Marie Bernal’s bridal shop is the first choice for couples ready to get married in Wetzler, Germany. As witnessed on Germany’s version of “Say Yes to the Dress” at Marie Bernal’s bridal shop two years ago, business can also be turbulent. Bridal Times spoke with Managing Director Marie Bernal about what makes her happy in this business and about the desires of bride’s today.
What does it mean for you to sell in bridal?
A wedding dress is not just any dress. A wedding dress stays in memory for your entire life and the dress that you wear marrying the love of your life. Thus, so to speak, the “most important” outfit, which we women can wear. For me to accompany the bride at this moment is incredibly exciting. That’s why I decided to see it as my job and start a business.
Everyday business can be often stressful, which moments give you happiness?
I especially enjoy my job the moment the bride leaves the bridal shop happy. Or, actually much earlier. When the bride stands in front of the mirror and gives us bridal stylists this indescribable expression. The expression that tells you that you did everything right and found THE DRESS. You know that you have given this person joy and this is absolutely priceless to me.
Do you feel customers and the industry changed in recent years?
Definitely! The industry has changed dramatically in recent years – in a positive sense! The dress selection of yesteryear and today is not comparable. There is much more choice, many more designers, more materials and the subject of a bridal gown is becoming an increasingly important topic in our society in general!
Would you say customer requests are different today?
The wishes are completely different – you can’t pinpoint for anything to stay within a certain time . There are brides who are looking for very simple gowns, but also brides who can’t be pompous enough. Every woman has her own style, her own ideas and that’s a good thing. Otherwise all the brides would look identical. It’s extremely important to be true to oneself and not look like you’re wearing a costume on the big day. The dress must reflect the personality! The desire, respectively the goal which all brides have in common is that we find the dress together and that the search doesn’t go on forever. Because at some point you lose the fun! Due to the large selection, it is absolutely not recommended to try on many dresses, because at some point you don’t know what you want.
Despite more choices and options, the advice is so highly individual.
It is very important to us that our brides always be honest with what they think and feel. And above all, that their wishes are expressed. Every female body is different, especially with bridal dresses it can be very noticeable. If we place two women next to each other, both the identical size and both the same dress, you can see immediately how different the dress looks on both women. Often it’s things like hair color, skin tone, eyes or even the posture that affect this. For this reason, our motto is “Tell us your wish and we will try to fulfill it”, because with a few simple steps, our seamstress can whip up a new look and then you have, THE DRESS!
Are you keeping an eye on any specific trends?
Yes. Light, falling vintage dresses are currently very popular! Deep back cuts are also more and more in demand. But the classic princess dress can’t top anything so fast!
More about Marie Bernal Brautmoden can be found here