Mother-daughter team opens new SLO County bridal shop in ‘a sweet town filled with love’
San Luis Obispo County’s newest wedding shop seeks to offer a calm, comfortable environment for would-be brides.
“The moment of picking out a special dress should be relaxed, with no pressure,” said Crystal Reynoso, who’s teamed up with her mom, Gail Reynoso, to launch A Little Love Bridal by the Sea boutique in Cambria. “It should be filled with romance, not stress.”
The Reynosos will hold a soft opening for their new shop, located at 2450 Main St. next to the Olallieberry Inn, on Nov. 10.
The mother-daughter team will celebrate the store’s grand opening on Dec. 17.
“When it’s a quality shop with good inventory and selection, brides often are willing to travel quite a distance,” Gail Reynoso said.”
Why mom, daughter chose Cambria as location for bridal shop
The Reynosos bring a lot of personal experience to their new enterprise.
Crystal Reynoso, 43, has spent about 13 years in the bridal industry, doing everything from venue management and wedding coordinating to wedding day makeup and trunk shows for designers.
Her 61-year-old mother is a retired Realtor and partner in a doctor’s office
Gail Reynoso said she’s been sewing “since I was about 4.”
“We made all our own clothes, everything but the underwear,” she said. “My parents were so supportive. They never once came home and said ‘What’s all this mess on the dining table?’ We had a sewing machine on one end and yards of fabric all over the table.”
Reynoso not only made her own prom dress and wedding dress, she also made them for other women and girls.
Her specialty is christening dresses. “I love making memories,” she said.
When Reynoso and her daughter began thinking about launching a bridal boutique, they immediately thought of the North Coast community where their family has vacationed for three generations.
“Cambria was the ideal spot,” Gail Reynoso said. “With the ocean, great restaurants and wonderful, kind people, it’s known as a great destination.”
“The ambiance of Cambria is ‘Come here, be welcomed in a loving, encouraging place,” she added. “It made us feel instantly like this is where we should be.”
Crystal Reynoso said she and her mother have already begun networking with others on the local wedding scene.
“We’re so in love with the Old Santa Rosa Chapel” in Cambria, she said, and have reached out to other Central Coast providers.
Although Gail Reynoso still lives in the mid-Sierra area and commutes to the Central Coast, She has land and beloved old horses that she doesn’t want to move this late in their lives.
Reynoso mentioned another reason that she and her mom picked Cambria as the location for A Little Love: She wants to bring up her 8-year-old son, Sloan Reynoso, there.
“I was raised at the beach” in the Laguna Beach area, Crystal Reynoso explained. “I wanted Sloan to grow up in a small, safe, quaint town where he’d be able to enjoy being a child, a sweet town filled with love where I can also get back to doing some meaningful community service work that matters.”
Although Reynoso has made the move to Cambria, her mother still lives in the mid-Sierra area — where she has land and beloved old horses that doesn’t want to move this late in their lives —and commutes to the Central Coast.
As the shop’s website says, “When you visit A Little Love Bridal, we want you to experience the absolute beauty of our enchanted village. It’s hard to not fall in love with Cambria.”
New store offers wedding gowns, prom dresses
In addition to wedding dresses and flower girl outfits, A Little Love By the Sea Bridal will offer veils, capes, jewelry and more.
A Little Love will host a trunk show by Italian designer Eddy K. from Nov. 11 to Jan. 4, with three different collections featured at various times.
Other featured wedding wear designers are Meghan Johnson of Love, Lillian Bridal Couture in Scottsdale and Anna Sposa from the Ukraine.
A Little Love will showcase gowns in many sizes and silhouettes, with prices ranging rrom $700 for off-the-rack dresses to $2,000 and up for custom-designed creations.
Some dresses appropriate for proms, quinceaneras and other special occasions will also be available seasonally.
Custom gowns can take an average of 10 weeks from order to delivery, but some orders take far longer, so the Reynosos advise their brides to select their designs as early in the process as possible.
Gown modifications are also available.
Crystal Reynoso said one bride wanted them to modernize her mother’s dress.
Other brides have asked about incorporating pieces of family heirloom wedding dresses into their own gowns.
A Little Love Bridal also will offer wedding coordination and other services.
“If brides need a meeting space for wedding consultations, we can arrange that, too,” Reynoso said.
“We want to do whatever we can to help create a memorable day for our brides, a wonderful experience,” Gail Reynoso said. “It’s so nice to be part of helping to make that happen.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
