What do you want from a Bridal Shop?

Emmylou_2

Definites:

Dresses in *REASONABLE* sizes. I am a (curvy) size 14. I hated the fact that, to find a wedding dress to fit me properly, I had to go to a plus size store (although, now, I'd recommend them to anyone because they were fabulous) - especially as, at that point, I'd lost four stone!

Dresses in colours other than white/ivory. I got married in red. I loved my dress. In total, I saw five dresses that were colours other than "shades of nothing", even though I think I tried on every dress in a tri-county area.

Offer me a drink, please. I'm going to be there for a while. It's hot and sweaty work, getting in and out of wedding dresses, so some water would be really appreciated.

I liked the places that had "courtesy baskets" in the dressing room - with deodorant/tissues etc. Very Handy.

Have a decent range of prices - including "samples" etc.

Have a seat in the changing area. I'm wobbly at times and being able to sit down is really handy.

Have a seat in the "showing the dress" area - and get your brides to practice sitting down as if to eat a meal/kneeling as if in church/MOST IMPORTANT - going to the loo.

Definite nos:

One place was snotty with me because I was dress shopping with my MoH ("You should bring your mum" they said "Bit difficult", I said "she's been dead 18 years") rather than family. Not everyone has family (or, like me, they have friends that have taken the place).

Don't expect me to wear high heels. I have various disabilities that mean I can't walk in heels. Don't take the p*ss because I've chosen to wear DMs on my wedding day.

Don't book too many appointments for the same time.

Strangely enough - all the negatives here were for the same bridal shop that keeps on being praised/winning awards. Don't know why, they were really snotty and I (have repeatedly) informed people local to me to avoid them where possible (A Class Brides in Brislington, Bristol).

froufrou

I have to go against the trend and say please please please have some sample dresses in a size 10. So many shops only stock larger sizes and it is very difficult to see what a gown looks like with bunches of fabric pinned at the back, or even worse, a cushion shoved down there making you look like a hunchback. Skinny minnies aren't always super confident.
Make girls feel special by offering them a beautiful basque to try with the dresses instead of ridiculing their choice of underwear.
Lastly, ensure you have at least one member of staff who can step in to the mum role for girls who are there alone, if I'm honest it was the lady not the dress that made my sale!

Skintski

One of the things I liked best was feeling free to do my own thing without being hassled from the off. When I first visited the shop I got my dress from I took my mum with me, we were given I little bucket of pegs in one colour and the idea was to wander at your own leisure, place pegs on any dress you thought you may like to try and then the assistant gathered them all up and then helped me try them on. It was great fun and my mum really enjoyed herself too

cabriolean

Disclaimer: Not getting married, but my sister is.
One of the shops near us stores the cheaper dresses behind all the other dresses as in the hanging rails go up the sides of the shop and the rails displaying the other dresses are between you and them, so you can't actually see them and are just confronted by reallyexpensive (read unaffordable) dresses.
Also in some shops the assistants pretty much follow you around the shop even though you've declined their offer of help......my sister felt really pressured and we ended up leaving after about 5 minutes.
Also, have a selection of shrugs in different styles, to support local crafts people, maybe have a display of dummy cakes, so the bride can see them and possibly have the wedding shoes to try on with the dress, my sister would definitely prefer to see how shoes and dress interact (slightly different shade, how much the hem/train lifts etc.) before purchasing either. Have appropriately sized dressing stalls because I had to try on a dress as they had a size 10 and a size 18, and I could squish in better, anyway the shop had only slightly larger than normal dressing stalls........I literally was bashing my elbows against the walls and the dress was really difficult to handle in such a small space.

kittycatsam

Some absolutely brilliant tips there Ladies, thank you so much.

It's really difficult pleasing everyone with the sizes as each sample dress costs the shop an average of £400 so you can't justify buying two of the same style. They're difficult to sell on as many people seem to want the Princess experience a brand new 'never been touched by human hands' dress rather than one which has been tried on. I will try to get a good range though! I want to display them much better so it's easier to see all of the dresses front on rather than sideways on a rail.

Fab ideas about the coloured pegs and the baskets in changing rooms. Also one thing I will definitely be getting installed is a water cooler!

I plan to knock the two changing rooms in to one huge one as well and as it is a really small shop it would have to be one on one appointment only viewings. I was thinking of having an A board outside with the days available appointments though in case any Brides to be were passing by.

cabriolean

kittycatsam wrote: »

Some absolutely brilliant tips there Ladies, thank you so much.

It's really difficult pleasing everyone with the sizes as each sample dress costs the shop an average of £400 so you can't justify buying two of the same style. They're difficult to sell on as many people seem to want the Princess experience a brand new 'never been touched by human hands' dress rather than one which has been tried on. I will try to get a good range though! I want to display them much better so it's easier to see all of the dresses front on rather than sideways on a rail.

Fab ideas about the coloured pegs and the baskets in changing rooms. Also one thing I will definitely be getting installed is a water cooler!

I plan to knock the two changing rooms in to one huge one as well and as it is a really small shop it would have to be one on one appointment only viewings. I was thinking of having an A board outside with the days available appointments though in case any Brides to be were passing by.

I definitely like the idea of a large dressing room and maybe you could have a busy/not busy sign, so if someone hasn't booked an appointment at that time, or they've cancelled, someone who happens to be passing by could pop in to just look around.
I'd definitely suggest a cheap website, many packages will let you have a professional email address so: kitty.cameron@kittybridal.com rather than kittycatsam@gmail.com
It's nice to have an online catalogue, so that brides can find a dress they like, then come prepared, or even just something nice and basic, to make you easy to find, a home page, an about us page, a contact us page with a contact form and details such as telephone number, email etc.
Also display the range of prices, because there is nothing worse than walking into a shop, finding something you adore, then noticing the price tag puts it way out of your budget *cough* £200 earrings *cough*

trinity_enigma

froufrou wrote: »

I have to go against the trend and say please please please have some sample dresses in a size 10. So many shops only stock larger sizes and it is very difficult to see what a gown looks like with bunches of fabric pinned at the back, or even worse, a cushion shoved down there making you look like a hunchback. Skinny minnies aren't always super confident.

Not to be harsh or anything and I totally understand where you're coming from but as difficult as it is to tell if a dress suits you when it's pinned at the back it's got to be harder to figure out if it suits you when you can't get more than one leg inside don't you think?

bargainbetty

One another level, communication with your suppliers and clients is essential. I ordered a dress in a wine red colour, and approx four weeks before the wedding I received a swatch of a brick red colour attached to a compliments slip, with no message. I called to tell them that was not my fabric, and I asked why they had sent it. They said it was probably a mistake and not to worry.

Three days later I got a call telling me I could pick up my dress, but would I be able to make an appointment as the manager needed to see me...... I arrived to find my beautiful burgundy dress was not there, but the brick red monstrosity they had made was being offered on the grounds that 'it would probably do, wouldn't it?'

They refused to refund my deposit (for the fabric I hadn't gotten) until I stood in the shop for half an hour, loudly announcing to every customer who walked through the door that they had screwed up my dress, with three and a half weeks to go to the wedding.

Because of them, I had to redo the colours of the decor, the cake, the flowers and the groomsmen's accessories, all of which had been matched with the dress.

If there is a problem, let your customer know as soon as possible!

Bella73

I think most things have been covered but friendly staff is the biggest must with them smart and not too done up if you know what I mean.

Some places made me and my best friend feel like total !!!! for daring to walk into their shops but my the shop where I got my dress from was fab.

Huge dressing room with a chair and as someone said things like sprays and tissues etc were available as were shoes and pop socks.

They also had tiaras and veils to try but the best thing was they weren't pushy we quickly established my budget and went from there.

Once ordered they gave me fabric swatches there and then so I could match other bits and pieces.

Also got my three bridesmaid dresses from them as they were so good.

A nice touch when I collected my dress, they stored it for me and had it pressed and sorted for my collection they gave me a bottle of sparkling wine with a small box of chocs which I thought was a sweet gesture.

Due to their care and attention I've sent them at least four brides who have all bought their dresses there too.

Great service will be rewarded.

Pinzy

I understand it's not possible to have each dress in different sizes, but is it possible to ensure you have the same style across a range of sizes? (e.g. fishtail, a-line, princess, empire)
I'm a size 24 and dress shopping hasn't been fun, I can understand it being equally frustrating if someone's a size 6 or 8 and everything overwhelms them. Whoop-de-do you can get in it but you're wearing a white tent. Different styles in bigger sizes too - I was told by one shop that they didn't stock fishtails in my size, because "the picture you have in your head isn't what it looks like when it's on". I may be a plus-size but I ain't having no empire line tenting over my curves!

I wonder if it's also an idea to have underwear, brides could try on a balcony bra/corset with a dress, to get a better idea of the shape. It seems a bit odd, but we do try on bras in M&S et. al.! Ditto with shoes. That's easier if you're short of space because someone's more likely to order something in if they like the style. Maybe just a shoe catalogue for now? If you've got the whole outfit there that ties in, less stress for the bride and more sales for you.

Love the idea of the coloured pegs; I wandered round picking out dresses but was very aware of the shop assistant hovering to helpfully collect anything I've picked. Also thought the idea of a board outside showing appointments that day is very good. It's nice to be able to view dresses front on, but it's also nice seeing lots of dresses on rails and getting the sense that there's lots to choose from.

Local crafts is good, make sure you advertise it. People seem to be becoming more interested in buying local food, and once the thought is there I think it spreads to the nice idea of supporting your local economy.

Staff - you've said that yours are lovely, and that's such a boon. I'm only buying from the place I am because I haven't found anything that looks as good. If I could, I would definitely buy elsewhere. I even said to the other half that it makes me want to open a bridal shop if we had a lottery win to give our local plusses better staff, and he said we should open one up right next to them and sell exactly the same things at half the price and make a loss for 6 months! :rotfl: That may be a bit harsh!