Focus on the Bride

She is amazing. She altered my daughters prom dresses and did exactly what we wanted. I adore her and would recommend her over and over.

I was worried about buying a wedding dress and getting something that I liked, but all of those worries quickly evaporated after I met Mercal. She encouraged me to let her know my feelings at every stage of the process, addressing each of my worries by both being supportive and demonstrating her expertise. She took an A-​line and turned it into a trumpet, revamping a dress I was not sure I liked and turning it into a beautiful creation that everyone loved and commented positively on at the wedding. Mercal and Focus on the Bride overcame my fears and added a lot to the most wonderful day of my life. Mind you, I hope I never have to do it again, like any happy bride, but I would recommend working with Mercal to any of my friends or family. In fact, I hope one of my two sisters uses her soon, so I’m not the only married sibling. Given the excellent work and the responsive customer service, it is a pleasure to write this review and recommend Mercal and Focus on the Bride.

I don’t ever do reviews, however, I just had to because Mercal, is quite literally the BEST seamstress I’ve ever met!!! I’ve never worked with a more productive, more efficient, and fast seamstress!!! She is so dedicated to her business, and is so passionate with each piece she touches.
She recently did my wedding,
She drove 6 hours back and forth, to meet me for alterations, for all my event gowns. She altered them, flew them down to my wedding with her, and had them ready for me when I arrived.
At my wedding she had under 30 hours. Mercal, took out 4 flower girl dresses, altered 8 bridesmaid dresses, 3 ring bearer outfits, and 8 groomsmen tux, one of which she had to completely reconstruct. She steamed and pressed each article of clothing, (for my entire wedding party, including mothers and fathers) and had them all hung and ready to be worn, the morning of the wedding.
She stayed by my side the entire day and always made sure my dress was perfect and fluffed.
She had her tools on her to quickly lift my train and sew my veil to my dress (so the heavy wind wouldn’t effect the overall look, and a veil flying in the way). She helped me and talked me through when I was anxious. She always made sure I had a drink near by or snacks to eat. Mercal became an important role in my day.
Not only was she my seamstress, but she became my friend! She’s one of the most kind hearted woman I’ve been blessed to know! Shes truly one of those people that LOVE what they do, she explodes passion, and it absolutely shows in the quality of her work! I highly HIGHLY recommend her! You’ll be missing out if you don’t!

I crossed paths with Mercal during a wedding makeup trial where she happened to be working away on a gorgeous gown for a client’s upcoming pageant! I was immediately impressed with how gracefully she handled everything. Fast forward to my big day; ²⁄₃ weeks before I was to say I do, I realized I needed alterations done to my gown and didn’t hesitate reaching out to her.
She put me at ease from our first phone conversation and I knew I was in the hands of a PRO. Her knowledge is amazing, her skills are undeniable, her eye for detail is uncanny but the icing on the cake of all of these qualities is Mercal herself! She is a WEDDING POWERHOUSE and can do it all! I not only had her do my alterations but decided to get one of her packages as well so she was with me from start to finish on our beautiful day.
She truly cares for her clients and it shows! Any bride would be lucky to have her! I’m just so thankful
to be one of them!

Mercal is such a amazing professional not only did she finish altering my Bridesmaid dress in a timely efficient manner she did with a smile… She was always polite and very delightful… Mercal also redid my moms veil for my sister… She gives excellent customer service and delivers amazing work…

I wanted to wear my mothers 36 year old veil during my wedding and when we removed the veil from the packaging of 36 years, we saw that most of the pearls had turned brown. My sister connected me with Mercal and she redid the headpiece and added additional crystal jewels to go along with my wedding theme. The veil was so stunning everyone thought it was a brand new veil!!! I was so happy with the outcome and the service that Marcel offered I would recommend her services to anyone. She is amazing! Thank you Marcel for your excellent service!

I was lucky enough to have my dream wedding last September in Ojai, CA. Mercal of Focus on the Bride was suggested to me by our (amazing) wedding planner and I’ll be forever grateful for that suggestion.
Mercal and I connected immediately. She was truly amazing to have on the day of. She helped with everything from steaming my dress and tweaking a bridesmaids dress to magically getting chocolate out of a flower girl’s dress (I still have NO idea how she did that)!
She’s not only incredibly talented but also incredibly sweet and VERY funny. Every time I saw her face the day of our wedding I felt instantly more at ease. She had the very same effect on my bridesmaids, mom and mother-​in-​law. We were all so very impressed.
Mercal also handled every detail of my dress preservation and I couldnt be happier! It’s packaged beautifully and I love knowing it was taken care of by the very best from beginning to end! Any bride would be very lucky to have Mercal by their side on their big day!

Focus on the Bride should get 10 stars. I got married in 2012 and Mercal was an amaZIng saving grace the day of the my wedding. When family, relatives and all the stresses came flooding, Mercal was like an angel that knows exactly how to calm a bride down and get things DONE. She also did some little tweaks to my dress to make it fit perfect day of wedding. She’s an amazing seamstress, who is also featured on My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. Focus on the Bride also preserves wedding gowns for a VERY affordable and fair cost. I just got my dress back this week, safe and sound, sealed perfectly. If you are looking for a wedding coordinator, seamstress or anything BRIDAL, Mercal is the way to go. She also does special occasions. so I’m sure I will be calling her again very soon.