Today’s blog post is all about Calgary’s latest bridal boutique, Blush & Raven, featuring couture bridal gowns, bespoke jewellery and a one-of-a-kind experience for the whole wedding party.  I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the owners Brooke & Liane, visiting their beautiful new space and even photographing one of their jaw-dropping gowns.  Here’s their story…

1. Tell us about Blush & Raven and how it came to be

The concept for Blush & Raven was born as Liane was planning her own wedding and the experiences she had during this exciting process!  Liane asked Brooke to design her wedding jewellery and create pieces for her bridal party and guests of honour. When the idea sparked and we discussed what we were trying to accomplish with this new concept bridal experience, we knew we had to make it a reality!  ‘Blush & Raven’ has evolved from a one of a kind custom jewellery line, originally named after Brooke’s daughters Violet & Scarlett (‘Blush’ being golden haired Violet & ‘Raven’ being dark haired Scarlett), to a full service bridal and event wear boutique.  Every day we are so incredibly grateful with the decision we made to build a partnership in such a vibrant industry. 

 

2.  What are some features that make Blush & Raven unique?

We feel it is so important to cater to the entire bridal party, mothers, sisters, bridesmaids and of course the bride to be! These people are so important to our brides and we want to make everyone feel special. Everyone should have that wonderful moment when they try on a dress and feel like it’s a true reflection of their personal style.  We have dresses, separates & accessories for brides, bridesmaids, mother of the bride and attendees with a unique style perspective who want a touch of couture. We also specialize in dresses that attendees can wear again and again, not just the day of and we highlight boutique labels from all over the world and offer custom tailoring options with many of our collections. We have our in-house custom jewellery artist who designs one of a kind jewellery and accessories for our bridal parties. Each piece is created for the person it is intended for with authentic gemstones, pearls and metals including sterling and 14k gold. Our guests can book a private jewellery consultation and work with Brooke to create something unique for themselves or their wedding party.

Perla Mia Custom Jewellery, crafted by Brooke

3. Who is your ideal bride?

Our ideal bride is someone who can feel at home in our space, be open to trying designs that aren’t mainstream in Canada and want an unpretentious and friendly shopping experience.  We want to give our brides and their guests the best service we possibly can while fulfilling their dream of finding that perfect dress.

Couture Bridal Gowns

4.  Are there any designers who have really caught your eye this year?

We have been very fortunate to be surrounded by so many great designers.  Jenny Yoo has a beautiful selection with lots of classic style options. Our launch this summer began with the talented Persy and Flora Bridal Collections, both out of Israel.  We have been absolutely blown away by the quality and fit of these gowns!  This fall we are so excited to debut Bo & Luca, & For Love, and a brand new line this summer out of Australia, Emmy Mae Bridal! These gowns are exquisitely crafted and speak to such a range of brides in terms of style and budget, we really can’t say enough about the response we’ve had to these collections. Our brides have been so welcoming to these designers. We are inspired to continue aligning ourselves with fashion forward designers that really speak to a wide range of styles.

5. What’s the first step to becoming a Blush & Raven bride?

We invite our brides, their wedding planners or whoever in the bridal party is looking after booking the bridal appointments to reach out to us by email at customerservice@blushandraven. com or our Instagram page @blushandravenyyc.  We’re always posting inspiration and photo shoots so our brides know what our designers are up to!  We will work closely with you and your bridal party to really capture your own personal style and make your bridal appointment stress free and lots of fun.  We just want everyone to feel comfortable in our space and any way that we can help make the entire experience enjoyable, we are happy to do so.

6.  Any message you would like to pass on to brides?

We hope that every bride embraces the moments in which her unique beauty shines through, on her big day and for ever after.

Not long ago, I photographed Taylor in this spectacular gown from Blush & Raven.  I’ll be sharing more from this shoot on the blog soon.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the other fabulous vendors that day

Persy couture bridal gowns from Blush & Raven
Bridal jewellery:  Perla Mia Custom Jewellery
Hair stylist:  Hairbrained
Make-up artist:  TOK Beauty
Bouquet:  Fleurish Flower Shop
Bride:  Taylor from Numa Models

Blush & Raven, welcome to the Calgary.  We look forward to great things from your pretty shop on 12th Avenue.

Couture bridal gowns captured by Calgary Wedding Photographer – Tara Whittaker