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Byron Bay Bridal Showcase – an interview with creator Jennifer Gifford

Judi Watts from Little Grey Station does an An Interview with Jennifer Gifford – Creator of the Byron Bay Bridal Showcase

Since the announcement of Byron Bay Bridal Showcase just a little over a month ago, wedding vendors and soon-to-be brides from Noosa to Byron Bay and beyond have been frantic to find out as much information about the showcase. Well, I decided to go direct to the source and find our more about what we can expect at this glorious event. Brides get ready for a wonderful explosion of creativity and flare….

Jennifer Gifford from Jennifer Gifford Dress Designs is the empowering force behind this event, let’s hear a little about the showcase and why Jennifer felt it was necessary to put together Byron Bay’s first bridal showcase.

JENNIFER YOU ARE THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THE UP COMING BYRON BAY BRIDAL SHOWCASE, WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO CREATE SUCH AN EVENT?

It really grew from a very small event I wanted to hold before my Trunk Show on the 22nd July.  The more I spoke to people about it the more interest I got and it just snowballed.  There was a very obvious lack of anything like the Showcase in Byron Bay and I just decided to run with it and here we are with over 25 Vendors over two days in a beautiful location. We are hoping to see lots of local and interstate Brides and Grooms at this FREE Event.

WHAT CAN A BRIDE AND GROOM EXPECT TO SEE AT THE SHOWCASE?

They can expect to see something completely new.  We have asked vendors to colaborate in teams to create three styled spaces within Ewingsdale Hall, Romantic, Bohemian and Vintage.  The teams will create what I like to call a Hyper Real Wedding Setting with everything you would like to see at your wedding and More, so much more……..

We are also having a vendors lounge where our beautiful vendors will hang out and sit with couples if and when they want to chat about thier services.

I don’t know about you but one of the things I really dislike about Expos {horrid word} is the overpowering feeling you get when people are thrusting business cards at you and asking you well reheased questions about when you wedding is.

With our format we are leaving it up to the couples to seek out vendors if they want to know more, we beleive that most couples will be staying over night and may like to use Saturday as more of a reconosense returning after having a good LOOK on Friday to talk to vendors that really appealled to them.  That is another reason there are no tickets to attend. Did I mention that it is FREE?

YOU HAVE HAND-PICKED SELECTED WEDDING VENDORS TO BE APART OF THE SHOWCASE, WAS THIS AN EASY PROCESS AND HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE VENDORS?

Yes and No, at first I invited people I have worked with, trust and admire so that part was pretty easy, but as the Buzz around the event grew so did the vendor enquiries.  This has been challenging for several reasons, firstly we did not want the Showcase to be to big prefering to keep it small and relaxed and saying No to amazing local vendors has been really hard.  Nevertheless we are offering all the vendors that have missed out on a spot this time to have a guest Blog post bout thier business featuring one of their favourite Byron Bay Weddings.  Having this in place we have had an amazing and really positive response from all our vendor enquiries.

The idea behind the Byron Bay Bridal Showcase is to bring together all the vendors who service the region, these vendors may not all live in the area like myself but we all work on several Byron Bay Weddings every year.

WHEN AND WHERE IS THE EVENT AND HOW CAN TICKETS BE OBTAINED?

The first ever Byron Bay Bridal Showcase with be held over two days Friday the 20th from 11 am – 5 pm and Saturday the 21st July from 10 am – 4 pm at Ewingsdale Hall.

There are no tickets as such, this is a FREE event!  We are asking people to register they will be attending on our facebook events page here.

If the couple register they can go into the running to win some great prizes which we will be announcing this week!

FIRST AND FOREMOST YOU ARE A DRESS DESIGNER OF BEAUTIFUL GOWNS, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DESIGNING WEDDING GOWNS?

I have been in the industry for 10 years this year.  Before I started creating Wedding gowns I lived and worked in Byron Bay making Swimmers for a local company Wicked Weasle!

Photo credit: Ngg Studios
YOU OFFER A MADE TO MEASURE SERVICE FOR YOUR DESIGNS, HOW LONG DOES ONE OF YOUR CREATIONS TAKE TO ASSEMBLE AND WHAT IS THE PROCESS YOU TAKE WHEN WORKING WITH A BRIDE?

Generally the whole proccess starts about 9-12 months prior to the big day.  Once a gown is ordered the Bride then has a few months before returning for measurements about 12 weeks before the wedding.

This gives us both plenty of time, me for fabrics to arrive and the Bride has time to get fit if she feels the need, as I prefer that brides don’t loose any more wieght after measurements are taken.

Then the Bride returns every two weeks for fittings until the gown is complete and the Bride is the happiest girl on the planet!

Photo credit: Sarzy O Photography

DO YOU OFFER OFF-THE-RACK GOWNS?

I don’t offer “Off the Rack” as such, I am a small opperation, it is just me and the machine, so I don’t have the time or the space for this sort of thing.

I do however offer what I call Made to Wear, these are gowns I have designed and are available to order in either a Standard Dress Size or as Made to Measure both of which are less expensive than Made to Measure but still have the finest fabric and attention to detail.

HOW DO YOU SOURCE THE BEAUTIFUL FABRICS AND MATERIALS?

Fabrics are a funny thing, some I buy from retail stores especially laces, but mostly I get them through wholesalers where I can as it helps to keep prices lower for my Brides.  I try not to visit to many fabric stores unless I have to as I always walk out with things I didn’t set out to buy!

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR DESIGN STYLE AND INSPIRATION?

My designs are Simple and Lovely, comfortable and made from the best quality fabrics I can get my hands on.  I love to create something that complements the Bride rather than something that overwhelms her.

You can check out my pinterest page here.

Photo credit: Figtree Photography, Debs Ivelja

WILL WE BE SEEING YOUR BEAUTIFUL GOWNS ON DISPLAY AT THE SHOWCASE?

You sure will!  I am also holding a Trunk Show on the 22nd July at a Private Bangalow Farmhouse, where Brides can come and have a private viewing and perhaps try on a couple of my New 2013 Collection.

Spaces are limited though so please call or email me to book in!

Photo credit: Ngg Studios

Thanks Jennifer for your time and we all look forward to a great experience at the Byron Bay Bridal Showcase.

Judi xx

Source: reprinted from http://littlegraystation.com/

Contact: Judi Watts – Head wedding stylist and creator of Little Gray Station
0411 171 982
info@littlegraystation.com

LITTLE GRAY STATION WEDDING STYLIST AND MODERN-VINTAGE FURNITURE AND PROP HIRE FOR NORTHERN NSW, GOLD COAST, BRISBANE AND SUNSHINE COAST.

Posted: Friday, June 1st, 2012 Under: Accommodation, Arts, Business, Byron Bay, Music, News, People, Sources, activism, culture, education, entertainment, festivals. | Home |

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