ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601230020
SECTION: YOUR WEDDING PAGE: YW-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX
Walk into Amrhein's Brides, Formals and Fine Jewelry in either Salem or their Ogden Road location, and you will be walking into a unique concept in the wedding industry: a full-service facility that offers jewelry, formal and bridal wear, a photographer and a travel agency, as well as limousine service.
The business started with a jewelry manufacturing company owned by Fred Amrhein in Baltimore prior to World War I. Amrhein eventually moved to Roanoke, and in 1921 established the first Amrhein's, still a jewelry manufacturing concern, on Campbell Avenue.
Thirty-five years later, present owner Russ Amrhein's father and Uncle Oliver moved the business to Kirk Avenue and opened it as a retail jewelry store. The business kept growing and moving.
Brenda Bower, Director of Operations, said the comprehensive bridal service concept evolved from a natural progression of engagement rings to wedding bands. They simply didn't want to miss all the opportunities that fell in between.
"It was to be the ultimate service,'' she said. Russ Amrhein, grandson of the original owner and president of the business, said he doesn't know of another business quite like theirs.
"I've had people call me as far away as Louisiana, asking if I can tell them how to do what we do,'' said Bower. "We do it all except go down the aisle for them.''
Amrhein's has a bridal manager and consultant - Ann Blevins; an arrangement with Martin Travel, and an employee working for Amrhein's in the travel agent capacity; a florist; and a photographer. You can order your wedding invitations through them and you can even finance your wedding through them if you desire.
Amrhein said it took customers in their market area, which stretches from Greensboro to Covington and Princeton, W.Va., to Charlottesville, a while to realize "they can come to one store and get everything done. No matter what your price is, there's always someone who says they can do it for less. The main thing is, you're dealing with a person, and when something goes wrong, you call one person," he said.
Bower pointed out that Amrhein's offers a team of support all united and working toward one goal - your wedding - and therefore the bride doesn't have the headache of coordinating arrangements or the nightmare of realizing the florist and the photographer hate working together. In addition, Amrhein's knows the financial parameters and the general look a bride is after. "It helps to make the wedding go smoother,'' said Blevins.
Blevins came on board in August 1992 with retail boutique experience, but no bridal background. Amrhein said this was intentional and to their advantage.
Blevins wasn't set in her ways, and therefore was open to a fresh approach in bridal marketing. Looking back over the last three years, she and Amrhein agree that the one thing they may have done differently is change a few of the product lines, since Roanoke is a little more conservative than they anticipated. But that doesn't stop them from making plans for the coming year.
Their Odgen Road location, said Amrhein, has plenty of room for a bridal registry section featuring flatware, crystal, china and gifts. He's considering adding this to their services in 1997.
Services is the key word, because that's what they are into. Bridal gowns are pressed twice - once for the portrait, and then stored and repressed for the big day. Same with bridesmaids' gowns. Alterations are done on-site, and hemming is no charge. For the bride who lets Amrheins take care of all her bridal arrangements, they offer free limo service for the wedding.
If you have a small jewelry operation being squeezed out by the big discount places, said Amrhein, then this concept works well. It generates traffic and sells what the larger places can't: service.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: TIM TREVILIAN. 1. Russ Amrhein, grandson of the originalby CNBowner and president, said he doesn't know of another business quite
like Amrhein's Brides, Formals and Fine Jewelry. 2. Brenda
Bower/Director of Operations.