ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601230019
SECTION: YOUR WEDDING PAGE: YW-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX
Sisters Nancy Gilbert Shawn, Jean Gilbert Wimmer and Jane Gilbert Milliron were brought up in the family business - literally.
When their mother, who ran a catering and floral business, was busy with a customer in their home, one of the girls would answer the phone and take messages. They were expected to help out during weddings and receptions for Brides House, which their father, Warren Gilbert, and their mother bought from a previous owner in 1970.
This business was an addition to their Warren Gilbert photography studio, but several years later they sold the catering and florist concern.
"All the catering and floristry was done in our home, and we also worked in daddy's darkroom,'' said Shawn. "It was expected of us. Mother trained us from early on.''
Shawn said they are a very close family, with three of them now living on the same property and all their homes very close together. "We still work together,'' she added, although "mother and daddy did not push us to become part of the family business.''
All three sisters graduated from college and eventually ended up working in the Roanoke Valley. By that time, the Brides House and Formals business, which had started out on Kirk Avenue, had been moved to larger facilities just down the street, then into a new building on Peters Creek Road South in 1979. Wimmer said her parents had become so busy with the business that they needed her to come to work for them in May of 1980.
"I was glad, mainly because I felt comfortable - we have always worked for them,'' she said. Wimmer went into purchasing for Brides House and Formals. She also worked with customers, placing and checking orders and putting the stock out on the floor.
In 1985, her parents built and moved the business to a new facility, just north of the present location of 5325 Peters Creek Road. hey wanted to retire, said Shawn, so she and her two sisters bought the business from them. Milliron had been doing their bookkeeping part time, and Shawn became personnel director as well as working in sales.
Shawn said their parents removed themselves completely from the business after the transaction. "They knew we would not be able to take control if they were still here. When we first took over, mother and daddy had us go to a family business counselor,'' said Shawn.
They went to Gloria Eliot and Associates, said Shawn, who told them right off that it would not always be smooth sailing, and not to have too many high expectations. She advised them "to work through our problems. We did that,'' said Wimmer. What they tried to do, said Wimmer, was not to overlap job responsibilities.
"She pretty much zeroed in on our personalities. It was interesting,'' said Shawn.
For seven years, it worked great. Business prospered, despite what Wimmer said was an over-abundance of bridal gown outlets in the Roanoke Valley. According to Wimmer, in 1994 there were nine such places, and about 3,000 wedding licenses sold that same year. Two of those businesses, she said, have since declared bankruptcy.
Wimmer and Shawn stayed on, but Milliron sold her share to her sisters and went over to her husband's businesses - Warren Gilbert Photography and Ron's Tuxedos. That business her husband, Ron Milliron, had purchased from his father-in-law in 1980.
"Ronnie needed help and she was torn,'' explained Shawn. Now, Milliron does the bookkeeping and assists with the two other full-time employees in their business. Her husband said his good nature has kept things peaceable.
"I'm outnumbered, of course. Anytime you have three sisters and a brother-in-law or husband involved, there's going to be times when we don't see things the same way. I can get along well with people. It takes different temperaments,'' said Ron Milliron. Milliron said that having respect for each other, despite the differences in opinions, has been the key to success. That, and keeping the lines of responsibilities clearly drawn.
"I handle all studio portraits; my wife handles all bookkeeping and works in sales and oversees inventory. The rest of our staff supports what we do,'' he said.
Milliron began dating his wife when they were both in high school, so he, too, helped out in their family business. After his tour with the Air Force, Milliron said he came back to Roanoke (he and Jane had already married) and began to work in Warren Gilbert's color lab. From there, he trained to take wedding photographs, then began to develop his own style of photography. After he purchased the photography studio from his in-laws, he said he began to look around for a related business that didn't require as much hands-on time.
"There was a need to complete that cycle,'' he said. "Our long-term plans are to maintain the businesses that we have,'' he added, explaining that their service-oriented niche is what distinguishes them.
Meanwhile, back to the other two sisters, who are busily creating yet another family business. This time, it's Virginia Bridal Outlet, owned by both Wimmer and Shawn but mainly managed by Wimmer. There was a need for this business, they said; they researched the market and determined that someone out there was going to open a bridal outlet business, so it had better be they.
Brides House and Formals is service, service, and more service - they carry a large inventory, have a service in New York that tracks their gowns so few slip-ups ever occur, and are known for their devotion to the cause.
"We have actually gotten material and made a dress ourselves, so the bride didn't suffer,'' said Shawn, recalling one of the very few times a dress didn't arrive on the appointed day. But, they both said, bridal warehousing is big and new, and people are interested in that alternative. In November of 1994, their outlet store at Towne Square Shopping Centered opened.
These dresses, unlike the ones at their other store, cannot be customized. They are off-the-rack, in sizes four to 28. Alternations are not done on-site, as they are at Brides House and Formals, but an alterationist is available. No pressing is done, but the price is right. At their outlet, said the sisters, no dress is priced over $590; at the Bride's House, dresses run from $600 to about $2700, and they can order anything.
"Another advantage is the quick turn-around, if you have to find something right away,'' said Wimmer, referring to their outlet. They carry only first quality, but have scoped out the market to find the best deals, they say, and pass those deals along to their customers. Another advantage is the referral business they have created for themselves.
"It's amazing. Our bridesmaids' business has increased drastically,'' said Wimmer. "We weren't reaching a lot of customers we felt were out there.''
Milliron's wife said the hardest part of working in a family business is not the personalities or the conflicts, which can be resolved and worked out, but leaving the business at the door when you go home at night.
"You don't just up and close and go on vacation,'' she said, remembering how it was growing up in the business. "But we appreciated our time together.''
LENGTH: Long : 123 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: TIM TREVILIAN. Joining sisters (from left) Janeby CNBMilliron, Nancy Shawn and Jean Wimmer is Ron Milliron. The three
women grew up in the bridal business; Ron Milliron followed his
in-laws into the photography field.