Fan Appreciation Wedding Gown Giveaway - Winner

On March 19th, 2012 we announced the winner of our Fan Appreciation Wedding Gown Giveaway! The lucky winner was Stephanie D. from Illinois. Stephanie shared the following with us:

Matthew and I met on accident, someone we knew introduced us and we hit it off. I came into the situation making a new friend, he came in wondering if I was the one. He tells me to this day that he would have proposed to me on our second date if he knew it wouldn’t scare me away. Over the last 19 months he has become my best friend and I couldn’t imagine life without him. 

Matthew proposed to me on October 17, 2011 in the most romantic surprise I could have imagined. He hung a sign from the ceiling that he made saying all of the reasons he loved me, just below it there were a dozen red roses, I turned to him and he held open a necklace box with a necklace I had saw a few days earlier and wanted to buy, he placed the necklace on my neck and told me to look in the mirror to see if I liked how it looked, hanging there was my engagement ring. I started crying and screaming yes, yes, yes, not even giving him a second to actually propose. 

I am a full time student as well as having 3 part time jobs. I love to volunteer even though I am very busy, I am an aid for an after school program, I am a tutor for adult literacy, a “wish granter” for Make-A-Wish Foundation, a peer mentor, as well as other volunteer work I do. During any free time I have left, I love to paint ceramics and have been working on planning Matthew and my wedding. 

Matthew is in the Army National Guard and also works full time at his civilian job. He loves to read and has started painting ceramics with me. When he has time, he also volunteers with me. 

This fall we are moving because I will be transferring schools and starting my B.S. degree program in psychology. I chose Psychology because I want to help people, I wanted to be someone that people feel comfortable talking to as well as someone who can offer advice. 

Why we need this: We both work hard to serve others and to ensure other people are growing, safe, and happy. I want to be the beautiful bride Matthew deserves on our wedding day. Right now, with the cost of my schooling, normal household bills, recent medical bills, and soon to be moving cost we will never be able to afford the dress of my dreams.

So please Bonny Bridal help my January 26, 2013 wedding dreams become a reality.  

We had hundreds of entries on our Facebook Fan page and we want to thank everyone who  entered and shared their stories with us! We read all of your touching stories, your funny stories and we even got a few chuckles from GROOMS who entered to win the wedding gown of their choice to surprise their wives-to-be! We appreciate all of our fans...and we are so grateful to all of you for sharing your lives and loves with us! 


Stay tuned! Our stunning Fall 2012 Collection will be coming to a store near you soon...and we will have another wedding gown giveaway to celebrate the new collection until then...CONGRATS to Stephanie! We can't wait to see what gown she chooses for her January 26th wedding to Matthew!

Sneak Peek - Fall 2012

We are always happy when we get to share sneak peeks with you! It's exciting when a new collection is coming out! This coming Fall we are introducing a couple new colors and I can't wait for our brides to see them in person! They are GORGEOUS! 


Style 8208 will be featured in a Cappuccino color. This special color will be exclusive to our Essence Couture collection and will be available for style 8211 as well. Style 8212 is going to be featured in our Antique color.


In the Bonny Classic Collection, we are introducing a new color called Light Taupe. Oh my. It's BEAUTIFUL!! This Light Taupe color will be exclusive to our Bonny Classic Collection and is featured on styles: 224 and 225.


Here are a few gowns that will be coming out in the Fall (available in our retail stores around June)

The Fall 2012 collection focus is ROMANCE! You can feel the subtle flow in the dresses - they are soft, feminine and truly romantic for your special day! 

Check it out: Bonny Bridal style 215 is on the Bridal Guide May/June Cover!

We were just given the green light to share some EXCITING news with all of our friends and fans! Style 215 from the Bonny Classic Collection is the cover gown for the May/June 2012 issue of Bridal Guide Magazine!

Style 215 is simply dramatic with its asymmetrically pleated lace-up bodice made from Organza. An encrusted rhinestone beaded lace applique adorns the hip before the eye moves to the textural skirt. Layers and layers of raw edged organza are hand draped into a swirling floral pattern texturizing the skirt and train. 

Get to know Bonny Bridal

We had a little Friday Funday Giveaway pop up on the blog today! We asked brides to answer a few simple questions about Bonny Bridal and now we wanted to share the answers with every one...and give a little bit more detail:


1. If your local Bonny retail salon doesn't have the dress you want in their store - how can you see the dress, try it on and fall in love with it - in person??
The Borrow a Bonny program! What is the Borrow a Bonny program? It's a unique way that we open up our ENTIRE inventory to our retail partners...and our brides! If we have it in stock, you can see it in person - BEFORE you buy! This is a great program (and it's been around for over 12 years!). Our retail partners can not carry every single gown we make (it would be nice but, simply not realistic). Each season we make "sample" sets of all our gowns. They are used in our catalog photo shoots, trunk shows at your local retail stores, etc. Our sample sizes are usually a size 6 or 8 and in our plus sizes 16w. Since every one doesn't fit our sample size, if there is a dress you really want to see and we have it in stock in your size and color choice we send it out to the store! You can buy the dress right then and there or...in the (rare) chance you don't like the gown, your local Bonny retailer can return it to us. Our most common question about this program is: Is there a fee? The answer is: Yes. Each store can determine how much they charge but, we do charge our stores a fee and our stores do have to pay shipping back and forth for the gowns to be sent to them. We do encourage our stores to credit you the fee or the shipping charges if you decide to buy the gown but, it's optional. We also encourage stores to provide the bride a store credit, should she decide not to purchase the gown. There are A LOT of items you are going to need for your wedding, which you will purchase from your local bridal salon so, it is a win-win we think! If you are a bride, make sure you discuss the Borrow program with your local Bonny retailer!

2. How far in advance should you order your Bonny Bridal gown?
Our standard shipping time is approximately 4 months...or 16 weeks. We do offer a rush service (for an additional fee) but, we would love to have brides order their dress at least 6 months in advance of their wedding date. The reason for this is because our ship dates are not exact! We can not predict delays in getting the gowns from our factory, weather delays in shipping from Fed Ex and a host of other things that might delay your gown getting to you. We have never missed a wedding date but, there have been a couple of nail biters during our almost 30 years in business! We think that if you give yourself 6 months to order your gown you are ensuring yourself a stress-free experience! Your gown will come in, you will have time to match up all your pretty accessories to it and have enough time to alter it for a perfect fit. We realize that sometimes girls plan a wedding in less than 6 months (oh how do you do it???) so we do carry stock in our most popular gowns for immediate delivery and we offer our rush shipping time to accommodate you!

3. If you see a Bonny Bridal gown on a website that offers you a super, duper unbelievably low price that seems to good to be true...should you order it?
No! No! No! We can not tell you how many times we get emails from brides AFTER they have ordered their wedding gown from these knock-off sites and they are so upset about the quality of the gown or not getting a gown AT ALL! We hate getting these emails! Please, do not buy from sites that claim to sell our gowns when, in fact, they have just stolen our pictures, pasted them up on a site and have you think that you are getting the gown you see on their webpage. We give you a list of our AUTHORIZED retail locations on our website, we tell you where NOT TO BUY FROM on our Facebook page and we always encourage you to contact us first, if you have questions. It's always better to be safe than sorry! Shop local! This is your special day...and it only happens once! Don't let these sites fool you and ruin it. Visit your local Bonny retailer...soak up the experience of being a bride and make sure you get the gown you really want!

4. Do we sell other dresses...besides wedding gowns? Could your mom and maids find dresses made from Bonny Bridal? How about your little sister who is going to Prom?
We sure do! We love all the dresses we make and we hope to share them all with you! We have our Special Occasion collection that has affordable dresses for your maids and moms, we have our Quinceanera Collection and we have our popular Mystique prom collection. We even have a Pageant Collection called the Crown Collection


5. Name our FOUR bridal collections
We offer 4 distinct bridal collections. They all have their own unique features but, the one thing they all have in common is that they are affordable, gorgeous and all made with our brides in mind! We get a lot of feedback from our brides and our retail stores about what their brides are looking for and when we design our gowns we take all that feedback into account! We love hearing from you and we love making gowns that you love:


Essence - this is our Couture Collection. Within this collection you will find special, unique fabrics not used in our other collections. You will find different beads and the style has a European feel to it. 
Bonny Classic - this is the collection that started our company almost 30 years ago! We remain true to it's name: Classic - traditional bridal gowns with a modern flair. 
Unforgettable - our plus size collection that starts at size 16w. This collection is our award winning collection because we have paid special details to what our curvy customers need: we have enhanced the bust line, brought up the arm holes and paid special attention to designs that flatter the plus size figure!
Bliss - our collection of modest gowns. With Bliss you will not give up style just because you want or need a modest gown. Bliss gowns can be modified (neckline and sleeve changes) to fit your needs. Young, fresh with just the right amount of coverage...that is Bliss!


Thank you for taking the time to learn about us - and what makes us unique. It's our brides, it's our retailers, it's what we are about...YOU! 

Friday Funday - It's a Giveaway too!

So, we want to have a little Friday Funday...and it's a great way for you to get to know a little bit more about Bonny Bridal! Simply respond to this post with your answers. All of the answers have been posted before on our Facebook Fan Page, our website or right here on the Bonny Bridal Blog! Everyone who answers the questions correctly will go into a random drawing where one lucky winner will be randomly chosen. The Friday Funday Giveaway will close at 7pm PST!!


Here are the questions:
1. If your local Bonny retail salon doesn't have the dress you want in their store - how can you see the dress, try it on and fall in love with it - in person??
2. How far in advance should you order your Bonny Bridal gown?
3. If you see a Bonny Bridal gown on a website that offers you a super, duper unbelievably low price that seems to good to be true...should you order it?
4. Do we sell other dresses...besides wedding gowns? Could your mom and maids find dresses made from Bonny Bridal? How about your little sister who is going to Prom?
5. Name our FOUR bridal collections


What will you win? Well, we are so thrilled to share with you Heartfelt by Lisa Leonard. The lucky winner will get a beautiful necklace from the Heartfelt Collection by Lisa Leonard, that we pick for her! 

Heartfelt is a collection designed by Lisa Leonard exclusively for retail stores. We carry the Heartfelt collection in our flagship retail store. 

We have been touched by Lisa's story - and how her company came to be and we love to support others - especially women who inspire us (in her own words): 

"i have been making jewelry since high school but i decided to get serious after my first son, david, was born. i wanted to start a small business that would enable me to quit my job and stay home with my boys. at the time, i had never taken any formal classes or received special training in jewelry making. i just went for it! i am kind of the "jump in and learn as you go" type. creating jewelry not only allowed me to work from home, but has connected me with so many amazing women along the way.

my desire is to create simple, lovely pieces that can be worn with jeans or your little black dress. i want each piece to be meaningful. our custom jewelry is hand-stamped with your kids' names or a special phrase or verse. i love to touch my necklace throughout the day and reflect on my husband and my sweet boys.

each piece we create is a work of art—hand cut;hammered, polished, drilled and assembled with care. i am inspired by other artists—painters, scrapbookers, clothing designers and poets. i also love to soak up nature-the sky, the sea, the green hills. i let all these ideas and images swirl around in my mind and then i create. when an idea hits me i sketch it out and play until the perfect design comes together.

lisa leonard designs exists because moms, grandmas and friends have shared our designs with each other while waiting in line at the grocery store or sipping coffee with a friend. most of our customers find us through word of mouth. we know that you'll find the perfect piece."

It's a party on our page! Fan Appreciation Wedding Gown Giveaway

It's party time! We want to thank all of our fans for "liking" us...we've hit a major milestone - 10,000 fans on our Facebook Fan Page and to celebrate we are having a giveaway! 

The giveaway is SIMPLE!

1. Click here to go to the CONTEST PAGE

2. Enter the information requested on the form

3. On the TITLE please submit your Wedding Date

4. The ESSAY portion can be used for you to share info about your big day

That's it. Easy. There is some official business we have to attend to though: Only residents of the US and Canada can be entered to win. You also must be 18 years of age, or older. Your wedding date must be AFTER September 2012. To read the complete rules you can click here. To find out how we use (and protect) your information click here to read our Privacy Policy. 

This giveaway will run until March 18, 2012

The winner will be selected March 19, 2012 - the winner will have 60 days to order her wedding gown from any of our 4 bridal collections.

GOOD LUCK....and thank you for being our FAN! 

You might "like" us but, we love you all! 

You make our job fun, interesting and rewarding!