Love in every seam at Lovenote Bride

Fort Garry

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This article was published 10/07/2024 (766 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Gabrielle Bayona has been part of the bridal fashion business ever since she can remember. Her first mentor was her seamstress mother, who was in the bridal dress industry.

“My mom took me to work so I grew up in the bridal store. I was five years old, picking up needles,” she recalled.

In 2010, when Bayona, now 31, graduated from high school, she started helping her mother in her small dress shop — just her mom and her. At the beginning, she custom-made mostly grad dresses, because she could identify with younger women. In 2013, she started thinking about shifting away from custom-made.

“I was 20 years old, and I realized custom-made dresses were limiting. I took the best designs from the custom dress shop my mom and I co-ran, some of which were inspired by brides we worked with and put them on Etsy. I was a one-woman show when I started getting very popular on Etsy, and eventually on Pinterest. The rest is history!”

Bayona was designing, sewing, and marketing sometimes from the floor of her apartment, “and it just grew from there,” she said with a laugh.

“I opened my bridal boutique, Lovenote Bride, in Vancouver in 2015. I no longer do my business out of my apartment. We manufacture everything in East Vancouver in our approximately 9,000 square foot factory. I have three of my own brands — Truvelle, Laudae, and Aesling.”

Now, 11 years later, Bayona hires about 40 people along with many contractors. Her brands are sold wholesale to stores worldwide — all over Canada, the U.S., and Europe, including through retailers in Australia and New Zealand. Bayona launched a boutique in Calgary in 2019, and in November 2022, at The Forks in Winnipeg. A shop in Ottawa is on the horizon.

Erika Tata has managed Lovenote Bride’s Winnipeg boutique since it opened. After working in the wedding florist business, switching to dresses was a logical move. Like Bayona, Tata loves meeting new people.

“I love helping girls feel beautiful. I love fashion and bridal fashion is so unique,” Tata said.

Tata enjoys working for a Canadian company that prides itself in paying attention to the smallest details.

“Many hands make the dress, and we know every name of the people making the dress. Every dress is made with love.”

Bayona makes every effort to run her business differently by creating an eco-friendlier option. “We design our dresses to minimalize waste as much as possible. All our linings are made using recycled polyester.”

What Bayona loves about her work is that all her days are different. “I love all the different projects I get to work on. I love being busy. I love interacting with my team members. I love being around people.”

Lovenote Bride is located at 25 Forks Market Rd. in the Johnston Terminal. It is open Wednesdays through Sundays. See lovenotebride.com for more info.