Bridal buyer

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With Yorkshire store Brides of York celebrat-

ing 50 years in business this year and The

Bridal Lounge in Northallerton, 15 years,

Bridal Buyer chats to three members of the

family behind both stores.

Your two shops are

celebrating their 50th and 15th

anniversaries this year.

What do you think the recipe

for success has been?

We pride ourselves on our

customer service and offer after-

sales services of complimentary

storage up until the wedding day

plus a pressing and attention-

to-detail alteration service. We

employ three very experienced

seamstresses to help us with this.

Why did you decide to go into

the bridal business?

We have always been interested

in fashion and making people

look and feel good. Both Sheila and

Sharon come from a cosmetics

background and Charlotte left

school to join the hairdressing

industry. What better way to

exercise our skills than by

helping a bride to buy the most

important dress of her life?

Which brands do you stock?

We stock Alan Hannah, Ritva

Westenius, Cymbeline, Augusta

Jones, White Rose, Romantica

of Devon and Alfred Angelo.

on the phone to...

used to be nailbiting with certain

suppliers but we now no longer

deal with them.

What plans do you have for the

next 15/50 years?

To keep doing what we are doing

to the best of our abilities and to

increase our designer range.

What was your most memorable

sale?

We once had a bride who had

bought her fourth dress from us.

Not to wear four in one day, it

was her fourth wedding!

How has the industry changed

since the stores opened?

Gone are the days when a bride

will walk in, try a few dresses

on and then place an order all

in one appointment. Now they

come back three or four times

after having to go for coffee and

cake to think about it. They are

also more demanding wanting

design alterations, discounts and

freebies. Shops and outlets are

popping up all over the country

using clever marketing offering

huge discounts with stores where

you buy and take away. 20 years

ago companies would not supply

to someone who didn’t offer a

complete service. Social media also

play an important role nowadays,

and of course, as mentioned before,

the good old world wide web. BB

Sheila, Sharon

Charlotte Guest

“We pride

ourselves on our

customer service

and offer after-

sales services ”

What qualities do you look for

when taking on a new label?

We look for reliability, fl exibility of

design alterations, longevity, quality

and structure, plus sample loans,

support and a UK point of contact.

What is your favourite thing

about working in the bridal

business?

Because of our after-sales service

we feel we are involved heavily in

the bride’s journey. As we see the

girls many times before the big day

we get to know them quite well.

Seeing the end result and knowing

how special you have made the

bride feel is so rewarding.

What are the most testing things

about the bridal industry?

Unfortunately, the internet is a

tool none of us can live without,

but you could spend hours with

a bride deciding on ‘the one’, then

never seeing them again as they

have bought it online. Deliveries

Sharon (above) enjoys hanging out with

celeb shoppers Martin Kemp and MC

Harvey. Alfred Angelo (bottom left) is

among the brands stocked.

The Bridal Lounge, Northallerton

01609 7 76619

Brides of York

01904 633655

073.BB.163.on the phone.indd 73 09/06/2014 10:05