Meet The Staff - Normans Bridal

Celebrating with thousands of brides since 1980

Making your dreams and visions come to life is the reason we exist, and the reason we have continued to do so for 42 years. It has been such a blessing and a joy to grow up in our family-owned bridal business. We have celebrated with thousands of brides since opening in 1980. We pride ourselves in creating a once and a lifetime experience for every bride. We celebrate the moments and the experiences we create together.

Meet The Staff Members

Liz stoner

Hey there! My history at Normans Bridal runs deep. I am the second generation owner and work and run Normans Bridal with my mom Brenda. Some of my earliest memories include our original location in Lebanon. I have to say that bridal is in my blood. After, going to college and getting a degree in Animal Science I returned to Bridal Industry to pursue my love of fashion and creating lifelong memories for my customers.
I cherish getting to know each of my brides and becoming part of their wedding story.

Emily Gallo

Hey, hey future brides and all things fun shoppers! I’m Emily and I can’t wait to meet you! I was born and raised in good ole’ Waco, Texas where the bluebonnets bloom and the sweet tea is basically just sugar. Give me all things spicy and if it’s Mexican food and margs you’re after, then I am your girl. My gorgeous husband, Michael supports me always and all of my adventures no matter how crazy or on a whim they may be. We got married in May of 2019 and let me tell you…. It’s the absolute coolest thing getting to share your life and grow with the one you love. Together we have four beautiful and very furry pups! Evvie, Tillie, Dovie and Bonnie range from about 100 lbs to only 5 lbs but don’t worry, they are the best of friends and even better sisters! My husband runs a local gym where we love spending most of our time together there and the incredible gym community is a huge bonus! I’ve been with Norman’s since 2016 and started as a part time prom stylist. Since, I have become a big role in the social media team and am now a full time bridal stylist. Being a part of the Norman’s family has been so enjoyable with fun adventures like going to Atlanta market, along with great opportunities that I never thought I’d be doing such as fashion shows and bridal/prom photo shoots. I’m so excited to continue my journey here AND meet all of my future brides plus be a part of this exciting, memorable big life event with you! I can’t wait to shop with you! (:

kyla elliott

Hello! My name is Kyla Elliott and I have worked here at Norman's since 2017. I got all my prom dresses here in high school. So, when I saw they were hiring I immediately wanted to work here. I have a degree and am a registered radiographic technologist. However, I shortly found out my true calling was in bridal. I absolutely love meeting and helping my brides make their wedding dreams come true. I got married in 2021 to my amazing husband Kyle. We have two pets, a cat named Dollie and dachshund named Buster 🙂 I can't wait to meet all of our future brides!

Katie Barr

Hi everyone! My name is Katie Barr. I graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (GO HUSKERS) in May of 2019 with a degree in Fashion Merchandising and a minor in Business Administration and started at Normans shortly after. I am originally from Fort Scott, Kansas where I met my husband in high school and we have been together ever since. We have a son named Maverick and an adorable orange and white cat named Joey. During my junior year of college, I had the opportunity to intern at a local family-owned bridal store in Lincoln and that is where I discovered my love for the bridal industry. I worked there until I graduated and when we decided to move to Springfield, I knew Normans was the place I was meant to work. I am such a people person and so I really enjoy working with all types of brides to help find the perfect dress for them! I always tell my brides that we are going to become fast friends because wedding gown shopping is such a personal experience. My main goal is to make sure every bride feels like their most beautiful self and to of course find the most perfect wedding gown for her! I love my job and it is absolutely what I believe I was meant to do!

Katie Jankovitz

Katie began working for Normans in the fall of 2012. She graduated from MSU with a degree in fashion designing and shortly after applied at Normans in hopes of sharing her knowledge and love of fashion with brides. Katie’s favorite bride moment is when the bride first realizes that she has found “the” dress. It all becomes so real at that moment. Outside of making brides dreams come true Katie is involved in helping and teaching at her church. She loves spending time with her family and being the ‘best aunt’. Katie also enjoys geeking out at movies, reading books and doing craft projects.

CHRISTIAN DOUGLASS

Christian Douglass hails from Lebanon, Missouri. She graduated with her B.F.A. from Oklahoma City University in 2014 and joined the Norman’s team later that year while completing a Graduate Certificate Program at Missouri State. As the “Bridesmaids Specialist,” Christian loves seeing all the creative ways brides express their wedding themes through their bridal parties. If there’s one thing she wants brides to know, it’s to embrace their vision and not judge it through anyone else’s eyes–after all, they’ll be the ones looking at the pictures ten years down the road!

joseph pyatt

My name is Joseph Pyatt! I have worked at Normans Bridal since 2018 as a prom and bridesmaid stylist. We also have a great social media team that I get to be a part of as well. Taking pictures, editing and creating content for our followers is so much fun and always makes for an exciting day at work! I have always had a passion for fashion and design and knew that this was the place for me. Outside of work, I enjoy designing my own fashion creations and every year I am on a team of designers that put on a floral inspired fashion show called Art in Bloom at the Art Museum here in Springfield. I also enjoy thrifting for funky stuff and spoiling my two cats Birdie and Darla. I can't wait to help you find your perfect gown for prom or to help create a one of kind bridal party look!

Patty Smulski

I have been at Normans Bridal since 2014 and never enjoyed such a career as being a stylist at the number one bridal boutique. Besides enjoying what I do, my passions in my free time are golf, travel, and of course my beautiful family and my three precious granddaughters. I also can’t forget my sweet Yorkie, Sophie. Several of my accomplishments at Normans Bridal are being named Stylist of the Year by DYSB which allowed me to travel to Bridal Week in Atlanta and Barcelona, Spain! Finding that perfect gown for a bride is always a huge accomplishment for me especially seeing the smiles, the dancing and the relief on brides faces when they feel beautiful and confident in their wedding dress. Saying yes to a dress is what it’s all about! Along with spending time with brides, I’ve been having fun modeling our new line of Mother of the Brides dresses. The list is endless of all the aspects of being involved and reaching my goals at Normans. I’m originally from the suburbs of Chicago and moved to Springfield about 32 years ago and truly feel this is home. My daughter and son were both raised here and are now happily married to wonderful spouses. My daughter bought her wedding dress before I was employed by Normans and I was so blessed to help my daughter-in-law find her wedding gown at Normans. I look forward someday helping my granddaughters find their dresses for all of their special occasions. I guess you can say we are a Normans Family!