The State of the Business: April

WHAT a busy month April has been, and we're still days away from the end. Wedding season is in full swing, with many of my weekends booked out for clients, but also friends!

Early in the month I met up with the ever so talented Alejandra. We chatted all things marketing (seth godin fans unite!), her (incredibly impressive) work with brand films, weddings and more. She has created a pretty stellar business/marketing/creative workshop, called The Motion Workshop for those interested in incorporating film into their business. A few days after we met, she asked if chris and I would be up to be the models for one of the styled shoots at the event...cue mouth gape & blushing katherine. I was so surprised and excited she asked - and can't wait for it to be here! The photos will be styled by my friend, stylist and pinfluencer Alex who has already put together some killer inspiration for the shoot!

Faster than anticipated (as it always happens), Jamie & David's wedding arrived. Their sophisticated backyard bash was a full five day installation. The rich dark wood tables for 100 were all staged on top of an artificial floor built over the pool - which you can only imagine what a feat it was to build. Let's just say I am OH SO thankful to not have been on wetsuit & snorkle duty.

Saturday was in a word, blissful. The weather cooled off to a warm, light breeze. Set up went smoothly, as we installed a custom full bar, complete with bookcases styled with small personalized details. We certainly took advantage of the bride's love of gold glassware! The ceremony was lovely, with the Rabbi including several quotes from comedians. Always a win.

I CANNOT wait to see the photos from this bash, shot by the talented Maria Del Rio.

The following week, while still lingering in a wedding adrenaline rush high, Teresa, Misha & I hosted our first pith + marrow event. The floral design class with an absolute hit (biased, but I swear our attendees would agree). We were completely full, with 20 new to advanced floral designers learning and crafting a dutch floral arrangement. We sipped on a little vino, snacked on delicious bites from Chestnut, made new friends, and had a pretty awesome evening. We've already sold tickets for our May event, and are brainstorming our next series! I had the privilege of meeting photographer Galaxie Andrews, who shot our event, who is a whole bunch of french fabulousness, on top of being a very genuine person. I am so looking forward to seeing how she captured our event!

This weekend, I'm hoping on a plane to celebrate my best friend Devin with a champagne brunch bridal shower & bachelorette combo weekend. So...Mimosas. That's all you really need to know.

Basically I've loved this month. I'll love the last few bits of it. And have a feeling May will be just as stellar.

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Shop Talk: Almond Tree Weddings

When long time friends Pam Keough and Pam Hardy decided to evolve their corporate event planning backgrounds into careers in wedding planning, neither realized the path to quick success they had started. Almond Tree Weddings, a bridal boutique with a focus on consigned gowns, has grown from humble beginnings in a spare home office to a multi salon retail space in City North.

Hardy and Keough always dreamed of operating a business together. As their experience in the wedding planning industry continued to build, it became clear that a retail element was the best way to enhance their presence in the industry, and create a sustainable income.

An idea came about to focus on the core of the bridal experience – the wedding dress. Most gowns are worn between 6-8 hours during its entire existence, leaving it in close to pristine condition after the event has come to an end. Hardy and Keough wanted to create a way for newly married brides to offer their single use gowns for money back, giving newly engaged wives-to-be the opportunity to have access to gorgeous gowns at a lower cost, still in like-new conditions.

Hardy and Keough realized the great opportunity they had , as few businesses had taken the route of reselling gowns. Their success began with the consignment of five gowns, which were bought and resold out of one of Keough’s spare bedrooms. As their business idea began to take shape, the recession hit, providing a remarkable chain of events that helped skyrocket Almond Tree’s success to where it is at today. As many small businesses around the country were closing their doors, bridal boutiques were needing to liquidate stock, including samples and brand new gowns, to avoid taking the auction price. Almond Tree’s back stock grew from five to more than 500 dresses, outgrowing their home office, then a storage unit, then an enhanced storage unit with storefront – all in a matter of months.

Today, Hardy, Keough, and third business partner Gina Kilter, operate a boutique in Phoenix that offers private “living room” style salons for brides and their friends and family to enjoy the intimate process of finding the dress for her big day. Upon arrival, Hardy makes sure to ask new brides to share all of the details of their wedding, then to share their favorite fashion icons. She is confident that she’s able to select the best gowns for each woman based on these details, finding pride in challenging brides to try on styles they may not be open to. More often than not, Hardy says the brides select a gown they would have never pulled off the rack to begin with. She believes a dress needs to be experienced intellectually, then emotionally, as it is more than another beautiful piece of clothing. Picking out a wedding dress is more about selecting the person you want to be on your wedding day, as a bride, and that moment of complete emotional connection to the garment is how you know you’ve found the one.

With the overwhelming popularity on social media sites, Pinterest and wedding blogs, Hardy confidently points out the “it” trend of the season – vintage, or modern vintage. This is a bride who loves lace, who prefers a bit more coverage with a cap sleeve or back detail, a romantic Hollywood vibe from the 50s and 60s. The look can be taken in the direction of a subtle burlap, mason jar & daisy bouquet wedding, or made more contemporary with a barn venue, crystal detailing, full table settings in a dimly lit atmosphere. It’s a trend the ladies love, and will continue on into the spring wedding season.

If nothing else, Hardy hopes that brides will walk away from Almond Tree with one main piece of advice, “when you got engaged you stopped dating, so when you find your dress – stop shopping!”

Visit Almond Tree Weddings at 5310 E. High street, Suite 105 in Phoenix.

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Shop Talk: Mariée Bridal

Mariée Bridal salon treats its high fashion bridal gowns as beautiful art, exhibiting each gown “like a silk sculpture in a pristine gallery”, said owner Carrie Yeo. The bridal salon recently re-opened its doors in a newly expanded location in Gainey Village, offering a variety of couture and designer gowns, hand selected by the salon’s owners each season.

As Carrie selects gowns from the major fashion collections in New York, London and Barcelona, she formulates a clear picture of the latest industry trends. This season, lace gowns continue to be important to designer collections, and gowns with straps and sleeves are coming back to the forefront of bridal fashion.

With a background education in fashion design and pattern cutting from a London institution, followed by a career as a women’s ready to wear buyer for a major department store, Carrie has the skill set to spot the highest quality of fabric, construction, and overall appeal of a wedding gown. Knowing how a gown will drape across the body, fall to the floor, and even how the fabric will hang before seeing it on a body - are the expert skills that allow her to select the best gowns possible for local brides. These are the details which can turn a wedding gown into “the dress”.

Her specific eye for design gave Carrie the opportunity to begin shifting her focus to a wedding related fashion job, and then for herself, with Mariée Bridal. When selecting dresses to highlight in the salon, Carrie finds it important to strike a balance between all styles of gown, as no two brides are the same. Whether it is traditional silhouette, a vintage design, or a more modern and fun frock, she believes that each gown is beautiful in its own way.

When a bride enters Mariée Bridal in search of the perfect gown, she is beginning a long journey that leads to the day she walks down the aisle. Carrie finds joy in pairing brides with their perfect dress, but more so, creating friendships and longstanding relationships with these women. Her advice to all brides is to believe in your selection, once you’ve found your wedding gown, “do not be swayed too much by the opinions of others, as only you know how you feel”.

The bridal salon has won countless awards in the Valley, recently celebrating the second year of “Best Bridal Salon” from luxury publication, Arizona Foothills Magazine. Visit www.marieegallery.com for location information. Photo Source: Mariée Bridal.

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