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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Inspired By: Wild Florals

This week we will be oogling some gorgeous florals. I've been so smitten with organic styled bouquets, centerpieces, arches and boutineers. Long gone are the days where it was proper and preferred to have tightly packed roses displayed in the shapes of pew rounds, and in square glass vases. Instead, bouquets are beautiful displays of entire gardens, intertwined with ferns, cactuses, baby's breath, and more. The height is varied between many of the flowers, as are the shapes, colors, size of the blooms. Better yet, bouquet's can be made of 5 pieces or 30, and any number in between. A great choice for couple's looking to lower floral costs, or make their budget stretch.

In addition to the above, what flowers or plants have you been loving lately?

  1 - Green Wedding Shoes //  2 - Style Me Pretty // 3 - 100 Layer Cake //4 - Style Me Pretty // 5 - Style Me Pretty // 6 - Style Me Pretty // 7 - Green Wedding Shoes // 8 -  Hey Gorgeous Events & Photographer Kelly Braman  // 9 - Style Me Pretty

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Shop Talk: Lillian Lottie Couture

Five years ago, after business partners Jenny Pinto and Meghan Lawlor settled on a name for their shop, Lillian Lottie Couture opened its doors. Drawing inspiration from family, the two named their bridal boutique after very important people in their lives, their maternal grandmothers. Today, the shop services Scottsdale and Phoenix brides-to-be, their grooms, and bridal parties, helping them find the perfect gowns, suits and accessories for their special day.

A visit to Lillian Lottie Couture is treated as a special occasion. Megan and Jenny are dedicated to making a connection with each bride, catering to their special requests to customize and create a dream dress. Each bride, and whomever they decide to bring to an appointment, are welcome to stay at the shop as long as necessary to find that feeling of joy when “the dress” has been discovered. Searching through what seems like an endless sea of white, brides are given the opportunity to select the perfect gown with their ideal silhouette, gorgeous fabric and just the right amount of detail.

“Helping a girl who doesn’t get to feel as special in her day-to-day life be the center of attention for a few hours, is the best part of my job,” said Megan. “You only get married once, and each bride deserves an amazing bridal shopping experience.”

For Meghan, the first steps to bridal boutique ownership began as a student graduating with a second degree in fashion design from Miami International University of Art and Design. After graduation she relocated abroad, attending the Paris Fashion Institute. With her design and merchandising background, coupled with her new knowledge of couture style and design execution, she began her fashion career at a couture house in Florida. An interest in the niche bridal market came when her twin sister became engaged, and Megan offered to make her gown, bridesmaid dresses, veil and accessories. After her sister’s big day, Megan realized she had the necessary tools and experience to make an impact in the market of customized wedding gowns.

The success of Lillian Lottie Couture has led the duo to expand their boutique, soon to a new location. Each gown in-store is a sample, which allows the bride to select the look of her future dress, then order it custom fit to her body. This gives her the chance to add to the dress or make changes to truly create a one-of-a-kind gown. Every woman’s dream.

For all brides-to-be, the almost engaged and the wedding day dreamers, Megan’s top tip for dress shopping is to scale back on the number of gowns you try on, saying it can be too confusing. “There are thousands and thousands of gowns, with new ones arriving each week. If you love the gown and it is the right price, stop there, buy it, and stand confident about your purchase.”

A recent trip to bridal market in Chicago gave Megan and Jenny a preview of the new bridal trends for next season. The two say ballgowns are the new popular silhouette, and a detail to look out for – gowns with beautiful sequin-adorned lace. A fan of avant garde designs, Megan looks to designers to surprise her with new collections filled with over the top accessories, ruffles and beading. Some may call them “monsters of gowns”, but those truly make her fall in love!

You can visit Lillian Lottie Couture at 8100 E. Indian School Rd. #110 in Scottsdale.

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