I am Rose Trifero Giffen, also known as Weddingzilla. I am a professional bridal consultant, a blogger, and a designer of wedding accessories on Etsy. I am also a wife, a mom and a dog mom to Annie. I love to travel, garden in my flowers, read, walk, sew, design, cruise, explore and hang out with my husband, family and friends. And I love to talk!

I grew up in the wedding business. My mother learned to sew in Italy and was a dress designer for couture designers in New York. She met my dad and gave it all up to move to the midwest to raise a family. But she kept sewing! She designed privately for many clients, some who even came in to Ohio from New York city.

I spent my childhood in fabric stores and fabric warehouses, meeting other designers and her friends in the industry. It wasn't unusual for us to take the eight hour drive to New York city to buy fabric. When my friends were taking dance lessons, I was learning how to make a dress pattern from scratch. I spent a lot of time in her design studio and learned about weddings from all the wedding consultants who hung out in her studio. It wasn't long before the studio was outgrown and I was helping Mom open a full service bridal shop. I was the kid in the shop who knew more about weddings than the consultants, but I finally was taken seriously when I got older.

I was going to be a social worker and save the world. Instead, I joined the family bridal business because it was my passion. I've spent 33 years dressing brides; I did buying, I altered dresses, hand pressed dresses, sold dresses, produced fashion shows, planned receptions, coordinated weddings. I've done everything involved with weddings. And I mean EVERYTHING! I've stepped in to help a caterers cook and serve at a reception when the cooks got sick. I've helped set up wedding cakes, set up reception halls and carried photographer's gear around the reception. Oh, and helped a DJ set up. I cleaned a brides dress of mud who slipped down a ravine during her wedding photos. I've soothed nerves, ruffled feathers, and calmed brides.

Now, the bridal shop is closed after 33.5 years and I enjoy blogging about weddings and designing and making wedding accessories in my Etsy shop, Weddingzilla. My studio has mannequins dressed in wedding dresses...along with awards won my my bridal shop, Rosann's Bridal. And a lot of sewing machines! Its the ultimate woman cave.

I've been quoted in major bridal magazines, I've written newspaper columns about weddings. I am all about weddings. And its true: I am so easily distracted by shiny objects.