I asked Erica Janke and Amanda Heptner from Blush Bridal Lounge what advice they had for brides looking to buy a perfect wedding gown and here is what they told me.
- Be open-minded! Brides often come into a store expecting to buy a simple dress and leave with something a bit more extravagant or vice-versa. Be open to trying on different dresses and you may leave with something you’d never imagined.
- Bring three pictures of different styles of dresses that you like. Models in magazines look completely different than girls in real life. Use magazine to get an idea of the style that you like but try not to get set on something until you try it on. The way a dress fits a real, healthy girl will look much different than the way it fits an airbrushed model.
- Be patient! Most girls never have that “THIS-IS-THE-ONE!!” moment. Try on a lot of dresses and think about them after you are done shopping for the day. It’s a big purchase and chances are your dress will become the one that you can’t get off your mind.
- Ask a lot of questions. You’ve probably never done this before so it’s OK to ask what something means. You’re spending a lot of money on your dress so make sure that you get all the information.
- Decide what you think before you get the opinions of your friends and family. This is your day and you have to feel comfortable. Blush Bridal Lounge actually asks mothers and friends not to say anything about a dress until the bride says what she thinks. This helps the bride chose a dress for herself rather than getting pressured into something that someone else wants.
- Ask more from your vendors. Vendors sometimes get stuck in a rut and it’s up to you to push them to do the best job possible. That goes for all vendors.
Please go visit Blush Bridal Lounge. If you haven’t figured this out already, Erica and her team know how offer good customer service, which is extremely rare in the bridal industry. As we walked through the bridal lounge she answered many questions without ever making me feel inferior. One last bit of advice from Erica: I asked what it was like opening a business in this economy and Erica said “If you have an idea, JUST DO IT!” She assured me that this is really a great time for new businesses, because it’s much easier to negotiate on things like rent. Erica is truly an inspiring person and her store is filled with beauty. If you’re in the market for a wedding dress or even a cocktail dress, then please check them out.
“There are no bridezillas—just momzillas and friendzillas.”
Erica has lived in Austin for 14 years now and has worked in the bridal industry for nine. Through her experience she noticed that shopping for dresses had become stuffy and intimidating for brides. After seeing just one dress by Enzoani, Erica was inspired to open her own shop. Most non-bridal-industry folks don’t know this, but larger gown designers give exclusive rights to sell their gowns to one store in an area. This fact cleared up so much confusion about my dress shopping experience. When Erica came across the Enzoani dress she knew that her dream of opening a bridal lounge could become a reality and her reality is beautiful.
The store is located in an old house that Erica decorated with a mixture of beautiful old and new accessories. The modern gray lovebird wallpaper complements a pink chandelier and an old armoire that Erica bought at a consignment shop and had refinished (Can you see why I love this girl?). Erica chose to open a bridal lounge rather than a salon or boutique, because she wanted girls to feel comfortable hanging out. When you walk into this old house you can sense that they’re having fun and that instantly puts you at ease. Amanda Heptner, one of the two other members of Erica’s team, told us that shopping for dresses is intimidating for brides, because it’s a major purchase and it’s something that they’ve never done before. Vendors are condescending, so girls are afraid to try to get the information they need. Erica told us that Blush Bridal is different because they’re excited about what they’re doing and they want to make brides comfortable and happy. Erica said that she will find a bride a dress no matter what her budget is. She just wants girls to be happy. She told us about one bride who came to Blush in tears because she was so frustrated with the experience that she’d had. Erica and her staff spent thirty minutes hanging out with the girl and searching the web to find something that she could afford. The perfect dress for this girl wasn’t at Blush but Erica sent her to a local vintage store and even called ahead to ensure that the store was expecting her. Doesn’t that sound like someone you would want to do business with?
I asked Erica and Amanda what advice they had for brides looking for their perfect wedding dress. Check back in a bit to see what they told me.
Last week Peter and I had the pleasure of meeting Erica Janke from Blush Bridal Lounge. I bought my wedding dress months ago and the whole experience was a nightmare. I remember standing in the dressing room in my underwear while a complete stranger took her time pulling dresses wondering, “How did anyone manage to spread the rumor that shopping for a wedding dress was fun?” I was discouraged and miserable so I got it over with as quickly as possible. I bought my dress on Craigslist and never looked back. But the concept of dress shopping remained in my head. I understood that somehow, someone should make it into an enjoyable experience—and Blush Bridal Lounge is doing just that.
It seems contradictory that I had such a miserable experience choosing a wedding gown but opted to approach a bridal salon for our first blog interview, but when we drove past Blush Bridal’s beautiful store front, something in my stomach jumped. The image of what buying a dress could be materialized into a real bridal lounge. When I actually met Erica any apprehensions that I may have had vanished. We flopped onto one of the four couches in the store and just began to talk. All formal interviewing went straight out the window and was replaced by me nodding and saying, “And then what happened?”
Check back later today to read the rundown on this fabulous store, inspired by one single dress.
