Some people say that finding the perfect wedding gown may be an even better feeling than getting married itself. When you take into account the process of searching for one, that could very well be true. After all, it isn’t possible to land on the right dress on the first try. Every bride has heard similar horror stories: they would need to begin searching—or tailoring—a dress more than a year before the wedding, or that they wouldn’t be able to find the perfect dress until they’ve tried on at least a hundred. The search for the dress has been so romanticised, some even bring their bridal party with them for a Say Yes to the Dress session.
However, most—if not all—brides will tell you after the wedding that choosing the right dress is a deeply personal affair. More often than not, brides are coaxed into picking something that perhaps wasn’t even something they liked, because someone else preferred that option. Did they even know what they wanted in the first place? Are there even options for wedding dresses that aren’t outdated in this part of the world? Could their vision even be realised in the first place?
That was Ang Jinyuan’s personal woes following her own wedding. She founded The Ivory, a luxury bridal shop stocking a wide array of designer gowns a year after her wedding. “When reflecting upon my own wedding gown journey after wrapping up my wedding, I realised that there was a noticeable gap in the market for modern bridal options compared to more traditional styles. And having already spent a few years running an occasion-wear rental platform, it felt like a natural next step to expand into bridal,” she shares with GRAZIA Malaysia. The goal, she says, was to offer elevated, contemporary options to modern brides while doubling as a platform for brides to obtain wedding and styling advice. While most brides would already have an inkling of what they’re looking for, they sometimes need a second—professional—opinion to steer them towards the right direction.
At The Ivory, the bride’s word is as good as gold. “We always start by getting to know each bride on a personal level—from understanding her vision, style preferences, and the mood she wants to evoke on her special day,” explains Ang. “These are especially important in ensuring that we can recommend gowns that will align with the bride’s personality, while introducing options she might not have considered but could fall in love with.” And it’s the satisfaction of seeing brides fall in love with their dresses that keeps Ang fueled. “It is incredibly heartwarming to see our curation of gowns loved and appreciated by brides. Witnessing their genuine joy and excitement makes all our hard work and efforts worthwhile, especially knowing that our curation helped bring their vision to life,” she gushes.
In fact, Ang remembers the first bride who cried tears of joy at The Ivory. She came into the store feeling lost, not really knowing what kind of gown she wanted. After working with the bride to deduce some preferences, Ang and her team got to narrowing down potential options. “When she finally found the perfect gown she knew was the one, she burst into tears immediately,” Ang reminisces. “It was a very heartfelt, emotional moment for all of us.”
That said, Ang cautions against couples feeling overly pressured to create the “perfect” wedding. All too often, couples think that the wedding day is the single most important day of their lives and stress themselves out, making them too anxious to enjoy the special day. These feelings, Ang tells us, can trickle down to their guests and potentially cause tension during the wedding itself. Stress and anxiety during wedding planning are inevitable, but she says the most important thing is to keep this in mind: “I think celebrating one’s union surrounded by all your loved ones is one of the most special things about weddings. For many, it is possibly the only time all the people you hold dear in your life will be present in the same space—filled with love, joy, and excitement. That kind of moment doesn’t come around often, and that makes weddings so incredibly special as well.”
Photography: Ng Joe Ee
Creative Direction: Joseph Cheng
Producer: Lorraine Chai
Hair: Zac Lee
Makeup: Eranthe Loo
Photography Assistant: David Ong
Styling Assistant: Sarah Chong
Styling Intern: Adrianna Haris
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