... Byrne is making divorce fun. The Shaker Heights graphic designer threw her divorcing friend an un-bridal shower to help celebrate the relationships and friendships still in her life. Byrne created the sarcastic invitations, favors and gifts and had so much success that she started an online shop, UnBridal Goods, to sell the party supplies.
... It started off with just having a few friends over for cocktails. "But as a graphic designer, I love paper goods and drawing, so it was a natural outcropping of my skill set." It grew from one idea into a whole un-bridal shower complete with invitations and party favors.
... In addition to her invitations, there are favors laced with sarcasm such as "Wash That Man Right Out of Your Hair" soap and an UnBride's First Cookbook with a recipe for fish in white wine sauce: "Buy some good white wine. Put the fish in the freezer. Pour the wine in the glass and drink it. Enjoy."
... She says un-bridal parties are not a celebration of divorce at all. "Unless you married some 80-year-old with a heart condition, then you most likely got married for love. When that love is gone, it's horribly painful."
... Byrne says people need to think outside the box. She just went to a wedding for two male friends in Vermont. And a friend who isn't married decided to throw a party celebrating her single life. "They are un-bridals, too. I see no end to this."
... When her 10-year-old daughter Ava heads off to college in a few years, Byrne fears dealing with empty-nest syndrome and might need to create a new kind of party with a line of products, of course. "I better get started on the invitations now."
... She has been married to her husband, Steve, for 14 years. "I think a lot of it is luck. I don't think there is any big secret."
