Meet Hatice Sengul / Merryrose Goksen of Chandler, AZ

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hatice Sengul / Merryrose Goksen.

Hi Hatice and Merryrose, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started at Istanbul Girls’ Vocational High School at the age of 11. I studied all art branches there.

I graduated five years later. I then enrolled in Türkiye’s largest state-run fashion institute.

Three years later, I graduated with an A-plus grade.

I began my fashion career as a designer at a Turkish fashion company/ Istanbul.

Later, I opened my own fashion atelier in Istanbul with 10 employees. I gradually expanded my atelier.

I designed and sewed coats, suits, and especially wedding dresses in my atelier. I also prepared many special fashion shows in Istanbul.

I served very important and special individuals. Among these special individuals, I made a handcrafted silk Turkish caftan for the esteemed former First Lady, Mrs. Bush.

The thank-you letter Mrs. Bush sent from the White House still hangs on my wall.

I came to Arizona 10 years ago. Here, we opened our bridal store, Merryrose Bridal. My daughter and I continue to work together.

We also did several fashion shows after returning to Arizona. However, due to our busy schedules, we no longer have the opportunity to hold fashion shows.
We’ve decided to continue with Wedding Dress Alteration.
This isn’t just Alteration. Based on our clients’ requests, we modify the designs of the wedding dresses we receive or create new designs. We create the exact wedding dress design our clients dream of.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I can’t say it’s problem-free. We love what we do. Fabric is life for us. Look around. It’s hard to find a place without fabric. Even the chair you’re sitting on is probably faux leather or covered in fabric. Towels, curtains, sheets, everything is fabric. And people first learned to use fabric for protection.

We’ve always had a great relationship with fabric.
We never forget, and we always emphasize, that every bride, every wedding, every client is precious and important.
Our clients frequently share their wedding photos with us. And believe me, seeing them happy makes all our fatigue fade away.

We experience immense joy and excitement with every photo, every time. It’s an incredible feeling.

The biggest problem is

Cell phone photography. Some clients take photos of everything, especially when we’re doing alterations. Then, when they get home, they probably spend hours looking at these pictures and send us messages or calls.

Some messages:

Customer * My left side looks looser than my right. Is there a mistake?
Our answer- No, there isn’t. We’ve tried your right side and will match it to the left to make sure it’s even.

Customer* The fabric looks puffy on my back. Did you leave too much fabric there?
Our answer- No, we didn’t. You turned too much when taking the picture, and your dress turned too. That’s why the fabric looks puffy.

Customer* Why is the right side of my wedding dress longer and the left side shorter?
Our answer – If you remember, you weren’t wearing your right shoe when you took this picture.

Unfortunately, cell phone photos are a nightmare. Since none of them are professionally shot, the light effects and random shots only lead to misunderstandings.

When you look in the mirror with your own eyes, you already see the truth.

Another problem is the client not knowing what they want. Some people have a hard time visualizing what they want. Of course, understanding this can sometimes be challenging for us. But we help our clients with various options to satisfy them.

Very rarely, some brides are not happy when they wear the dress they see in the picture. This is because they don’t consider the difference in body shapes. Try the same dress on 10 different people; it will definitely look different. Pictures can be misleading. We try to explain this to our clients as much as possible. But explaining it is sometimes very difficult.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an artist, of course.
Sometimes I create my own designs.
But more often than, I’ve been tweaking the designs on the wedding dresses my clients bring me, adding new ideas to suit them.

I’m actually a designer and professional seamstress.
Of course, our hand embroidery and custom designs make our clients very happy. Our various lace appliqués and hand-beaded designs make our designs even more distinctive.

Sometimes, we create custom, hand-made veils to complement our clients’ wedding dresses. Brides can also design their own veils. We can use any lace, beading, or length they desire. We have a wide range of options.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’ve been sewing and designing professionally for many years. But first and foremost, I’m a human being. Frankly, I’m not a seamstress who makes many mistakes. But even if I make a small mistake, some clients can get aggressive, saying, “I paid, how could you make a mistake?”
Making mistakes, especially in sewing, isn’t a problem. It’s always possible to fix them. We’ll re-sew everything if necessary. But some brides can be quite irritable about this. They think that if you pay for alterations, the workshop only works for them. Yet, I’ve worked on perhaps more than 30 wedding dresses.
Some clients even look in the mirror and try to find faults. And if they find a small mistake, they’re happy.
Some brides, in particular, come with several people and ask for their opinions.
We don’t have much of a chance. Especially if they’ve used a sewing machine a few times, they suddenly think they’re a professional seamstress and offer unconscionable opinions.
In short, working with negative people is generally challenging.
The wedding dress’s design, desired alterations, and fabric type are all important factors in pricing. Therefore, we can’t give a price quote without seeing the dress. Sometimes people send pictures to ask for a price. However, pictures don’t show the details. Sometimes, it might be necessary to examine the inside of the dress or gown. Therefore, to avoid inaccurate pricing, we offer a free initial consultation. We determine what the client wants and provide a price. If they accept, we begin the process. We don’t offer surprise prices. Everything is finalized during the first meeting.
But another thing I’ve learned here, especially, is the lies people write about us because they’re trying to make Alterations but fail because they’re unprofessional and don’t know what they’re doing. They give us one star ratings as if they were our customers. We laugh about it a lot, and it shows how good and strong we truly are.
And our greatest strength is that we do this work truly professionally and know the job very well. In emergency situations, we can alter wedding dresses in just one night. This is a very common situation. When inexperienced people ruin wedding dresses, we create a miracle in one night to make brides happy. And we’re proud of it.

For us, just one night is enough. We know very well that those with no experience can only try alterations for a long time.
Despite everything, we absolutely understand how special and important the wedding day is. Our sole goal for all our brides is to make them happy. Our job is truly challenging, requiring patience. But as we said at the beginning, we love what we do. It’s definitely not a job you can do without love. That’s why all our brides leave happy. This is, of course, a result of our professionalism and diligent work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: merryrosebridal
• Facebook: Merryrose Bridal
• Other: https://www.google.com/maps/place/MERRYROSE+ALTERATION+%26+Dry+clean+available+for+Bridal.+TEXT+for+Appointment+!/@38.2173586,-171.584597,3z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x872b07769fa5216b:0xb684e9847a062d9e!8m2!3d46.423669!4d-129.9427086!16s%2Fg%2F11cm17trkd?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MTExOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Image Credits
Some of the pictures are our own fashion show pictures, and some of our handmade work and pictures that our clients have given us permission to share on social media.