Julie Rafiner — Lehi Bridal Center: Family, Craft, and Community on Main Street

Full Conversation Transcript

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Welcome to Roots and Branches of Lehi, the podcast where we get to know the faces, stories, and lives that make up

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our community. I'm Ryan Harding, and I started this podcast as a way for us all to connect with the people we live

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alongside. Growing up in a small town, I learned that connections go beyond blood. They're built through shared

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experiences, friendships, and the moments we celebrate together. Each week, we'll sit down with someone new

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from Lehi to share their unique story, their passions, and what they love most about living here. So whether you've

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been here for years or just arrived, join us as we deepen our roots and reach

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out to our branches one story at a time. Welcome, Julie, to Roots and Branches of

Meet Julie Rafiner: Lehi native & business owner

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Lehi. Happy to have you here on the on the podcast where we get to know you and get to know your business and glad

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you're able to come. So, thank you for inviting me. Yeah. So, so talk to me. I

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mean, give me a little background of yourself, I guess, first. Are so originally from Lehi? Where where are you from? Where'd you grow up? Yes, I'm

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from I'm from Lehi. I was born and raised here and I grew up right there at

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45 West Main Street. The cute little pink house. Yeah, it's a historic home and one of the first adobe homes built

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in Lehi. Wow. And it's it was a great place to grow up right on Main Street. There was a lot happening and and I got

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to learn about all the business owners on the street. Yeah. had a had a lot of friends there and all through growing up

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and know their families and Lehi has a lot of great family businesses. So yes,

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I grew up here, went away to Dixie College at after high school and up to

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Utah State. Then I took a break and went out to New York and was a nanny and that

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was a lot of fun and ended up back at Utah State and then had an adventure in

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California. And after a conversation with my mom, I she said, "You know, I

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need I need a new manager because our our other manager has moved to Gunnison

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where they've built a new prison and her husband works there." And I said, you know, after a week or two, I called her

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back and said, "Mom, I'm ready to come home. I'm ready to work at the bridal center long term. Good. So that's how it

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started for me. And so so your mom had started the bridal center. So I mean this was a family business, right? And

The Bridal Center: A historic family business

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and so what so give us a little background of that, I guess. Talk to me about like when did it start, you know?

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Okay. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So, my parents were married in 1957 and they lived just

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a block down in the house on the 100 South Corner that's decorated so cute

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for Christmas. All the lights. Yeah. Looks like a gingerbread house. It's adorable. They lived in a an apartment

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there. Alvin Scow, who was the local banker, owned that. And they rented

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there. And my dad saw the property on Main Street and he said, "You know, I I think that'll be perfect for a barber

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shop." And there was the home in the building there. It was built, the bridal

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center was built as a as a bakery. Oh. And then my dad purchased that property

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and he opened his barber shop in 1959 in the front. And my mother was sewing in

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the back room. Okay. And she was she was sewing scarves and they were sending

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them all over the western United States. She and some friends. and they had clothing, ready toear clothing and

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formal gowns in the back there. And when my dad left in the

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late60s to he went up to Salt Lake to do a business, she expanded into the front

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of the building. And so we were calculating the business started in 1964 and she was doing ready toear

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clothing in the front. She was custom making bridal gowns in the back, prom dresses and bridesmaid dresses. And she

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she decided well she decided that the date of her business opening was 1964

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which would have been the year before I was born. Yeah. But fairly recently, 7 years ago after her funeral, I went back

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into work and a sweet lady came in the store and she said she said, "I'm looking for some button loops. I wonder

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if you have any button loops." And I said, "Well, I can check." I said, "I I probably don't." And she looked around

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and then she said, "You know, the cutest lady made my dress, my wedding dress." And I said, "Really?" I said, "That cute

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lady would have been my mom." Yeah. And she's recently passed away. This was conversation in 2017. And and I said,

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"Out of curiosity, when did you get married?" She said, "Oh, I got married in 1961." Oh, wow. Okay. So, the

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business started before my mother even remembered. She was making bridal gowns

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and prom dresses and everything back then. Wow. So, it's it's a great family business. And growing up in it, I was I

Growing up in the bridal world

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noticed that I came today with a pin in my sweater. There's always a pin in my shirt or my

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sweater cuz I've just altered something and and I tuck it in my sweater. So, she

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taught me how to sew. But when I was that little girl, 3 years old, I was crawling around the floor picking up pins for her. That's awesome. And then

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she taught me how to use those pins and make beautiful articles for beautiful people. Yeah. And you said so so you

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grew up though at the store at the house by the store then or or cuz Yes. Yeah.

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Go ahead. There's a breezeway between the house and the shop. Okay. The store.

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And so we'd just go out the back door of the house and into the back door of the shop. And my mom would be in there

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sewing sometimes till midnight, one in the morning. I'd get dropped off after

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dates about midnight. And I'd wander into the shop and there was my mom sewing and listening to whatever the the

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late night murder mystery show was on KSL. Sure. We'd finish that and go into the house and she'd be done Yeah. with

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her projects that day. So when when your dad bought that store, did he also buy the house then with the store? I guess.

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Yes, because it is it's it's fairly connected. The one wall is right up against the other. So he bought the

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house and the store and and a nice garden spot where we always had a big beautiful garden. So it was so

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convenient. We could be there where our parents were working. We grew up at work. It's just like just like one of

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those great Italian restaurants where they live upstairs. and come down and

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cook and all there. We were doing that with projects. Everyone in my family

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knows how to run a sewing machine. Even my oldest brother. Wow. He was operating a sewing machine. Yeah. Just life. I'm

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curious. Was Main Street, you know, I because obviously Main Street now, I mean, you do see some of these older

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homes and stuff like that, but you also see just a lot of buildings, right? You know, like this one we're in and stuff like that. Was what was it like back

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then? What was Main Street like back then? Was it was it a lot of Were most of the businesses like yours where it

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was kind of hey we live and work in the same place or was yours different similar? Were there others? I'm just

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curious what was it like? Well, I would say Hos Floral down here. His grandparents lived next to it. Uh and

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his dad his family home was just down a block. I know the Tuckets had an

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apartment above above the bakery. I don't know of anyone who has lived lived right at

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their business. Yeah. But I'm sure there was. You know, back back in the day when Main

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Street was very small. Sure. This community was really small. When I graduated from high school, there were

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6,000 Yeah. population. And we all knew each other. Yeah. We knew, oh, you live

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on the north end of town, you're on the west end, the south or the east. And it was it was great. But Lehi Main Street,

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there was there's always been these two historic blocks that are unique. This is where these businesses were built early

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on. And even though the businesses changed, there were always families that

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that lived nearby, I guess I would say. I'm thinking about pennies. The Penrod family just lived a block and a half.

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And uh Harvard Hinton was the attorney and he was in he was in the office

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building that the Wilson Wilson architect, okay, that he owned and I I'm

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not sure if that's being rented out or if he's still there or not, but there's been a lot of family connection and and

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down the street, you know, I I joke because growing up right here on Main Street, this is my front yard. This is

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the heart of Lehi. This is where it started here and in the surrounding farms and I knew the proprietors on the

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street and I knew their names and I would come across and visit with them and there was where we're sitting today

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was the hardware building and it was a beautiful building and the man who took

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care of that building at the time that I was in elementary school his name was Oral Pendleton. Okay. And I couldn't say

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oral as a kindergartener, so I said ora. And I would walk home from Lehi

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Elementary School and I had been instructed to get across this busy street. And this was 1970. Sure. To go

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in and get oral and he would walk me across the street. He and my dad and two

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other couples had season tickets to BYU games. So he was a family friend. and

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and all of the business owners were were friends. Oral would give me a a little

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butterscotch candy out of his pocket and walk me across the street and he would even tell his customers, "Just a minute.

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I need to take care of this little girl." He'd walk me across and I I'd run down and in the front door of the shop

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and it it was a great place to grow up. So many wonderful business owners and

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and people. Yes. It's a great place. So, lots of family businesses here. generational

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businesses. It's a great place to live. It is a great place. I agree. What What So, going back to, you know, the bridal

How the shop has changed over time

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shop, what what what motivated you to take that over? Why why' you I mean, I know you said you were in California at

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the time and your mom, you know, but but was that I guess maybe was that an easy decision? Was that something that you

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were like kind of in the back of your mind always thought or or give us a little background on that? Okay. Well,

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she taught me how to sew very early, eight years old. I was on the machine and and there was an

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organization, the National Wool Lamb Growers of America had the Make It Wool.

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They sponsored the Make It With Wool contest. And so it was through the high schools and we would make articles of

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clothing. And so she taught me how to how to make a vest and a skirt. That was

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the first thing. And then she taught me how to tailor a suit. And if somebody

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can tailor then they can sew pretty much anything because tailoring is like opera

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is to singing. Oh tech it's the technical sure technical end of it.

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Yeah. So she taught me how to sew and then I went away to college and worked in costume departments and and because I

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enjoyed it. It had become something that I knew I could do and the more you do

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something the better you get and it was just enjoyable. So then when she said, "Hey, you know, I I'm looking for

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somebody to take care of Lehi," she had a second location in Provo. And so Lehi

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we're saying has been open 61 years. 51 years we've been in Provo. Okay. So she

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was managing Provo and would drive to Provo every day. And so I I said, "Yeah, Mom. I'll come do this." And at the time

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we had a huge cutting table and all the walls were covered in fabric and notions

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and we sold those items and then House of Fabrics opened and then Jo-Ann's opened and and we didn't sell fabrics as

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much and but we were making custom dresses, bridesmaid lines, prom dresses,

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wedding dresses and it was intense and it took a lot of work. the the industry

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changed and so we ordered more dresses. We requested all all varieties of levels

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of modesty. So we and coverage I like to call it. So we've always carried

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strapless dresses, spaghetti strap dresses, but the industry was really lacking in dresses that had shoulders

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and sleeves. And so we would look at the dresses and say, "This would be a great dress if you just had some sleeves."

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Yeah. Just put some sleeves on it. something that's fashion forward and beautiful. And so the in the industry,

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the manufacturers started to listen and wanted specifics. And so my mother would

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even illustrate something like this or if you did this neckline on this dress

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and this sleeve. So she was really designing and helping the manufacturers understand something beautiful and

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fashion forward and and something desirable. So, so I had come back from California

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and I was working here and Lehi uh has done the

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Halloween Main Street trickor treat. Yeah. It's really fun. Have you witnessed it? I have witnessed it. Yes.

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Yes, I have. It's so great. So, the Hutches were so good to start that and

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and get the businesses along the street involved. And I'd love it if every single business was out in front of

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their store doing it because the kids love it. And now it's so big. It went

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from 200 people to now 1,700 or something. But it was during that time

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that I looked across the street and saw all the kids and it was so fun and and this being home and having having grown

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up, I I was gone nine years doing college and adventures and whatnot.

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Sure. And I just thought, "This is where I want to raise my family. This is where I want to be." And fun fun little story,

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I went to my little sister's basketball game. Yeah. At the high school. And a kid I'd gone to school with was there

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watching his little sister play on the basketball team. Oh, yeah. And so he came over and talked to me. And then

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asked me out on a date and the next thing you know, six months later, we're married.

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and he said, "I rented an office on Main Street and at Halloween when you were

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handing out candy, I saw you across the street." Oh, that's awesome. Wondered if you were married or available and it

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took it took from from Halloween Yeah. till the end of January before we talked

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and Sure. because he didn't walk across the street to talk to me. But that's awesome. But I enjoyed being with my mom

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and and doing what I was doing. It's very tactile. Sure.

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Fabrics, you know, my hands here. I talk with my hands. Sure. Sure. Yeah. But

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sewing is is so satisfying. And then as we stopped custom sewing because it it

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was so labor intensive, I said, you know, mom, there's these manufacturers that are doing what you asked and and we

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have every variety of dress, so let's let's not make dresses anymore. It takes

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too much time. It's too expensive for the brides. Yeah. We can find anything anyone wants with with everyone that we

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carry. So, we removed all of the the fabrics that were for bridal and the

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notions and we put more racks in. They actually the year that I got married in 1992, my husband built racks for the

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back room and we five times the amount of dresses we had in the store. So, Wow.

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So, our little boutique has 500 wedding gowns and 500 prom dresses in that

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little store. In that little Yeah. Yeah. That's a lot to fit in that little story. Good job. It is. And but it's fun

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and it's rewarding and that's why I'm still there. Yeah. After I'm in my 34th

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year and I love what I do. What So when you took over, did your mom stay on with you for a little while? Yes. My mother

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was a very hardworking person. Yeah. And she worked till she was 79. Okay. So

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when I came back in 1991, okay, she was in the store with me, but then she was

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in Provo. Yeah. So she'd do a little bit of both. And then she did all the the

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advertising, the marketing, the business end, the bookkeeping, the taxes, the

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payroll. She was doing everything out of lots of hats, out of her office, which is next door in her residence. Okay. And

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she was doing that clear up till the time she was 79. So even though she wasn't in the store, she was working and

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and I let her know, "Mom, I got this. I can I can do this. You don't have to come out every day anymore." And but she

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enjoyed it. It sounds like she loved it. Yeah. And she loved the people. Sure.

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And meeting the people. And to this day, it's so rewarding that I'll have a bride. It happened last week. A lady

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came in with her daughter and someone else was helping her and I was at the

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sewing machine working on a project and listening and the gal chose the dress.

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She looked just perfect and and she was so excited and I saw we needed to take

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it up a little bit on the shoulder and maybe take it in a little bit on the sides. And so I stood up and I said,

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"There are just a few things I would recommend." And then lady looked at me and she said, "I recognize you. You

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helped me with my wedding dress 20 years ago." Oh, no way. That's awesome. That's awesome. So, yeah, that my mom loved

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that. She knew all the families in Lehi and then we'd see the oldest daughter

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and the second daughter and third daughter. And now I'm helping granddaughters, brides who she helped.

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Wow. And I'm helping daughters of brides I helped. It's really it's really fun.

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It's really rewarding and creatively satisfying. Well, so so talk to me about I mean obviously the world's the world's

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changed a lot, right? You know, in in since you know 1960 something, right? You know, 61 I think you said now. Yeah.

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So, so the world's changed a lot. How how has your business kind of kept up and and still obviously is still a

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relevant business, still doing well, right? I mean like h how you know because a lot of businesses haven't you

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know a lot of businesses have have gone out of business. How how has yours you know been able to stay alive I guess and

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and continue and in fact thrive I mean do well. Well the bridal industry is kind of a niche market. Okay. It's it's

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not something that there are wedding dresses in every store. Sure. It takes a a lot of inventory. Yeah. So that

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because you have so many different people, different personalities, different look, different body style,

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different coloring. So we my mom really figured it out. There needs to be

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something that will look good on this girl and that girl and that girl so that we had nice variety. And then ordering

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from the best manufacturers that there are. So Maggie Satero, Allure Bridals,

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Casablanca Bridles, Rachel Allen, Monica Loretti, these are all manufacturers

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that we order from and they're at the top. They make the prettiest dresses. And more than them just being beautiful

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aesthetically, is that they're made right. Every dress has a seam allowance.

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And if there's a company that doesn't have a seam allowance and just surges it off to 38 inch, we don't want to order

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those gowns. We order the nicer quality gowns so they can be let out or taken in. They can be altered and adjusted. So

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I I think that with my mother's wisdom, having really she was making gowns when

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she was in high school for her sisters and her friends, she understood

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design and the technique of putting a gown together so she could tell if it was a

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really great gown. So with her eye and her training, myself

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and my younger sister, we had my younger sister is 11 years younger and so we had

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different age and different a variety of likes and desires. Sure. So

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when we do our buying, we have a little bit of everything. Some bridal gowns,

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you'll walk in and everything looks the same. And we don't want that because we know that every person is not the same.

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Sure. So this is this is how how she did it by having having the best and having

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a nice variety and she really she really understood what people needed. So we've

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seen a lot of businesses it's it's a belabored question answer to your question. Yeah, you're good. I've I have

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seen my mother had seen a lot of businesses open and close. But in her day in the early the late60s, early '7s,

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there weren't as many bridal shops. Okay. And our area has grown a great deal and there are more bridal shops,

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but it seems like people want to come to the the Utah area, the wedding mecca of

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the universe. Sure. Sure. Yes. And so she had seen a lot of businesses come

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and go, and I have seen a lot that come and go. They think that they can do this. there. There's a lot of work and

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I'm really pleased to say that I believe we are the longest running bridal shop

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in the state of Utah. I have a se a sales representative for one of my

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manufacturers and he told me that of like 95 accounts that he has, those are

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stores in the western United States. Okay. There are only two that that are

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owned by the original owners. Oh wow. And we are one of those too because it's

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come right down through the family. Yeah. Yeah. So it's rewarding. Yeah. You're quite part of a legacy. I mean,

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you know, how does that, you know, like it's got to make you feel good that I mean, you're continuing this tradition

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down and it's continuing to to to do well. Yeah. Yeah. I actually love it. I

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can tell. And that's good. That's that's what makes it less like work then, right? Is because you enjoy it. Well, if you do what you enjoy, you don't work.

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Yeah. So, so I love it. There there's deadlines. There is some stress with

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that and it can be an emotional time for people, highs and lows. And so, I had

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somebody tell me, "You're you're like my therapist. I come in here and just talk and talk." And I said, "Well, it's a

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good thing." Yeah. We talk everything out and you feel good about what's happening. Your mom feels good about

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what's happening. And yeah, my mother said being in the bridal business is a great time and with with dresses

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moreover different from a reception hall or doing catering or something. She said

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you get to see people come together to start families. Yeah. And that's that's

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what's rewarding. And so I understand now why she enjoyed it so much. Sure.

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both the beauty of the fabrics and and the notions that are on the gowns, but also the beauty of the people and how it

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comes together. And there's a little bit of magic when a girl tries on the dress that just makes her light up. We had a

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pretty gal in yesterday who put on several different dresses, different looks, and then she put on this. It was

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a light chantilly lace and had the softest, prettiest train and she just

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said, "Mom, I love it." So, it's rewarding. It's It's fun. Yeah. So, so

The bridal experience – helping brides find the dress

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what is, you know, what does it look like for somebody? You know, what does that bridal experience look like for somebody? So, if they come into your

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store, you know, h how do you what what what's the process, you know, because

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like you said, it's it's different than any other dress they'll ever own, you know, kind of thing. But so, tell me the

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process, you know, somebody walks in your store. How what what's what happens? So, bridal is different than,

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like you said, than any other thing you own. I was I was at the store the other

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day. I saw some pants that are cute and I actually I didn't even try them on.

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Yeah. And I took them home, put them on last night. I'm like, "Yeah, I like them. It's good. It's good." Yeah. But

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with bridal, it's it's not something you can do yourself necessarily. People

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think they can buy off pictures and sometimes, rarely, maybe 1% will get that right.

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That, oh, that's exactly what I want and I'll I'll order that. But you really

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have to put a dress on. So, we greet people. We ask them what kind of thing they are. What kind of style? Yeah. What

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kind of dress? What's their occasion? What do they see

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a long train? Do they want something frilly and roughly? Do they want lace? Do they want something smooth and

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satiny? And they'll they'll let us know what they're kind of thinking about. And then we have a unique system in our

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store. And I I'm not going to share it because that's fine. That's fine. because making people come in. Yeah. In

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our system. Well, I don't need other bridal shops copying me. Okay, that's okay. I'm good with that. It's a tried

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and trueue system that helps the bride eliminate dresses that she's not

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interested in putting on and find the top five or six or 10 that she wants to

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put on. Yeah. And then we pull those for her. She puts them on and and we we like

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to carry the train, keep the dress nice and clean, put her at the mirror and just let her take time to look at

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herself and feel the dress on her body and and is it

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comfortable and then we'll try on another dress and and compare the dresses. There is a fun little moment at

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the end when somebody says, "I love this." Mhm. And there are people who watch television that know say yes to

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the dress and and that is television and it is dramatized. Yeah. And it is

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scripted. Yeah. So I watched 10 minutes and I said I don't want to watch this.

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It's not it's not a real thing. It's not happening thing. But we do have the

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little sign that says, "Are you saying yes to the dress?" Yeah. And girls do

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like to chuckle and clap and hold the sign and take a picture. Sure. So once

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they choose their dress, we put a veil on, let them see different bells. We

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have head pieces. We have jewelry so they can see how they can dress everything up. And some dresses don't

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need any of that. Some brides don't need any of it. And we just want everybody to look like themselves and to feel

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comfortable and beautiful. Yeah. So, it's it is fun. It is rewarding. That's

Memorable moments from generations of weddings

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great. Well, tell me, so you've been doing this for a long time. Any I'll put you on the spot, but any any stories

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stand out to you as far as like, you know, oh, that was a, you know, particularly memorable experience with

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that bride or something like that, you know, and I and I don't know if you get to, you know, be part of the the after

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stuff, too, right? I mean, you know, obviously they come and they dress, you don't really know how the wedding goes. you don't you're not you're not in that

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you know part most of the time but anything stand out to you as far as you

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know particularly memorable experience I start thinking of a whole bunch of beautiful brides when you say that it's

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like what is her story what's her story and I could share so many I wish I had

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written them down over the years because we get so many beautiful stories but

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just recently there are two or three that are coming to mind but there was a cute lady who came in trying to remember

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the state she was from. We helped people from all over, everywhere, all over. Yeah, I had a family up in Oregon who

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their daughter was here at BYU and she found us and she loved she loved her

28:33

experience in her dress and then a year later there was another girl with the

28:38

same last name from Oregon and they're sisters and then the third daughter came and the fourth daughter came and it was

28:46

so fun helping them and and then people who lived in their community she would send to us. So, we have people drive

28:53

from everywhere. But this gal that I I'll just mention really quickly. She was from Switzerland. And she's from

29:01

here, but she's been 35 years. She's been in Europe. Okay. Yes. Long time.

29:06

Her mother came in when they picked up the dress. And she said, "I lost my daughter to Europe 35 years ago, and

29:12

she'll never come back." So, she was 50 years old, and it was her first wedding.

29:19

Uhhuh. and she had come into our Provo location and found a dress that just suited her. She looked just so elegant

29:26

in it and she was only going to be here a couple days. So they called over from

29:32

Provo and said, "Julie, can you alter this?" And I said, "What does she need? Send her over." She came over. I fit

29:39

her. She had things she had to take care of and couldn't meet me again until about 7:00 that night. So I fit her. I I

29:48

worked on her hymn. I worked on her adjusting her shoulders and then she came back at seven and and it looked so

29:56

wonderful and and she said that that she didn't know if she would be able to find

30:01

a dress that was amazing on her, but sure, she was incredibly happy and it was fun and she was flying home to

30:08

Switzerland the next day and she gets married in August actually. Okay. So, she had everything done and ready and

30:15

and fit beautifully. She She was a sweet girl, but I have so many that pop into

30:21

my mind. Yeah. Great great people to work with over the years. Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. I love that. Talk to me.

Lehi’s ongoing support of the Bridal Center

30:27

Let's go back to Lehi a little bit. What what what role do you think the community of Lehi has played in the

30:34

success of your business, you know? Yes. They have been so supportive and we

30:40

appreciate it so much. I think about different families who I knew when I was

30:45

in high school and because I was away and doing college and adventures, you

30:51

know, I didn't I didn't see the oldest daughter get married or I didn't I wasn't there for that one. Sure. And

30:57

then they would come in with the younger sisters. And so just the family, you

31:02

know, we have a one-time customer really. We're not like the grocery store or a restaurant where people come

31:09

multiple times. Sure. And so every customer is important and special to us.

31:15

So we we have had the experience of new people who've moved to our area and

31:22

there was a gal who lived out in Saratoga Springs and she said that she had driven down Main Street and happened

31:29

to see our store. So, she wanted to happen in and she did and she was so happy and she bought her dress and and I

31:37

asked her where she was from and she said Kentucky and I said, "Well, welcome. Welcome to Utah. Welcome to

31:44

Utah County. Welcome to Lehi. You're in a special place." And she said that she

31:50

felt that way. And I asked her, "Why did you move here?" She said that she had come and had driven through different

31:56

communities all the way from south in PAC. And when she drove down Lehi's main

32:03

street, she said, "This just felt like home." She said, "This just feels warm and wonderful here." And everyone she

32:10

had met here was so kind. And she said, "I saw your little shop and I knew it was just a little shop." Yeah. But I I

32:17

hoped there'd be something great in here. And obviously there was. and she got her dress. One one other little

32:24

story. There's a gal, a lady that I worked with for 26 years. Her name is

32:30

Linda. And her granddaughter, it was her turn to get married. And she showed her

32:36

mother who we had helped her mom her grandma helped her her mom with her

32:41

dress. And she said, "Mom, I need to go to New York to get my dress." And she

32:47

said, "What are you looking at?" And she said, "Well, there's this Maggie Satero and they sell it in New York." She said,

32:52

"Just a minute. Let me call grandma." So, she calls grandma and she says, "Mom, do they carry Maggie Satero down

32:59

on Main Street?" And she said, "Of course. Let me call Julie. We'll get you in for an appointment." So, she called

33:05

and I and I said, "What dress is she interested in?" And she told me. And I said, "Well, lucky day. I have that here

33:12

on my rack." Oh, wow. So, you don't have to go to New York for a Maggie. You can come right to Lehi. We have the best of

33:18

the best. That's awesome. Well, so let's let's stay on that topic a little bit. So, as far as you know, trends in

Bridal fashion trends through the years

33:24

fashion and stuff like that, anything what what surprised you about the changes in fashion or you know, you

33:30

know, what you know, I guess has any bridal trends surprised you some of the

33:35

different things that are changing in the bridal industry or or is or is nothing changed? Is it all the same that it's been for 50 years? So, well, this

33:43

is fun that you would ask this. I was thinking about this just the other day. When my mother and I would go and and my

33:49

sister would go to bridal market. Yeah. That's where the store owners go to purchase to look at the styles and say,

33:56

"I want to purchase one of these or two of these or 10 of these in this color and these sizes." We place our order and

34:03

it takes 6 months for those dresses to be produced. Okay. And come into the store. Yeah. It's not something

34:08

overnight you're getting. No. No. So what happened was I was sitting there at

34:14

the table and I remember my go my mother going, "Oh yes, yes, I remember this."

34:20

And I said, 'What are you talking about, mom? And she said, "I remember the last time the dresses looked like this and

34:26

had that sleeve." And I said, "How long ago was that?" And she said, "20 years." It takes about 20 years for a a trend,

34:34

for something to trend through, for a fashion element to come through again.

34:39

So, I'm going to say to you, bows are back. Uhoh. Okay. This is something that

34:45

I saw and that I wore in 1992. I wanted a big pretty bow on the back of my dress

34:52

and they were gone for many years and they are back. Girls are wanting those

34:59

pretty bows on the back of their dress. I have a friend that I went to high school with her this bride's father. He

35:07

so he's my friend and the mother I knew them as we were having small children. We lived in the neighborhood together.

35:14

Well, it's been a year. I think her wedding is in was in September. So,

35:20

February, not last, but the February before she came in and she brought in a picture and she said, "Julie, I I love

35:27

this look." And it was great big beautiful bow on the back of the dress at the bottom of the zipper at the

35:34

waist. and her name is Cody. And I said, "Oh, Cody, that's a pretty thing. Let's

35:39

put a bow on a dress for you." So, she tried on dresses and there was a dress

35:45

that was almost perfect, but she wanted a longer lacy sleeve and then I took

35:51

some fabric and kind of bunched it together and said, "Is this about the size of a bow you want on the back of

35:56

your dress?" She said, "Yes." So then I illustrated it, took measurements, contacted our manufacturer

36:03

and said, "Will you make this dress with these different sleeves and a pretty bow with streamers on it?" So she looked

36:10

magnificent in her dress. And and things cycle, they they come and they go. So

36:18

pleat pleats are back in that we haven't seen for a while. Fabrication's changed.

36:24

So we would have in the 70s there was French kiana chiffon drapey smooth

36:32

fabrics not real full dresses and then in the 80s there were more full dresses and more satins and then I remember in

36:40

the '9s satin that had embroidery on it very difficult to recreate. Embroidery

36:48

machines were not available to the general public. Now there are embroidery

36:53

machines but embroidered fabrics are not really the thing. So right now we have

37:00

our trend has been to simple nothing on it again. Kind of like back to the

37:05

1970s. That's that's the trend a little bit. But there will always be brides in lace.

37:13

Lace is so beautiful. Yeah. And it's it's easier to alter and fit on people.

37:20

So there are those things that come and go. Square necks were really popular for a while and then nobody wanted the

37:26

square neck and now square necks are back. They're back. Okay. Sure. So, but really it's about every girl what she

37:33

looks the prettiest in. Square neck, round neck, V-neck, whatever she's the prettiest in is what she should wear.

Alterations, customizations & making each dress unique

37:40

So, and so you mentioned, you know, kind of altering like that one that you Hey, can you you were talking about the

37:45

manufacturer and changing the sleeves and doing things like that. How often does that happen? and and and is that

37:50

you know or most off the rack I guess you know kind of thing where it's like hey the dress is already designed perfectly it's great what's what's give

37:57

me the the data on that I guess okay so the so we we are unique because we don't

38:03

do samples other stores will have a whole bunch of dresses in size 10 and 12

38:08

and they put those on the size two girl and the size 20 girl and then they

38:14

reorder it. So, we have so many dresses on our floor that my size two can come

38:20

in and try multiple dresses and if she sees what she loves, she can purchase that dress because they're not tried on

38:26

by everyone. They're tried on fewer times. If somebody says, "I really like this dress, but I want a different

38:34

sleeve." Yeah. Then then we can we can order it. Yeah. Bows and things like

38:39

that, I can even make them here. Okay. But if they're doing a different sleeve or say they say they try on a dress that

38:45

has a full skirt, but they want it as a straight skirt, we have a few

38:51

manufacturers that will customize a dress like that. It's unique. It takes longer. Most dresses take 3 to 5 months

38:58

to order. So then it's five to six months to get because they have to pull

39:03

that pattern out of the production cycle and make it different and unique. Okay?

39:10

And so it can take longer to do that. But do do a lot of brides have I mean thinking sometimes it's short

39:15

engagements, right? So sometime you know it's like I don't we don't have that much time to get that dress. Yes. So

39:21

yes, our population in our area has shorter engagements than anywhere in the United States or the world. And so

39:29

that's why we stock dresses in every size so that a bride can come in. I will

39:34

tell you in 2020 that was an interesting year. Sure. for the bridal industry and

39:39

there were there were manufacturers who left the marketplace and there were stores who left the

39:46

marketplace. So because I had dresses in the store on the floor when brides came

39:53

in I had a few instances where they said I had a bride come in on Monday and she

39:58

said my wedding is Friday. Can you help me out? Yes. Put a dress on. Wow. We didn't have as many people walking in

40:04

the door because people were timid, people were sequestered, people were at

40:10

home. Yeah. And so I had the time to alter those dresses quickly. And there

40:15

were small intimate weddings. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. They were big back then. People 12 people. How many people

40:21

could you have? Sure. Were allowed. And so there were a lot of short

40:28

engagements if you want to call. Yeah. Call those engagements. one week preparation time for the wedding, two

40:35

weeks. So, generally in our area, three months is the magic number. Okay. It's

40:41

three months to the wedding. Now, take into account, you're wanting to do pictures a month ahead. Yeah. And we're

40:48

going to alter it. So, really, we're going to do your first fitting the day you buy the dress. Yeah. Yeah. You would

40:53

need it sooner because you're trying to do pictures. Yeah. Good call. Yeah. Yeah. I was trying Well, we got Yeah. We got engaged in January and married in

40:59

May. May 1st though, so you know it would have been April but school and stuff like that, right? You know, so so

41:05

yeah, we would have fall we would have been another statistic for you, you know. So, and you know that is really

41:11

common that people get engaged through the holidays and get married in the

41:16

spring and summer. Yeah, makes sense. You got school because oftent times you're young and so that's where you know school like professors weren't

41:23

about to not let me take finals and stuff, you know, right? You couldn't just take a week off whenever you

41:28

wanted. Yeah. No. So it's at the school break. Yep. In April and our busy season

41:34

really is January through August and into September now. Okay. Interesting.

41:41

Yeah. And those September brides who are shopping are getting married in the winter or even as early as spring. We do

41:48

have a lot of people who plan ahead even by as far as a year. Oh, okay. But the the greater majority are right about

41:55

three months, okay, to their wedding. Do you ever get people renting dresses? Is that a thing? Well, we used to rent and

42:02

there are some big problems with renting. Sure. The dresses get a little

42:07

dirtier because they don't own them. Part of that that ownership, you take better care of the dress. So, we did

42:14

rent. We We rented and then I said, "I can't do this." That dress never even

42:20

came back. I'd have to call and go pick up dresses from houses. And Okay. And

42:26

and then here's the other thing. If somebody somebody is planning ahead

42:32

four, five months and they pick the dress that they're going to wear in five months, how many times is that going to

42:38

be worn before she gets to wear it? And is it going to look like it was worn

42:44

three, four, five, six times? Sure. And the lace is getting ratty and and then

42:49

the complication of altering it. It needs to be taken in for her, let out for her, taken in for her. And so it's

42:56

just not fresh. And you're getting married once, you might as well have something beautiful and wonderful. Yeah,

43:01

there is something you can do too with those dresses. It's quite rewarding for me. You You buy

43:08

your dress, you wear it for your wedding, then the bride cuts off the train, turns that into a baby blessing

43:15

dress. Oh, love that. My daughter called and said that her daughter, so my

43:22

granddaughter's was getting baptized in the LDS faith. Yeah. at 8 and we took

43:28

that dress and took it up at the shoulders, pleated out the bust line,

43:34

took in the sides, cut it off so it was a longer dress. And so her daughter wore

43:40

her wedding dress as her baptism dress. That's great. And all of that fabric is

43:45

still inside. I don't cut it off. So when she is 16, we can let that all out.

43:51

She can dye it, color it, pink dress, and it's a prom dress. Wow, look at you

43:57

go. Or you keep that dress and wear it as a getaway dress. So, she has her own

44:02

wedding dress for her wedding day, wears her mom's dress short as a getaway dress. Oh, I love that. So, there's

44:08

something you can do with dresses that make it just more special. Yeah. Now, is that something that you guys is that a

44:14

service you guys offer or is that, you know, obviously, you know, in your family, cuz you're super expert at that

44:20

stuff. I can see that. I'm thinking, you know, not every family is obviously as talented on the seamstress side as you.

44:27

So, thank you. I don't advertise that. Okay. I do that. However, if my calendar

44:34

is open and it's slower and I have time, I love doing it. Okay. Where I don't sew

44:41

all the time. Yeah. It's fun to do a project that's like that. Okay. Sure. Okay. And I do have there was a gal who

44:49

came in and this I now I got to remember she's probably been married 40 42 years

44:54

now. She called and said that her daughter we wanted to cut the dress into

45:00

a baby blessing dress. So we did that and then I got a another call back from her and she said that baby that was

45:07

blessed is now getting baptized and we want to make the upper dress for her.

45:13

And so I have pictures of this little girl in her mom's her grandma's wedding

45:18

gown. So it's it is fun to see these. Yeah. To see them used and differently.

45:25

Yeah. It's it's fun. Tell me, as far as running a business goes, is there something that maybe we wouldn't know

What it’s like to run a bridal business today

45:31

that goes into running this kind of business, a bridal business? Is there something that, you know, most people

45:37

wouldn't think about when they think, "Oh, I didn't realize." Or is it or is it like running any other business? I

45:43

guess in that regard, well, I would say time. It takes time to get it dressed.

45:48

It takes time to get it made. It takes time to get it altered. I think that we

45:54

live in an environment, a period of time that everything is so fast. And there's

45:59

such a thing, it's called fast fashion. Cheap fabrics made in into clothing that

46:06

people purchase, wear once or twice, and throw away. Sure. And our landfills are

46:12

80% textiles, which I I think is alarming. But it is different because higher quality goods

46:19

you can wear longer and if it's a classic style, it can be worn longer. So

46:27

with bridal, everything takes time. Time to get it. And I I told one

46:33

lady, I said, "I wish this was like fast food, like fast fashion, that it could

46:38

just be you think of it and and have it at home, but it takes time to order in

46:45

the whole process." And I I have to think I've I've worked in the the food

46:51

industry trying to think about it's just I would say it is about time. Everything

46:58

takes a little longer. So, it is good for people to plan ahead. As soon as they get engaged, I recommend that they

47:04

come try on dresses and pick a dress because then they don't have as much

47:09

stress. They can have it at home sooner. So, it's the event is less stressful.

47:15

Sure. Hey, this this has been very enjoyable getting to know you, getting to know the business. You know, I

47:21

obviously I can tell you love what you do, which is great. Thank you. You know, good part of Lehi and stuff like that,

47:26

right? And so and you're you know and do you own the lot next to you too that that the that I guess the parking lot

47:32

kind of thing there too. Is that is that your guys' too? Yes. We we had been neighbors with Doc Larson. He's known as

47:39

Doc Brent Larson. And when he retired and sold he sold the building and that

47:45

gentleman came to us and he said I'd like to buy you and and build something

47:51

big on all this property. My mom said, "I sell dresses here. I'm good here."

47:57

So, she said, "No, you're it's not for sale." And he said, "Well, would you like to buy the corner?" And she said,

48:03

"Yes." Okay. So, we did. We bought the corner. And on Saturdays, we fill that

48:09

up with our brides and their guests. And we have a food truck there. We like

48:15

having a food truck there. It's It's fun. Yeah. It's It's terribly easy to go

48:20

grab lunch there, too. I'm sure it is. And it's it's good. But yes, we do. We

48:25

own the corner there and the business and and our home is still a residence. So Oh, it is still a residence. Okay.

48:31

Still a residence. And we have some storage there and an office there and and cleaning facilities. We clean bridal

48:38

gowns as well. Okay. So, that's that's who we are. And we're we're proud to be

48:44

a family business of multiple generations here in Lehi.

48:49

And there are a lot of multiple generation businesses here. So, we're grateful to the community for supporting

48:57

us and and the original Lehi people and

49:02

families and the new people who are finding us who've come from all over the US and and even out of the country to

49:09

live in Utah Valley. Love that. Here's my last question to you. So, your mom passed away. How do you think she would

Family, legacy & staying rooted in tradition

49:15

view the business today? Do you think she's she's happy with how it's going? You know, where it's at, what you guys

49:20

are doing. Tell me what your mom might think of the business. I think she's terribly happy. Okay. Yes. She would

49:26

come out in those days that she was stuck in her office next door. She would come out and there would be people there

49:33

who she knew and she'd have pleasant conversations and yeah, she loved the community. She loved fashion. She loved

49:39

beauty. She loved treating everyone well. We treat everyone as if they're

49:45

part of the family. And I I have had twice this last week people come in and

49:51

say, "I love being in here. It feels like I'm coming home." Oh, I love that.

49:57

Yeah. Yeah. So, we hope What a compliment to you, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

50:02

Yeah. So, I like to go home when I go to work. I love that. I love that. Well, hey, thank you for continuing to to run

50:10

this business and, you know, have it be successful. I'm very happy and for you. I'm glad I, you know, I think my wife

50:15

even came here when we got married long time ago. I don't know if she got her dress here or not. I I frankly wasn't

50:21

really involved on that part, so I'd have to ask her, but but you know, I know she did come by, I think, actually,

50:27

for you. So, and I know we've come by other times. So, you're doing good, you know, good business and stuff. Thank

50:32

you. And we hope to help your children. Yeah. I got I got some daughters that are getting close to that age. So, that's a little weird for me, but Yes.

50:39

But that is the facts is they will be doing this soon. So they they will and you will be okay. I promise you. Well,

50:46

good. Well, good. Yeah. I got a daughter on a mission right now, so she'll be back. And my guess is she won't last

50:51

long. So, but we'll see. So, it's great. It's great. It'll be fun to see you in the store. Yes. And dads are are good.

50:59

Good. And welcome to come into the store. We love having dads. You get a lot of dads in the store? Maybe only 10

51:06

or 15%. Yeah. Okay. That's what I was thinking. We have a cute girl though I who was in yesterday and she put a dress

51:13

on hold and I said bring your dad so he can see you. Some people like to have that the first look moment with dad and

51:21

kind of surprise him and and you know it's it's really nice to save it for the

51:27

day. let the emotion happen there or like on camera. Now, everybody's wanting to capture emotion on camera, but but I

51:34

have had so many sweet instances of dads welling up or tearing up and hugging

51:39

their daughter and and it's that realization that that little baby is now grown up to be a woman and and you did a

51:47

good job and you're there to love and support her and send her on her way. Yeah. So, well, dads are welcome. That's

51:53

good to know. This has been good. I, you know, this is obviously bridal dresses is not something that I've spent a lot

51:59

of time in my life on and so it's been good to learn about this, learn about what you're doing and stuff, so I enjoy

52:04

it. Anyhow, this been great. Thank you. Well, thank you. Thank you for inviting me in today. Yeah, it's nice to meet

52:09

you. Nice to meet you, too. Thank you for joining us on Roots and Branches of Lehi. I hope today's story helped you

Final thoughts & gratitude for Lehi

52:15

feel a little more connected to the people who make up our community. Remember, every person here has a unique

52:20

story, and together, we're what makes Lehi feel like home. If you know someone who would be a great fit for this

52:26

podcast, please fill out the form in the show notes so we can reach out and schedule an interview. We'd love to hear

52:32

from you. A big thank you to our sponsors, the Work Harding Home Mortgage team and Play Harding Nightly Vacation

52:37

Rentals for supporting this show and helping us bring our community closer together. Until next time, keep growing

52:43

those roots and reaching out to your branches. Take care.