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Category Archives: Holiday Season

A Thank You to Our Employees

This time of year is very special for Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo. As a family-owned small business, we cherish our employees. They are like family, and it is our job to protect them, take care of them, and ensure that they have what they need.

One strategic aspect of our bridal and tuxedo store when we founded it was to always be closed on major holidays and we have never made an exception since day one. This is important to us because for anyone who has visited us, you know how busy we are and how hard our employees work. We want them to be home with family and friends during the holidays. In fact, since our founding, we have always been closed on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. Yes, you read that correctly! Black Friday! We are okay with zero sales on Black Friday for the sake of taking care of our most valued resources: our employees.

This year ends a little over a year and a half of challenges and triumphs in the wedding industry, mostly from the effects of COVID. Some of our brides and grooms have had the misfortune of having to reschedule their wedding dates 4 to 5 times.

Certainly, the stress of coordinating and rescheduling weddings has only added to the challenges of wedding planning. Congratulations to all of you who made it through these challenging times and were able to celebrate your nuptials!

That meant, however, many weddings that were scheduled in 2020 were rescheduled to 2021. On top of that, we had to manage the weddings that were originally scheduled for 2021.

Basically, more than double the weddings when you count the growth of our business! WOW, that was intense!

As for our amazing employees, we have the best. Customers tell us that all the time, that they are “nicer”, “more fun”, “honest”, “friendlier”… we know they are. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts from Wendy, Franco, and Daria:

Courtney:  You’re a delight to have in the family (no matter whose shirt you wear), adorable and happy, and your brides love you so much. Thank you for always supplying me with all the fun photos! We love being part of your wedding and planning, and that you brought us your fiancee, too!

Fola: You bring the best perspective to the store, youthful yet so worldly. You have handled the tuxedos quite well, and we know you will be amazing (and love it) in prom!

Joe: We had to get you back, there was no other way. Everyone here likes you far too much for you to be anywhere else. You can organize a chaotic weekend by Monday at noon and make hundreds of tuxedos every week look like child’s play (maybe Grant and Harper want in?).

Kaitlyn: Moving you to bridal was a great choice and you make it look so easy. Your sense of humor is amazing (I know where it comes from) and we are so proud to have you back in bridal, Tik Toking, manifesting, and reading Tarot cards!

Maria: You caught on so fast and your brides love your kindness, guidance and advice. We are lucky and so happy to have you in the family!

Marissa: Wise beyond your years and such a star. You do it all! We have loved watching you grow and hope we can keep you for at least little while longer. I live for your bridal notes.

Paul: A harder worker we have yet to meet, you are constantly doing something to help improve the flow of things. Your humor doesn’t hurt either!

Rob: We cannot wait to see the impact you will have full-time! Your connection with the grooms is incredible, it’s as though every one of them is your friend within 5 minutes. We are lucky and proud to have you (and your adorable fiancee).

Sarah: We didn’t know what we were missing until you came on board. Now we don’t know what we would do without you! Your brides absolutely love you and so do we. You’re stuck with us, sorry not sorry.

Shannon: You really are like one of ours, no matter what name anyone calls you. Jennifer, Cheyanne, whoever. From that first day in prom to married with a master’s degree, watching you over these years has been truly special. You have grown exponentially and we always want you on our team!

Suzanne: I have come to rely on you, your intuition, and your sense of humor. You are also THE best gift giver. We are grateful for you and your friendship, not to mention the impact you have on our Moms and brides. Thank you. Thank you also for letting me know where “sympathy” is in the dictionary.

Tori M: From prom girl to bridal, from Miss Mengel to Mrs. Vilk, we are so proud to have you with us still. You are one of the kindest souls out there and the world would be so much better if there were more like you.

Tori S: If we could only clone you. Losing you to school was the worst, we were grieving and having you back even just a few days is like a reward. You still hold the record for the youngest person left in charge of the store and we never worried once.

You all helped Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo and our brides and grooms get through one of the most intense and challenging years. It wasn’t always easy but you did it with grace, patience and zest. We are forever grateful for your kindness, dedication and know-how. We appreciate and love you!

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday at home with your family and friends!

What I Would Have Worn To the Holiday Galas If It Weren’t For COVID-19

So raise your hand if you are tired of COVID-19?! So are we! Sadly, all of those weddings, formal galas and annual corporate parties that occur this time of year are pretty much not happening this year because of coronavirus restrictions. While this is very disappointing, I’d still like to talk about what I would have worn had these events occurred. We are certain better times are coming and next year we all hope to be back to a normal festive schedule.

I feel pretty lucky because my wife and I own Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo and I have a choice of over 70 suits and tuxedos to wear every year. Add to that over a 1,000 different styles and colors of bow ties, long ties, vests, pocket squares and shoes and you can probably say I have quite a large wardrobe!

Every year, we add several new suits and tuxedos to our already large selection of rental and purchase offerings. This year was no exception and I was personally excited to wear some of our new styles.

While I will not have an opportunity to show off our new suits and tuxedos this year, I would still like to tell you what I would have worn had ‘COVID-19 not interrupted life.

Personally, I am a huge fan of Ike Behar suits and tuxedos. Why? There are two precise reasons: 1) all of this designer’s suits and tuxedos fit like a custom suit; 2) I have yet to find another designer that has more comfortable and luxurious fabric than Ike Behar.

Model in burgundy colored tuxedo with black satin shawl lapel and black pants
Ike Behar’s burgundy tuxedo

Having said that, I have worn Ike Behar’s navy tuxedo, charcoal gray tuxedo, checkered tuxedo jacket with black pants, burgundy tuxedo jacket with black shawl lapel and black pants and his classic black tuxedo with full satin peak lapel.

This year, there are two new styles I really wanted to try for our formal galas. The first one was quite unusual and I thought it would have been perfect for an October or November event. It is the Allure Men Mulberry tuxedo. The super elegant 130’s wool was one of the most comfortable I’ve felt in a long time and the unusual color was both subtle and handsome.

Model in Mulberry colored tuxedo with matching vest and pants, long blush color tie, perfect for holiday galas
Allure Men mulberry tuxedo

While this style is considered a tuxedo, there is no satin to be found on it! Allure Men cleverly created a stitched outline on the fabric of the lapel to emulate a satin border on the lapels. It adds formality to the tuxedo without giving it any sheen. In addition, the buttons on the jacket and matching vest are covered in the fabric of the tuxedo. I find this to be a nice touch. I would have worn the jacket, matching vest and slim fit flat front pants with brown shoes, a textured wine colored bow tie and pocket square, white and gold studs and cufflinks and a swiss pleated microfiber shirt.

The next styles I wanted to wear would have been more for a November or December event. I think it would have been more appropriate closer to the holidays. It is Ike Behar’s hunter green suit. We already went over how amazingly well his suits and tuxedo’s fit! The hunter green color is festive yet understated. The trim fit notch lapel suit is made of comfortable 100% worsted wool and has a matching hunter green vest. The hunter green flat front slim fit pants have very fashionable straight leg bottoms which is a common and great design of all Ike Behar pants (no bell bottoms here!). I certainly would have worn brown shoes with this suit and the long tie or bow tie and pocket square would have either matched my wife’s dress, shoes or had a festive theme to it.

Model in hunter green color suit with long white tie and matching pocket square, perfect for holiday galas
Ike Behar’s hunter green suit for holiday galas

Finally, if I needed a classic tuxedo for a formal event, I would have probably gone for the Ike Behar black tuxedo with full satin notch lapel. This tuxedo is striking in its looks but doesn’t make you stand out in an unusual or flashy way.

So there you have it. My two new picks for future galas are Ike Behar’s hunter green suit and the Allure Men Mulberry color tuxedo. And of course, my classic perennial standby black Ike Behar notch lapel tuxedo.

We hope next year brings a lot more cheer and festivities. When 2021 arrives, Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo will be ready to make you look your best. Any questions, text us at 215-491-8500. Browse one of our many suits and tuxedos here.

About the author: Franco Salerno is co-founder and co-owner of Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo, now in their eighth year in business. In that time, he built the tuxedo department into a force rivaling big box stores by providing expertise, caring service, and beautiful, quality formal wear. Personally invested in every transaction, Mr. Salerno provides customers with the utmost trust and confidence, assuring their wedding or formal event attire will be perfect. A native of Philadelphia, he currently resides in Warrington, Bucks County with his wife and store co-founder/co-owner Wendy, and their two daughters for whom the store was named, Daria and Deanna.

A Thank You To Our Team

Nearly eight years ago, Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo jumped into the wedding  scene. We opened our doors and intended to serve people by doing three things basically learned in Kindergarten:

1) Have a clean store (clean up after yourself!)

2) Be kind (like we need to explain that one!)

3) Don’t lie (well, again, do we really need to explain?)

This may sound strange but some did not learn those values in kindergarten, or ever. Before we started our business, we searched for the biggest complaints at bridal stores based on a variety of online reviews throughout the country. Those were the three most common complaints in the reviews.

We didn’t set out to “change” in this industry, only to do it better and authentically. We hire our staff based on kindness and personality. To this day we advertise any new positions at Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo requesting “no experience preferred”. We will teach you our way! We look for kind, genuine people who fit our culture. And now? Now there are a whole lot of stores working hard to be like us, but trying to be someone else isn’t authentic and people see through that.

We know that if we take care of our team, they will take care of the customers. And nearly eight years into this fun business and thousands of brides, grooms, bridesmaids, groomsmen, mothers and fathers later, we can confidently say that our approach is working! Read our reviews, we are so proud. Voted Best of Bucks/Mont every year since opening. This is because of our employees a/k/a our team, our friends, our extended family.

Being a family business, we’ve established a lot of “family policies”. One of those policies that we instituted from the beginning is that we are closed on ALL major holidays, no exceptions. That kicks off with Thanksgiving AND Black Friday.

We’ve taken a lot of heat for not being open on Black Friday. Once a very emotional caller told us she “has NEVER heard of a retail store being closed on Black Friday”! Well, we are. Sorry, not sorry.

Our staff deserves time off with family and friends. The team here works incredibly hard. Anyone who has been to our store knows how crowded it gets and our employees rarely get a moment to sit down when they are here serving customers. The days are intense, fun, and often physically exhausting.

Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo's manager of tuxedos laying on the floor after a very busy day helping grooms and groomsmen choose their suits and tuxedos.
Joe, Tuxedo Manager, at the close of a typical Sunday

As with every year, and hopefully every day, we would like to express our gratitude our team for the immense effort they put into Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo and of course the dedication they show our brides and grooms. Especially this year – one of the most trying years on record.

Our industry is high emotion under normal circumstances, but the stress thrown at our couples in 2020 was way too much. We tried our best to help where we could and found that simply being nice was exactly what was needed, offering small acts of kindness to make it easier to cope.

In that spirit, we hope you will take some time to relax, reflect, and enjoy entering this holiday season.

As owners, we are committed to serving you whether the store is open or not. Our website permits an online chat directly with us. More conveniently, you can text our store telephone number at 215-491-8500 and we will personally respond to you, wherever we are. If you need us, reach out!

Darianna Bridal & Tuxedo owners taking a Christmas vacation in the historic center of Rome, Italy.
This is us: Wendy, Franco, Daria, & Deanna in our favorite place last Christmas – ROME!

We know that the holiday season is the most popular time of year for getting engaged. If an engagement ring is in your future, you can also make an online appointment with us even when we are closed. We keep adding and changing to stay fresh and fun, and can’t wait to show you!

Joe, Suzanne, Tori S, Shannon, Tori M, Jess, Marissa, Jenna, Courtney, and our Daria, THANK YOU. We wouldn’t be who we are or where we are without you.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and thank you for helping us survive this unusual year!

With gratitude, Wendy, Franco, Daria, & Deanna