Since joining David’s Bridal in 2019, Kelly Cook (MBA ’08, MFIN ’09) has pushed for innovations like AI wedding planners.
Most brides-to-be know the old adage “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” but Kelly Cook (MBA ’08, MFIN ’09) says modern weddings are all about the new.
“One of the most exciting things that’s happening in the wedding industry is that there are no rules,” says Cook, CEO of David’s Bridal, the largest wedding dress retailer in the U.S. “The wedding is an expression of the bride, and she can do whatever she wants.”
From Star Wars-themed events to grandmas-turned-flower girls, Cook says today’s brides are flouting tradition and making their weddings a reflection of their personalities.
“I love the ‘beer dudes’ trend where guys hand out drinks during the bridal procession,” she says.
Cook knows a thing or two about the wedding industry. She joined David’s Bridal in 2019 as executive vice president and chief marketing officer, and later became president of brand, technology and finance. In April 2025, she was named CEO of the company, which produces one out of every three wedding dresses sold in the United States.
That’s a far cry from her humble upbringing in Houston.
“I was pretty poor growing up,” she says. “But I grew up with two things: a strong work ethic and a strong faith. Those two things took me a long way.”
Hard work and faith saw Cook through as she raised five children — including triplets — earned two graduate degrees and made her mark across multiple industries. She spent the first decade of her career with Continental Airlines before taking a leadership position with Waste Management Inc. From there, she pivoted to retail, joining a series of high-profile companies including Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW), Kmart, Sears and Pier 1 Imports.
Despite the range of industries, Cook says the companies she’s worked for share one attribute.
“The commonality is that the companies have been in the midst of massive transformation,” she says. “Everything is changing, from ways of working to value propositions to the very definition of customer. I love figuring out how to create a brand people want to follow and then adding energy and passion to it.”
And nowhere is that more true than David’s Bridal. Cook is ushering in a new era of wedding planning through the company’s “Algorithm to Aisle” initiative, which uses artificial intelligence to understand customers’ needs and preferences. This year David’s also launched the bridal industry’s first agentic AI solution — a virtual wedding consultant designed to help brides plan and keep track of an array of wedding details, including color schemes, attire, timelines and vendors.
For Cook, the new AI strategy demonstrates the company’s commitment to making wedding dreams come true.
“I’m in awe of the things our organization does to make sure we never disappoint a customer,” she says. “Courage is fear that’s said its prayer, and sometimes you have to be brave enough to take a risk and innovate.”
While Cook is steering the bridal industry to embrace new technologies, she is also safeguarding the in-person experiences that make wedding planning memorable.
“Coming into a bridal store and trying on a dress is one of the most important parts of a bride’s journey,” she says. “It’s magic when a bride comes out of the dressing room in her gown and sees herself in the 360-degree mirror. I have to keep extra fake eyelashes with me because every time I see a bride picking out her gown in one of our stores, I cry.”
Ultimately, Cook says her goal as CEO is to serve those customers and inspire everyone around her to create their very own happily ever after. “If cauliflower can become pizza, anything can happen. So dream big.”
