Talking with TLC's 'Curvy Brides' sisters, in Atlanta August 8

They have been running their specialty bridal shop for seven years. Yukia was toiling in a cubicle for a government contracting job (just seeing cubicles at the AJC gave her flashbacks) when she got engaged. She began shopping with her sister for a high-end wedding dress for her size and faced obstacles galore.

"We got laughed out" of many couture shops, Yuneisia said. "And we had a nice budget."

"They'd throw us cheaper dresses that looked like mumus," Yukia added.

Yukia did some research and found a complete lack of high-end couture shops for plus-sized women.

She also discovered that plus-sized bridal gowns started at sizes 8 to 10 and gowns tended to run two to three sizes smaller than regular dresses, making the challenge even greater for a good portion of the population.

The sisters - whose mom hails from Columbus - opened Curvaceous Couture in 2008. Yuneisia kept working at her pharma job for a few years. The money, she said, was too good to walk away from immediately.

Within a year, production companies began calling, wanting to do a reality show about them. They resisted until TLC called them directly last year. They couldn't resist and "Curvy Brides" came to be.

The show has been a boon to business. "The awareness is insane," Yuneisia "We're a mom-and-pop operation now on a national platform. We are feeling the difference. We've expanded. We are out of space. We've had to hire extra staff."

Early on, Yukia noted, "many designers didn't want anything to do with us. Now they're sending dresses to our store."

And while Yuneisia misses working in "pharma," she said helping clients in a bridal setting has been deeply rewarding: "I'm with these girls, the ones with low self esteem or who are scared. Their confidence isn't there. By the time they have a dress, they're hugging us and we're part of their family!"

Is a season two forthcoming? They are hopeful given their promising ratings but they may not know for a few more weeks.