This was the first bridal shop I went to, which meant all subsequent places were marked against it. Most failed.
My mum and I were very warmly welcomed and, while I filled out a form explaining what I was after, my mum got a nice cuppa.
I was helped by a woman called Margaret, who was fantastic! She made me feel very comfortable. For instance, I've had a few odd looks when I've told bridal people I won't be wearing big heels on my big day, but she wasn't phased. She was very competent and quickly sussed out my style. At no time did she make any comment about the actual dress I had on, she just kept asking me helpful questions; 'do you like this style?', 'what about the shape of the skirt?', 'what about the colour?' etc. I had gone in thinking I wanted one kind of dress and came out realising that I actually wanted to go quite traditional (must make sure Mister doesn't read this before wedding!). I hate it when you are standing in a dress and the woman helping you is telling you how wonderful the material is and how lovely the shape of the neck is. With a wedding dress it doesn't matter one jot how lovely the neckline is - you either 'feel' it or you don't. Margaret seemed to understand this, presumably from having a lot of experience.
While I was there there was another family in which there were 3 sisters. Two of the sisters had got their dresses at this shop and they thought so highly of it that the third was determined not to go anywhere else.
The place is clean, friendly and relaxed.
Margaret helped me make a list of the 'technical terms' for what I wanted in a dress so that I could tell other shops when I went in. So there was no pressure at all to buy from them or to buy quickly.
This is definitely the kind of shop where I wish I had found my perfect dress and I would recommend it to everyone. read more