of dressing brides, prom-goers, and grooms, Carol’s Bridal and Prom — a Danville institution — is preparing to close its doors.

Owner Carol Senn never imagined her future would lie in the bridal industry when she first opened the shop. “I went to Centre to teach history and couldn’t get a job at the time,” she said. “I actually opened while I worked at Hub Franklin, which was a department store here for four years. I learned a lot of good lessons in the home gift shop.”

In the years since, Senn and her team have outfitted countless couples. “We’ve helped girls whose fiancé suddenly got leave from the service and they had a week—we’ve gotten them dressed and sent them on their way,” she said. “We sold dresses as people were literally going to the courthouse to get married.”

Trends have changed dramatically since the shop opened. “The first year we opened, I needed white, baby pink, and baby blue dresses with hoops and gloves and parasols,” Send said. “Now it’s every color in the rainbow—from full sequins to long straight slinky ball gowns. Probably 80 percent of what we sell now is ivory, not white.”

In addition to weddings, the shop has dressed generations of prom-goers. “A grandmother will bring her granddaughter in for a prom dress, and she bought her prom dress here too. We’ve fitted two and three generations of families. Boys we fitted for prom now come back for their weddings.”

At 72, Carol and her husband David, who manages tuxedos and the shop’s website, are looking forward to retirement. “We just want to have some time to do fun things—not just work all the time,” she said. “We’re hoping somebody does purchase it and continue it, but if not, we are just going to retire.”

Looking back, Senn said the support from the Danville community has been unforgettable. “During COVID, someone in town anonymously sent several businesses on Main Street $100 bills and said, ‘This is just to help you because we appreciate you.’ I think that was one of the most wonderful gestures anybody’s ever made.”

Carol’s Bridal and Prom — and the woman behind it — have helped define celebrations in Danville for more than 40 years. And while the shop may soon close, its legacy will remain stitched into the memories and milestones of the families it served.