In this episode of The Wedding Biz, Andy is speaking with Rime Arodaky & Greg Finck. Rime is a brilliant designer based in Paris. She calls her Maison the Bridal House For Rebel Goddesses, inspired by women who are unapologetically themselves. Rime has been designing wedding gowns for and considers herself part of the new generation who decided to shake up the traditional wedding codes to bring style and attitude to a very static and conventional industry. Greg has been running the business side of Rime’s business as her general manager for a little over a year and they are engaged. Greg is also a wonderful photographer who was interviewed on The Wedding Biz this past October.  Rime tells us about growing up, knowing that she wanted to be a fashion designer. As a child, she designed gowns for her barbies and made up fashion catalogs with her designs for her mother and sister. Her father told her, when she was eighteen, that if this is what she wanted to do, she needed to pay her way through design school. So, she took a year off, worked, saved her money, and said she felt empowered by her ability to pay her own way.  Rime discusses her first company and why she closed it, how working with other designers helped her learn the business and why she feels like she designs gowns for “rebel goddesses.” Rime talks about her ready-to-wear ceremony collection, being the first to extend it to the international market and about Megan Markle being the first celebrity to wear one of her creations. Greg speaks about what he felt he could bring to the table for Rime’s company, how it affected his photography business and the challenges of doing both. He says the most challenging part was getting Rime’s twenty employees on board with him taking over and the changes that needed to be made. Listen in as Rime and Greg talk about building a business, where they see themselves in five years and how they incorporate Instagram into their business every day. This is a unique conversation from both the fashion design and business sides that you won’t want to miss. Show Highlights: [03:01] Rime and Greg welcome to the show! [03:14] They talk about how modern technology has brought them all together from three different areas, Paris, New York, and Maryland. [03:31] Greg talks about speaking at Engage and what his topic of discussion was. [04:14] He shares with us his role at Rime’s company. [04:49] Rime tells us about when she decided she wanted to be a designer, designing gowns for her barbie dolls and re-doing fashion catalogs. [08:02] She discusses being sure that she wanted to be a designer from age 4. [08:58] At age 18, she told her father she wanted to be a fashion designer, but he thought she was too immature.  [10:45] She felt empowered by paying her way through school. [11:35] How did you go about finding your own voice? [12:26] Rime speaks about launching her first company in 2007 because she didn’t want to work for others. She says it was a mistake at that time.  [13:34] Once she closed her business, she went to work with others to learn how to effectively run a business. [14:15] She talks about her friends asking her to design their gowns for them because she had a different style than the norm. [16:13] Rime talks about her fashion blog and her ideal for the perfect wedding design. [17:24] Why she chose the phrase “bridal house for rebel goddesses.” [19:21] Her father was her role model for what an entrepreneur should be. He raised her to be a strong woman. [20:12] In 2011, she expanded the bride’s experience by introducing the ceremony collection. [22:04] Her first bridal week, in New York, was in 2016. She said it was a dream, and she recorded it live for Facebook. [23:17] She chats about how Megan Markle was the first celebrity to order one of her designs and how she has helped her line. [26:19] What is the process like when you choose a new line? [27:00] What is your technique for pulling out what you need to tell the story? [28:16] Rim