Ever fancied jumping behind the scenes and grilling the owners of a bridal boutique? Well, we did and we have snaps and details to prove it. Let us introduce you to the ladies of Mrs Fray, Canberra’s premium bridal boutique experience. Yep, experience. You see, when the ladies decided to open Mrs Fray, they wanted to provide brides with the full shebang. Picture aesthetic fixtures, the finest handpicked Aussie designed bridal gowns and one heck of a delightful concept store. Drooling? Us too. Lucky for you, no mental picturing is required. We sent Lauren Campbell Photography along to snap Mrs Fray in all her light-filled glory. All you have to do is scroll down…
Tell us a bit about what Mrs Fray does. Redefining what bridal can look like for the brave and creative bride, not just for Canberra but for Australia as a whole. We are bringing a specially curated collection of Australian bridal wares -gowns, separates, gifts- to make the entire pre-wedding shopping experience so much easier and wonderful for our brides.
What is it about bridal gowns that gets you all glowy? Shopping for a bridal gown is a beautiful experience. It’s laden with unparalleled, twinkly joy. The face of the woman who’s trying on a dress and falling in love with it is hard to beat. Society puts so much pressure on the bride and ‘the dress’. What we love to see is a woman unfold with confidence, joy, and happiness when she wears a dress that she feels good in. Women often feel that the dresses have magical powers, to flatter, to achieve, to impact, but really, they’re just vessels for self-confidence in a woman that she wouldn’t allow herself to feel before. They’re magic clothes and the search for ‘the one’ is a magic process. Ultimately, that’s what we’re here for. Mrs Fray isn’t here for the dress, she’s here for the woman.
Instore vibes? A modern, beautiful, minimal style that offers a relaxed place for our brides to come in, have a browse and enjoy a champagne.
What does an appointment typically look like at Mrs Fray? It’s a 90-minute, personalised experience for you and your support crew to embark on together, a journey to finding that dream wedding attire. You’ll be guided through the entire offering of gowns, separates and accessories from the Mrs Fray family of designers. From there, you’ll be invited to try on as little or as many gowns as you like. This is the time to explore, relax and enjoy the journey – and it’s filled with all the good stuff like champagne and lots of laughs!
For brides wanting to try on gowns ASAP, can you tell us how you have adapted instore to the ongoing presence of Covid 19? Our priority throughout has always been to keep our brides, our team and the wider community safe whilst providing the same great in-store experience. We kindly ask our brides to limit their support crew’s to a maximum of 3 people and ensure everyone is feeling 100% well. As a permanent gesture of wellbeing, our Aesop rinse-free hand sanitiser and nourishing hand balm are available for all guests to apply upon arrival and throughout your appointment. All gowns and wares at Mrs Fray are sanitised regularly using natural products, so you might catch the scent of eucalyptus in the air in addition to our signature diffused fragrance as you enter. We’ll also be allowing an hour in between each appointment to clean and sanitise our space. We did jump into the virtual space very early on, so if brides prefer to stay home, we’re happy to host them for a virtual appointment.
Who graces the racks of Mrs Fray? Remaining true to our ethos of presenting the very best in contemporary bridal and breaking the rules on traditional wedding day style, Mrs Fray showcases designers Karen Willis Holmes, L’eto Bridal, Prea James Bridal and Lola Varma.
Price range? We have tops and blouses that start at $690 and go up to $1,290 with skirts ranging from $1,800 – $3,500. The range of almost every complete gown we have in stock is between $2,000 and $5,000
Any trends that you are loving the last few months? You probably know we’re not big followers of trends, preferring to seek out the unique in whatever form that may be for today’s bride. We do, however, love to observe and let me tell you we’ve done a lot of that lately! We feel ‘understated elegance’ has been taken to a whole new level with the emergence of more elopement style/intimate celebrations. Separates are in even more demand, allowing for flexibility in your look across not one, but many celebrations that may be to come. We’re seeing sexy sheath style gowns, hearing a lot of shout outs for strapless gowns, sleeves of any and all kinds and designers playing around with traditional fabrics like silk Mikado in new structural forms. From a brides perspective, it’s inspiring to see that many are valuing the origins of their gowns/wedding day look and wanting to invest in Australian made designs.
What other goodies aside from gowns can brides find in-store? The shop is a beautiful space to come in and browse plenty of goodness aside from bridal gowns. We have fragrances, accessories, handcrafted ceramics, paper goods and objects for the home from some of Australia’s much-loved brands and globally sourced wares. It is a place to wander in with a coffee and wander out with a treat yo’self gift for you or the loves in your life.
Lastly, where can we find you? You can find us st G31, 12 Provan Street Campbell ACT 2612 or online at mrsfray.com
This fun interview was first published in Issue 26 of Hello May magazine. If you’d like to flick through our delightful paper pages IRL then pop on over to our online store. Would you like to take a peek at some of the lush Aussie bridal brands stocked at Mrs Fray? You’re in luck! We have blogged the latest collection from Karen Willis Holmes here, L’eto Bridal here, Prea James Bridal here and Lola Varma here. Now, scroll down for some exclusive snaps…
CREDITS Photos Lauren Campbell Photography Bridal Boutique Mrs Fray.