Inspiring Conversations with Amber Silva of Jaxon James

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Silva.

Amber, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I get asked a lot if I always dreamed of owning a bridal salon – or if I dreamed of wedding dresses ever since I was little. The answer is definitely no. To be honest, I was an overwhelmed 18 year old with no clue where to go in life. Fortunately, through college and work experience, my skills for management and events began to shine. I started in the wedding industry when I was 23 as an event planner. I fell in love with weddings and grew my business to be one of the top event planning companies in the SF Bay Area. After several years of taking our brides to their shopping appointments, I began to notice that bridal salons were two extremes. Couture bridal – in what was a very judgmental and stuffy atmosphere. Or, a small mom and pop store that wasn’t exactly the elegant experience brides dreamed of, but they offered excellent service and made our brides feel welcome. This is when the idea was born that the San Francisco Bay Area needed a salon that offered both. Couture, exclusive designs, but in a welcoming environment where any bride would feel comfortable shopping. A place where they could touch and feel the fabrics and would be allowed to try on gowns outside of their budget if they wanted. And from there, we opened our first salon in Walnut Creek, California, named “Kinsley James”.

It didn’t take long for us to start being recognized for our customer service and for the brands we carried. We were one of the first five stores in the world to carry Galia Lahav. It was such an honor and their partnership and our symbiotic growth propelled us all to success. A few years later we opened a second location in Los Angeles. Again, brides loved our exclusive designers and our warm team and service.

During Covid, my business partner of 10 years and I decided to amicably split our business. We each had different visions for our future and felt it was time we venture on out own. She kept the name Kinsley and I took the James, rebranding my business after my son Jaxon, becoming “Jaxon James”. I kept the LA location and she took the Walnut Creek location. At the same time of our separation, I opened a new store in Tribeca, New York.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Bridal is a very tough industry. Especially couture bridal. The industry is small, and it can be political at times. Sometimes it’s hard to get your foot in the door and establish a name where couture designers would want to be an associated with. When we were first starting out, we carried some brands that were easy to obtain. I should have remembered that bad friends are the easiest ones to make. But along the way, we stuck with our gut and moved on from bad partnerships and re-focused our vision. What we’ve learned is that it is all about the people. When we aligned ourselves with good, kind people, we were led in the right direction in so many ways. It affected the bride who was drawn to us, the team who was drawn to us. We held out standards high on what we would accept in terms of quality and gown production, as well as the respect we received from our designer partners. And then one day, we realized we had done it. We carry some of the top names in the industry and we are known as a couture bridal salon.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a couture bridal salon and we sell exclusive bridal designer gowns in both Los Angeles and New York City. We are known for our customer service and the experience we provide. Most brides envision a personalized shopping experience filled with curated gowns and champagne flowing throughout the appointment. The sad truth is that most bridal salons do not offer that. We carefully welcome each bride with a personalized sign, and we serve complimentary champagne and drinks upon arrival. If our bride says yes to her dress, we pop the champagne again and celebrate!

The service does not stop with the purchase. What I am most proud of is our team. Our team loves what they do and it shows in their care and attention to detail. They remember their brides and make them feel special when the come back to the store once their custom gown arrives. We love following our brides on social media and sharing the wedding photos with our followers. We truly have an amazing team and we hear over and over again how our experience was warm, welcoming and was the best the bride had during her shopping journey.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t believe in luck per se but I do believe in God. He has guided me to exactly where I need to be (and where I shouldn’t be) throughout this journey. There have been some huge defining moments (Covid was one) where we had to make the decision if we keep going or what path we should. God has not let me down and he has shown me time and time again that he will not let me fail.

Pricing:

• We range from $3000-$25,000.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jaxonjamescouture.com
• Instagram: jaxonjamescouturebridal
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaxonjamescouture
• Twitter: jaxonjamesbridal
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jaxon-james-couture-bridal-los-angeles-2

Image Credits
Pervak Photography