Only a couple days after Lindsey and Chris’ wedding I received a handwritten thank you. It made my week! They are one of the sweetest couples I have ever met and I loved photographing them for their engagement session and wedding!

“Thank you so much for being a part of our special day! It has been such an amazing pleasure to work with you! You have made the decision making so easy! You are a true artist, and you have already captured amazing moments. We are so honored you are capturing our special moments! We can not wait to work with you in the future! Thank you so much for everything! You have so fun to work with!” – Lindsey and Chris

The wedding dress is unlike any other dress you will ever wear. When you walk down the aisle all eyes will be on you and your dress. I love seeing the dresses that our brides choose to wear! When I walked into Amanda’s Hyde Park Bridal store I knew that I was in for a treat. With pink and white décor and amazing dresses everywhere you turn – it is a magical place! Amanda helped pick the most incredible dresses and details for our styled photo shoot. Her design sense and fashionista eye were so helpful. I asked her to share a little more about her store and background.
What is your background?
I was born and raised in Cincinnati and I always had a love for fashion and knew one day I wanted to open my own store. I graduated from the DAAP program at The University of Cincinnati in 2012, majoring in Fashion Design Product Development. I explored a variety of fields in the fashion industry while working at Luxottica in Sunglasses Hut marketing, Abercrombie & Fitch corporate in men’s tech design, Glamour and Elle magazine fashion and accessory closets before finding my calling in life in the bridal industry. I worked at a couple bridal boutiques and decided that I was meant to open my own bridal store!

When did you first realize you wanted to work with weddings?
I realized that very early while working at the bridal boutiques that everything just came very natural for me. I had grown up collecting bridal magazines and once I worked in bridal there was just no turning back. I have had my wedding planned almost my entire life! I had gone with many friends and family members to get their wedding gowns in Cincinnati and their experience wasn’t anything I felt it should be. I saw an opportunity to open something special and unique for the brides in Cincinnati and beyond.


How long have you been in business? Where are you located?
Hyde Park Bridal opened just this past September 2012 and I couldn’t be more thrilled with support that we have received so far! The boutique is located in Hyde Park, 3319 Erie Avenue to be exact! The boutique is in East Hyde Park and is in a beautiful 1930’s Victorian home that has been completely renovated!

Why did you start your business?
I started Hyde Park Bridal to give brides something different, an experience that I feel every bride deserves. The experience is everything at Hyde Park Bridal and something you can’t find anywhere else. We close our entire boutique for our brides for two hours at a time so they get that personal and one on one attention while searching for their gown. The bride and her guest are also treated to reserved parking spots, champagne and cupcakes! We are a full service bridal store that can help the bride complete her look with not only her wedding gown but her veil, jewelry and bridesmaid dresses!

What is your favorite part of a wedding? 
My favorite part about a wedding is seeing the bride in her gown! I just love the moment that she walks down the aisle and her fiancé sees her coming down the aisle in her gown for the first time! I love seeing the smiles on the bride and grooms face and knowing how special that moment is for them!
Where do you go for inspiration?
Having a background in fashion I feel that it is very important for me to stay on top of bridal and fashion trends to always offer my bride the next big thing. I think my love for fashion allows for me to truly select a beautiful assortment of wedding gowns each season and gowns that brides are looking for. To get inspired I’m constantly on Pinterest or wedding and fashion websites and watching every bridal show on television!!

What are your favorite upcoming trends?
There are so many bridal trends that are in the market now and will be making more appearances soon that I just love! The major bridal trend right now is lace, lace, lace! Brides are loving lace because not only is it gorgeous on it is a very classic and timeless look! Along with the lace trend, we are starting to see a lot more lace straps, caps sleeves, boleros and off the shoulder looks on gowns…very Kate Middleton! One of my very favorite trends right now are belts! The world of bridal belts has taken off and can really add a unique touch to a wedding gown for the bride and give her a way to make it her own. Color is another big trend that we will be seeing more of in bridal gowns and bridal accessories!

Anything else you want to share with us?
Not only did I graduate less than a year ago from college and opened my own bridal boutique three months later, I’m also planning my own wedding! My fiancé Joe and I have been together for 10 years and we getting married next May 2014 in Key West, where he proposed. I have been working with very talented bridal designers to design my perfect one of a kind gown (or maybe 3 gowns)!

Hyde Park Bridal
3319 Erie Avenue | Cincinnati, OH
www.HydeParkBridal.com
p. (513) 321-1800 | (513) 321-1820

To say that Saturday’s wedding was emotional is an understatement. There were so many moments that brought tears to both families. One of my favorite moments was watching Lindsey’s mother pin a piece of jewelry inside the wedding dress. Her mom explained that it was the first piece of jewelry that she had received from the bride’s father and that it was meant to keep them both close to her heart that day. During the ceremony I caught the groom’s mother smiling proudly at her son just before the bride walked in. And then there was the joyful smiles when the couple sat down together at their ceremony and could finally hold hands. During the ceremony the couple had two adorable little girls bring up the flowers for Mary. There were so many special touches throughout the day that truly made their wedding so special. The wedding day was also filled with plenty of laughter. From their fun entrance to  their first dance – you could see that these two are so much fun to be around. Thank you to Lindsey and Chris for inviting me to document and share in your beautiful day! I knew from the minute that we met we would have so much fun together! And a special thank you to their amazing family and friends who were so wonderful to work with. I know where Lindsey and Chris  get their spirit of kindness and their love for life!

Ceremony: St. Cecilia Church
Reception: The Pinnacle, McHale’s Events and Catering
Park: Riverside Drive
Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal
Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal
Men’s Attire: Jos. A. Banks
Makeup: Mary Kay
Hair: Lindsey
Transportation: Motortoys
Officiant: Fr. Adam Puntel
Ceremony Musicians: Dave Auxier and Joanne Curoel
Jeweler: J. Foster Jewelers in Toledo
Flowers and Décor: H.J. Benken – Ashley
Cake: KHM Cakes, Karen Houdek
Favors: Say Cheese Photo Booth
Caterer: McHale’s Events and Catering
DJ: DJ Butlers – Rhett

A few words from the couple:
What was the most memorable moment of your day?
The most memorable part of the day was when the church doors opened and we got to see each other for the first time. We were a hundred feet away, but we both knew the look on each others faces. Or possibly when two cop cars rolled up on our photo shoot to frisk a guy and search his car. They at least left their lights off so our pictures won’t have red and blue all over them.

Funniest memory from your wedding day? See above or when the best man went to drop the rings in a silver tray to be blessed, and then freaked out when he realized the noise it would make and didn’t know what to do. Or when the flower girl high fived the groom at the altar.

Any advice for future bride/grooms? Have fun. Let people do the things you ask them to do and don’t worry about it. Enjoy the moment and take some mental pictures, because before you know it, the day is done. (but Brenda’s pictures will help fill in the rest)

Where will you be going on your honeymoon? Our honeymoon is still TBD for sometime in July. The best decision we made was staying in our wedding hotel an extra night so we didn’t have to go back to reality, but we also didn’t have to hop on a plane to somewhere.