132. Customizing the Wedding Dress of Your Dreams w/Melissa Oddo of Stitched Collective

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[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, and welcome to the show.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Today we're talking about customizing the wedding dress of your dreams, and we have the perfect person here to talk about this.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This is Melissa Auto of Stitch Collective, and she is also the Master Seemstress and Business Owner of Damalist, Altaliye, and founder of,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like I said, Stitch Collective, and she has been sewing for over 25 years.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She attended New York's renowned fashion institute of technology where she received her associate's degree in tailoring and her bachelor's degree in ready to wear.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She also spent a year studying fashion abroad at the
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[SPEAKER_00]: polimota, school, and Florence Italy, seeing a need for new generation of bridal sewing professionals she founded Stitch Collective in 2019.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And Stitch Collective has grown to be a top sewing community for the wedding industry.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So welcome to the show Melissa.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you so much for having me this I really appreciate it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm so excited.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean you have quite the resume you have you know degrees in fashion and all these things and you know what you're doing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So it's really cool to hear that you've created stitch collective and have just brought bridal seamstresses together.
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[SPEAKER_00]: you know, and been able to create a community too.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I forgot your fun fact, which I thought was so cool and interesting.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She is the only female on her high school football team.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How cool is that?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I was really fun.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We were a football family growing up and we actually did not have our high school, did not have its own team.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it was a townly kind of adjacent.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I wound up playing as a freshman.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I was the only girl on the football team.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And it was awesome.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Oh my gosh, that's so cool.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that's amazing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I love that so much about you, but let's start off like I kind of read a little bit in your bio, but like how do you become a bridal seamstress and like what drew you to this profession?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, thank you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's it's really funny and I kind of joke about this a lot when people ask me like how to get into it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was completely by accident.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So when I studied at FIT, I was interested in fashion design.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I specialties like you said we're entailing and ready to wear.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So if you had asked me then because like evening where it was an option to specialize in, that was like.
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[SPEAKER_01]: soft fabric.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I want structure and I want texture and I want all these things and so it was completely by accident.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It just so happened that after working in various parts of the fashion world for a little while, I was ready to start my family.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We moved back a home and I live in Central Connecticut and my cousin just happened to own a bridal shop and I was like, you know what?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I've got this new baby.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm just looking to like fill some time.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I have a lot of like retail and fashion experience.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Do you need any help with the shop?
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was like absolutely come on by.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And it just so happened that has things kept going.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I was talking to her main seamstress that she used for her wedding alterations for all her clients.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And that woman had suffered an injury and fortunately after a certain amount of time, it slipped during the winter, fell and she had kind of busted her ankle and couldn't use the machine.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And my cousin one day came in and was like, we don't know what we're gonna do.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, you've worked on industrial machines.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And like, yeah, I can go help out.
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[SPEAKER_01]: She's a congratulations to fire.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I still don't know if any of this exists if she hadn't fired me.
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[SPEAKER_01]: at that point in time.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I actually went and I worked over at a bridal alterations and tailoring shop for a while, kind of got my feet really wet in that part of the industry.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And that's where we started to just kind of fall in love, not only with the wedding industry, but also
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[SPEAKER_01]: being a younger person feeling like I very much related to the clientele.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I had just gotten married, started my family myself, and I just felt like I really saw eye to eye and really understood what a lot of these folks were going through, and I think they really appreciated that coming from someone who was a little bit on the younger side of the industry, and so they were, you know, people were surprised and impressed that like I could do these fun skills, and
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[SPEAKER_01]: It just kind of evolved from there and that it just, it's snowballed completely.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's been,
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[SPEAKER_01]: eight almost nine years now, and we've got, we joke, you know, serial entrepreneurship.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We've got the stitch collective.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We have our bridal bomber.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We have Demela Centilier.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We're constantly like moving and expanding and seeing what we can do.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And you know, I'm sure all of your listeners are aware there's like this amazing sewing Renaissance happening right now and people are really getting back into crafting and back into an appreciation of all of these things that kind of, you know, AI can't,
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[SPEAKER_01]: can't do.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, we're a personal and a lot a lot less faceless and computerized.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's a really great time to be in this industry.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I have to say.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I agree.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, my daughter's 11 and she won't stop crocheting and it's amazing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It does tell like she and her friends are like so into just the art of sewing and crocheting and doing things with your hands and crafting and I think it's so cool to just see this generation like, you know, using those skills and yeah, it's really cool.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thanks for a minute and do something tactile.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Oh yeah, it's definitely for sure.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So today we're talking about custom wedding gowns and I mean, I see brides out there.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's like...
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know, some of them like try on just so many dresses and can't ever seem to find the right one, like they have something in their head, but they're just not finding it on the racks.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So we are seeing I feel like an uptick in custom gowns, so this is a topic that I was excited to talk with you about since you were the pro and all of this, but let's start back from maybe the basic base level of things like how do you define what a custom wedding gown actually is.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so a true custom anything, whether it's a wedding dress, a suit, a pair of pants, is all going to be made completely from nothing for you for the wearer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So when we're talking about a wedding dress, it means you have found whether it's a designer, a dress maker, someone in the profession.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And you're going to go to them and they're going to make this kind of exclusive one of a kind dress that is yours.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It may involve jumping off from different base patterns depending on how people like to operate and depending on what the design is that you envision.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So and who you've kind of asked to help create that for you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But really when something's being made to your measurements, to your body specifically for you, that's custom.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, okay, that's good to know, because I know, and then there is probably a difference in a customized dress, which is probably like a dress where you start with a base already and you're just kind of adding or taking away things is that right, you know, how you would define that okay cool.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And patients are kind of on a scale, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: So you can theoretically, by definition, you can say that me being an alteration specialist and a fitness specialist, I'm customizing a dress for you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I am making it fit specifically to your body.
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[SPEAKER_01]: No one else in, maybe yes you want an added swag sleeve or something, a little beating here or there.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So those are different levels of customization.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You may say, I want a Frankenstein, this top onto this bottom, and you bring me to, and that's customization too.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it definitely goes on a scale from sort of zero to 100, depending on what you're looking for.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right, yeah, I totally get that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So walk us through with the processes like when you work with a bride from the initial idea and concept to actually creating the dress and having them wear it on their wedding day.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely.
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[SPEAKER_01]: When we are talking about custom, it's a really long drawn out process.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So we really like to see people well in advance of the wedding date, the more time that you can give someone for a fully custom gown, the better because there's so much involved in it and it's everything from.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Making sure you have an initial design kind of set up, you know, the nuts and bolts of everything are agreed upon the silhouettes, maybe the type of materials, then we have to source those materials, make a custom pattern, make the actual item itself if not making a prototype first to test it all out and make sure everything's going to work out.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There might be adjustments involved, then making it out of the material, then fitting it to you, and then getting it all buttoned up for the final on the wedding day.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's a really really long and arduous process.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It is not for the faint of heart.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We had done more custom gowns in the beginning or custom pieces in the beginning.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now most of our customizations revolve around
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[SPEAKER_01]: remaking mom's wedding dresses, which are usually can be made into something completely different from the material.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's like that's a whole other animal that we've gotten into, but the custom gowns, like I said, are not for the faint of heart.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You need a professional.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You need someone who is very well skilled and in dress making, who knows the ins and outs.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It doesn't necessarily mean they have to have had a degree in that, but they need to have had a lot of experience and to really be well qualified.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, definitely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I know.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure there's so much that, you know, I feel like there are maybe not a ton of bridal seamstresses to choose from, or I feel like they're hard to find, which I'm glad you have stitch collective.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So people, you can make it easier to find, you know, for sure.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It seems just as in your area and everything, but yeah, to really like vet them and know that they're legit and know because you're like no matter what level of alteration or customization that you get with your dress, you're literally handing over this piece of
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[SPEAKER_00]: clothing of dress that you have spent maybe thousands of dollars on to somebody to fix or alter.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's a scary thing if you don't completely trust this seamstress and have this in their hands and trust them to actually fit it to your body and make it in the way that
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[SPEAKER_01]: You see in your head and so yeah, I think it's good trust that is so critical that you know not only do you want someone that has the prowess and the physical skills to do it, but you are putting a lot of faith and trust into them that they're going to execute your vision or that you can communicate on a certain level because also someone who's coming who may want a custom design might not know all the right language either.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's about finding that person who can speak with you, can work with you, can sort of ideate and kind of maybe pick up or draw other questions or other details to help really get the vision down.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And that can be a challenge in and of itself as well.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot of elements that really go into making a custom dress.
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[SPEAKER_01]: from scratch.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And you know, to all those listening, this is why it's not an inexpensive process.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, this is a very pricey thing.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I think people can have a lot of sticker shock in the wedding industry in general.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But when we're talking about this most precious garment with all of this time and attention and fabrication to boot on top of it, it's, it's a lot.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, it's just be prepared.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's not like some people might have in their head like, oh, I go in like, got my pants tailored or you know, taken in or shortened or whatever it might be.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, it's not that much.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's like that a pair of pants that you wear every day versus an actual wedding gown, there's going to be a big price difference in a lot of time and effort that goes into it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely, and you're also, you know, kind of that old outlet, you're paying for that level of trust on your paying for those years of experience that someone has poured into their craft to making sure that there are no mistakes, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, wasting a fabric or having to start back at a certain point and things of that nature.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's really, really important that you kind of respect that process, respect how much goes into it, respect how much education has gone behind it and how much experience.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, you were saying about like, tearing your slacks or anything like that, you know, we'll get people who
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[SPEAKER_01]: will contact us and say, well, I just need an inch taken off the hem, say for it, or half, you know, it's just this little bit.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, it doesn't matter if it's this much or this much, an inch or five inches, but if it goes all the way around an entire ball gap, it's a lot of, right, a lot of real estate to make sure that you're getting perfectly aligned.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, so you really don't want to trust that process to just anybody.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and then you're like, how many layers are under that?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how to do this five times because there's five layers to the dress.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So as we're talking about, you know, budget and how much it costs and everything, custom always more expensive than buying from an actual bridal boutique.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Here's something I may throw a little bit of a can of worms at you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So I feel like I have heard in the wedding industry that brides are now actually flying overseas and getting their dresses custom made where a wedding dress designer would actually like get a wedding dress made for their collection and shipped off back to you to the States.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Is that even more cost-effected?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like, Brides are saying that's more cost-effective and I'm like, is that for the luxury markets?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Or, I feel like buying a plane ticket over, she's almost as much as, like, buying an actual wedding dress.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So, like, I thought that was such a super interesting trend that I've heard lately, but anyways, we can get back to the original question.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Like, is it?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Hello, it is custom.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I know is custom always more expensive than buying at the boutique.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to give you a very general blanket statement of yes.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And the reason being that, you know, nine times out of ten we're talking about economies of scale, but it's economies of scale in a different form.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's not like there's a thousand dresses necessarily when we're dealing in bridal boutiques.
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[SPEAKER_01]: that you just grab and so it's economies of skill because they're just sitting in a warehouse.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's not usually the way it works.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I would say 90 of the wedding dresses that people are getting are what's called made to order.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So the wedding dresses aren't sitting necessarily in a warehouse.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's when you go to the boutique, you pick out, you try on the samples, you decide, this is the style or this is the gown that I want, they take your measurements, they're taking your measurements to find a size as part of a size chart.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's not to make the dress to your measurements, that would be something else.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And then they call up their, you know, whether it's a Justin Alexander or a Maggie Satero, and they contact their rep and they say, we want to buy this dress for this person and it's going to be in a size 16 according to your size chart.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That company then,
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[SPEAKER_01]: It has a factory make that dress for them.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It gets labeled as so-and-soes.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And then it gets shipped out to the store that usually takes anywhere from like six to nine months depending, sometimes if it's a popular style, they know things are going to kind of keep turning.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But because the patterns are already decided, they've done fit tests, they have it all on a scale according to their size chart.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of like a rinse and repeat.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So that makes it a lot easier to make a gown.
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[SPEAKER_01]: kind of over and over again, and that's sort of what I mean by the economies of scale when you're getting a address that you buy at a store at a boutique.
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[SPEAKER_01]: When you are customizing a gown or when you are getting a fully custom gown, you are like I said, doing that full process from soup to nuts that a designer does once and then can rinse and repeat.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Someone's doing just specifically for you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a lot of know how to do those things.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And again, it's not like you're buying fabric necessarily at the scale of one of these bigger brands, and you can maybe get it cheaper per yard.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You're often paying you to a retail cost or a lighter wholesale cost.
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[SPEAKER_01]: to get all that quantity of fabric, then turn it into a gown, not a lot of room for error.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So there's all these things that kind of factor in.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I say that as a general like if you need it, yes or no, generally yes, it's more expensive.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now have I seen folks who went on Etsy?
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[SPEAKER_01]: gave somebody their measurements and had them create a design for them that was I don't know $1,000.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I had a girl who did one overseas.
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[SPEAKER_01]: She was really nervous.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We still had to alter the gown, but it was a pretty well-made dress.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It did not cost her much, and I was really surprised and impressed.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So there are possibilities out there.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's just how much are you willing to risk?
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[SPEAKER_01]: How much time do you have?
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[SPEAKER_01]: What's your vision?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Can it be satisfied with something that's already in a store and just kind of bumped a little bit or adjust it a little bit?
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[SPEAKER_01]: So there's again, like all these ranges of scales and opportunities for your wedding dress experience.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that's so true.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and like I try to tell brides that like, okay, when you're going into the dress shop and you have a budget.
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[SPEAKER_00]: that probably needs to include alterations to, like, a lot of people just quickly forget about alterations before they even step into the shop.
17:26.164 --> 17:36.253
[SPEAKER_00]: And so, yeah, like you're saying, a custom gown probably does cost more because it custom fitting to your body because, like you said, you're buying
17:36.843 --> 17:46.629
[SPEAKER_00]: a patterned dress that is a general size, even though it's kind of to your measurements, it's not going to be exact because everybody's body is different.
17:47.109 --> 17:53.933
[SPEAKER_00]: And so after you get that dress, you still have to pay more to actually get it fitted correctly.
17:54.394 --> 17:59.877
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's like when you're combining those two forces and then some because
18:00.694 --> 18:16.494
[SPEAKER_00]: the, you know, alter the person who's doing alterations or designer who's helping you customize your dress is actually starting from square one and doing sketches like you said, you know, and the previous questions like, you know, they're actually conceptualizing it they are
18:16.994 --> 18:30.740
[SPEAKER_00]: Like forming it, like with, you know, some of the cloth, I, yeah, not a seamstress so I don't know the exact terms like you said I'm one of the brides that comes to you that's like I don't know exactly what this is called.
18:31.240 --> 18:39.444
[SPEAKER_00]: But you know, making it out of like the cloth before like the pattern before it actually becomes like the chiffon or whatever it is.
18:40.044 --> 18:44.286
[SPEAKER_00]: So it's like there's so many more steps to the process where.
18:44.856 --> 19:02.837
[SPEAKER_00]: it wouldn't be like that if you you know bought it from from a shop so yeah exactly totally yeah so let's talk about timelines how long can brides expect or plan if they are getting a custom dress
19:04.108 --> 19:06.450
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, as long as possible, is always the best.
19:06.570 --> 19:07.271
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, yeah.
19:07.811 --> 19:11.514
[SPEAKER_01]: It's starting us here, is always a good rule of thumb.
19:11.675 --> 19:16.539
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, are there people who can sometimes work on a faster timelay or will they turn you over a stretch?
19:17.139 --> 19:24.526
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, obviously you want to go with someone who you vetted, who has the experience, and then kind of trust what they need.
19:24.606 --> 19:29.250
[SPEAKER_01]: So if I'm telling you a year, and you contact someone who's got a great reputation, and they say six months,
19:30.150 --> 19:39.118
[SPEAKER_01]: God bless, they're ready to rock and roll and maybe they're only taking a certain number of clients or what have you and they have a good grasp on their timeline.
19:39.419 --> 19:41.100
[SPEAKER_01]: So trust the process with that person.
19:41.260 --> 19:45.664
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think a year is a good place to give you more than enough time.
19:45.845 --> 19:49.888
[SPEAKER_01]: If you can give them more than that because you know you want custom by all means do so.
19:49.968 --> 19:51.370
[SPEAKER_01]: And you might get in touch with people.
19:51.390 --> 19:53.512
[SPEAKER_01]: We say this all the time in the alteration side of things.
19:54.052 --> 19:59.876
[SPEAKER_01]: um, just to find out what their process is, they might not even want to talk to you until you year out if you're a year and a half out or two years out.
20:00.036 --> 20:07.941
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, or they might have assignments for you, as far as, you know, you're gonna source the fabric, or you're gonna build them a Pinterest board, or things like that.
20:08.021 --> 20:09.222
[SPEAKER_01]: So, everyone's different.
20:09.978 --> 20:16.603
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that helps, yeah, and to know that each seems just kind of has their own different process in way that they work.
20:16.704 --> 20:24.270
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, it's good to kind of like have that initial meeting and find out what you need to provide versus what they provide and the whole thing.
20:24.430 --> 20:28.733
[SPEAKER_00]: So what kind of rides are best like fit for going custom?
20:29.934 --> 20:30.495
[SPEAKER_00]: Would you say?
20:30.883 --> 20:46.218
[SPEAKER_01]: The one with a budget is definitely generally thought of to be a good candidate, if they want something really unique or if they want to combine some ideas, if they're very, um, like, it's a word declarative and if they kind of know what they want.
20:47.305 --> 21:13.817
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe they have their shrimp, maybe they haven't and they can't find it and they're just like we're going to cut straight to the chase and we're going to go for custom that's a great candidate if someone has a higher end budget and perhaps they have Maybe certain body measurements that don't align well with a standard size chart so that could be someone who's also a great candidate for custom Or someone who's a great candidate for let's say split sizing which is where you can get one size differential between like a bust waste and hit measurement that's in more of the commercial
21:14.397 --> 21:36.192
[SPEAKER_01]: buy it out of a deep side of things, but custom is really great for someone who might have a difficult measurement or difficult proportions, someone who might have some, you know, a physical challenge or let's say something like scoliosis or something that where they really need that customization to help create the total look from the baseline forward where maybe a standard pattern wouldn't suit them.
21:37.312 --> 21:37.653
[SPEAKER_00]: Mm-hmm.
21:37.993 --> 21:39.355
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that's helpful.
21:39.455 --> 21:46.946
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think, you know, the commercial side of wedding dresses has tried to be inclusive and size inclusive and everything.
21:47.006 --> 21:52.655
[SPEAKER_00]: But you even mentioned some other things that Brides might be dealing with where
21:53.176 --> 22:07.159
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it is still intimidating to go into that dress shop and be like, I just know I'm not going to find something that I'm looking for because of XYZ, a number of things that, you know, you listed and beyond.
22:07.239 --> 22:20.722
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I think that's great to really just have somebody in those situations where you can work with them one-on-one and they can truly understand what you're looking for, truly understand your body and things going on where
22:21.799 --> 22:30.102
[SPEAKER_00]: they can create something totally custom and you as a bride can be so happy with it and to just really feel comfortable on your wedding day.
22:30.142 --> 22:40.747
[SPEAKER_00]: Like isn't that the main goal here is like you want to feel your best on your wedding day and having the dress kind of just radiate that to all of your guests at your wedding.
22:41.147 --> 23:03.478
[SPEAKER_01]: We hit it right on the head and I think seamstresses in general and and dress makers as kind of a community one of the things we learned from from being so collaborative with our stitch collective members is that we're all kind of floating on that same emotional boat where we're we are so willing as a general like community to give so much to our brides in our nearly went.
23:03.738 --> 23:19.454
[SPEAKER_01]: Whether it's in custom, whether it's in alterations like we just want people to be happy at the end of the end and not just happy but to feel it from the inside out because that's really the whole idea of this special piece on this special day it's it's something that you've never had
23:20.983 --> 23:39.953
[SPEAKER_01]: The ability to experience before and you're kind of taking a step into this new chapter of your life and and that does not You know, we don't take that lightly for everyone who's in the industry and everyone who's been in our our community So I think one of the things we've learned from each other is how much everybody tends to care So if you're ever wondering like how much did you seem to scare?
23:39.993 --> 23:48.878
[SPEAKER_01]: We care a lot We get very mocha and you know we will absolutely do everything in our power to just Make you feel like the best version of yourself on your wedding day
23:50.310 --> 24:07.237
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, there's a lot of pressure and a lot writing on being in the wedding industry for any vendor out there because it's like you want to show your best work And you want your client to be happy because it is a big day It's like the biggest day of your life And there's gonna be photos.
24:07.277 --> 24:15.300
[SPEAKER_00]: There's gonna be all the people you've ever loved in your life like they're on your day No, we don't want anything to go to go around you
24:15.920 --> 24:18.061
[SPEAKER_01]: poorly on us and the job that we do.
24:18.121 --> 24:25.683
[SPEAKER_01]: So in that, like you said, goes for any wedding vendor, you know, we're out there to help you and to enhance the experience and enhance your day.
24:25.743 --> 24:27.483
[SPEAKER_00]: So for sure.
24:27.683 --> 24:30.384
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, let's talk a little bit about trends.
24:30.604 --> 24:36.105
[SPEAKER_00]: So what are some of the most popular alterations that are being requested right now from Brides?
24:36.825 --> 24:42.407
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's not even so much a request, but in alterations like kind of a pretty standard thing is
24:43.055 --> 24:45.458
[SPEAKER_01]: everyone always tends to need a cup adjustment lately.
24:45.598 --> 24:48.661
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's because, you know, we're all different shapes and sizes.
24:48.761 --> 24:59.492
[SPEAKER_01]: So a big alteration or it could be a small alteration, but something that makes a huge level of difference is when you have that bust situated and fitting really well from a client.
24:59.917 --> 25:02.558
[SPEAKER_01]: Another one is, we call it like the Tush Tuck.
25:02.958 --> 25:12.080
[SPEAKER_01]: So if you have a fitted dress, you kind of tuck in just a little bit under the rear and it kind of creates that sort of coke bottle type of shape and silhouette of.
25:12.100 --> 25:18.842
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's a, that's a, that's a, a big request, a lot of times people want to go too far with, you know, we tell them like you, you're going to walk like a penguin.
25:18.882 --> 25:25.904
[SPEAKER_01]: So maybe like please off a little bit, but the, giving, giving the butt a, a good little lift has been very popular.
25:26.720 --> 25:27.160
[SPEAKER_00]: Nice.
25:27.400 --> 25:27.741
[SPEAKER_00]: Nice.
25:27.821 --> 25:28.301
[SPEAKER_00]: I like it.
25:28.321 --> 25:28.821
[SPEAKER_00]: I like it.
25:29.081 --> 25:34.484
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you ever transformed to dress so dramatically that it barely resembled the initial dress?
25:34.524 --> 25:38.605
[SPEAKER_00]: I'd love to hear maybe some more like personal stories of dresses that you've altered.
25:38.625 --> 25:42.647
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh my gosh, we have so many pretty so many stories how much time you have.
25:43.408 --> 25:44.048
[SPEAKER_01]: I know right.
25:44.068 --> 25:46.549
[SPEAKER_00]: Do a whole podcast just on that.
25:48.072 --> 25:58.738
[SPEAKER_01]: I will say most of our gals who come in, let's just say for alterations, even if they want something, we'll call it more on the extreme, or they want something with a lot more work, or we're kind of changing a look.
25:58.878 --> 26:09.905
[SPEAKER_01]: It's usually involving something, let's say if you have a strapless dress and you want a strap added, or you want a topper, where it kind of looks like a little jacket, maybe it's lace, and the rest of it is clean.
26:10.265 --> 26:13.767
[SPEAKER_01]: So those are things where like the end result does kind of look different
26:17.009 --> 26:19.652
[SPEAKER_01]: those tend to be a little bit more straightforward.
26:20.353 --> 26:25.580
[SPEAKER_01]: And I would say if anyone's coming in with a gown that they're like, I want to chop this and I want to do that and I want to add that.
26:25.980 --> 26:27.602
[SPEAKER_01]: That's where it's more like
26:28.535 --> 26:47.439
[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe you didn't pick the right dress, like we could have gotten a straight off the bat, which I will say we don't quite see as much, and I think people are a lot more cautious and now like you had mentioned earlier that people are trying on a lot more dresses or taking a lot for better or worse, taking a lot longer to pick out their gown, they're trying a lot of things and going to a lot of places.
26:47.719 --> 26:53.420
[SPEAKER_01]: So we don't want them to be plagued by indecision, but at the same time there is some benefit, especially if you're a little indecisive,
26:53.901 --> 27:00.871
[SPEAKER_01]: To just knowing that you've tried that you've exhausted your options and that we're done here and you pick the right dress if we're shopping, you know, in a boutique.
27:01.251 --> 27:07.901
[SPEAKER_01]: The big thing we see now is this amazing push for people to pull their moms wedding dresses out from
27:08.902 --> 27:12.026
[SPEAKER_01]: 30, 25 years ago, and remake it into something.
27:12.106 --> 27:17.071
[SPEAKER_01]: So we could get the most basic thing where we're just chopping the ball down and taking the sleeves off.
27:17.552 --> 27:22.056
[SPEAKER_01]: To like, we had a girl take this massive, like, princess dive ball down.
27:22.557 --> 27:27.062
[SPEAKER_01]: And we did a fully cut, like, an asymmetrical one shoulder, slim skirt.
27:27.863 --> 27:30.285
[SPEAKER_01]: It looked zero, like, the box down.
27:30.345 --> 27:30.686
[SPEAKER_00]: Wow.
27:31.336 --> 27:32.536
[SPEAKER_01]: absolutely nothing like it.
27:32.596 --> 27:38.437
[SPEAKER_01]: So there was no, you know, the nod was the lace and the bow that we kept and the material.
27:38.617 --> 27:39.017
[SPEAKER_01]: That's it.
27:39.097 --> 27:41.078
[SPEAKER_01]: We completely repot it in the whole thing.
27:41.118 --> 27:43.158
[SPEAKER_01]: So it looked nothing like it originally started.
27:43.818 --> 27:44.998
[SPEAKER_01]: So those are really fun for us.
27:45.038 --> 27:47.279
[SPEAKER_01]: We get to see this kind of incredible variety.
27:47.519 --> 27:50.599
[SPEAKER_01]: One of the things we do in our business is what's called the bridal bomber.
27:51.019 --> 27:56.620
[SPEAKER_01]: So we started having girls whether they want to use their mom's dress or even their own wedding dress after they get married.
27:56.660 --> 28:00.641
[SPEAKER_01]: We will take their wedding gown and we will turn it into a like a bomber style jacket for them.
28:00.881 --> 28:04.003
[SPEAKER_01]: and then they were, again, instead of letting it like sit in a box.
28:04.043 --> 28:07.264
[SPEAKER_01]: So another kind of way that we transform for them.
28:07.945 --> 28:10.086
[SPEAKER_01]: It's really, it's just so awesome.
28:10.406 --> 28:17.070
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think there's also a thing to know again for better or worse because we're in the culture of the internet and people want
28:17.790 --> 28:45.175
[SPEAKER_01]: Multiple looks maybe for, you know, not as heavy of a cost or they don't want to have multiple dresses, let's say, and how that being expense, we're seeing a lot with, you know, a fitted slim dress that has an over skirt and then the over skirt looks like a ball gown and then it comes off and then we've got the slim dress and then maybe there's a after party dress or something to kind of change it up and give these different looks to the same piece of people are liking to get a lot of mileage out of the garments and the accessories.
28:46.232 --> 28:47.033
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, for sure.
28:47.053 --> 28:58.140
[SPEAKER_00]: I know I've totally seen a lot of accessorization and yeah, like having a different top piece versus a different skirt and then like mixing and matching it throughout the whole day.
28:58.460 --> 29:01.142
[SPEAKER_01]: Love and they do the veil and they have a hair piece.
29:01.162 --> 29:03.344
[SPEAKER_01]: Then it's so like it's kind of cool.
29:03.384 --> 29:05.985
[SPEAKER_01]: Like I love that people feel this this created out.
29:06.205 --> 29:09.548
[SPEAKER_01]: I think with the wedding, I don't decide maybe be
29:10.470 --> 29:19.377
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I want to say detrimental, but maybe that type of thing where like a putting all that pressure on themselves to like perform for Instagram or something or TikTok.
29:19.517 --> 29:24.341
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't love that element to it, but I love that like, I was like, well, what are the rules now?
29:25.142 --> 29:26.783
[SPEAKER_01]: There's kind of not any rules anymore.
29:26.943 --> 29:32.808
[SPEAKER_01]: I have a girl wearing like a long sleeve ball down in the middle of the summer and I'm like, why, but also that's what she wants to wear.
29:32.868 --> 29:34.449
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, right.
29:35.594 --> 30:04.187
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, you know, people come in with a pink dress or a gray dress or I had a girl with a black dress so it's it's just it's so lovely to see people kind of take their wedding and put their unique spin on it which I think had been lost in a lot of those like kind of rules and regiments and the formality of weddings before and now it's just kind of like this amazing time for people to express themselves and their own personal way and I think it's it's just so I just so much respect to people for doing it the way they want to do it.
30:05.108 --> 30:15.037
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I know totally it's like yes, there are some like I talk about trends a lot and it's like yes, there are some like blanket trends that we do see every year, but
30:15.932 --> 30:22.997
[SPEAKER_00]: Ultimately, I think the biggest trend is like people are doing what they want to do and what they like.
30:23.017 --> 30:28.221
[SPEAKER_00]: And I love seeing that, you know, it's not just like, oh, I'm getting married in 2026.
30:28.381 --> 30:29.482
[SPEAKER_00]: I need a scarf.
30:29.602 --> 30:35.827
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, oh, people are like having ball gowns or she dresses and it's just like all over the map.
30:35.887 --> 30:43.373
[SPEAKER_00]: And I love seeing that everyone is so unique and individual and they're showing that off to the fullest on the wedding day, which is so cool.
30:43.975 --> 30:56.859
[SPEAKER_01]: I have a question for you, do you feel like now the trend machine sort of moves so quickly that it's almost like people are like, they're like on to it now.
30:56.999 --> 30:57.619
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you know what I mean?
30:57.639 --> 30:58.800
[SPEAKER_01]: Like yes.
30:59.020 --> 31:02.901
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, coming and going so quickly that people are like, now I don't want it.
31:03.631 --> 31:04.351
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to do my own work.
31:04.371 --> 31:04.592
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
31:05.132 --> 31:05.732
[SPEAKER_01]: It's almost different.
31:05.752 --> 31:06.072
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
31:06.413 --> 31:06.633
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
31:06.693 --> 31:07.313
[SPEAKER_00]: I think so.
31:07.433 --> 31:19.761
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think a big way we've seen that is everybody now, like the amount of brides that I interview on the show and say I want a classic wedding as I'm like, wow, it's crazy.
31:19.821 --> 31:22.162
[SPEAKER_00]: Everyone wants to be classic now.
31:22.222 --> 31:25.084
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, well, is that a trend in and of itself?
31:25.164 --> 31:25.924
[SPEAKER_00]: You know what I mean?
31:25.964 --> 31:26.164
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
31:27.565 --> 31:36.512
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's classic mean like what your mom or does classic mean like what's your grandma or what what's your definition so even another To add up.
31:36.532 --> 31:39.295
[SPEAKER_00]: I know exactly because that can be okay.
31:39.335 --> 31:55.508
[SPEAKER_00]: What era are we talking like a classic 60s or we talking you know like Frank Sinatra era Like that's mainly I feel like what most people are talking about is like Frank Sinatra era when they're talking about like you know classic But it's like it could be a classic 70s way
31:56.128 --> 32:15.933
[SPEAKER_00]: you know so it's like what are we you know what what era what vintage are we looking at with that and so yeah it's it's super interesting so I think maybe more it's more clean black and white sort of that people are looking for and putting their own spin on what they think classic is so yeah
32:17.273 --> 32:18.294
[SPEAKER_00]: super interesting.
32:18.475 --> 32:27.304
[SPEAKER_00]: So if a bride wants a designer look on a small budget, what are some of the details that she should consider adding to her dress?
32:27.484 --> 32:28.545
[SPEAKER_01]: I love this question.
32:28.805 --> 32:29.126
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
32:29.967 --> 32:30.727
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a con one.
32:31.328 --> 32:34.772
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to, I'm going to hit you with a little quote here because this is very popular.
32:34.792 --> 32:35.833
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, I love it.
32:37.932 --> 32:53.144
[SPEAKER_01]: the answer is really simple and it's you're tailoring your fit because having something fitted whether it cost you $100 or $10,000, the alterations in the tailoring is going to make something cheap, look expensive,
32:53.664 --> 32:57.166
[SPEAKER_01]: or it can ruin the expensive and make it look cheap.
32:57.267 --> 32:58.447
[SPEAKER_01]: So if it's not done well.
32:58.687 --> 33:02.790
[SPEAKER_01]: And so everyone's going to have their certain style.
33:02.810 --> 33:07.333
[SPEAKER_01]: I think personally if I'm going to look for one element, I would shop by material.
33:07.593 --> 33:09.535
[SPEAKER_01]: I would rather go for material than
33:10.395 --> 33:18.980
[SPEAKER_01]: necessarily another detail or some sort of facet, but even that you can find a lot of synthetic materials nowadays that look really upscale.
33:19.080 --> 33:32.167
[SPEAKER_01]: You can find a lot of inexpensive dresses that are kind of dupes of more expensive dresses, but when you get it fitted, if it fits you like it was made for you, like it was custom, that's that to me is the detail that sets it apart.
33:32.207 --> 33:33.708
[SPEAKER_01]: So I would rather see someone
33:36.026 --> 33:50.049
[SPEAKER_01]: kind of a crappier dress and have it altered my favorite favorite favorite favorite though and this is happening more and more too being in this kind of wedding, you know, sustainability, cyclical vortex kind of thing.
33:50.169 --> 33:56.270
[SPEAKER_01]: He's I'm seeing more girls come in with second hand dresses and I love it.
33:56.790 --> 34:00.551
[SPEAKER_01]: So someone is putting their gown up for sale or maybe something didn't work out for
34:06.168 --> 34:14.795
[SPEAKER_01]: They are grabbing it, they are bringing it to us, and we are kind of remixing it, refitting it, doing all the things, and it is the best.
34:14.895 --> 34:23.182
[SPEAKER_01]: Talk about a money saver because you're getting an incredible deal on the count itself, and then you're just paying for the alterations to make it fully look like it was custom to you.
34:24.207 --> 34:25.669
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I love that so much.
34:25.829 --> 34:27.090
[SPEAKER_00]: I had a second hand dress.
34:27.371 --> 34:29.313
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, absolutely loved it.
34:29.593 --> 34:31.555
[SPEAKER_00]: Love the experience of having it.
34:31.875 --> 34:35.079
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, love the sustainability aspect of it.
34:35.379 --> 34:42.327
[SPEAKER_00]: And especially now like brides have so many events leading up to their wedding.
34:42.367 --> 34:44.670
[SPEAKER_00]: Like a wedding is not just like one day anymore.
34:44.730 --> 34:45.731
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a wedding weekend.
34:45.991 --> 34:46.732
[SPEAKER_00]: And so it's like,
34:47.713 --> 34:55.701
[SPEAKER_00]: You need address for everything and like dress changes multiple dresses during your actual wedding day is a huge trend right now too.
34:55.821 --> 35:09.415
[SPEAKER_00]: So like I can't imagine I just have one wedding dress like spending that much money multiple times over and it's like you only wear and you know, this is the classic quote and.
35:09.969 --> 35:13.391
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, wedding dresses is like you only wear it for a day.
35:13.811 --> 35:22.035
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, like it is the most important day, but also like if you got multiple dresses to you're wearing it only for it.
35:22.773 --> 35:23.774
[SPEAKER_00]: of few hours.
35:23.934 --> 35:30.838
[SPEAKER_00]: And so spending that much I think for me personally is a hard hard thing.
35:30.858 --> 35:40.904
[SPEAKER_00]: So like you said with the uptick in goodwill dresses or you know finding something off the rack and getting a tailored to you or
35:41.965 --> 35:56.377
[SPEAKER_00]: you know, finding it on Etsy or getting it secondhand, Facebook, Marketplace, whatever it might be like more and more brides are trying to find ways to get around those costs.
35:56.677 --> 36:04.543
[SPEAKER_00]: And also, like you mentioned earlier, how brides are reinventing their mom's dresses, too.
36:04.563 --> 36:04.623
[SPEAKER_00]: So,
36:05.788 --> 36:06.389
[SPEAKER_01]: That's the best.
36:06.409 --> 36:10.913
[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to wear a white dress for every little event, at least make it mean something.
36:10.993 --> 36:11.653
[SPEAKER_01]: That's the best.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Hardly.
36:12.734 --> 36:13.055
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, or non-sets from, you know, whatever fast fashion site I can't stand that stuff.
36:19.381 --> 36:23.785
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's so nice to see people like, at least wanting to invest in the process and
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[SPEAKER_01]: The sentimental value and I think it's really nice.
36:27.527 --> 36:45.240
[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of a bonding experience a lot of times between Like mothers and daughters and a lot of ways to um, so it's just so fun to like bear witness to all of that and all the generations and all of the You know kind of the pride and seeing like mom sort of revisit that day for them and it's there's it's the best.
36:45.400 --> 36:47.101
[SPEAKER_01]: There's so many layers Love it
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[SPEAKER_00]: her share.
36:48.892 --> 36:56.113
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh man, I feel like it would be so hard for me to be in your shoes to redesign of mothers dress like that.
36:56.193 --> 37:03.055
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like I would have to like cut closing my eyes, like knowing like this beautiful dress I'm about to like cut in times.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But I feel that that did really well on our social media and that was like, you know, what you think we looked like when we're taking a part of your dress and it was me just like sipping tea and going very gingerly when it's
37:16.920 --> 37:35.905
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, these are razor blades, it's like a WWE sporting event, it's so wild, so we are not necessarily the most delicate, but we know, like we kind of know the limitations, we know what we're working with, and you know, it is hard, I think the hardest thing with doing that is when something comes in with real historical value.
37:36.586 --> 37:44.548
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of the dresses that we're seeing now are mostly like, not that there's not value to it, but, you know, mom's dresses from the 80s and 90s, so people come in and joke and they're like,
37:44.648 --> 38:05.923
[SPEAKER_01]: had the sleeves up to the top of my head and they had the veil with like the mallet bump and all the things and so they're kind of like yes take it apart by all means but you know and that's that's generally I don't feel any qualms necessarily about redesigning those but for example we had a dress come in from a girl and it was from the 1920s it was over a hundred years old I was like
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[SPEAKER_01]: And I said to her, and she looks beautiful and it just the way it was.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was this kind of flapper-esque classic 1920s, velvet, like, gorgeous.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And she's like, no, it's just sitting there.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And even her mother was with us.
38:19.066 --> 38:22.206
[SPEAKER_01]: This was the mom's mom who's dressable long too.
38:22.266 --> 38:23.747
[SPEAKER_01]: And she was like, it's rotting.
38:23.887 --> 38:25.187
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, it's just sitting here.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, please don't make me cut this.
38:27.527 --> 38:30.468
[SPEAKER_01]: And she's like, no, I want a mace girl and a crop top.
38:30.488 --> 38:34.009
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm like, that is what's in my gosh.
38:36.512 --> 38:37.513
[SPEAKER_01]: It's still bothers me.
38:38.334 --> 38:40.217
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's one of the games he opened night still.
38:40.857 --> 38:44.262
[SPEAKER_01]: We gave him the ride, what she wants, and she looked absolutely darling.
38:44.342 --> 38:46.224
[SPEAKER_01]: So she got a crop top and a mini skirt.
38:46.424 --> 38:53.132
[SPEAKER_01]: And it was, it was a cool study for us to see how they put this dress together and the hand sewing and the techniques.
38:53.733 --> 38:59.197
[SPEAKER_01]: they had saw dust patches in the armpits because it didn't really have deodorant and that was how you built it away.
38:59.277 --> 39:09.626
[SPEAKER_01]: It was fascinating experience to kind of piece this this gallop part and so hopefully we did it justice by how we reimagined it and re-did it for her for the future and now she got to wear it.
39:09.746 --> 39:10.606
[SPEAKER_01]: So you know what?
39:10.927 --> 39:12.548
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what more could just for.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's true.
39:13.951 --> 39:20.720
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, it's just not sitting in a box or in a closet somewhere and people get to see it now, just reimagined in a different way.
39:20.741 --> 39:25.247
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh my gosh, yeah, I feel that you're like, this is a piece of history.
39:25.267 --> 39:26.128
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm cutting into.
39:27.129 --> 39:29.212
[SPEAKER_01]: As you can tell from my reaction.
39:30.053 --> 39:30.614
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's over.
39:31.430 --> 39:35.396
[SPEAKER_00]: But then you help you wonder what like their children's generation will do.
39:35.556 --> 39:44.230
[SPEAKER_00]: If they have interested wanting to keep that dress going down the line or we shall see in 15, 20 years from that.
39:47.360 --> 39:48.301
[SPEAKER_00]: Absolutely so.
39:48.681 --> 39:49.101
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
39:49.722 --> 39:56.407
[SPEAKER_00]: So if there is one piece of advice that you can leave with a bride who's considering a custom wedding gown, what would it be?
39:56.427 --> 39:59.390
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's just kind of echoing the things that we talked about already.
39:59.470 --> 40:05.355
[SPEAKER_01]: So you know, making sure that your budget is in line with your vision and making sure you give enough time.
40:05.435 --> 40:07.937
[SPEAKER_01]: Time is always going to be critically important in custom.
40:07.977 --> 40:12.841
[SPEAKER_01]: So those are kind of the two big key factors, tangent and mixed in with all of that is finding
40:15.503 --> 40:24.068
[SPEAKER_01]: have vetted or you've gotten a recommendation for and that you know they're going to do the job that you want and be able to get everything across the finish line.
40:24.629 --> 40:27.390
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of really talented seamstresses out there.
40:27.410 --> 40:29.572
[SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot of talented dress makers out there.
40:29.592 --> 40:39.778
[SPEAKER_01]: They're not always the same or the skills don't always cross over the same way that you know someone who is doing the hem of a pant is not going to be suited to do your wedding dress alterations.
40:39.838 --> 40:40.978
[SPEAKER_01]: So just making sure you find the
40:44.553 --> 40:46.455
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think that's so important.
40:46.735 --> 40:50.259
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, that's a good educational piece for Brides or listening to this.
40:50.379 --> 40:56.425
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not a one size fits all if you say you're a seamstress will what kind of seamstress you have to like dive.
40:57.072 --> 41:13.629
[SPEAKER_00]: that deeper into what exactly they work on and what their skills can actually offer to you because you don't want to start giving somebody this big project that maybe they're not comfortable with and then you get down the line and it's not exactly what you head wanted or hoped for.
41:13.930 --> 41:17.073
[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, trust your gut when it comes to things like that.
41:17.133 --> 41:18.354
[SPEAKER_01]: I think people's visual
41:19.335 --> 41:38.891
[SPEAKER_01]: you know portfolios tend to speak volumes same thing with reading reviews you know if even if there's a one-off bad review did they respond to it what was what were the kind of elements that that contributed to that but anytime especially when you can get just like a recommendation from somebody who's already been there and and been around that person that to me just speaks volumes.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's super helpful for sure.
41:42.448 --> 41:52.630
[SPEAKER_00]: So as we close out, tell us more about stitch collective and where we can find you online and all the good things that you have going on and maybe more about the bomber deck and still because that sounds so fun.
41:53.430 --> 41:57.551
[SPEAKER_01]: So in all of my serial entrepreneurship, I have a lot of things going on.
41:57.571 --> 42:04.572
[SPEAKER_01]: So stitch collective is my baby that I started after I had developed my own Atelier with Demelis Atelier.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So, stitch collective is kind of this amazing community hub for bridal alterations, specialists, and dress makers.
42:12.337 --> 42:18.460
[SPEAKER_01]: So, anybody who is in that industry or who wants to get into that industry, we have an awesome, awesome group of gals.
42:18.581 --> 42:24.504
[SPEAKER_01]: We basically talk about best practices, we share education, we have our own little private group in circle.
42:24.624 --> 42:27.466
[SPEAKER_01]: We do monthly calls, it's it's awesome.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But because of that too, we also get to share those folks as a resource with
42:32.549 --> 42:39.292
[SPEAKER_01]: near the weds or with other bridal retailers, people who might be looking for someone in a particular area.
42:39.492 --> 42:44.894
[SPEAKER_01]: Most of our folks are in the U.S., but we do have some people in Canada, New Zealand, Israel, all different areas.
42:44.954 --> 42:49.216
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's really kind of become this awesome international hub, which is pretty cool to see the way it's grown.
42:49.396 --> 42:52.317
[SPEAKER_01]: So we are online at stitchedcollective.com.
42:52.337 --> 42:55.498
[SPEAKER_01]: So stitch with an ED at the end stitchedcollective.com.
42:55.698 --> 43:06.022
[SPEAKER_01]: My company is Demellus Atelier, so Demellus, D-E-M-E-L-I-S, like Melissa Atelier, A-T-E-L-I-E-R, dot com.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That is our alterations hub, so we also offer anything that might go well with your wedding day, like travel bags, and seat belts for the inside of your strapless dress.
43:15.205 --> 43:22.927
[SPEAKER_01]: We have a number of like fun educational bits on there for our Brides and Neary Weds, and then also the Bridal Bomber jacket that you had mentioned,
43:25.548 --> 43:31.853
[SPEAKER_01]: doing certain custom projects, or like I said, the bridal bombers, which is the bomber jacket that you can make with Mom's dress with.
43:32.093 --> 43:33.454
[SPEAKER_01]: You can make it with your grandmas quilt.
43:33.474 --> 43:34.294
[SPEAKER_01]: We've done that before.
43:34.355 --> 43:34.975
[SPEAKER_01]: It's really fun.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Any year, we really just love to to breathe you life into it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So that's at bridal bomber.com.
43:40.919 --> 43:46.683
[SPEAKER_01]: So now that I've given you a million websites to me, we're on socials and the same, same names.
43:47.024 --> 43:49.626
[SPEAKER_01]: But we try to kind of compartmentalize a little bit.
43:49.646 --> 43:51.007
[SPEAKER_01]: Some people kind of know what's what.
43:51.067 --> 43:51.767
[SPEAKER_01]: So I appreciate it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's awesome.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We'll put all that in the show notes too and make sure it's all organized there and where people can find you for all the specific things that you have going on so this has been so much fun.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I so appreciate you just like offering your advice to us and all your years of experience, I think it's super helpful for Brides to just learn how this process works if they do want a custom
44:20.157 --> 44:22.679
[SPEAKER_00]: All of her information is there for you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And thanks for taking the time to chat today.
44:24.920 --> 44:25.821
[SPEAKER_00]: I appreciate it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: pleasure.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for having me.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And if like you said, if anybody needs anything, we are absolutely trying to get back to people within 24 hours.
44:33.566 --> 44:37.309
[SPEAKER_01]: And we love to just share our knowledge and our community with everyone.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So please do not be shy and don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Awesome.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, thanks, Melissa.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We'll see you soon.
44:44.574 --> 44:45.675
[SPEAKER_01]: No, appreciate it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, bye.
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[SPEAKER_00]: We have another episode of The Wedding Reporter podcast to see those gorgeous wedding and engagement photos head over to NashvilleBrideGuide.com for more behind-the-scenes content.
44:58.061 --> 45:02.707
[SPEAKER_00]: And if you like this episode, I would so appreciate it if you would rate and subscribe the show.
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[SPEAKER_00]: See you next time for another great episode.