Meet Ashley Carlow | Owner: Gracyn Elizabeth Bride

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Carlow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Honesty, there was not a thought process behind it! It just fell in my lap. I was an educator and was feeling burn out. My daughter was engaged to be married. There was a local bridal shop that was going out of business in the town we live in. We had just planned to look at dresses and get some ideas of what she liked. Two hours later, we walked out with three dresses!! The owner of the shop was also a firmer educator and was ready for retirement. She began texting and calling me in hopes that I would buy the existing shop and keep it from having to close its doors. I finally “gave in” and bought the small bridal shop about six weeks later. This was in April , 2016.
I have since then grown out of the small space that Traditions Bridal and Formal was located and have purchased my own building and changed to Gracyn Elizabeth Bride.
My family suffered a loss in 2000. We had a stillborn daughter. Her name was Gracyn Elizabeth. We decided that we would honor her memory by rebranding the store, as well as giving it a new name, one that was near and dear to my heart.
I also wanted to give back to families that have and will suffer the same pain. So, I have “angel gowns” made and donate to hospitals so families have to option to have their angels buried in something beautiful.
It has been a healing journey for me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My education background is in education. I taught elementary school, kindergarten through second grade, for 24 years. So, jumping into the retail world was a scary thing.
My main goal is to give my customers an experience that they will never forget! I want every Gracyn Elizabeth Bride to feel loved, appreciated, and cared for. I now have expanded and opened a special occasions and a menswear store, GEB Special Occasions and GEB menswear. The culture is the same in those stores as well. If we can connect with our prom and homecoming customers, they will come to Gracyn Elizabeth for debutante dresses, wedding dresses, and eventually bring their daughters and aloe us to dress them for their special occasions. We want to become life long friends with our customers!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Texarkana has so many great places to visit and hang out! Of course, there’s State Line where a person can have one foot in Texas and the other in Arkansas! The downtown area has worked very hard to create a great vibe. Zapata’s is one of my favorite Mexican restaurants with the best margarita in town! My husband and I also love two locally owned restaurants, The Twisted Fork and Ironwood Grill.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have to shout out to my husband, Brad Carlow, who has always encouraged me in this journey. My entire family has supported me in g to his business endeavor.

Website: Www.gracynelizabethbride.com

Instagram: Gracyn Elizabeth Bride

Facebook: Gracyn Elizabeth Bride

Image Credits
Captured by Kelsi (photographer)