Walking into Velvet Bridal is an immersive experience.
Gowns displayed on body forms hang in towering garden arches dripping in flowers, guiding you down a path lined with magic. Unlike any other bridal boutique, Velvet captivates and casts wonder. As you step inside, you’re not just shopping—you’re stepping into a fairytale.
In a cozy, private dressing room, I sat with Suzy Zeller—my mom, my co-owner, and the quiet force behind our bridal sanctuary. Mauve velvet curtains framed our conversation, echoing the very name of the shop we now run together.
A Legacy Rekindled
Suzy isn’t new to bridal. “Velvet Bridal is like bridal 2.0,” she tells me, recalling how she opened her first shop 18 years ago, sold it, retired, and then was pulled back in—post-COVID—when the business changed hands again. “It feels like I never left,” she says. And truly, she didn’t. She was just waiting for the next version of her purpose.
Brides Then & Now
The pandemic shifted everything, especially the way brides connect to themselves. “They’re not so worried about image anymore,” Suzy observes. “They want to feel like themselves.” The performative wedding is fading; what’s emerging is intimacy, comfort, and raw authenticity.
She sees it in how brides listen to their gut, walk away from Pinterest fantasies, and say yes to the dress that reflects their soul, not just their silhouette.
A Dress as a Declaration
Suzy believes a wedding gown marks a rite of passage:
“Even if a bride’s been out on her own for years, that moment she steps into her dress—that’s when she declares who she’s becoming.”
It's more than fashion. It's a sacred moment of emergence, and sometimes, transformation comes with tears.
She tells the story of a bride in overalls—no prom, no mom, out of place but ready to be seen. “You could see it in her face,” Suzy says, her voice catching. “It was the first time she felt as beautiful as she really was.”
Love Beyond the Wedding
Some stories refuse to leave your bones. Suzy recounts a bride who lost her fiancé after saying yes to the dress. Heartbroken but determined, the bride wore the gown in a solo shoot, her love edited into the photos like a ghost. Another bride, a paraplegic, had her gown custom-designed to fit her body and her wheelchair, with a matching train that flowed from her chair like a cape of joy.
These aren’t just dresses. They’re vessels for memory, resilience, and transformation.
The Universal Struggles
All brides carry something invisible: body shame, self-doubt, or a need for their mother’s approval. “I don’t care what shape they are,” Suzy says, “Almost all brides think something’s wrong with them.” Velvet Bridal’s response isn’t retail. It’s a ritual.
They ask guests, “What makes this bride special to you?”
Tears come before tulle. And that’s the point.
The Velvet Whisper
Velvet Bridal isn’t just a boutique. It’s a time capsule, a chapel, a confessional. And Suzy, my mother, isn’t just a businesswoman. She’s a steward of something sacred: the moment a woman declares who she is becoming.
As I step back through the floral arches and into the world, I’m reminded: this is where love takes form. And sometimes, it starts with lace, laughter, and a whispered truth:
You’re beautiful just the way you are.
With love and luggage,
Alicia Gabriel
“With every post, every story, and every whispered detail of a destination wedding, I light a beacon for dreamers and lovers across the globe.”
Founder, Velvet Bridal & The Wedding Wanderer