Strut Bridal

Ride in Style with Just for You Transportation

It seems like such a small thing to think about in a day full of big things like food, flowers and The Dress, but brides and grooms, have you thought about how you'll get to your ceremony site? And after that, if you want to go someplace else for photos, how you'll get there? Strut co-owner Ann snagged a ride in a decidedly unglamorous rental car. You can do better than that!

We recently met Willie, the owner of Just For You Transportation Service (warning: his website has music, so be careful if you're at work!). His company is headquartered downtown near the ballpark. While he has spent a number of years transporting government officials and cool people like Usher, he's new to the wedding industry.

We were impressed that he reached out to us. We were even more impressed when he said he would bring a car an stop by to meet us one on one. Then, when he showed up on time (within just thirty minutes of our talk), well-dressed and with a spotless car, we knew we wanted to learn more about his business.

Look, limo folks have a reputation for spotty service. Sometimes they don't show up at all because drivers can be a bit flaky. We asked Willie if he has that problem. "No," he replied. "And in the event a driver calls in sick, then I personally show up for the job."

Because he works with the government, all of their Just For You drivers are first-aid certified, have passed fingerprint and background checks, have passed drug screening tests, and have security clearances. They've been in business since 1997.

In addition to limousine service, Just For You transportation also has mini-buses, vans, and wheelchair accessible vehicles. Consider the van or mini-bus service if your ceremony or reception site has limited parking, or if you think your guests may need rides after the party ends.

Right now they're running a special: three hours, taxes and gratuity included for just $293.25. Give them a call today at 602.477.8256!

 

 

Our Crafty Bride Who MADE Her Bridesmaids Dresses!

Ellie and her mom Tee shopped at Strut shortly after we opened in 2010. Ellie had just graduated from NAU and looking for a wedding dress before leaving to work at a Girl Scout camp in New Hampshire. She was planning an April wedding at the Pioneer Village Living History Museum near Anthem, and she needed the perfect dress.

 
Ellie chose a lightweight fitted gown with a dotted overlay sometimes called dot net, Swiss dot, and point d'espirit. You can see the texture best at the bottom of the gown in the photo above.

 
You can see the skirt flare around the knees in the photo above. But it's not a severe mermaid flare. We also love how this gown has a bit of ruching at the waist and some flower details under the netting on the bust.

Here's Ellie with her husband Anthony.

 
Finally, Ellie was a crafty DIY bride who actually made her bridesmaids dresses AND the bouquets. She was thrilled to share the final result with us, and we were really impressed! Plus, we love the rainbow of colors!

 
Thanks, Ellie, for sending us the photos. You are your mom were a treat to work with. Best wishes to you and Anthony!

Closed Aug. 3rd (but check out the super cool reason why!)

Strut will be closed for one day only on Wednesday, August 3rd. Middle of the week? Yep! We've been invited to LA by one of our wedding gown brands to meet with their designer and preview their spring collection. Yep--spring collections are already in the works. Here's the process:

•  
  • Designer presents the spring line to key bridal accounts and gets feedback
  • They tweak the designs in production
  • They take the lines to bridal market this fall (we go to market twice a year to buy new dresses)
  • The spring wedding dress collections typically ship to us in January and February.

We're really excited to be a part of this for a few reasons. First, we haven't met their designer yet, but this is his second season with them, and already we've noticed more contemporary designs and upgraded accents (like beading and appliques) from him. We can't wait to see what he does next.

Second, they let us ask questions. So we're thrilled to be able to learn more about why certain fabrics are chosen, the design process, etc. We think we'll be able to show our brides the value in these gowns and the thought behind them better if we understand it, too.

Third, we're hoping to be able to get more plus size wedding dress-friendly designs out there. Too often we see a gown and think, "this would be the perfect plus size wedding dress if only...". We're hoping to get those "if onlys" out on the table now. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask, right??

Fourth, we get to see these new designs months before anyone else. And that's just cool!

We'll keep you updated with a trend report when we return!

 

Ireland – an Enchanting Destination Wedding or Honeymoon!

Our favorite travel agent, Chris of Mission Travel, recently attended a seminar about Ireland. She fell in love with it and asked us to share some information about travel to Ireland with our brides.

When you think of a honeymoon and especially a Destination Wedding, Ireland is not the first thought that pops in your mind!   The first places we think about are the Caribbean, Italy, France or some other romantic destination.  Has Ireland ever crossed your mind?  Yeah, me neither!

 I recently attended an Ireland Seminar and let me tell you, I will be suggesting Ireland as a great alternative!  The scenery is lush, green and definitely enchanting and breathtaking!  The people are warm and welcoming.  There is a charm about Ireland that can’t be experienced elsewhere.

You could have your “fairytale” wedding in Ireland!  Imagine a luxurious and elegant venue such as Adare Manor, Ashford Castle, Waterford Castle or maybe the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt.  You could arrive on the lawn of a castle in a beautiful horse drawn carriage that is fit for royalty!  Your backdrop is a well manicured garden and a castle steeped in Irish history.  You could dance to the latest tunes or have beautiful Celtic music playing.  Dinner could be a 5-course gala meal.  Finally, your first night as a married couple could be spent in one of the magnificent rooms of a castle!

 
Waterford Castle at night

 It isn’t hard to create the ultimate Irish wedding experience with the help of a wedding planner who will take care of everything from the wedding concept development to the ceremony and legalities, beautiful décor, unique entertainment and anything else to make your day special and unforgettable!  Your choices are almost limitless.

 For all those who want to share this day with you, group arrangements can be made.  The travel arrangements include round-trip air, accommodations, group transfers and sightseeing excursions.  Guests can also choose to extend their stay and discover all Ireland has to offer.

 For those who are looking for an alternative to an exotic honeymoon, a visit to Ireland might be the most romantic European vacation you could take!  Southern Ireland is home to some of the most beautiful castles that include ultra luxurious spas situated next to a picture-postcard village.

 Or maybe you would prefer more of the authentic charm of Ireland by staying in quaint bed and breakfasts.  Many of the B&B’s offer en suite accommodations and include a daily, full Irish breakfast.  With your rental car you can be based in one location and do day trips or you can travel around the country and explore the landscape and small towns along the way.  Your B&B hosts would be happy to share their love of Ireland with you!

 If you aren’t comfortable driving in a foreign country or enjoy a more structured itinerary, there are many wonderful escorted tours that visit all the popular sights such as the Cliffs of Moher or Ring of Kerry.  You will travel by luxury motorcoach, staying at nice hotels along the way.  Breakfast is always included as well as some dinners.  Sightseeing is incorporated into the trip and you have the services of a wonderful Tour Director. 

 When should you visit Ireland?  The answer to that is easy…ANYTIME!!!  If budget is a concern the best time to travel is November through March which is Ireland’s low season.  Peak tourist season is May through September.

 If you are interested in learning more about Ireland or another destination for a Destination Wedding or Honeymoon, please contact me. 

 You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MissionTravelAZ or contact me at missiontravel@cox.net or 623-910-9810.

 I look forward to being your travel consultant and assist you in planning for your special day!  Contact me for a complimentary consultation.

 Chris Erwin

Mission Travel

Certified Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Specialist

Katrina's Ruffled Trumpet Wedding Gown (Lots of Pics!)

When we first opened Strut we knew there was a need for plus size wedding dresses in Phoenix. And we assumed we'd get brides from all over Arizona. But it's really surprised us to find that many California brides are struggling to find plus size wedding gowns.

Katrina first visited us last fall, driving to Phoenix with a girlfriend from Fresno. She was looking for a dress for her April wedding at an outdoor garden (which was actually like a private house with garden--check out the pool pic below). Katrina is a designer by day, so we were thrilled to see evidence of her eye for design in the incredible wedding photos she sent us.

 
Katrina chose a ruffled, fitted trumpet gown. It's made of organza by Allure Bridals (#8705). It's super lightweight but perfect for a garden wedding.

 
She modified the neckline of the 8705 wedding dress to be a slight sweetheart design. Here's a close up of her modified sweetheart neckline:

 
The bodice is fully ruched and features a zipper with satin covered buttons. The back features a chapel length train. Here's a photo:

 
 

We love the light colored suits the groom and groomsmen wore. Here she is with Geoff (the groom!):
 
 
 
We love this shot of Katrina and her bridesmaids by the pool:

 Check out the little flags above the tables--don't they add such a festive feeling?

 

 
 
 
 
 
Thanks, Katrina, for sending us so many incredible photos. We love the detail shots and love sharing them with other brides! Best wishes to you and Geoff!

 

Kelcie's Romantic Ballgown Wedding Dress

Kelcie bought her wedding at Strut last November. While we used to get wedding dresses in about 3 months, recent labor shortages have lengthened that delivery time. Plus add the one-month factory closure for New Year, and Kelcie's Allure ballgown was scheduled to arrive just three weeks before her April wedding.

But as the day neared, Kelcie's delivery date was delayed. And she had lost some weight. We both feared she wouldn't get alterations in time, so she came back in and chose another wedding dress. In retrospect, this one is just perfect for her romantic wedding at Stonebridge Manor in Mesa.

 

Kelcie chose a beautiful taffeta ballgown with tulle pickups on the skirt. The tulle pickups even have beaded applique for more sparkle. Many brides think that a plus size ballgown wedding dress will make them look larger, but in this case, the gown was really fitted through her bodice, helping give her a great shape.

Here's a close up of Kelcie:

 
We love the tiny bit of sparkle and lace at the top of her bodice. Even more, we think her updo perfectly highlights her tiara, while the veil, placed on the back of her head, really sets off her natural beauty and perfect smile.

Here's a shot that shows off her lavender, lime green and hot pink wedding colors in her bouquet:

 

This might be our favorite shot, because she looks like a princess:

 
What a beautiful place for a wedding!

 
Kelcie, we're thrilled we found you another gown you love. Best wishes to you and Shawn!

 

Melody's Perfect Wedding Dress with Sleeves

Melody traveled to Phoenix from Lakeside to go wedding dress shopping. When asked what kind of dress she was looking for, she wrote just two things:

• Don't know
• Do want sleeves

But as many of you know, a plus size wedding dress with sleeves can be tough to find in today's strapless dress market. Luckily, we had an awesome a line wedding gown in our store, and it came with a beautiful lace bolero jacket. Here's a photo of Melody and Michael inside the church in Flagstaff:

 
We simply love the Sincerity gown that Melody chose. It was a taffeta a line wedding dress featuring a beaded bodice (mostly on the bust) and ruching through the waist. The back was a zipper with real buttons over it. Here's a better view:

 
We love that Melody, who is a family practice physician up north, sent us a photo of her wedding dress bustle. It looks great because it still features the buttons and appliques on the skirt:

 
Thanks, Melody, for sending us photos from your June wedding. Best wishes to you both!

Ways to Keep Your Teeth White

Brides give a lot of thought to their wedding dress, shoes, jewelry, hair and makeup, but sometimes we forget one of our best accessories: a bright white smile! There are plenty of ways to get a mega-watt smile for your wedding, including in-office whitening procedures, take-home kits, even whitening strips you can buy at the drugstore. Helpful tip: Ann's dentist says the best time to try a whitening product is right after your semi-annual cleaning!

Here are some tips from Martha Stewart Weddings on ways to help keep those pearly whites looking camera-ready:

• Limit highly pigmented drinks like coffee, tea, and red wine. And mind fare such as blueberries, balsamic vinaigrette, and tomato and soy sauces. Rule of thumb: anything that will stain a shirt will stain your teeth.
• Swish with water between bites or sips of dark foods and drinks to quickly rinse off residue.
• Munch on apples, celery and carrots, which exfoliate teeth (and fend off plaque and discoloration) with their fibrous textures.
• Eat spinach and broccoli, which prevent stains by coating teeth with a layer of antioxidants.
• Brush and floss after every meal, but when drinking soda, wait an hour before cleaning, as its acids weaken tooth enamel.

Finally, if all else fails, consider the red lipstick trick--just remember, some shades have yellow undertones, so get a color that helps make your teeth look whiter!

Chinese Knockoff of Justin Alexander 8465

Love 'em or hate 'em, Chinese replica wedding gowns seem to be here to stay. While we understand that many brides have a budget, we have just a few important points to make before we show you the goods (that is to say, photos of really crappy knockoff wedding gowns):

1. If you buy a dress directly from China, you may not receive it in time. You may not ever get it at all.
2. And if you do get it, and hate it, you rarely get your money back (or get it minus the $130 you'll spend sending it back). So, as we've seen several times here at Strut, the bride has to buy a second dress. Off the rack. Last minute. So brides are spending what a real dress could cost.
3. If you get a dress, it will likely require a lot of alterations (see quote below), which will probably cost more than the dress itself.
4. If you read reviews of the Chinese knockoff wedding gown makers, you can just hear the stress in the bride's writing. They have to watchdog the factory and micromanage the whole process, especially if the dress is cutting it close to the wedding date. What's peace of mind worth to you?

So, yes, they can make dresses cheaper. But the quality is truly terrible (see below, and see the previous post we did about buying a Chinese knockoff wedding dress).

Here's a photo from the Justin Alexander website of dress 8465:

 
We love the detail on the lace, so here's a photo we took of our in-store sample gown:

 
Now here are some photos of a bride's CHinese knockoff 8465. She bought it from simply.love:

 
 
 
 
Another bride bought a Demetrios knockoff from Dressilyme. Here's the original gown (check out the quality of the fabric and flowers, and the proportions of the details, and the draping):

 
And here's her Chinese knockoff dress:

 
Yikes. Recently on Weddingbee.com a bride posted this about her Chinese knockoff wedding dress (from Jeff Lui, we think):

The visible seams are poorly sewn, they are crooked and not stitched firmly, there are lots of lose stitches and they will probably come open even before the wedding.

There is grey sewing cotton near the zipper at the back. Grey on a white dress!!!

The straps are not attached at the back at all, I had to knot them. That looks ridiculous, it’s a wedding dress, not a children’s dress. They are also twisted, there is no way i could ever straighten them

I asked for a matte chiffon several times, but got a very shiny kind of whatever instead

Also the bust was supposed to be made of lace, but instead it has embellishments and pearls on it, which was never once mentioned, and definitely not what I asked for. And they are glued on plastic and then stitched on the bust with the plastic. WTF??

The bust has cups sewn in, these cups are too large for the bust of the dress, so it’s totally crooked and sticks out on the sides

Overall the dress is poorly made, everything looks wonky and asymmetric, not straight, the fabrics look ultra cheap,and it’s not what I ordered at all.

I sent him an email yesterday, and he would make me another dress for free, but I had to pay the shipping costs. Not sure if I will do that.

This is definitely a case of buyer beware!

Tracey's Enchanted Sedona Wedding

Tracey and Chris were to be married at the EnchantmentResort in Sedona on May 27th, 2011, so when she came shopping at Strut, we knew we needed to find a dress fit for such a stunning locale. It was to be a small wedding, with about 35 guests in attendance. And, in a slight twist on tradition, Tracey and Chris chose to have the cocktail hour BEFORE the ceremony.

We'll walk you through their special day in this series of awesome photos fromPuruhito Photography.

The super awesome Wade Lee traveled to Sedona to do hair and makeup for Tracey. Here he works his magic in the bathroom of her suite:

 

Next is a close up of Tracey's wedding dress. She wore an aline gown made of organdy, a lightweight, flowy yet elegant fabric. Tracey added the flutter sleeves to the beaded straps.

 
Here Wade helps lace up Tracey's corset back. Wade saved the day: as Tracey tells the story, her friend designated to lace her gown was running late and Wade declared he had "seen it done a number of times", so he stepped in to assist.

 
He laced like a pro! We couldn't have done it better ourselves!

Tracey brought to her bridal appointment a couple of special guests, two stuffed animals that were special to her and Chris. Fittingly, they carried in the rings during the ceremony while riding a remote controlled car.

 
Here are a couple of photos of Tracey and Chris :

 
 

Of course we love the detail shots, too, so here's a great close up of Tracey's wedding bouquet (note the added sparkles!):

 
And the cake--we love the elegant simplicity of it:

 
We can't imagine a more beautiful place to get married than in this courtyard:

 
But it gets better--their wedding ceremony was during sunset, and as the sky darkened, the twinkle lights came on in the trees. What a beautiful resort!

 
Finally, we had to show you Tracey and Chris's guest book: their wedding guests painted their well wishes on a canvas for the newlyweds to hang in their house. What a great reminder of a wonderful day!

 
What a wonderful day for a wonderful couple. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of it!