Hi! I’m Alene and I’m the store manager at Max Bridal. I have 20+ years of retail experience and sort of ‘fell into’ the bridal industry. When I started at Max Bridal six years ago, it was a boutique shop in Mineola, which we outgrew pretty quickly! We moved into our location in Syosset, where we doubled our size, doubled our list of designers and doubled in staff. My staff and I learn so much about our brides in our 90-minute appointments – we know we can help them for their biggest day yet. And we can’t wait to meet all of you, learn about you and help you find your dream wedding gown!
Introduction
The Wedding Industry
As I said above, I sort of ‘fell into’ the wedding industry when I was looking for retail jobs on Long Island. I didn’t even know the bridal world existed! But I’ve always had a passion for people and learning about them. I love to hear how a bride met her fiancé, how he proposed, how she selected her bridesmaids – everything! That is so much fun for me!
I fell in love with seeing a bride falling in love with herself. I love brides, and I love the journey a bride takes starting with her wedding dress. I also love to go to market and choose beautiful gowns that I know will be the best for the Max Bride.
The Wedding Memories
It was probably my first bride. Since I’m a manager, I don’t usually do consultations, but this particular day, I jumped in to help. This bride told me everywhere she went, she didn’t have a good experience. She was a plus-size bride. She had also battled cancer. At the end of her battle, her fiancé proposed and she was ready to start her new shot at life – which is why finding a wedding dress was so important to her. I listened to her story and what she wanted, and I found her the perfect wedding dress. We became friends, and I still see her at bridal events, as she works in the industry as well. She continues to say she was made to feel special and that’s all she wanted. And she looked gorgeous the day of her wedding. It was the first time a client became part of my life in a different way.
Specialization
We just have bridal gowns at Max Bridal – no bridesmaids gowns – as we love to focus solely on our brides. We do offer private appointments that are done after hours for any bride who wants to bring more guests with her. But all of our rooms are private suites. And each of the four rooms has a specific vibe with a distinct personality – garden, boho, disco and vintage. It’s an intimate, one-on-one 90 minutes of just you, your consultant and your guests. You aren’t open to the public unless you want to be!
Company History
Max Bridal started with a group of investors about 10 years ago. One of the investors eventually bought the company herself – and is the current owner. I started in 2016 and am proud at how far Max Bridal has come. And how we treat our brides.
FAQs
Is it too early to start shopping?
No! It’s never too early to start shopping! As long as you have your venue booked, you should be looking for a wedding dress! Everything else will fall into place once you have your gown. You want to give yourself ample time – and not leave your dress until the last minute.
Who should come with me?
Bring the important decision makers in your life! The people that you want there when you find your wedding dress. BUT, you should make sure you bring them to every appointment. You never know when you’ll find your dress and the initial reaction of falling in love with it can’t be replicated if your entourage isn’t with you!
What’s up with the weird sizing?
We always say that the size chart was created by angry men that were mad at their wives! At Max Bridal, when we measure you – we give you a number – not a size, because that’s not your size! Never think of it as a size, think of it as a number!
Personal Hobbies
I’m binging on The Real Housewives – all of them! I’m living vicariously through them! I also have an 8-year-old son who has a vested interest in my job! Every day he asks me, ‘How were the brides today?’
Additional Info
All of our stylists are amazing, but one of our head stylists, Julie, is loved by everyone! She is my go-to person if I ever need to consult. I pick her brain in terms of what would be best for a bride. She is so in tune with the brides and the bridal world! In fact, you just might see Julie out and about at a Long Island beach – as she often sees brides there!
BOLI Love!
Good experience, really sweet girls. We had a great seamstress. My dress was beautiful and very comfortable which was important for me.
Max bridal was absolutely amazing. Leyla helped me and was so sweet. She said if I ever got overwhelmed to let her know and made me feel confident we were going to find my dress. The place is cute. The room is decorated with your name and wedding date to make you feel special and they truly make you feel welcome.
Julie was the best! She pulled beautiful dresses and even some that I didn’t necessarily envision but I ended up loving! She was in the room the entire time, getting me into dresses and talking me through everything. She asked about my fiancé and how we met. She just made the whole experience more fun! Max Bridal even had a little sign with my name and wedding date on it in our room. Overall AMAZING experience!
Nicole from Max Bridal is the best! I will forever recommend them. They treat you like family!
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The absolute best experience every time I went there. Got the first dress I tried on! Alterations were done by Maya and she was wonderful.
I got my dress here and they were really sweet each time I visited. It was the first place I went to and the dress I ended up getting was basically the 2nd dress I tried on. I also got alterations here which was a hefty flat fee but so worth it once finding out how much work goes into even the smallest adjustment on a wedding gown. The dress fit perfectly on the day of!
Absolutely amazing people here. They were so nice and supportive of all my emotions during the process and remembered me for every time I came back. They were so sweet. The seamstress was the nicest woman and was so patient. She told me I can go back however many times until it’s perfect. She listened to me ask a million little questions, let me try on multiple shoes while I was there, and was so nice when my family came with their opinions also. The dress was perfect all night. I had no issues with it at all!
I had my first consultation with Emily. She was outstanding and had me try on dresses that I knew I would like, along with some that I wasn’t sure of but I’m glad I tried them anyway. She never pressured me into getting anything, and I didn’t leave with a dress the first time because I wanted to see what was at other stores. I went back to Max to get the dress I loved from the first consult.
I went to a few shops while dress hunting but nothing compared to Max Bridal. My initial visit when I found THE dress, Emily was working with me and she made me feel so confident and beautiful. She was also easy to talk to and work with which made my experience all the more fun. With that said, all of the women who work there are so helpful and kind. During the fitting process, I worked with other saleswomen there and they are all so knowledgeable and sweet. The environment there is warm and welcoming. I also had my alterations done here and Inez was a dream! She was so sweet and did amazing work. I felt no worries at all during the fitting process; she walked me through it, made any and all changes I asked for/needed and treated me like family whenever we spoke.
I was super excited to go wedding dress shopping, but stressed because of the pressure of having someone pick things for you. They didn’t force me to try things I didn’t want or put pressure on me like I’ve heard of other places. I worked with Julie who was phenomenal. Understood what I wanted, was not pushy, was so down to earth and funny. I found my dress there, and from the time of saying yes to my dress to using them for alterations, they were phenomenal. I used Inez as my alterations and she was incredible. Such a sweet sweet lady and I loved working with her.
They are the best people to work with. I found my dress on the second one. Julie was so sweet and had me try on a few extra styles just to make sure I found the one. She even remember me a year later when I came back for my alterations. My dress came in so quickly. Inez did my alterations and went above and beyond. I was worried because my dress was wrinkling in one spot. She hand sewed a bodice in so it would sit perfectly. She also took such good care of my dress and fixed everything I was worried about. They are the kindest people and make you feel amazing and well taken care of!!
Max Bridal was the first and only bridal shop I went to. I had Julie as my attendant, and she was absolutely incredible in helping me find “the one.” I seriously cannot say enough good things about this place. They have a variety of dress options and really try to work within your budget. What I loved about them was that they send you their Pinterest page before your appointment, which helped me decide which dress style I liked, and gave me an idea of the dress selection they have. I got my dress alterations done there by Bernice, who was wonderful! She helped make the process easygoing, and made me feel so comfortable and beautiful. I felt like a real life princess on my wedding day. I am so thankful for Julie, Bernice, and the entire team at Max Bridal for everything.
Everyone at Max Bridal is friendly and welcoming. My consultant was patient and listened to me. She helped me find my dream gown. Her measurements were very accurate. My dress before it was promised which is a plus! I had a very wonderful and stress free experience at Max Bridal!
I Cannot day enough good things about Max Bridal. These women are amazing!! Working with Sam, she listened to everything I said and helped me find my dream dress, veil and accessories. if you are looking for a place to buy your dress, go to Max Bridal!! You will not regret it!
OMG I can't say enough about Max Bridal Syosset. Best wedding dress shop in LI! Best experience ever with Amanda. I am in love with my dress and the experience and services Max Bridal provides. Can't wait to wear it! :)
Max Bridal was amazing! Everyone who works there is so incredibly kind and they made my dress shopping experience so much fun. They really listened to my thoughts on each dress and took their time picking out pieces they thought I would like. I found the dress of my dreams there!
Max bridal was amazing! I worked with Julie and she was wonderful. She was so nice and very helpful! All the staff was wonderful as well. I got my dress from them!
I went to most of the major bridal salons on LI, and I hands down has the absolute BEST experience at Max! Julie was my consultant and she was SO kind and patient, and made me feel so comfortable. They made my experience so personal, and did not make me feel like just another bride. They are so attentive and made me feel so special. They took their time and were not pushy whatsoever. Ewa did my alterations, and my dress fit me PERFECTLY!!! She is amazing and my bustle was perfect as well. Look no further than Max!!
Had the best experience buying and doing alterations for my wedding dress here! The whole staff is so kind and Miss Celine did an incredible job on my gown!
Max Bridal is the best of the best. From day 1, I felt celebrated & taken care of. I wanted a bow from a different dress added to my dress and Bernice made it happen! At every appointment, the staff was so sweet & kind and I just wanted to stay and hangout with them! Everything was incredible and I cannot recommend them enough.
