The trouble and triumph of finding the perfect dress is an experience that plagues almost all women at some point in their lives. Whether it’s a wedding dress, prom gown or just something for a special occasion, it can be easy to get discouraged in what feels like an endless plethora of too-long skirts, falling straps and stubborn zippers.
This dilemma is what inspired Symone Amelia Gaither to take matters into her own hands—literally.
“When I was in high school, I had a prom and was downtown looking around for dresses, but couldn’t find anything that I really wanted,” Gaither says. “I saw a dress, and it was actually a wedding dress that I tried on, and I absolutely loved it. My mom said, ‘absolutely not,’ and that’s when I decided to make my own.”
Gaither is a local gown designer based in Hanover and the owner of Amelia Symone Couture Bridal and Evening Wear. She says she’s had her downtown dress shop for three years, with a mission to help others find their dream dress for their special day.
“This is a very special experience because we’re literally starting from scratch,” Gaither says. “You get what you want and don’t look like other brides. You know that no one else will have your dress.”
Gaither, 31 and a Baltimore native, has been designing dresses for as long as she can remember. She says her passion started at a young age when her mother taught her to sew.
“I was making little doll dresses for my Barbies, and after I redid my mom’s wedding dress to wear to prom, I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I have something that I really want to go to school for.’”
Gaither attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia and received her bachelor’s degree in fashion design. Following graduation, she lived in Philadelphia and began to make dresses for her and her friends to wear when they went out, which then expanded into making prom dresses.
“Prom was really my bread and butter at one point until COVID hit. I was working out of my second bedroom, but then relocated here …and a lot of brides weren’t able to receive their dresses, or other bridal shops were closed,” she says. “A lot of people reached out to me, and weddings started picking up, so it kind of took off from there.”
After relocating to Hanover, she says she had the opportunity to open the space she’s in now, and it’s been “amazing” ever since.
Gaither currently focuses on customized, made-to-order dresses. The magic starts with a client vision, which progresses into a sketch, measurements and, finally, the finished masterpiece. The best part of all, she says, is the entire process begins and ends with the client.
“When the bride sees the dress, I think it’s a shocking moment. To know you helped develop this dress as well as bring it to life … it just makes it a little bit more special,” Gaither says.
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A lot of the clients she works with are local, but also extend into the Philadelphia, New York and District of Columbia/Maryland/Virginia regions. And she says most of them share a commonality: they are “over-the-top brides.”
“They love bling. They love to have a dramatic train, a dramatic entrance when they walk into their wedding,” Gaither says. “Nothing is simple about them, and I love that.”
Though she’s a pro when it comes to glitz and glamour, she says she works with clients of all types—from a range of style preferences and body shapes—and is ambitious to once again embrace her prom dress roots for the upcoming season.
Other exciting plans for this season include starting her own in-house couture gown collection.
“I want to develop a collection where brides can choose from, and I have a manufacturer that I work with that will help develop these designs as well,” Gaither says. “This will really showcase what Amelia Symone is … and what I can really do and design.”
She’s also looking forward to channeling fresh inspiration from this season’s trends, which she says are short midi dresses.
Though Gaither finds fulfillment in the physical embodiment of her imagination coming to life through stitching and sewing needles, the opportunity to give back to others and her community is what ultimately brings her the most joy.
Part of that is a full-circle experience: being a mentor for students of a sewing class she was formerly in at her alma mater, South Western High School.
“The teacher that is actually teaching that class … her and I were classmates,” she says. “When she found out I was back in town, she reached out to me … and I think it’s really important to see somebody who came from the area, from the school that you’re in, doing all of these amazing things.”
Gaither reiterates how “blessed” she is to be able to pursue her passion every day and remains determined to give back even a mere fraction of the joy she receives from the clients and community who’ve made her dreams come true.
“I’m happy that I’m here … and I still kind of shock myself,” Gaither says. “I’m like, ‘Oh, wow, I made that,’ and I just know I’m not even at my fullest potential yet.”
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Amelia Symone Couture Bridal
123 Baltimore St, Hanover, PA
