Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jack-Peter + Flor De Liz Guior. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jack-Peter + Flor de Liz, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Actually, it’s a pretty fun and interesting story!
We own two companies, Altered Bride (AB), and her sister, our original company, Flor De Liz Guior (FDL). Flor De Liz Guior was started in 2018, and we’re still building it up. As we were creating FDL, we were told to look into the bridal industry. Like a mockingbird chirping in our ear, we heard it a lot for a few years.
Here in Vegas there’s a great market for it, but we were apprehensive. We had already poured so much time, love, and effort into FDL that we were actually on the fence about starting a second company. These things take time, marketing, branding, getting started. It all takes time, and it takes effort that were already investing elsewhere.
But, the idea started taking a bit of shape one day, and Flor de Liz and I started talking about the possibility. One night, Flor de Liz wakes up, and it was like a eureka moment! She goes “I’ve got the name. Altered Bride!” It came to her in a dream.
We hit the ground running the next day. The name was available, and we approached the brand from how we approached FDL. We knew it would be worthwhile because at the end of the day, although there are a lot of bridal companies out here, they don’t necessarily make the bride feel special or unique.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Well, it actually started with Flor de Liz and her college experience. She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design. She worked hard, learned a lot, and when she graduated she wanted to take that knowledge and apply it to the real world. She interned for some companies and designers here in Vegas, and when all was said and done Flor de Liz realized she could do it. The amazing thing about her is her determination, and when she sets her mind to something she does it. It’s a great quality to have in a partner, something we have in common.
I, myself, was never truly one for fashion. I actually was working towards being in the comic book industry as an illustrator. When I left college I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go, what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be. I jumped onto FDL working in leather, and that’s where Flor de Liz and I adopted our signature style, which also translated into Altered Bride. Gorgeous designs mixed with alluring, well-crafted leather, by yours truly. That carries to AB in the sense that we try to pick quality designs that allow people to feel beautiful, sexy, and confident in themselves. When people aren’t buying our dresses like Pronovias, J. Andreatta, or Anne Marie, they can get our signature customs designs. One of a kind designs that you can’t get anywhere else in the world, like a custom avante garde, handmade corset in cream white that goes with a bespoke skirt and nine foot veil. We like pushing what we can do, and we always deliver.
Creating a unique experience for a client looking to get something they can’t get elsewhere is so important to us. Whether it’s quality alterations or buying a luxury dress, we wanted to be something you can’t really experience anywhere. From buying, to even walking in. Our shop is designed like our home – moody, aesthetic, soft, but edgy. And we care for our girls. In my opinion, I think our customer service is something special and intimate. We want our brides to feel loved, heard, and respected. They are, after all, why we do what we do.
How’d you meet your business partner?
This is a great story, and one I’m proud of!
Flor de Liz and I have known each other since we were twelve. I met her in 2007, just after my pop passed away. My best friend lived next door to her, and they were good friends. Flor de Liz has two brothers, and my friend has a little sister, so the five of them would hang out and spend time together. Thankfully, when he introduced me to Flor de Liz and her brothers they accepted me into their group!
We grew up together, spending our weekends together, the five of us. Sometimes we’d even spend summers together. Flor de Liz’s parents are so sweet, and they often opened their home to us. Flor de Liz and I always knew there was something there, even as kids. You can’t really define love, especially that young, but we both knew, without saying it, that we would play big roles in each other’s lives.
When we were 16 or so, we finally admitted that we liked each other, having crushes on one another. It was blatantly obvious to the world, but apparently we never noticed, or perhaps were scared to admit it. But, we finally started dating. When I was about 17 1/5 or so I asked her to marry me. She said yes, of course (how could she not??). When the time was right, we got married. Funny enough, we got married at 18, between my junior and senior year of high school. So, I was married in my senior year of high school, aha. It was a shocker, but it’s always felt right. We’ll be married 12 years this August, and we’re actually expecting our first child, a beautiful daughter.
Our marriage has always been of one of openness – in communication, honesty, and we emphasize laughter. We don’t take this life too seriously. We are still madly in love with one another, and we literally spend every day, almost all day, together. We can’t get enough of each other. It’s because we’ve accepted that we’d grow over the years, and accepted that the person we married will always be changing, and essentially becoming someone new, and that we were more or less kids when we said yes. Of course with that comes change and growth! Accepting your partner for who they are, completely, and understanding they’ll change…that’s how we have such a solid relationship.
We approach our brand like we approach our personal lives and marriage, and I think that shows in how we do business, because they’re ultimately one and the same.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
We actually have a fresh story.
When we started Altered Bride we started with just us, and our Master Tailor, Maria. She’s fantastic at what she does and is, quite literally, one of the best in Las Vegas. It has given us a quick reputation of being able to tackle any requests or task at hand.
With that, Maria broke her ankle a few weeks ago. Not only that, she needs to get surgery. Thankfully she’ll be okay, and don’t fret, she’ll be back in action sooner rather than later, but with that, she isn’t available.
With such a sudden change in how we do our work, we quickly needed to find someone new, and do just as good a job. So with these past few weeks we’ve been running around, having to help Maria finish these jobs. We sent out a job opening, and we found someone amazing! Jasmine, our new tailor from New York with that NY personality that reminds me of home (my family is from Brooklyn). Thankfully she was able to take these jobs and complete them beautifully, and take on new clients with the confidence that we can still carry the reputation we’ve garnered.
Being able to think on your feet, and have open conversation with your partner (in this case my life partner), is integral to being able to making sure your business runs smoothly, especially in moments where you need results fast without compromising your standards.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Alteredbridelv.com
- Instagram: alteredbridelv
- Facebook: alteredbride
- Twitter: Alteredbride
- Yelp: Altered Bride
Image Credits
Photo of the leather corset is by @tohaveher, and images in our shop by me @guiorstudio