Meet The Chic Team: Alana
Hi Alana! Before we get to talking about dresses, weddings and all that good stuff, tell me a bit about yourself like where you're from, how long you've been at Chic Parisien and what you do at the store....
I'm from San Juan Puerto Rico. Been at Chic Parisien since 2007. I am bridal gown sales consultant.
Did you always imagine yourself working in the wedding industry?
Never in my wildest dream.
What's the very first thing you tell a customer when she comes in to shop for a dress?
After welcoming them to the store my first question is usually, have you shopped before and if so if they think they have might found "The Dress."
Not to play favorites, but what kind of dress is your personal favorite?
My preference is simple, ethereal, bohemian.
How have dresses changed from when you started working at Chic Parisien until now?
Dresses now are much more sexier!
Is there a trend in the bridal industry that you can't get enough of?
Open backs, illusion necklines
Do you have a go-to piece of advice for a bride who's nervous about dress shopping?
Once you have found "The Dress" you will take a weight off your shoulders and then you can concentrate on the other details you need for your wedding.
All brides are different, how do you help a bride find her personal style in her wedding gown?
I ask if they have a vision of how would they like to look on their wedding day.
What kind of research do you think is best for a bride to do before coming to visit you? Or do you think it's best to come in very open to being surprised?
I ask for them to search our website and the websites of our designers since they have pictures of their entire collection and make a note of the ones she would like to try on.
Do you have a favorite memory in the store that you can share with us?
I had a bride once, after trying on a few dresses found one she loved, but could not decide cause she was in love with a dress she had seen in a magazine. She went to the car for that picture and when I looked at it it was the dress she had just tried on with me, and then she said yes to the dress.
Lastly, what song are you listening to on repeat nowadays?
Three Things to Avoid On Your Wedding Day
A few weeks ago we chatted with Catherine about "Three Do's For Brides On Their Wedding Day," who better to give some tips and tricks she's picked up after years of talking to brides? Today, she's telling us three things she things bride's shouldn't do on their wedding day. We won't call them "don'ts" because every girl has her own way, but we will say that if you follow this advice you'll make your day just that extra bit less stressful - don't say we didn't warn you!
- Avoid making a drastic change to your appearance right before the wedding. If you're going to try a new look for your wedding, go for it way in advance. You don't want to chop off your signature long locks a week before the wedding and then go into a panic because you don't look like you.
- Try to avoid salty foods the day before. Salty foods can be comforting if you're nerves are running a bit wild, we know the power of a bag of chips, but avoid salty food because you'll retain water and be a bit bloated.
- Make all your accessory decisions in advance. Avoid leaving yourself accessory options to decide on the last minute. Have your details picked out in advance so that you can sit back and enjoy the day without worrying over your earring choice in your precious few hours.
Join us this weekend for the Romona Keveza Trunk Show at Chic Parisien.
Catherine Offers Tips on eHow
Did you know our very own Catherine is a regular contributor to eHow? The popular online how-to guide tapped Catherine earlier this year to offer bridal tips to its 5.8 million monthly visitors! Her ongoing video series on wedding fashion advice can be found here. Happy viewing!
3 Best Tips when Selecting Your Destination Wedding Dress!
This week, we’re busy packing dozens of dresses as we will be visiting Puerto Rico for our annual Monique Lhuillier Trunk Show. We’ve been focused on preparing for a destination event, so we thought it would be fitting to share some wedding dress tips specifically for brides who may be considering a destination wedding.
- Pack it Up: You want your dress to look perfect… So, when selecting a dress for a destination wedding, go with something that packs easily. Lace gowns are often an appropriate option – both for an island destination, if that’s what you fancy – and because they don’t wrinkle!
- Remember it’s a Carry-on: When you head to the destination where you’ll be saying your I dos, you’ll likely carry your gown on board the plane in a garment bag, so think about the weight of your gown. You’ll want something lightweight to make the travel process easier.
- Dress of Your Dreams: While choosing the right dress for the location is a key factor, it is most important to WEAR the dress of your dreams! We’ve worked with many brides who walked down a sandy aisle on the beach in a ball gown and conversely brides who exchanged their vows in ballrooms dressed in slim silhouettes… in the end, it’s all about how you feel in “The Dress”
Destination weddings are absolutely fantastic… so as we always say, enjoy the moment and enjoy the journey to finding the dress! In the meantime, for some inspiration here are some of our favorite real brides wearing Monique Lhuillier at beach weddings! Happy Travels!
XOXO
PS Our destination event is in Puerto Rico is this upcoming weekend Sept. 27 - Sept 29 at Caribe Hilton, click here for more information or message us via our Facebook page for your appointment!
Images:
Sole Bride: Via Brides Magazine
Bride and Groom Feet: Braedon Photography
Beach Couple 1: Audrey Snow Photography
Beach Couple 2: Elaine Palladino Photography
Most Talked About Bridal Fashion Trend
Today, our very own Catherine has been featured on the eHow Wedding Fashion series giving her take on the most talked about bridal trend… Brides wearing two dresses on their wedding day! This trend has really taken off in the last few years… And we absolutely adore it! Brides get to walk down the aisle in stunning, formal, gorgeous bridal gowns and then they get to change into fun, flirty, even sexy dresses for their reception… How much fun! Below is the video where you can see Catherine’s take on this trend! Would you wear two dresses? Tell us about it, we always love to hear!
XOXO
Things to Look for at Final Fitting of Wedding Dress —powered by eHow.com
What colors can't you wear to weddings?
We were recently contacted by our friends at eHow to help in providing some wedding fashion tips... We were truly flattered and excited to contribute to such a great community! So today, we're sharing our video on one of the most common questions we get from many wedding fashionista guests... "What color can't I wear to a wedding?" And the bottom line is... Guests should not even closely resemble the stunning bride... You don't want to over shine or overpower her, so fashionistas please stay away from white or ivory... But for the full scoop, watch our video and let us know what you think, do you agree? Tell us about it, we always love hear! XOXO
Happy Forever
Last weekend we were inspired by the cutest 6 year old girl who was at the store. Her aunt was trying on wedding gowns, while she quietly played with her doll. Out of nowhere, we overheard her daydream about her future wedding: a white dress, an “eternally long” veil, and lots and lots of pink flowers. We casually eavesdropped. Her vivid daydream was the sweetest. When we asked who she was going to marry, she answered “I don’t know but we will be very happy, happy, happy.” Then she paused, took a breath, and finalized her statement by saying “We will be happy because we will be together, forever” It was very simple yet profound. This cute 6 year old managed to verbalize in a simple statement what the quest for the perfect partner is all about. At the end of the day, isn't it about finding that one person that simply makes us Happy and hopefully, will last Forever? So simple, so perfect!
What are you looking for when finding love? Tell us what you think, we always love to hear! In the meantime, here are some fun links from around the web that also inspired us this week and thought you would enjoy!
XOXO
Wedding Wine and Liquor Calculator
Dreamy Modern Pastels!
100 Spring Wedding Ideas!
Lovely Lily Pulitzer
Mad Men Premiered, how about a Mad Men inspired wedding?
Image source: Baby Version Rock
What is the meaning of Something Blue?
When it comes to wedding traditions, which by the way, we love most of them, sometimes they are a conundrum as to why they exist and what they mean. For example, ever wonder where “Something Blue” comes from? Something old, something new, something borrowed... we can easily imagine what these traditions may represent; but something blue!?!? We were stumped!
Choosing the Perfect Gown, an Expert Chat!
- The hashtag that will be used is #WIExpertChat.They will be tweeting from @WIFlorida, and Catherine will be tweeting from @chicparisien.
- To join:
- Before 1PM on Jan 14, log in to your Twitter account
- Click on this link: http://tweetchat.com/room/WIExpertChat
- Authorize the app