Like most brides-to-be, Carrie Blumenstein wants to make sure her wedding day will be a dream come true. With a November wedding in the works, Blumenstein, of Pine Hill, entered Yours Forever Bridal in a fright.

“I got my hair trial done on Saturday and I brought the veil to the hair salon,” Blumenstein said. “We thought that the comb was on backwards. And I came here in a panic. And I was told it’s not on backwards. I’m happy now.”

Kim Karwoski of West Berlin, who plans on being a June bride, came to Yours Forever Bridal with her mom, grandmother and sister in search of the perfect gown.

“I like the small shop,” Karwoski said. “It’s not too overwhelming.”

Wedding gown, veil, headpiece, slips, bridesmaid gowns and mother’s dresses for both Blumenstein’s mother and her fiancé’s mother were all purchased at the Voorhees shop.
“The (Maggie Sotto gown) is a perfect fit for her body,” said Nancy Borodynko, owner of Yours Forever Bridal. “It flatters her figure.”

Providing an expert eye is very important to Borodynko.

“The women want somebody to guide them,” she said. “Even, when they come with their pictures and their ideas in their folders, they want a professional person to sanction what they think is right. Sometimes, a young lady has no idea and she needs someone to tastefully guide her.”

Yours Forever Bridal prides itself in customer service.
“We are highly personalized, highly professional,” Borodynko said. “If you are in love with a gown here, we will do everything we can to help you purchase it. ”

Borodynko entered the bridal business during the course of gown shopping for two of her daughters, who were to be married within five months of each other.

After considering purchasing the Bridal Manor in Pitman, whose owner wanted to sell, Borodynko decided to open her own bridal shop, three years ago, upon the advice of her husband, an accountant and a lawyer.

“In addition to the diamond that I was married with, we each had matching gold rings and the gold rings were inscribed, ‘yours forever’. We thought that was a reflection of our devotion to the institute of marriage because we both believe in marriage,” Borodynko said. “We believe it’s still good to be married, even though a lot of people choose to live together and not marry, so that’s how we named our store. It had meaning to us.”

Many quality designer gowns are among the store’s offerings.
“We have Provonias,” Borodynko said. “The fabric that they use for their gowns is beautiful. And they’re very simple, but the lines and the silhouettes are gorgeous. We also have Mikaella. Again, outstanding fabric and their silhouettes are beautiful.”

Yours Forever Bridal has an exclusive with Justin Alexander, meaning no one within a 55-mile radius carries the full couture of the line.
“What I love about that company is they are European and Australian as well as United States, so their designs are a little different,” she said. “And we have a lot of women who want something that they aren’t going to see on everybody. Their workmanship is the top. The gown construction is excellent.”

Borodynko is extremely pleased with how the line fits women as well.
“Their expertise is in the fitting of the American woman. Very few gown companies understand the body of the American woman because a lot of designers are Asian and we are built very differently than the Asian woman.”

In Europe, the women are fuller figured, which is what they want, according to Borodynko. Therefore, the designs are different. Color is also different in Europe since European women don’t wear solid white or ivory gowns choosing to wear solid red, pink, amethyst or blue gowns instead.

“Justin Alexander incorporates color very well,” Borodynko said. “Here in the states, they tone it down. They’ll have a blue trim, they’ll have maybe pink flowers or a pink overlay.”
Borodynko recalled one bride who got married on a cliff overlooking the landscape of Ireland.
“The girl that got married in Ireland actually did choose an off-white gown with green and peach flower embroidery,” she said. “It looked beautiful against the green of Ireland. It stood out very well.”

Many of the designers will make slight changes if requested, but the line Casablanca will do practically any change.
“If you send them a sketch or you describe to them (the desired change), they’ll send back a sketch and if the bride likes the sketch, they sign off on it, and (Casablanca) will do it,” Borodynko said.

There is a gown for everybody.
“Almost any girl can wear a princess gown,” Borodynko said. “That is very flattering because it does not accentuate any part of the body. If it’s strapless, then it would start at that bodice and flow down softly and it doesn’t come in at the waist or the hips so you have one clean look.”

Empire cuts emphasize a nice bust line and fall away from problem areas like the stomach and waste, according to Borodynko. Another thing Borodynko wants brides to remember is that wedding pictures last forever.

“It’s only one day, but that’s the thing, it’s only one day, so do it as well as you can. Let someone help you choose a dress within your budget. You won’t end up regretting it,” she said.

©Record Breeze 2006