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<p>PITTSTON &#8212; For more than five decades, women in the Wyoming Valley have been turning to Gerri Bridal Shoppe as their first stop when looking for a dress for their big day.</p><p>With more than 52 years in the bridal industry, spanning three generations, the Pittston bridal shop has assisted thousands of brides-to-be find that special dress, alter it just right and add some special finishing touches to make the wedding day as special and memorable as it could be.</p><p>And for those efforts, Gerri Bridal was selected by Times Leader readers as the best bridal shop in the area.</p><p>The store is currently run by Judy Monko and her daughter, Michelle DeBiasi. Monko&#8217;s mother originally opened the shop more than 50 years ago, with a pledge to help brides by being honest and genuinely caring about them and their big day. Today, that pledge stands stronger than ever.</p><p>Originally employed by another shop, Monko&#8217;s mother, Regina, felt a need to open her own after growing tired of a store policy.</p><p>&#8220;They weren&#8217;t allowed to say (the brides) looked bad,&#8221; Monko said of when women would come in to try on wedding dresses. &#8220;She said that whatever they tried on had to be beautiful &#8212; even if it wasn&#8217;t. And she hated it.&#8221;</p><p>So Regina decided to take her nickname of Gerri and open her own bridal shop in Pittston, with a motto of being honest to her brides &#8212; no matter what.</p><p>And they&#8217;ve been doing it ever since.</p><p>As Monko was introduced into the bridal business by her mother, she passed down her bridal knowledge to her own daughter. Both women said that although they grew up in the bridal industry they truly have a love for what they do. While admitting she&#8217;s getting ready to hand over the reins to her daughter, Monko said she still enjoys working with brides and dressing them for their weddings. One of her favorite parts of her job is getting to dress multiple generations from a single family, she said.</p><p>As for a most memorable person or event, she spoke of one particular family.</p><p>&#8220;Everybody wears the great-grandmother&#8217;s veil,&#8221; she said of the family&#8217;s tradition.</p><p>The veil has been worn by roughly 20 brides and has been altered or patched to match each bride&#8217;s personal taste or desires. The last time Monko worked with the veil, she added some special family mementos into it to celebrate a loved one who was no longer with the family.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m into tradition. You have to remember where you come from,&#8221; she said, adding that many brides come into the shop asking to wear or add something of a family member or lost loved one.</p><p>When you&#8217;re in business for over half a century, you get to witness an endless number of trends . One of the more recent dress trends Monko has seen is wedding dresses becoming smaller and smaller, and, for her taste, a bit too revealing.</p><p>She said that although she doesn&#8217;t mind brides showing off some skin, recent trends of barely-there dresses are something she wishes brides would think twice about. Believing the fad started with the famous Kleinfeld&#8217;s bridal boutique, she said the sheer dresses have since been showing up in wedding shows throughout the country.</p><p>Monko said brides who may be desiring to show off so much skin on their wedding may want to consider exactly whom they may be showing it too; including their new in-laws, grandparents and children.</p><p>While her distaste for certain trends may be personal, Monko and DeBiasi say that&#8217;s what makes their bridal shoppe special.</p><p>&#8220;We care,&#8221; DeBiasi said of every bride they see. &#8220;We do really care about the girls. You come in as strangers, and you leave as friends.&#8221;</p><p>DeBiasi noted that many past brides will call or stop in the store just to catch up, or call on the women to lend an ear during troublesome times. The duo believes that their pledge of honesty and desire to help others is one of the reasons why they get called to dress generations of brides. DeBiasi also believes that while brides may want to bring friends and family to help her choose &#8220;the dress&#8221; that they need to listen to their inner selves before anyone else &#8212; and yes, that includes you, mom.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s her day, and she should have it her way,&#8221; DeBiasi said. &#8220;She should pick the dress. Be true to yourself, and don&#8217;t try to appease others.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Judy Monko, of Gerri Bridal in Pittston, fluffs a two-piece Jacqueline Exclusive wedding dress. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL021817bridal1CMYK.jpg</photo0><caption0>Judy Monko, of Gerri Bridal in Pittston, fluffs a two-piece Jacqueline Exclusive wedding dress. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL021817bridal2CMYK.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Gerri Bridal in Pittston. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_TTL021817bridal2CMYK.jpg</photo1><caption1>Gerri Bridal in Pittston. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>About Gerri Bridal</strong></p><p>48 South Main Street, Pittston</p><p>(570) 654-9732</p><p>Store Hours: Monday through Thursday: 10a.m. to 8 p.m, Friday and Saturday: 10a.m. to 4p.m.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Honesty, caring help make Gerri Bridal No. 1