This Week at Camarillo Bridal

HOLY TUNA SALAD.  Please allow me to show how the last week has been for the Camarillo Bridal Babes...

My moving shirt.  I was going to write "Looking for" above it

but it doesn't belong to me so I chose to not deface store property.

So last Monday (as you may have read) was our last "normal" day in the previous store. AND THEN Tuesday happened.  By the end of the day this is what Camarillo Bridal looked like:

CARTWHEEL LAND!!

 

It was so roomy that I had to do cartwheels.  No.  Really.  I did.  With pointed toes (nod to my dance teachers.)  And THEN the new store was totally chaotic and we were super excited to start putting things where they belonged.

Pam and Renee...this picture makes it look they didn't work.  This picture lies.

 

I don't know how many of you have ever lifted a wedding gown but they are not light.  So we lugged them over to the new store, then lugged them around the store, then lugged some of them back to the old store.  AND THEN finally Pam and Renee settled on where their homes in the store should be.

Piles of wedding dresses in their protective bags.

I was tempted to jump from the ladder onto the fluffy white pile...but then I remembered that 1) OSHA would be pretty angry. 2) UM THESE ARE OUR GOWNS don't hurt them, Tabitha!!

So Thursday we were a little loose around the edges knowing that the very next day we needed to be fully operational (every time I say "fully operational" I think of Star Wars and the Death Star...) But we held it together and managed to still work as a team.  I feel like a team that can put up a tent, construct furniture, or move together can pretty much make it through anything.

 My super fancy new desk...thanks Pam and Rex!

AND THEN FRIDAY!!

Friday was such an exciting morning for us!!  Right off in the morning we had a line of giddy prom girls just waiting to burst into the store!  They were delighted by our selection and each of them filled out a card to win the prom dress raffle that happened later in the afternoon.  The day went smoothly - no major incidents!  We are very proud of that.  In the afternoon we had the current Miss Junior Teen California US make an appearance to do the name drawing for the prom gown!  Our winner was VERY excited as you can imagine. 

 Pam and the Miss Junior Teen: YAY free prom dress!

Ok, moving right along to: SATURDAY.  Our first Saturday! It was an awesome day. So much happened that it was alllllmost overwhelming. 

There's this guy, Bo.  And that's Renee.

You might know him from this little radio station, B95.1  YES BO WAS HERE.  And not only was he here but he and his rockin' wife renewed their vows in the store!!

 The officiant of their wedding spoke about marriage

 and congratulated Bo and Celeste on 10 successful years.

 I love this picture...the family might disagree, but I find it hysterical.

Their mini wedding was absolutely adorable and much to my personal surprise also very emotional.  I thought it would just be silly and fun but both Bo and Celeste recited truly beautiful words to each other that brought tears to more than one set of eyes.  AND he surprised her with a gorgeous NEW RING!! EEEEEEE!!

Look at THIS. Her face was PRICELESS!!

One of the highlights of the ceremony was congratulating Rex and Pam Henderson on 30 (THIRTY) years of marriage!  They celebrated their anniversary this past December...when you see Rex and Pam you can tell that they are a team and purpose to celebrate each other daily.  Rex has spent countless hours preparing the store and Pam greatly appreciates his labor of love.



It's been exciting, it's been new, it's been loads of fun!  We are absolutely DELIGHTED with the new store.  I would like to thank everyone who worked on this beautiful store from Pam and her husband, Rex, to all the construction guys.  We are honored to work here and are excited to see what continues to happen in this gorgeous store!! 

The Last Day

Today when I woke up and thought about coming into the store I had a strange excited feeling in my stomach.

Today when I walked across the parking lot to the store I saw a lonely seagull sitting on top of the complex.  He was bright against the grey Camarillo sky.  He was a little bit melancholy and I realized I felt a little bit melancholy, too.

Today when I walked into the store the familiar chimed and the familiar faces were here saying good morning among the familiar racks and shelves.  And it was then I realized...

Today is the last day that Camarillo Bridal and Gorgeous Gowns at 2121 Pickwick Dr. as we know it will be in existence.  Today is the last day that we will stand among the familiar racks, sit in the familiar places, see the familiar windows, and smell the familiar smells.  Tomorrow it all becomes the past.  A memory.

Tomorrow when I come into work I will be wearing jeans.  Tomorrow there will be boxes and vans and packing tape, and there will be MEN IN THE STORE (!!) picking up heavy things.  Tomorrow we start the next leg of the journey...the next step in success.

Tomorrow the palpable tension that is making the atmosphere of the shop vibrate today will dissipate in the madness of the move.  We will focus on the task at hand and we'll look to the future and the excitement that it holds for all of us.  And we won't really be too sad because our new home is so enticing!  This GORGEOUS new location allows us to grow up...enables us to round out and become a more mature team...the new store facilitates better service for all our customers!

So good bye sweet little store! Thank you for being wonderful.  Thank you for being the perfect place for the perfect amount of time.  We love you and we will miss you. Thank you for being pink and mauve and for staying mostly in tact until the end.  We will remember you forever.

FREE DRESSES..and other exciting things

Ok ya'll, as promised I am divulging the information about the GIVEAWAYS!!

Our GRAND OPENING is April 22nd - 28th and during that week we will be doing all KINDS of super fun things (which I will write about NEXT week...see what I'm doing here?) and some of those fun things involve giving things away!!

FRIDAY APRIL 22ND

PROM DRESS GIVEAWAY

Yep, that's right...a prom gown!!

(So many prom dresses!!)

TUX RENTAL GIVEAWAY

Need to rent a tux?? Well you won't have to pay for it.

SATURDAY APRIL 23RD

WEDDING DRESS GIVEAWAY

 (Uuummm, NOT this one.)

TRIP TO VEGAS FOR TWO 

(We have fabulous eloping gowns too...)

MONDAY APRIL 25TH

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE OR GROOM GOWN

(You get to pick the one you want!)

So how exactly do you get involved for all this free stuff?! Come into the store and fill out a raffle card to drop into our super cute birdcage drop box!  We'll be drawing each prize and will contact the lucky winner :)

Next week: more details on both the move AND the GRAND OPENING!!

"Bond...James Bond"

We all know how boys look extra delicious in tuxedos.  I don't know if it's the James Bond, Rhett Butler association or if it's just because we're so sick of seeing them in shorts and t-shirts, but I think we can all agree that seeing our man in a tux makes us melt.

(Just sayin')

I for one believe very strongly that we should have fancy occasions on a regular basis to facilitate the wearing of suits and gowns.  That way our men would be dashing and debonair more than 3 times in their lives.  I mean HOW am I supposed to get a dance card filled if we don't have BALLS?!

("Not received even by his own family"...but oh so dreamy in a cravat)

So anyway, tuxedos...WE RENT THEM!! Yes! We can do the wedding dress, the brides maids' dresses, mother of the bride, mother of the groom, flower girls, AND ALL THE BOYS!! (that guy you're marrying, your dad, the groomsmen, ring bearer, your cousin who is helping seat people to placate your aunt...)  We are a comprehensive one-stop for your wedding day attire!!  The art of tuxedo-ing is handled by Shelley who has had experience in tux's for 8 years and absolutely knows her stuff.  There are so many different styles of shirt, jacket, and tie that you will be able to create exactly the look you envision without even having to know all of the fancy names.  And just BTW: You get a free groom's tux with 7 paid rentals!


Oh...ohh...what's that? Prom? YES.  Prom too.  So if your prom date still hasn't figured out that he actually has to wear one of these just give him a push in our direction along with what color your dress is and we'll be able to take care of it no problem!

We have some very exciting Prom Party Promotions coming up involving a Tux Rental Raffle and a Gown Giveaway! 
More on this next week!

So whether you're going to prom or getting ready for your wedding, we can take care of everything and he WILL look fantastic!