Aisle Seat

 This week on Aisle Seat, we chat with two amazing women who are bridal industry style insiders based in the UK. Tegan Patmore and Roberta Lambert are the owners of Silk & Maple bridal boutique in Sudbury, Suffolk, England and have a dream business partnership having come together from two different areas of the wedding industry. Tegan began her career as a wedding florist, while Robert has a background in wedding planning. The friends opened their boutique in 2021 and their award-winning store quickly became a must-shop destination for UK brides. This spring they opened a second location, Sora which is an exclusive retail experience for bridesmaids. On this show Alison chats with these charming wedding style experts about the realities of dress shopping for brides and bridesmaids, their favourite trends for the year ahead in bridal fashion, and size inclusivity and how it’s always been a pillar of their business. They also share some inspiring stories of how they have made an impact in the lives of their customers by making every bride feel like her very best self.

Prince Edward County is a gem of a destination in Ontario, located at the mid-point between Toronto and Montreal. It’s a sweet spot renowned for its bucolic landscapes, rolling vineyards, and incredible food scene. It also happens to be home to many incredible wedding venues which couples travel far and wide to host their celebrations at, and one of the most exclusive and beloved spots is The Royal Hotel, a historic boutique property and restaurant located on the charming main street of Picton. The property is a Conde Nast Reader’s Choice winner for 2023 and 2024 and was recently acknowledged with a Micheline Key star. Having a wedding celebration at The Royal is to indulge in a party full of intimate moments, next level food and a warm and wonderful experience that couples and their guests remember forever. On this show I chat with The Royal Hotel’s general manager Sol Korngold and Jennifer Prince who looks after weddings at the property about what makes it the perfect choice for a wedding in any season and why The Royal Hotel delivers an indulgent travel experience that’s second to none.

Mariela Soucy has been part of the fashion scene for almost 25 years but only recently began work as a bridal wear designer and she’s made a huge impact with her artful creations for her label SOUCY. This week we chat with Mariela from her New York studio where she and her team are busy putting the final touches on her third bridal collection which will launch in early October. Mariela’s designs are incredibly romantic and modern. Strength and poise are two words she uses to describe her creations, and on this show, we talk about what inspires her, what she loves about working with brides, what’s trending for the year ahead. If you are looking for a wedding style that is impactful, dramatic and unlike any other SOUCY is made for you.

If the idea of having a dreamy 500-acre property just outside of New York City in the Hudson Valley all to yourself for your party, Cedar Lakes Estate in the Hudson Valley is the place. This property has topped travel lists including Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards and has a beautiful history. The property was home to a legendary summer camp which began in 1929 and was purchased in 1986 by the Karvellas family who not only brought it back to life but transformed the property into the most incredible event venue under the leadership of sisters Lisa and Stephanie Karvellas. These women have created a one-of-a-kind event destination on the grounds of their childhood home, a luxe, rustic escape which is all about incredible food, service, and creating unforgettable experiences. It’s also favourite spot of celebrities—actor Beanie Feldstein and her wife Bonnie Chance-Roberts married there in 2023 and the gorgeous day was featured in Vogue. On this show, I chat with co-owner Lisa to learn all about weddings as Cedar Lakes Estate and why it’s one of North America’s premiere destination wedding spots.

We’re back from summer break with a new show! On this episode we chat with two amazing women who head up one of the top bridalwear lines in Canada, Kathryn Bass Bridal. Kathryn and her business partner Kelsey McIntyre are a dream creative team who create fashion magic in the Vancouver studio. Their designs are whimsical, ethereal and made for the modern bride with size inclusivity always at the forefront of everything they create. I caught up with this dynamic duo recently to talk trends, shopping tips and they also give a teaser into the new 2025 collection which drops in just a few days—prepare for serious gorgeousness!

Nadia Manjarrez is an incredible bridal wear designer who made a huge impact on wedding style since releasing her first collection just a few years ago. Nadia trained for her career in fashion in her native Mexico before moving to New York in 2011 for a design internship and went on to work luxury eveningwear brands including Badgley Mischka and Marchesa. Nadia moved back to Mexico in 2020 and unofficially started her business in her parent’s home when several of her friends commissioned her to design their wedding dresses—this was the beginning of her atelier, Nadia Manjarrez Studio. On this show Nadia shares everything about her newest collection which is full of romantic and dramatic designs like drop waist gowns, textural tulle and exquisite lace. She talks creative inspirations and why empowering women in her Mexican community is a key part of her brand. Nadia also talks about her own incredible wedding wardrobe—she had designed looks, all of which were spectacular!

On this week’s show, Alison meets a new bridal fashion friend, Agnese Petraglia who a designer and the founder of Medusa London. Italian born Agnese creates beautiful things and her career in wedding style started when she moved to London from her native Italy in 2014. She always had a love for crafting and making things and soon discovered fashion was her passion. She launched Medusa London in 2021 and it’s a label that puts sustainability first and foremost in everything they do. On this show, Agnese chats all about why eco-consciousness should be first and foremost when considering any fashion, particularly wedding designs. We talk about the custom design process which the choice of many of her Agnese’s clients, her stunning capsule collections, Medusa London’s exclusive sustainable fabrications, and more.

Anne Sportun is iconic Toronto-based fine jewelry brand started in 1987 by artist and designer Anne. Renowned for pieces that are statement, modern, and organic in feeling inspired by natural and organic forms, engagement rings have always been a particular passion of the brand and never more so than now with Anne’s daughter Haley Woodbury who’s a co-owner of the business focusing her custom jewelry expertise on all things wedding bling. On this show, host Alison and Haley chat about what’s trending for engagement rings this year—antique diamonds, gemstones and custom one-of-a-kind pieces are the biggest ask. Haley also talks budget—as in what’s actually realistic—and why lab diamonds can be a great choice. Recent newlywed Haley also shares details of her day and what she decided on for her own ring which is spectacular.

This week on the show Alison chats with real bride Becca Webster—a five-time World Cheerleading Champion and star of the Netflix show Cheer Squad—who just married her longtime love, Dee Guertin. The brides’ big day had the most stunning details—a dreamy wedding venue, a romantic-modern aesthetic, and incredible fashion for the brides and their squads. Becca has a huge social following and has been documenting every moment of her wedding planning since she and Dee were engaged in 2022; their party has totally gone viral. On this episode Becca shares all the details of her romance, engagement, and wedding day, and how she and Dee have felt so supported by all the love their day has received. “What really fills our cup is knowing our wedding could help provide a light at the end of the tunnel for other members of the LGBTQ2+ community,” Becca says. Becca also talks about her new career as a wedding content creator and her business Secco Studios which was born out of a love for creating content for her own wedding. Becca knows what it takes to make wedding content go viral and she says this is the top request of clients she’s working with in 2024.

This week we have an inspiring chat with luxury wedding planner Raj Grewal founder and principal of LUX Affairs in Vancouver. Raj has an amazing energy and her passion for the wedding industry; she’s an innovator and a visionary who makes major magic happen for couples to ensure their celebration is unforgettable. Raj’s background is actually in finance, and she started planning weddings as a side hustle; she made events her full-time passion when she founded her company 10 years ago. With a specialty in Indian weddings, Raj has become renowned as one of the world’s top luxury event planners and on this shows she shares her insights into what’s trending with weddings for the year ahead, why dreaming big for your day is always a good idea but having a pro team in place to guide you through those decisions and making sure it’s a smart use of your money is key.