Bringing Elegance Back to the Modest Wedding Dress

This fall a new bridal company made its debut – Alleanza Bridal – an on-line boutique that specializes in modest wedding gowns made from exquisite fabrics. The company is a mother/daughter team that wanted to bring a more upscale couture quality dress and more modern styles to the present selection of modest wedding gowns. They wanted to give brides that were looking for a more modest look or LDS temple ready gown more options. “When we shopped for bridal gowns for my three daughters, the styles seemed to be so similar, very cookie-cutter.” co-owner Faye Hunt explains, “We were told that – if you want modest – that is all the selection there is. It was so frustrating – we knew that there could be so much more – more variety of fabrics, more unique styles, and more individual details. We felt brides deserved to have a lot more choices for the most important dress they will ever buy – something that suited their individual style and personality, a gown that would set her apart.”

So Faye partnered with her daughter, a recent bride herself, and began to search for beautiful fabrics and designed options they wished they had had. The result is their new line of six quite unique and different gowns. The fabrics are quite stunning – alencon and chantilly laces from France, stamped organza from Italy, and luxurious satins. In fact, their name “Alleanza” (meaning ‘to covenant’ in Italian) is a nod to the European fabrics that inspired their collection. Each of their creations is individually custom crafted in the United States with impeccable workmanship. The result is gowns that are breathtakingly beautiful with a sophisticated style. “Modest doesn’t have to mean plain or boring” co-owner Michele Cloward explains. “When I got engaged I wanted a dress that was a little more unique. There seemed to be cheap modest dresses and then a big jump to very expensive designer gowns. I was looking for something somewhere in the middle and it just wasn’t there. I love lace, but we weren’t finding many options in the modest gowns. The dresses that were crafted out of beautiful laces required extensive altering to make them appropriate for my temple wedding. That is sort of scary to take an expensive gown and make a lot of changes to it, and not really be sure what it will look like in the end. I wanted my dress to look like it was made just for me – and to flow smoothly – not be a gown that was “added to” or “pieced in.” We wanted our brides to be able to have a dress out of exquisite fabric that was made with their needs in mind from the very beginning.”

Faye and Michele said they chose to splurge on the most beautiful and exquisite fabrics they could find and then try to keep their gowns still affordable for the middle class girl by offering them on an on-line boutique where they could keep their costs down and pass the savings on to their brides. “Obviously, there are a lot of expenses involved in a wedding. Having had three daughters marry in the last 5 years I know,” Faye explains. “But when it is all over, the only thing that still remains is the dress and all the photos of the bride in her dress. The wedding dress sets the stage for the whole day. I never wanted my daughters to just “settle” for a dress – it’s their one big day and there are no do-overs – this is it. I wanted them to feel absolutely beautiful and also feel like the dress was suited to their own fashion style. I’ve never regretted the investment.”

Alleanza Bridal brings new options for the bride-to-be. Another aspect that Alleanza has in its favor is their quick turn around – since the gowns are individually made in the US, they can accommodate the bride without a lot of time, creating your gown in a month versus the 5-6 month lead time most bridal stores recommend. There are many factors to consider when shopping for that all important once-in-a-lifetime purchase of your wedding gown. Alleanza Bridal may have what you have been looking for.