Annapolis Bridal and Tuxedo will close its doors at the end of the year after operating for nearly 40 years in Annapolis.

The announcement was posted to the shop’s Facebook page Thursday.

“As the first bridal shop in our community, it has been an incredible honor to be a part of your most special moments,” the business wrote on Facebook.

Dora Vasquez, 77, owns and operates the shop. In addition to wedding dresses, it also sells and rents tuxedos. Today the business is on Annapolis Street in West Annapolis, but it was opened on Bay Ridge Road in the mid-80s by Vasquez’s brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Vasquez, who lived in Price George’s County at the time, was brought on as a seamstress.

Following several moves throughout the years, the business settled on Annapolis Street in 2010.

Famous customers have included former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, according to Vasquez.

Vasquez worked her way up from aiding the seamstresses with easy alterations to performing them. However, her favorite task is helping brides find a dress.

While it’s normal for a bride to try on multiple dresses, it was also normal for Vasquez to be adamant about having them try on a dress several times, or suggesting dresses the soon-to-be-bride may have overlooked.

“Whenever it did make me happy was when you see the face of the bride that they said, ‘This is it,'” she said. “And most of the time, I didn’t get [it] wrong.”

In the 90s, Vasquez’s in-laws decided to sell the business to move to Bolivia. They wanted to sell the business to Vasquez, but she says she declined because it had “too much stock” at the time. The store was eventually sold to Dotti Glyn, someone outside of the family, with the caveat that Vasquez continued working there. Vasquez bought the store in the 2000s following the death of her husband.

Flavia Vasquez, 47, joined her mother in the early 2000s, leaving her career as an ophthalmic technician in Annapolis and Silver Spring.

“It seems easy to work with Mom and not have to work early, not have to wake up early and commute. I was younger then, so I thought it would just be fun to hang out with my mom and work with her,” she said. “I’d never really had any interest in it. … I just wanted to be with her more than anything.”

Business has slowed down as competition grows, but Flavia Vasquez doesn’t view that as a reason to retire. Instead, she describes it as “motivation” to close the shop’s doors and direct their focus elsewhere.

“I think it’s time for [my mom] to have fun with her friends and go play cards and enjoy her granddaughter,” Flavia Vasquez said. “And I’m just ready to do something different also. I want to focus on my family, and then I want to see what else is out there for me to do.”

The store will close Dec. 23.

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