This is a part of our Creative Collaboration series, where we introduce you to our creative partners from all around the Bay Area. Today, we’re introducing you to Jaime Zile of J’aime Bridal!

We’re thrilled to share a bit about J’aime Bridal’s very own Jaime Zile with you today! J’aime Bridal is a full-service bridal salon with a wide selection of bridal gowns, bridesmaids’ dresses, flower girl dresses, veils, and hairpieces. They also offer onsite alterations, as well as post-wedding cleaning and preservation services for brides to keep their lovely dresses!

Drawn to the wedding industry after her own experience as a bride, Jaime decided to open her own bridal shop up over ten years ago when she realized that the other shops around were either high-end or low-end – but nothing in the middle.

Over the years, she and her team have been extremely successful. For Jaime, her favorite part is seeing all the styles evolve every year and looking at the pictures after the wedding to see how gorgeous their brides look.

Jaime shared with us a story about how they fixed a potential wedding disaster for one of their brides:
One Sunday I received a call from a bride getting married at Wente in Livermore. We knew the bride because she had gotten all her bridesmaids dresses from us, but had gotten her bridal gown from a store in Walnut Creek that has since closed. The store she bought the dress from had 2 brides getting married that weekend in the same dress, but 2 different sizes. The dress she received on her wedding day was 2 sizes too small!

She was 2 hours from walking down the aisle and the dress would not zip! I call my seamstress at home and she gets in her car with her sewing machine and basket to see what can be done. I head to Wente with 4 possible bridal gown choices.

One of the back panels from a dress I brought matched the color of her gown perfectly. We rip out the back panel and start sewing it into her dress as she is wearing it! We get her down the aisle only 10 minutes late!

She also shares some advice for couples who are in the midst of planning their wedding:
Depending on when you are getting married and when you got engaged — my biggest advice is to do as much planning and booking of vendors in the Fall. Most bridal salons are dead in the Fall and it’s the perfect time to come in and have the entire store to yourself! We’ve also just gotten in all the new styles for the season and have a great selection for our brides. Our busiest months are January (after all the holiday engagements) to May.

We have a lot of brides coming in now to shop and do not feel rushed because their wedding is so far out. Then they are overwhelmed with the amount of people in the store in January and February and are discouraged when they can’t get an appointment as easily.

Do any planning you have left in the Fall before the newly engaged brides beat you to it!

 

Proudly serving Bay Area Weddings for over twenty years, Fantasy Sound aims to be engaged couples’ first stop- offering Disc Jockey, Videography, Event Lighting Décor and Wedding Planning services. They are fueled by great ideas paired with strong coffee, and will never turn down a piece of red velvet wedding cake.