New Boutique Will Bring A Little Of The ‘Say Yes To The Dress’ Experience To Saint John
SAINT JOHN— The entrepreneur behind a new bridal boutique opening in uptown Saint John wants to provide an experience that’s both exclusive and inclusive.
Freedom Bridal, opening at 175 Prince William Street this weekend, will be a by-appointment-only bridal boutique selling both off-the-rack and exclusive gowns and bridal accessories.
Owner Lisa Golden got inspired to open a bridal shop years ago while living in Calgary.
“I’ve loved wedding dresses for 20 years. There’s just something I’ve always found so special about them,” she said. “I started visiting wedding gown stores in my early 20s and I just loved the way brides saw themselves and how women saw themselves when they put a wedding dress on. I always knew that when I ever opened my own business it was going to be a bridal store.”
But through her experiences of going to bridal stores, she noticed one thing missing: a personal and intimate customer experience. It was far from the experiences she saw offered on popular TV shows like, Say Yes To The Dress.
“I’d been in so many bridal stores for either myself, my sister, my best friends, and I never felt that overwhelming warm and fuzzy welcomed feeling that I expected from watching the shows on TV. Getting handed a glass of champagne and it being the most amazing situation,” said Golden.
“I just didn’t feel like many stores personally connect with the bride and the guests. Coming from the non-profit world, I’m a very empathetic person and I just want to support people, so that’s the approach that I’m going to bring to my store.”
Though there won’t be any TLC camera crews, at Freedom Bridal, the bride will be the star. Brides will be able to book their appointment through Freedom Bridal’s website. During the hour-and-a-half appointment, the store is close to the public. They will able to bring friends and family with them, as many that can be safely accommodated with Covid-19 guidelines.
“It’s important for me to give the bride the time and experience they deserve,” says Golden.
“Everything I put out there is to show brides that they are safe with me. They are safe in this space. There are no expectations. There’s no pressure. With it being named ‘Freedom Bridal,’ I really want people to feel they have the freedom to be themselves in here.”
The store offers an exclusive experience, but Golden said she wanted to be inclusive with her offerings, carrying dresses from sizes 2 to 30 in-store.
“I don’t want any brides feeling like their size won’t fit in here and they deserve anything different than anyone else,” she said.
“I’m trying to create an inclusive environment with an exclusive experience.”
Originally from Prince Edward Island, Golden and her family moved back to the East Coast in 2017. Until the onset of the Covid-19, she’d been working in the non-profit sector. But when she was laid off from her job last year due to the pandemic, she decided it was time to pursue to dream.
“I decided to take that as an opportunity to change directions and finally make my entrepreneurial dream come true,” I started working on this particular store idea just six months ago.”
With Covid-19 causing disruptions in wedding plans globally, Golden said she was a little hesitant to open a bridal boutique during this time. But through her research, she found many couples are still getting married, just not exactly how they originally planned.
“I know weddings are looking different. I know they’re smaller. I know they’re more in your backyard or even eloping at the city and things like that,” she said.
“But brides, no matter what or where or how many people are there, still deserve to have their dress and they still want their dress.”