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The Lafayette Bridal Social scheduled for Feb. 12 is aimed at narrowing down those overwhelming options for the modern bride. Lace & Bustle Bridal owner Victoria Hansen envisions the unique event as a "bridal crawl," which is like a pub crawl except it features cocktails, expert tips, freebies and local vendors for gowns, beauty, photography, planning, jewelry, cakes and venues.
"It is extremely overwhelming for today's bride. It is like night and day from when I was a bride six years ago," said Hansen of the Pinterest overload on social media. "The options are just endless for brides and it could be a bit much."
As a kickoff to wedding planning, Hansen will guide future brides through helpful dress tips with live models. Some of the latest trends in bridal fashion are lots of texture, laces, appliquÇs and separates to create a custom look, but Hansen noted that her boutique is mostly modern classic.
"What we carry here is very timeless," she said of her Lafayette shop. "Some brides are drawn to a certain trend. That is okay, if that is their style. You want to wear what you are going to love and what you feel beautiful in that day."
For the social, Hansen has teamed up with event planning duo and sisters, Leslie Yrueta and Linda Lathrop of Linen and Lilac Design. According to Yrueta, not only are today's brides overwhelmed by choices, they are also not enjoying an intimate and personalized experience at typical bridal fairs.
"If you go to large bridal shows, there are booth after booth of people trying to sell their services. The main objective is to show them what these vendors can provide," she said. "We want to give them little tips and tricks of the trade and make them feel empowered and excited about their big day."
According to Yrueta, they also want to showcase what Lamorinda has to offer in terms of services, vendors and goods for weddings. For example, Linen and Lilac only plan about 10 weddings each year because they strive to get to know each couple and weave personalities and passions into the nuptials.
"We are such a close-knit and tight community and people are so supportive of small businesses in Lamorinda," Yrueta said. "There are so many options locally for brides."
Instead of the trade show ambiance of typical bridal fairs held in hotels, the Lafayette Bridal Social is aiming to pamper brides with waxing demonstrations at Wax A Peel and makeup and hair tutorials from DryStyle Lounge. As the brides tour the merchants' spaces, they will be sipping on cocktails and sampling hors d'oeuvres.
Other vendors include Parker's Crazy Cookies, Paper Monkey Press, Jessica Kay Photography, Ma Petite Maison Cake Design, Bowerbird Atelier, The Dailey Method, Itty Bitty Bakeshop, Esmerelda Franco Photography, The Claremont Club + Spa A Fairmount Hotel, Susie Cakes, Apila Design, The Bare Bride, J. Hilburn, Wish Boutique, Icewater Jewelry and Wine Thieves.
"We have been working at organizing this event and putting together an intimate and interactive bridal experience for our brides," said Hansen.
The Lafayette Bridal Social will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12, starting at Lace & Bustle Bridal, 3569 Mt. Diablo Blvd. Tickets are $28. For more details, check out www.lafayettebridalsocial.com or call 925-298-4100.
Lamorinda Weekly business articles are intended to inform the community about local business activities, not to endorse a particular company, product or service.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA