Brides Ready to Swoop on Discount Designer Wedding Gowns

End of Financial Year Sale

22 & 23 June 2017

Exciting news for all brides in Sydney and beyond! Helen Rodrigues is having its first ever End Of Financial Year clearance sale on Thursday 22nd June and Friday 23rd June 2017, where dozens of international designer sample dresses will be sold at a fraction of the original cost.

Almost too good to be true; luxury sample gowns from the likes of Oscar De La Renta, Jenny Packham, Inbal Dror, Sabrina Dahan, Zuhair Murad, Alon Livne, Monique Lhuillier and many more international designers, will be available at the sale which is expected to see a huge response from brides seizing this rare opportunity.

An increasingly popular trend, purchasing a sample wedding gown is not just for those looking to spend less on their dress. They’re a great idea if you’re getting married quickly or overseas and don’t have the time to invest in multiple fittings, because you can still have a stunning designer bridal gown straight off the rack (and at a great discount as well). 

Sample dresses are also perfect for those wanting a second gown to change into on the big day, or for brides who may have overspent their wedding budget in other areas too. Weddings aside, some women also just love the opportunity to get an incredible designer dress for a special occasion at an amazing price.

What is a sample gown?
They are wedding gowns that are either samples, ex floor stock or are now discontinued. Most have been tried on or have been used in photo-shoots or shows. Many of the gowns are in wonderful condition (particularly if it was only discontinued), while others may need a little bit more love e.g. a bead could be missing or a dry-clean required, but nothing that can’t be fixed. The End Of Financial Year sale will take place at our sister store, Sincerely. Located just a few doors down from the original Helen Rodrigues boutique, Sincerely is an extension of the brand into affordable luxury, with the added benefit of experienced and personalised service.

Helen Rodrigues EOFY Sample Clearance Sale:
Date/time: Thursday 22nd June (3-8pm) and Friday 23rd June (9am-5pm)

Where: Sincerely store, 1A 211 Ben Boyd Rd, Neutral Bay NSW 2089 (upstairs from Home Property Agents)

Cost/bookings: Free with no appointments required

Sale details: All sales are final, no exchanges or refunds. Items are sold as seen. First in, best dressed! Most gowns will be between size 8-12 and will start from $2,000 upwards. All gowns need to be paid for in full on the day.

More information: For a sneak preview of some of the gowns available on the day visit www.sincerely.com.au. For further details or enquiries please phone 02 9904 5700.

Make sure you don’t miss your chance to get your dream gown at a dream price.

Lee Petra Grebenau Coming to Australia

After a very busy trip to the New York Bridal Fashion Week (NYBFW) in April 2017 and searching for the next big name to bring to the Australian bride, we are thrilled to announce the arrival of Lee Petra Grebenau in late July 2017.

The Lee Petra Grebenau gowns are well known for their signature couture craftsmanship using exquisite hand-sewn embroideries, the finest fabrics and materials to uphold high end finishes with meticulous and flawless detail.

“I am very excited to be working with Helen Rodrigues and have her represent us exclusively in Australia, said Lee Grebenau.

“It is really important to me that our brides feel special in their gown and that they are well looked after in Australia. Working with Helen gives me this confidence,” she adds.

“Our wedding gowns are made uniquely and will suit any bride that appreciates high standards of quality and are looking for a one of a kind experience,” says Lee.

The Lee Petra Grebenau bridal gowns are all made to measure and start from $12,000. To be one of the first in Australia to view her exquisite collection, simply book your appointment now at the Helen Rodrigues exclusive launch day on Friday 21st & Saturday 22nd July. Bookings are $150 and include a glass of bubbles.

For more information on Lee Petra Grebenau please visit her website here or for enquires on the collection simply phone the Helen Rodrigues boutique on (02) 9904 5700.

Get the Look: Autumnal Bride

Naeem Khan Niagra gown available from Helen Rodrigues.

Spring and summer may be the most popular months to get married but with its cooler days, beautiful light for photography, and higher availability of venues and suppliers; autumn is now a new favourite for many and can be just as magical. Check out our ‘Get the look: autumnal bride’ edit below for some ideas for anyone getting married at this lovely time of year.

Ideas

Autumn bridal bouquet inspiration (image sourced from Pinterest)

Dolce & Gabbana: Dolce Box sequinned plexiglass clutch

Keren Wolf: Double lace pendant earrings

kikki.K: Wedding organiser

Sophia Webster: Lilco aplliqued metallic leather sandals

Keren Wolf: Harper flower headband

Focus Feature: Keren Wolf Jewellery & Accessories

Jewellery & Accessories

Often it’s the finer details that can make all the difference; which is why at Helen Rodrigues we love to help brides with selecting not only their gown, but also beautiful accessories that will complete their perfect wedding day look.

Keren Wolf Jewellery & Accessories has been represented at Helen Rodrigues for a couple of years now and is a huge favourite amongst our brides with its range of stunning head pieces, and exquisite earrings, bracelets and unique arm cuffs.

A former renowned Israeli actress, Keren Wolf has been making distinguishable jewellery, clothes and accessories from a very young age. Inspired by her fascination with the theatre’s rich archive of costumes, accessories and photographs dating back to the 1920s; she first opened a small jewellery booth which received a lot of buzz and attention from fashion savvies and passersby’s. This then gave her the confidence to improve and craft her designs on a much higher level, prompting a career move to leave acting and dedicate herself fulltime to jewellery and accessory design.  

Her namesake collection was officially introduced in 2005 when Keren became a bride-to-be and realised the bridal market was significantly limited. She decided to launch a Bridal Collection ranging from heirloom-quality headpieces and dainty jewellery; to modern, over-the-top statement pieces. A huge success, Keren Wolf quickly became the go-to designer within the bridal arena in Israel, collaborating with renowned wedding gown designers such as Inbal Dror and many others for NY Bridal Week.

Now stocked in over thirty boutiques around the world and a second Ready to Wear line, Keren Wolf has been named one of the five most influential women in Israeli fashion. Her distinctive designs and quality of workmanship have made her a favourite of stylists, international magazines and celebrities such as Bar Refaeli and Gal Gadot.

At Helen Rodrigues we feel very lucky to be able to make her fabulous creations available to our Australian brides. Says Keren herself, “I am very happy to collaborate with a leading name such as Helen Rodrigues that is known for its fine style, and am looking forward to continuing this fruitful collaboration.”

The Diamond Garden collection is the latest Keren Wolf line available at Helen Rodrigues. The exact sculpture of the royal gardens; the delicacy and elegance of their flowers; and the mysterious, magical wilderness of the climber plants were the inspiration for the amazing silver and gold collection. Tiaras set with Zircons, crowns set with hovering pearls, earrings covered with Swarovski, and the bracelets hold an exact sparkle. Together they are combined in perfect harmony, generating a glamorous and unique look for brides – a real royal diamond garden appearance.

For more information on the Keren Wolf Jewellery & Accessories range simply phone the Helen Rodrigues boutique on (02) 9904 5700.

Emma - A Real Bride Story

Emma's Story

Who: Emma & Jonathon
When: 25 February, 2017
Where: Dunbar House, Watsons Bay (Sydney)
Dress: Alon Livne from Helen Rodrigues Bridal

Planning a wedding can sometimes be stressful, which is why it was such a relief for our real bride Emma when she found organising her gown such a pleasant and comforting experience amidst her other wedding preparations.

“The ladies at Helen Rodrigues are all so lovely and so helpful. I really valued their honest opinion when I was trying dresses on,” says Emma, who admits she was very excited but also a little overwhelmed initially by all the beautiful dresses in the boutique and having to make a decision on just one.

The designer she ended up choosing was Alon Livne. “I had done research online to see which labels Helen had in store and Alon's dresses stood out for me,” she says. “The style of his dresses were perfect for my figure and I loved all the intricate details.”

Emma says she knew she’d found her dress when she tried it on. “It was just beautiful and unique to all the others that I'd tried on previously. I think it was the back of the dress that really sold me - it's just gorgeous,” she says.

And after selecting her perfect gown, Emma found the personal service and support from Helen’s team continued right up until the wedding.  

“When I had chosen my dress, the time the girls spent with me on alternations to make sure I was happy, was just amazing. They even helped me choose my wedding jewellery,” says Emma. “I also had a minor breakdown at one fitting from the stress of organising the wedding day and Helen was so calm and caring and helped cheer me up – time was never an issue,” she adds. 

Once the big day arrived however, it was of course the dream wedding that Emma and her husband had envisioned; with their first wedding dance and the happiness in the room at the ceremony and reception being among her favourite memories. 

“It was such a happy day,” says Emma, whose advice to other brides is not to get too stressed out. “The right dress is out there!”

All photography by: Sarah from GM Photographics
 

Helen Rodrigues Shoots First Ever Campaign

It is with great excitement that we can now finally unveil the first look images from the inaugural Helen Rodrigues Bridal campaign photo shoot that took place recently. After being Sydney’s iconic bridal boutique for 16 years, we decided it was time to showcase our beautiful designer gowns in an incredibly special shoot produced exclusively for us by stylem and photographed by the amazing Amelia Soegijono.

A fine art photographer, Amelia chose to shoot the entire campaign on film – an extreme rarity these days. Able to achieve more sensitivity to light and softness compared to digital photography, it made the shoot even more magical for our brand. 

With Jess Berg on hand for hair and make-up and Susan Avery on floral headpieces, our model Alana looked stunning in the gorgeous bridal gowns from a number of our esteemed international designers such as Inbal Dror, Alon Livne, Jenny Packham, Elie Saab and Monique Llhuillier.

We’re delighted to now share our Helen Rodrigues Bridal images with you and hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

All photography credits: 
Photographer – Amelia Soegijono
Stylist / Producer – Emma Wood from stylem
Grooming – Jess Berg Hair & Make Up
Model – Alana Mia @ Chadwick Models
Studio – B2 Studios in Alexandria
Florals – Susan Avery Flowers & Events

Helen Rodrigues launches Alexandra Grecco

We are thrilled to announce that this month sees the arrival of the fabulous new Alexandra Grecco bridal collection, available in Australia exclusively at the Helen Rodrigues boutique.

Featuring ethereal gowns for the less-traditional and boho brides, the beautiful line was created when the designer herself was looking for a gown in advance of her own wedding in 2013 and saw an opportunity to pair her aesthetic with high-quality fabrics and intricate hand-embroidery.

According to Alexandra Grecco, she’s very excited to be working with Helen Rodrigues to offer a broad range of their gowns to Australian brides.

"Inspiration for our gowns can come from the tiniest details, whether it be a scrap of antique lace or embroidery.  Sometimes I pull ideas from a painting or an architectural detail. Most of the time though, I just create something that I would want to wear. Inspiration for me changes, but what's constant is that each season I am focused on the collection having a feeling of being effortless yet elegant," says Alexandra.
 
"It is really important to me that our brides feel comfortable in their gown and that our pieces move with the women who wear them. We use a lot of really lovely silks and create some subtle, yet striking embroidery.  I'm a big fan of gowns with strong, clean lines, but always with some detail that makes it truly special," she adds.

The gowns in the Alexandra Grecco bridal collection range from $4,500 to $10,000. To be one of the first in Australia to view her exquisite line, simply book your appointment now at the Helen Rodrigues exclusive preview launch day on Saturday 11th of March. Bookings are $50 and include a glass of bubbles.

For more information on Alexandra Grecco please visit her website here or for enquires on the collection simply phone the Helen Rodrigues boutique on (02) 9904 5700.

Three Bridal Events You Won’t Want To Miss This March

If you’re yet to find your perfect wedding dress then now’s your chance. With three exciting Helen Rodrigues events coming up in the next few weeks, there’s never been a better time to make an appointment at the boutique. With gowns to suit all styles and budgets, this is a fantastic opportunity to find your dream gown.
 
Alexandra Grecco Launch Preview – Saturday 11th March
Be one of the first in Australia to view the fabulous Alexandra Grecco bridal line at our exclusive launch preview day. The newest addition to the boutique, Alexandra Grecco’s gowns are exquisitely ethereal and perfect for the boho bride. Dresses range from $4,500 to $10,000. By appointment only, bookings are $50 and include a glass of bubbles.

Helen Rodrigues Sample Sale – Sunday 12th March
For one day only we will be selling sample gowns from a range of fabulous international designers such as Alon Livne, Jenny Packham, Inbal Dror, Monique Lhuillier, Sabrina Dahan, Naeem Khan, Zuhair Murad and Mira Zwillinger. A great opportunity to purchase a luxury gown at a more affordable price; all dresses are sample sizes 8-12 only and start at $5,000. Appointments essential.

Inbal Dror 2017 Trunk Show – Friday 17th & Saturday 18th March
Bridal gowns from Israeli designer Inbal Dror will be available in our exclusive appointment only trunk show held over two days. With a range of flattering designs crafted from the best fabrics, you’re bound to discover the perfect gown for you. 
 
To attend any of the above events phone the Helen Rodrigues boutique on (02) 9904 5700 to book your appointment today.

Image credit Jose Villa.