Something Special Helps Brides Find Something New

Tradition calls for brides to wear something old, new, borrowed and blue on their wedding day. Most brides choose a wedding dress to satisfy the something new, and for 27 years brides have found the perfect dress at Something Special for Someone Special in Wyckoff.

Matriarch Irene Turrisi runs the family bridal salon with her daughters and Wyckoff residents Lisa Gilmore and Lynda Raymond in a welcoming building with a pink door on Everett Avenue.    

Something Special was originally a needlepoint and knitting shop in Wyckoff. 

“My husband became ill and told me it was time to think about running a business that could produce revenue for my future,” said Turrisi.

Turrisi’s three daughters did not have the best experience shopping for their wedding dresses.  

“The attention they received as brides-to-be was terrible. This is such a special time for a bride and her family, and the experience should be as perfect as the dress,” said Turrisi.    

With the help of daughter Denise Turrisi, an accountant, Something Special was reinvented as a bridal salon.  

“Personal attention was my number one priority. I had the skills of taking accurate measurements, understanding styles and dealing with the nuances of a woman’s body from the knitting shop and I was confident I could be successful with a bridal shop,” said Irene Turrisi.

According to Lisa Gilmore, the ladies shop the bridal markets in New York City twice a year. 

“We have the best time choosing gowns to showcase in the shop and just like brides we all have our individual tastes,” laughs Gilmore.  Among the brands are Lazaro, Eve of Milady, Blush, Demetrios and Allure.

Current bridal trends include ivory gowns, textured fabric, feathers or flowers instead of sequins and tight fitting dresses that show off a bride’s figure.   

“Some brides are selecting simple gowns and enhancing it with beaded belts at the waist,” said Gilmore.

It takes an average of six to eight months for a gown to arrive. A bride tends to spend an average of $1,500 to $2,000 on her gown. Something Special does not charge for alterations.

On a recent evening, the salon was crowded with brides-to-be searching for the perfect dress. Dayna Charalambous of Oradell tried on four gowns of various styles for her mother Cheryl. The March 2, 2012 bride-to-be kept returning to one dress in particular and finally took the plunge and purchased her gown. 

“They are just so nice here,” said Charalambous.

Lynda Raymond was helping Nicole Andrea of Washington Township try on some dresses and headpieces. Andrea had been to other shops in New Jersey and New York, but was impressed with Something Special. 

“They are so nice and friendly. I can tell they are good people here,” she observed.

“Brides may go to Kleinfeld’s because of the name but they don’t want that kind of hoopla,” said Gilmore. “Our personal touch and quality merchandise is the reason New Jersey and New York brides come here for their bridal fashions,“ she added.   

Joyce Gerocs of Parsippany purchased her gown at Something Special for her Sept. 10 wedding. She was back with her bridesmaids for their final fitting.

“They are wearing short dresses of clover and indigo,” according to Gerocs.

The average wedding party has returned to eight to 10 attendants. Plum and fuchsia are popular color choices for bridesmaid dresses, according to Raymond. Etiquette dictates the bride’s mother selects her color and style of the dress first. 

“The groom’s mother can choose her color but the length of her dress should match the bride’s mother,” said Raymond.

In addition to bridal gowns, Something Special for Someone Special offers bridal attendant, special occasion, mother and flower girl gowns, bridal jewelry, headpieces and veils. It recently began carrying the Sondra Roberts Collection of evening bags.

Something Special for Someone Special is located at 240 Everett Ave., Wyckoff. The phone number is 201-891-7219.