Hello friends!
My name is Sonia but my friends call me Sonny. I live in Perth, Western Australia with my family and two shaggy sheepdogs. My journey to elope maybe wasn't the most "traditional" -- I didn't study fashion in uni or always have a burning desire to create the perfect little white dress. Rather, I started out in hospitality!
Prior to elope, I ran a neighbourhood fine dining restaurant in East Perth. Inspired by the lovely little bistros you find scattered around France, it was built on the idea of providing a bit of romance and a whole lot of good food and wine to my local community.
Over the years, I hosted countless weddings at my restaurant. Being a spot that was all about food and laughs, I was so amazed at some of the dresses — on what should be a super fun day, I saw brides struggle to walk, eat, and relax!
When my own wedding came around, I knew I needed something food and drink friendly. (Full disclosure, this was my second wedding. I'd done the big, wear once, exxy gown the first time and knew that I didn't want that again.) We were having a causal picnic wedding, and I wanted a dress with a loose and forgiving waistband, that felt fun and sexy, was affordable, and could style other ways to wear again after the big day.
This was before online shopping really took off in Australia, so I looked at all my local stores and couldn't find this perfect mini dream. Nor did I have the time to make my own. So I settled on a long beautiful dress that was was magical and I felt special.... but it was expensive and it got completely trashed on the day as it bucketed with rain and I never wore it again. 😔
Life took over for a few years. I sold my restaurant, we welcomed my son into our life, and I thoroughly enjoyed being a stay at home mum. But as any stay at home mum knows, there are lulls between naps and my brain kept returning to the little white dress.
I began sketching and sourcing help with pattern making and construction. It was important to me that my dresses were made in Perth, and I was so lucky to find Katie at Textile Lab — she was able to take my sketches and turn them into my reality. It has been so great in the years since then to meet and work with a local team to grow and thrive together 💖 Looking ahead, I hope to be able to continue producing locally and one day explore some interesting international techniques and fabrics.
Inspired by my experiences, all my dresses are food and booze friendly and are an homage to bars and restaurants in Perth. If you look closely at the product pages, each comes with a little food and wine pairing 🥂
Inspired by my son, a portion of the sale for each dress goes to a little charity called Little things for Tiny Tots. They do amazing work giving boxes of newborn baby things to new mothers who may be impacted by domestic violence, homelessness, mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction and a variety of other issues. I like knowing that the little white dress that gives you joy on your wedding day is also bringing comfort to the most vulnerable babies in WA.
If you want to know more about any of our processes, have a great idea for fabrics or techniques, or just want to say hi, please reach out via hello@elopebridal.com.au
One love x