Tess Mann of Couture by Tess Bridal New Talk Show, Couture Chats with Tess
Photo: Bridget Martin and Tess Mann
Tess Mann is the owner of the bridal store, Couture by Tess Bridal, and designs her own line of gowns under the same name. Tess has been in the bridal industry since 2012. Prior to her formal entry into the industry, she had been designing since she was a young teenager, however chose a different career path in order to serve her country for over 20 years as a federal officer. In September 2018, Tess became a US Trademark Designer with her designs being protected by the US Patent Office. After serving the Memphis, Tennessee area for a little over six years, Tess and her husband, Joe, opened Couture By Tess Bridal on 31 W. Broad Street in Cookeville, Tennessee in November of 2019. Tess is also the talk show host of Couture Chats with Tess on YouTube where she interviews fashion and event industry professionals.
You are the host of a new YouTube show called Couture Chats with Tess. Tell us more.
Couture Chats with Tess invites the public into our Cookeville, Tennessee-based boutique, Couture by Tess Bridal, for interesting conversations and a peek inside my world. People have always been curious about the behind-the-scenes insider scoop of my fashion career. Now fashion and weddings can take center stage with a click of the play button. Anyone can join me for fun and informative chats with local celebrity guests, influencers, entrepreneurs and inspiring people involved in my life. Viewers can follow our channel as I take you inside my boutique’s cozy parlor where we highlight the latest trends and most interesting topics in the fashion, entertainment and wedding industry.
Couture By Tess Bridal, the venue of your talk show, is revered as a premier Nashville Bridal boutique. What makes your boutique special?
In addition to the Couture by Tess designer label, we also support and carry other designers’ work in our Tennessee-based boutique. All of the designers we work with have been carefully selected and hold the same standard of excellence that the Couture by Tess brand stands for. We seek out international, hard-to-find labels attracting clients who want something truly unique and exquisite. Our bridal clients receive 5-star customer service as is reflected in our hundreds of reviews online. We want every bride to have their dream wedding dress and will do anything we can to make that dream a reality.
You created your first bridal gown collection in 2015. What has changed since then?
I recently retired from my twenty-plus year career serving our country as a federal agent, so opening our brick-and-mortar store in 2019 where we host our clients has been the biggest change. I was working from my home in the evenings and weekends for all those previous years serving bridal clients part-time. To be fully-immersed now in my fashion career has been a dream come true.
You are preparing to release your latest collections very soon called Nostalgia and New Discovery. Describe your latest collections and how will these collections be debuted to the public?
We have two collections that will be presented at the Travel Through Fashion Time fashion show in Nashville, Tennessee and hosted by the Couture by Tess team. The Nostalgia Collection is a new collection donning various fashion techniques from different eras while assimilating modern touches. New Discovery is a smaller collection that has utilized designs from previous Couture by Tess collections and re-imagined based on clients’ feedback from over the years. We will be sharing our experience and content from the fashion show on our social media channels where anyone can follow us along on this journey. We have built an amazing creative team to make the fashion show the best it can be and I cannot wait to share my latest designs with you all.
You have tied in some of the creative team members for the Travel Through Fashion Time fashion show into your YouTube talk show. What can we expect?
We have been filming episodes with several of the vendors, sponsors and content creators affiliated with the production of the fashion show to give our viewers an inside look into who we are currently working with. I love that we have a platform to highlight all the wonderful things that our creative partners are doing in their own businesses and how they are contributing to the Couture by Tess brand.
Who would you like to collaborate with or have on your talk show next?
Well, as a matter of fact we just announced that we will be carrying Say Yes to the Dress TV star, Randy Fenoli’s latest collection of bridal gowns coming this fall called Deep Devotion in our Cookeville, Tennessee store. I would love to collaborate with Randy or have him on Couture Chats with Tess anytime!
What is next for you?
Stay tuned for the next collection I am working on because I have some surprises in store for 2023. Keep up with us via social media or Couture Chats with Tess for the latest happenings or come visit our Tennessee bridal store to see it all for yourself.
Website: https://www.couturebytessbridal.com/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/CoutureByTessBridal/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/couture_by_tess/
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@couturebytessbridal
