Bridal Times had the opportunity to catch up with Elaine Ferlita, owner of Elaine Ferlita SPOSA in the historic town of Limburg, Germany to tell us how she designed her dream bridal shop and what brides can find inside.
Elain Ferlita, Owner of Elaine Ferlita Sposa
What inspired you to first open a bridal shop and how long have you been in the business?
My fascination for bridal fashion began as a child. Growing up across from a beautiful church, I spent Saturdays on the windowsill of our living room and couldn’t wait until the bride finally arrived. The feeling was reinforced in my 16 years as a wedding singer, during which I became aware that a bride always puts a smile on people’s faces. Everyone smiles when they see a bride! It’s almost magical! After this long-standing wish, three completed commercial apprenticeships, diverse work experience and intensive planning, I decided in the summer of 2018 to finally put this plan into action. And it was absolutely the right decision!
Tell us what a bride can discover in your bridal shop and what makes it so unique.
Our bridal boutique is located in the Walderdorffer Hof. The historic aristocratic estate in Limburg’s old town is simply made for our brides. Our style is aimed at the modern, extravagant and free-spirited bride looking for something very special! Quality and design are my top priorities. Just like the selection of our designers. I carefully select each and every one of them. The stories behind them are also important to me. Who the designer is, what they do and does she or he suit me! I am proud to have some of the best in the business in our bridal boutique. We also have an Israeli haute couture label that is only available from us in Europe.
But in addition to our dream dresses, the bride expects something very important: an experience! A wedding dress search is not comparable to an everyday purchase and the bride should enjoy this to the fullest! We are about you! Your wishes and your fitting! You’re not sitting in a row with multiple groups. You are alone with your companions and we are having a good time! The consultations are carried out by me personally and I also make sure that everything is adjusted according to your wishes with our in-house tailoring during the tailoring appointments. We accompany you from start to finish! This is important to us!
The beauty of your bridal shop has received a lot of attention on social media. Can you tell us a little bit about your current location and how you knew it was the perfect place for a bridal shop?
Even though our old shop was really cute, cozy and very nice, I knew that I hadn’t achieved what I wanted yet. With the previous 50m2 of retail space and almost 20m2 of tailoring, we quickly reached our limits. So, despite Corona, I decided to enlarge it. I was looking for that certain something! Just like a bride chooses her dress, I was looking for the perfect setting for it! And when I saw the new location and walked through the tall old buildings with a slight industrial flair, I knew it! It was 280m2 space for dreams. I could have cried! It was perfect! A private place for my brides, in a fantastic property in my beloved Limburg old town. It just couldn’t be topped. The ambience speaks for itself! Only the best for our brides and of course a great working environment for my employees and I. After all, the shop is my second home.
What were the very first steps you took in setting up your bridal shop?
Of course, I got inspiration and looked around for interior design on social media. Fortunately, I knew quite well what I didn’t want, but had to find out what I want. My husband and I spent a lot of time just sitting in the empty rooms and dreaming. You just has to let the rooms work for you, and go through the work processes in your head to get a feeling for what you want to use the rooms for. I always listened to my gut instinct and trusted that it would be good. We also decided on a color concept very quickly and decided what we wanted to task the carpenter and metalworker with. We had to place these orders quickly so that everything would be ready for the opening. So one should just focus on what has to be decided quickly and which things you can still take your time.
How did you go about choosing the right décor and furniture to create just the right atmosphere?
Well, that was probably the biggest challenge because the renovation, furnishing and relocation took place entirely during the lockdown in December and January. You couldn’t just go to the furniture stores or hardware store. So it was time to research. I had a very specific style in mind: monochrome, modern and clean. I ordered my upholstery and furniture with much good luck and without ever sitting on them. I often held my breath to see whether everything was going well and whether the furniture was going to convince me in real life. And luckily they did. We were able to bring over some things from our old boutique, but with a 5 x expansion, we could only fill a small part with it. For me, what is always important: Less is more! The historical building itself has such a great impact and the gowns decorate the rooms sufficiently. I wanted to keep everything as subtle and clean as possible. That is just exactly my taste!
What about the colors? Do you have favorite colors and tones that you think would best suit a bridal shop?
I actually like the bridal shop to be rather colorless and clean. Natural tones such as sand, beige and white and black as an accent. It should be puristic and only highlight the gowns and not distract from them with other colors.
How important is lighting? Did you face any challenges in getting just the right lighting?
The lighting is of course a huge issue and a financial factor that should not be underestimated. I would say it’s definitely one of the biggest investments in bridal shop interior design. There were hardly any challenges for us due to the large, natural light-flooded rooms. It is nice and bright all day and in the evening we have both warm white light and daylight lamps. And for the cozy atmosphere, we have floor spots that create a nice ambient light on the walls. The ceiling height was of course not to be underestimated during the installation. But I would always recommend consulting a lighting professional, because it is vitally important to illuminate your gowns well and still conjure up a cozy ambience.
Looking back, what would you say are the most important elements in having an appealing bridal shop?
I think it has to be manageable and not overloaded. A bride and her companion get so many impressions during their appointment that they simply shouldn’t be flooded with too much. Let the gowns work for you and present them appropriately. It’s the small details that make an impression, coupled with personality! Your shop has to suit you and what defines you. It must also represent your fashion and style! Of course, the products come first! High-quality, special, stylish, modern and simply beautiful wedding dresses are the be-all and end-all. Assuming that, these five points count for me: Manageability, a high-quality interior, comfort, personality and privacy.
What’s your best advice for bridal shop owners who aren’t sure where to start when it comes to interior design?
A bridal shop should be allowed to develop over time. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect on the first day, even if you always want it to be. Sometimes the perfect decoration or a great picture can only be found later. It’s best to keep a little buffer for this and avoid bad purchases out of impatience. A lot of different things reveal themselves after you’ve had a few appointments and you realize that there is still a hook missing here, or that this shelf is totally in the way, that you lack storage space or you have something that is not really put into use. So first start spartan and then add where necessary.
We would like to thank Elaine Ferlita for this interview.
For further information, visit Elaine Ferlita SPOSA in the German language.