Merry Bridal Christmas

               It's that time of the year.
              Yup, I know its only January and Christmas and the holiday season has passed, but for our store, we are heading into the craziest time of the year - it's Bridal Christmas!
             "Bridal Christmas" refers to the time period from January to March. I think, for most brides, whether their weddings fall in spring, summer or fall, the majority use the holiday season as the marker for when they plan to start getting things ready for their wedding. So, they enjoy the holiday season, let Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah roll on by, and then right after New Year's Day (probably when the bride and her maids are over the holiday bacchanalia and have sobered up), the rush begins. I mention this because this past weekend was the official first weekend of our busy bridal season.
               It is like nothing else. My fellow stylists and I will usually head into the store and hour or 30 minutes prior to opening to ensure that the store is ready for the day - we will finish our coffee, make sure the bridal runs are neat and orderly, read our numbers, maybe make some calls and touch up our lip gloss too. And while we do that, we usually have a few crowds of women standing and constantly pushing or pulling at our locked doors.
               Once we open those doors, we just don't stop. The flow of people, wedding parties, never stops. The phone doesn't stop. The card of swatch colors for bridesmaids dresses get passed around and by the end of the day looks like a worn out, torn up pinata.  Sometimes we miss our lunches or breakfasts, so we usually run to the back and eat whatever we can.
                Probably the hardest part is the continous outpouring of excitement and exuberance that we have to put out. A manager once mentioned that when we step onto the sales floor, we are also stepping onto a stage. Our "performance" is to smile, be upbeat, be energetic and work quickly and gracefully. Again, that's probably the hardest part - the constant "act" we have to try and portray in order to give a positive experience to our brides and their parties. Now, don't get me wrong - every stylist that I have had the pleasure of working along side with is usually very genuine and thoroughly enjoys helping their brides and clientele. Especially when we get a bride who is sweet, nice and fun to work with, we truly get excited and want to help her even more!
                Indeed, "Bridal Christmas" is probably close to the holiday of Christmas - it's an exciting time that's fun and enjoyable, but if you start to rush around too much or there's a lot of pressure, it can start to seep into your psyche and mentality. You just can't give up though, you just can't stop.