WATCH OUT: Bridezillas come to Brooklyn

Atlantic Avenue to showcase ‘All Things Wedding’

May 29, 2013 By Lore Croghan Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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The Bridezillas are coming to Atlantic Avenue – and merchants say the more the merrier.

Dozens of shop owners on the Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill retail corridor are gladly gearing up for an onslaught of fiercely fussy brides-to-be at a June 1 event showcasing their wares.

“We’re looking to get the secret out that Atlantic Avenue is the place to come for all things wedding,” Boerum Hill gown designer Michelle Fields told the Brooklyn Eagle.

She’ll be serving up champagne and cupcakes to visitors at Michelle New York Brides during the day-long Atlantic Avenue Wedding Extravaganza.

Fields, whose bridal gowns are $795 to $5,000, said stressed-out brides-to-be will find the vibe soothing on the avenue. It has three wedding-dress shops – whose owners don’t get an attitude when customers comparison-shop before saying yes to the dress.

“It’s calm; it’s relaxed,” Fields said. “The Brooklyn bride wants things on her terms. “There’s no Manhattan-style pressure. She can try on dresses, take photos, go to the other bridal shops – and take her time.”

The first-ever event, organized by the Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District, will include mock weddings at Roulette, where the wedding scene from the film “Prizzi’s Honor” was filmed.

One couple in the mock weddings will be heterosexual, the other lesbian – in a tip of the hat to New York’s 2011 legalization of same-sex marriage.

There will be an open-air fashion show on Boerum Place. Puppies dressed in wedding gear will parade at Adam Yauch Playground.

“Atlantic Avenue merchants are experts at dealing with weddings – they understand you want it 100% perfect,” BID executive director Josef Szende said. “If that means revising things 20 different times, they’re there for you.”

At vegan eatery M.O.B. Restaurant, assistant manager Kamilya Copney is eager to win bridal business – but a wee bit nervous about the mass influx of Bridezillas that’s expected on June 1.

“I’m a little scared – I’m not gonna lie,” she said with a smile. “I know they demand the best. But we will give it to them. Our staff is really passionate about what we do.”

Debra Hare-Bey of Red Room Luxe Salon @ OMHH also hopes the BID’s bridal event brings her more bridal customers – Bridezillas included.

“After 25 years in the business there’s nothing you can say to me that will ruffle my feathers,” said Hare-Bey, who specializes in braids, twists, locks, curls and all types of textured hair. “I can calm any Bridezilla there is.”

Bacchus Bakery will feed the crowds cupcakes on the big day.

“We love brides,” said pastry chef Brenda Castellanos. “Crazy or not, we love them all.”

See the Atlantic Avenue BID’s website – www.atlanticavebid.org/happenings – for more info on the Atlantic Avenue Wedding Extravaganza.