Naperville Bridal Boutique Celebrates Anniversary With Giveaway

NAPERVILLE, IL — When Sue Cerulli first decided to celebrate her Naperville bridal shop’s 13th birthday last year by giving away wedding gowns to front-line and essential workers, she feared no one would respond to the offer.

Instead, the owner of Bri’Zan Couture bridal boutique received thousands of online nominations for deserving brides-to-be, 26 of whom ended up receiving a free wedding dress valued at between $2,000 and $3,000 as part of the giveaway.

The experience was so rewarding that Cerulli is again celebrating her shop’s anniversary with another gown giveaway. This year, 14 women who have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer or are currently in treatment or remission will be selected to receive free wedding gowns. Cerulli will donate 14 more dresses to Brides Against Breast Cancer, which will sell the dresses to brides at heavily discounted prices.

The giveaway will begin on Tuesday and will continue throughout March as the Naperville small business owner continues to find ways to give back to a community that has been so supportive during her time in the community. Submissions for possible gown recipients will be collected through March 14.

The boutique is located at 827 N. Washington St. in Naperville.

For Cerulli, the process of reading the stories of the women nominated to receive the free gowns often becomes emotional. This year, with the shop owner knowing so many family members and friends who have been directly affected by breast cancer, the ability to help brighten the wedding day of these women makes what she does on a daily basis even more meaningful.

“This is something that is very special to me,” Cerulli told Patch on Monday. “The fact I have been blessed in my business and in the growth of my business that I can give back ….just really gave me a different perspective on life and how important it is to give back in every which way.”

Cerulli expected last year’s gown giveaway to be a one-time event. But once she saw the response that came and the friendships that blossomed out of the event, Cerulli became convinced that she needed do it again as a way of celebrating her shop's March 1 anniversary.

It will now become an annual event with a different group of brides-to-be receiving the free gowns each year.

The Naperville bridal boutique’s motto is “Your Day, Your Dress” which takes into account how much of a role the wedding gown plays in the special day of the woman who wears it. The fact Bri’Zan Couture provides these dresses to women at no cost is sometimes hard to fathom for the brides-to-be, many of whom wonder what catch is attached.

But with no strings attached or gimmick associated with the giveaway, the experience of women coming into the local shop to be fitted for their gown often becomes a tearful trip —both for the recipient and for Cerulli.

“I’m so proud of these women and so proud of them and the fight that they have gone through and the fight that they continue to fight,” she told Patch. “It’s heart-warming.”

She added: “A wedding is something every woman dreams of since she is a little girl. She has dreamed what the start to the end of this day is going to be like and the fact you throw a wrench of someone being diagnosed with breast cancer or having to fight the fight of breast cancer, it’s so rewarding to be able to say to someone, ‘You survived, I’m proud of you’ and not only have they survived the fight, but they’re here to enjoy the most special day of their life. I want to be a part of that.”

Because of the number of responses she receives, Cerulli selects the recipients of the free gowns by lottery. To be considered for a free grown, written submissions can be entered hereas the shop will continue to accept nominations for two more weeks.

Brides-to-be who were recently diagnosed with breast cancer, who are currently in treatment or are in remission are eligible for the giveaway. Special orders, alterations and accessories are not included.

Now on her second gown giveaway and almost three years into the coronavirus pandemic when small businesses have been hit hard by restrictions and COVID-19 hardships, Cerulli said she is grateful to be in a position to continue the gown giveaway and to continue making the day of brides-to-be.

“My customers are our backbone,” Cerulli said Monday. “If it’s not for them, we wouldn’t be here. We’re a small business and we’ve grown off of referrals and the fact that we’re still here, still standing, still surviving, we’re a survivor, too, in a different way. And as long as I can survive, I will continue to give back any which way I can give back.”