College Station

Coreena Ferrata – Owner

Coreena was born in Naples, Italy, as her parents were serving overseas in the US Air Force. Soon after, her family relocated to Mckinney, Texas where she attended Prosper High School. Coreena moved to College Station in 2010 to attend Texas A&M where she met and fell in love with her husband Nick towards the end of her third year.

Just prior to graduating in 2014, Nick proposed to Coreena at the Aggie Ring Plaza the day after she earned her Aggie ring. They enjoyed a beautiful destination wedding in Cabo San Lucas in June of 2015. Coreena’s hunt for a one-of-a-kind beach wedding gown inspired her to completely redesign the dress she purchased. Since then, she has designed gowns for close family and friends who also desired a couture look.

In 2017, Coreena decided to put designing on hold to pursue a new dream—opening a full service bridal boutique. Coreena’s personal experience of shopping for her own wedding dress sparked her passion for helping brides, with the ultimate goal of providing a unique selection of designer gowns that offer a couture look for an affordable price. More importantly, offering that possibility in College Station. Part of her vision of an all-in-one shopping experience included the necessity of on-site alterations. Local brides enjoy brands commonly found in larger cities, without the travel for multiple alterations appointments.

After one year in business, Coreena’s Bridal expanded their building to accommodate more brides. Now, two years after launching her boutique, Coreena is excited to reach more brides across Texas with the second location of Coreena’s Bridal in Georgetown.

Nettie Kelly - Alterations Manager/Seamstress

After retiring from Sterling C. Evans Library, TAMU in 2010, Nettie’s life-long hobby with textiles developed into a career as an educator and creating “One of a kind” apparel and home decor.

Having been self-taught, Nettie started sewing at a young age. She perfected her skills by making her own clothing as well as clothing for her sisters, nieces, and for the men in her life.

Nettie’s accomplishments include owning a small home-based business, “Studio Couture”, creating custom patterns for couture wedding gowns, brides maids, mother of the bride/groom dresses, casual apparel, quilts, home decor and much more. Nettie and her mother-in-law, Dorothy Kelly replicated Barbara Bush’s wedding dress that resides at the George Bush Presidential Library.

Teaching a variety of techniques for apparel, quilting and home decor,  Nettie’s energized devotion shines as she inspires creativity by teaching various technique-based sewing classes.

Nettie met Coreena and her husband Nick in 2015, bringing Coreena’s wedding gown sketches to life for Coreena’s brides. When asked to join Coreena’s Bridal as Alterations Manager, Nettie was overjoyed at the opportunity to bring joy to brides every day. To the staff at Coreena’s, she is often referred to as “The Magician” for her incredible ability to transform any gown into a custom piece of art.

Katrislan Hawkins - Assistant Manager/Stylist

Katristlan was Born in Bay City and raised in Georgetown, Texas. After high school, she moved to College Station to attend Texas A&M University as a pre-veterinarian student. She graduated in May of 2016 with a bachelors of science in biomedical science and a minor in philosophy.

Throughout college and for a few years post graduation, Katrislan worked in the service industry as a waitress and bartender. Working in a customer service-oriented environment has taught Katrislan pristine hospitality skills that are a part of what makes brides’ experience with us truly memorable. She enjoys going above and beyond to personalize the shopping experience for each bride she encounters.

Working at Coreena’s Bridal has been a fun and exciting experience for Katrislan. She relishes in the positive and uplifting atmosphere that comes with helping brides find and fall in love with the dress that they will wear when they eventually say “I do.”

Morgan Wheeler - Stylist

After growing up in Beaumont, Texas, Morgan moved to College Station in 2018 to attend nursing school.

With five years of experience working in the service industry as a waitress/bartender, her hospitality skills are well refined. A conversation with Morgan is effortless and memorable as her genuine care for others is at the forefront of her shining personality.

Not only is she known for turning nervous brides into fast friends, her ability to turn a detailed vision into reality is a passion and skill of hers.

Craving an environment that emits positivity and self-love, Morgan was eager to transition into the bridal industry. The whole staff at Coreena’s was thrilled to welcome her as a new member of the team.

Ashley Salazar - Stylist

Ashley loved growing up in the great city of Houston with a diverse surrounding. She thrived on meeting new people through pageantry, extracurricular activities, and volunteering. She’s always had a passion for fashion and has enjoyed styling friends and family on a regular basis.

Ashley knew from a young age that she would one day work in the bridal industry, helping women find their perfect dress for one of the most memorable days of their lives. Her ability to interpret a bride’s style and vision is routinely illustrated as she often hand picks the gown that ultimately ends up being “the ONE.”

With an immense pride in her position as a stylist, Ashley’s bridal dreams have become a reality since joining our team in 2019.

Lynda Brock - Stylist/Social Media Editor

Lynda grew up traveling the world with her family before finally settling in Houston at the age of 14. After high school, she attended college at Texas State University as an officer in her sorority.

After earning her associates degree, Lynda transferred to Texas A&M where she is earning her bachelors in Communication and Journalism while also minoring in business.

With prior experience in social media marketing and retail, Lynda has made an excellent addition to our team. Her eye for design and passion for creating beauty has brought a new light to our marketing efforts through social media.

Above all, Lynda enjoys working in bridal while also being able to create spaces of comfort, confidence, and peace for our brides.

Emilee - Stylist

Emilee grew up in Arlington, Texas and after graduating a semester early, moved to College Station to attend Texas A&M in January of 2018. She intends to graduate in December of 2021 with her degree in Animal Science and a certification in Equine Sciences.

Having worked in the service industry since 2015, Emilee is well-versed in helping others and providing an exceptional experience. Bartending weddings initially gave her a taste for the bridal industry and she quickly fell in love. She eagerly joined our team in July of 2020 with the desire to work more closely with brides and their parties in a one-on-one setting.

Velia Saenz - Seamstress

The sister of Nettie Kelly, Velia has numerous years of experience sewing all sorts of garments. She enjoys being surrounded by beauty and never misses an opportunity to browse the racks to scan for new arrivals.

Velia assists in the alterations department in numerous ways including creating custom veils and mending sample gowns. She has made an excellent addition to our team and enjoys putting the final touches on dresses, making sure that every bride’s vision comes to life.

Patti Jenkins - Seamstress

Patti’s mother and grandmother taught her to sew at a very early age. At the age of 4 or 5, she began with prerequisite hand stitching, then gradually on to the sewing machine.

She remembers watching as her mother would make clothing for the family, so she was very pleased when she could finally make her own creations at 12 years old.

In her sewing career, she has learned the ins and outs of various types of sewing machines. Making patterns for her own clothing was really an adventure with the opportunity to wear her own unique creations.

Patti enjoyed designing and creating her own bead and lace wedding dress, along with many different styles and types of clothing. From hippie bell bottoms and short shorts to bathing suits and business suits, she has done it all.

Repairing and altering beaded gowns, prom dresses, wedding dresses, as well as the more common zipper replacements, ripped seams, both shortened and lengthened hems, adding many types of embellishments are among her many accomplishments. She has also created many different styles of dresses for pageants.

Over the years, Patti has worked at many different jobs but she always came back to sewing. She still makes patterns, clothing, and enjoys working in bridal alterations.  Each job has it’s own challenges, but she embraces each piece as she continues to perfect her craft.

AJ - Seamstress

AJ grew up in Ventura, California before moving to Texas in 2018 to attend college. She is currently working on her degrees in both architecture and interior design.

Growing up, AJ learned from her mom how to hand sew and this sparked enough interest for her to teach herself how to machine sew by watching instructional videos along with trial and error.

She has always had a passion for fashion, but took a true interest when she started working in retail and fabric stores. Eventually, she combined her love of fashion and background in sewing by transitioning into the bridal  industry.

She has been doing bridal alterations for about two years and enjoys the hands-on approach to creating the perfect fit for a bride’s special day. Her kind and friendly demeanor instill confidence in our brides during a crucial part of the wedding planning process.