Would you share a wardrobe with your Mum?

Would you share a wardrobe with your Mum?

Or your best friend or sister? The chances are the answer is no, and rightly so. 

What makes the world so wonderful is individuality. In personality, in style and in the way we look. I quite often get asked what the most popular wedding dress is, my answer, there isn’t one for this exact reason. 

Your wedding dress is an absolute expression of you, and therefore every dress says something totally different on each different person and that’s what makes it amazing!

It’s also where and why you may have a difference in taste with people you love and choose to bring to your appointment. 

Don’t get me wrong, my Mum’s taste is brilliant and I love her style but we certainly dress differently and things that I like and colours, she certainly doesn’t. Don’t get her started on burgundy! So when it comes to choosing your dress, this just might happen. 

Open plan wardobe

I recently had a bride in the boutique who adored a bardot neckline. Her Mum on the other hand, just couldn’t get her head around it. It wasn’t a neckline she would wear or one she particularly liked. It did, however, look amazing on her daughter. 

We tried a stunning gown with detachable off the shoulder sleeves. The shape and fit of the dress was perfect and the off the shoulder gave a softer but similar to bardot neckline look. The bride adored it! You could see all the love for it in her face (I love that look!) however her Mum was still struggling with the sleeves and in turn, the bride’s love for it was fading as, understandably, she wanted her Mum to love it as much as she did.

We continued to try other dresses but the bride just couldn’t shake the feeling she’d had in the off the shoulder dress, so, as we normally do, we tried it back on again. Whilst we were in the fitting room, I took the little straps off the dress and explained to her we could just see what it looked like without them this time and could popper them back on at the mirror. 

As the bride walked around the corner from the changing room, sure enough, she was met with oo’s and aa’s and her Mum instantly said how much she loved the dress. Amazing! 

It had changed the look so much in her Mum’s eyes, she thought it was a different dress! 

After a few tears and moments to soak up just how incredible the bride looked in the dress, we poppered the straps back on and all agreed it was THE one! 

Happiness all around, but the point of my story is, it’s amazing to know that everyone loves your dress but be prepared to have a difference of opinion on some elements of it, be it neckline, fabric or shape, as it’s most likely that you all have different taste and that is ok! You probably wouldn’t share a wardrobe!

If you feel that someone you’d like to be part of the journey may make that decision making a bit trickier, but of course, you’d still love them to be involved, then the best way around that is to ask them once you’ve found it, to come and see your dress. Tell them you’d love to show them the dress you love before you say yes, but make sure you have made it clear that you really love it and that way, they will too and you can make memories and share the saying yes moment together too.  

The main things to remember are to stay true to you and trust your instincts and the rest will follow and of course, have fun! 

Is three a crowd?

Is three a crowd?

An age old saying, but is there any weight to it? From experience …. Yes and let me tell you why. 

When it comes to choosing your wedding dress, you won’t be alone in imagining all of your girls together, giggles, fun, maybe a brunch or a lunch before or after and a whole heap of champagne!

Maybe what you don’t imagine is trying to find a day where everyone is free, endless back and forth messages in the group chat to work out when, maybe one friend drinking a little too much, perhaps another trying really hard throughout your appointment to support and encourage, but maybe more towards what she imagines for you and less of what you actually would like?      

These are real problems and things that perhaps you don’t see until it happens.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am the most sociable person I know, I want to make everything an occasion, a celebration, a life moment but there certainly is a time for it and times where actually the fun is taken away from whatever the occasion may be with over complication.   

At the moment, where boutiques are only allowed to re open with you and one other guest from your household or support bubble, it has never been such a big thought for people. Who do you bring? Will people feel left out? Will it make it less special? 

In short – no …. What I’ve actually seen and what brides have experienced is truly cherished moments. 

True decision making based on what you really love and how you really feel in a dress with less opinions is actually amazing. 

I say it all the time, but the biggest thing when you choose your wedding dress is that you feel amazing, feel comfortable, feel like you can imagine your day in that dress. And this is so much easier to acknowledge and allow to happen when you are focused on your feelings.

I know that if this was what happened on the TV programmes we are all so addicted to and binge watch as soon as we become engaged, that we now wouldn’t have series after series of the show! If people turned up without the huge “entourage”, without the grumpy mother in law or jealous sister would you watch? I know I wouldn’t!

We love watching all of the controversy, hand over mouth moments BUT as with any popular tv series – it’s not real life and actually, finding your wedding dress is wonderful, happy and really (if you visit the right places) quite easy! 

This surprises Brides daily because we expect it not to be easy, we expect to bring everyone with us, we expect it to be a challenge and, thankfully, it’s just not! It is special and amazing and a moment to cherish and it’s just the beginning on your dress journey!! This really is where the fun starts! 

You will be skipping back into the boutique when your dress arrives and again for your fitting process, at least three more times before your wedding, so if you do find it a struggle to pick that one star guest, there are more opportunities to show those special people in your life your dress before the big day if you want to. A final fitting once your dress is yours and fits you beautifully for example. 

Plus you can absolutely celebrate saying yes to the dress! Organise that brunch, have the girls round – you have no appointment time limits that you’d have in the boutique, you can drink your drink of choice, make a whole day of it that way! 

I once had a bride who asked her bridesmaids to draw what kind of dress they thought she would wear. They all drew it and gave them to her before the day she came to choose her dress. She put them in a sealed envelope until breakfast the morning after the wedding! I loved that!  

My final point is …. I chose not to show anyone except my Mum, my dress in the lead up to my wedding day and it was the best decision I made! 

I didn’t think it was on the morning of the wedding, when my poor mum couldn’t do all the buttons on my dress and had to carry the mountains of train and lace at the back of my dress, but that moment when I walked into the room my bridesmaids were in and they all saw me in my dress, make up done, hair done, flowers – the full look – was priceless. The emotion was wonderful, the feeling and it just grew all our excitement to get to the ceremony. 

I was also really lucky to have a fabulous photographer who caught the moment perfectly and these are some of my favourite pictures from the whole day. 

The mornings where I am lucky enough to go and dress brides are the same too. The mornings where the bridesmaids have seen the dress before are magical, but there’s not that surprise element or anticipation to see it. 

Don’t get me wrong, there is magic in the way it all comes together and so there is certainly still that moment where everyone takes in the bride before she leaves and how she looks, but those mornings where you have a ‘reveal’ are special. 

Exciting, emotional, magical and memories that last forever. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw you in your dress” is a common conversation when reminiscing about your big day.   

It’s lovely to bring people with you and for them to experience choosing your dress with you, but there are absolute positives to them not coming at this point in the journey as well so choose your plus one wisely. 

Choose the person who will support you, the person who you want to bring on this part of the journey but it by no means means that anyone else is missing out or that your experience won’t still be incredible. Remember, this is just the beginning.

I’m on a budget.

I’m on a budget.

Well what a weekend! An action packed day in the boutique on Saturday followed by a fabulous wedding fair at Ribby Hall today! I love busy weekends, meeting new brides, chatting to family and friends, it’s great however there is usually, at least one person who has a negative story to tell. Be it a friend who had a problem with her dress and where she bought it, an Auntie who remembers someone standing on her dress at her wedding or a Grandma who had a dress she didn’t really like. This weekend though, the story has been brides ‘on a budget’ and their problems. We hate to hear horror stories at the best of times, but when it’s a bride and her dress, it can be really upsetting.

Most of the heartache these days is an internet purchase. Manufacturers on various selling websites that give the promise of a stunning custom made gown from China for £60. With pictures, mostly pinched from other designers and reviews mostly made up, it’s easy to see why a bride who is conscious of the cost of a wedding dress could be drawn to this path. However I can assure you that usually it does not end well. The gown that arrives (sometimes as close as a week before the wedding) doesn’t look like the picture or isn’t as well made, sometimes is a different colour and more often than not, there’s no return policy. Cue complete bride panic and rightly so! Then of course, the stress and extra cost of finding another dress.

brides-beware-of-imitations

The other thing that has been mentioned this weekend, is brides feeling like they have less of a service because they express in a shop that they want to keep costs down. I mean really? These poor women! A wedding dress and the experience you receive should be the same whether you spend £10 or £3000 and if a bride IS on a budget, that is fine!

Also I ask, aren’t we all ‘on a budget’? Surely every bride sets out shopping with an idea of how much she wants to spend, so we are all aware of the price we want to pay. Yes, admittedly, it may end up being a little more than you expected or sometimes a little less but never the less, we have a figure in mind.

As a retail owner, I opened the boutique mainly to provide a lovely experience for everyone and if someone only wants to spend £200 on a dress, I will try my very best to meet their expectation and believe me, they get no less of a service and no less of my time, the only problem they face is perhaps less choice.

So in summary, if you do want to spend a little less, fine! The best time to shop for your gown is in a sample sale where there are big reductions or if not, when you come to the boutique just let us know the figure you have in mind. Every bride should feel fabulous and have a wonderful time whilst choosing her dress; our main aim at Lottie’s!

Lotties-12

Lottie xx

 

 

What colour is a wedding dress?

What colour is a wedding dress?

Hooray … I have managed to log back in to my website! It’s been so incredibly bustling and busy and I knew really that I had forgotten my log in, that I haven’t had a moment to sit down and hammer in the 100 potential options that you do when guessing a password! (It’s not just me is it?) But I’ve done it … I’m in, here and online!

Apart from wanting to update all of our latest news and things, one of the driving forces of coming back to my blog was something we have seen quite a lot of in the boutique of late. I’ve been pondering, stewing and questioning it all in my head and really wanted to share!

So this brings me to the matter in hand …. WHAT COLOUR IS A WEDDING DRESS?

I felt the need to do a little research and to dig deeper into the tradition of wedding dress (don’t worry, I’m not going to get too historical). It turns out in the Middle Ages, a marriage was more than a marriage of love and was more a marriage of families, business and politics. It was therefore for the bride and her family, more a show of wealth. The dresses were made from rich colours and luxurious fabrics including silk, fur and velvet. Brides from a less fortunate background wore their ‘Sunday best’.

It was only in the Victorian Era that the tradition changed to white and ivory following on from Queen Victoria’s wedding where she wore a gown made from lace she prized.

As with everything, when you look at it, it’s all been fairly ‘swayed’. Fashion has played it’s hand and tables have turned, the way they do in every industry. No more of an example can be used than the way Princess Kate’s full lace sleeve changed the way the wedding dresses of the next season were designed.

My point though is, is there a ‘correct’ colour? Do you have to wear white? Would people think differently if you didn’t?

The conflict of colour has become more apparent to me recently as our new seasons gowns have arrived in the boutique. At the trade shows last year I would say nearly every designer had a blush dress. And why not? The softness of blush, if done correctly, against an ivory lace or intricate beading, is quite simply, beautiful. Effortlessly stunning and unique. Celebrities such as Jessica Biel and Reese Witherspoon embraced the colour and, as always, looked gorgeous on their day, so with this in mind, I couldn’t help but buy a couple for us. Of course, for those who know me, know it’s hard for me to resist pink at the best of times, so this was probably inevitable!
However the gowns, have arrived and have gone down a storm. Not one of them looks any less a ‘wedding dress’ and the brides who have purchased them are quite simply, in love.

Vera Wang’s 2014 Monochrome collection not only looked incredible but lead the way for the trends of high street fashion to go monochrome too. Not one of those gowns didn’t look amazing, not one didn’t look like a ‘wedding dress’ …. but they were black and white. If the bride who is wearing it loves it and it isn’t white, does that make it any less of a dress?

slide_293078_2359854_free

These ideas for me were even more enforced when I read my fave designers most recent blog. Ian Stuart makes no secret of his love of colour and gosh, his use of it is fabulous. In his post he describes exactly why colour isn’t always something to be afraid of.
http://ian-stuart.me/2015/10/30/my-love-affair-with-colour/

Bewitched- pale blue

But shouldn’t that be the case? Don’t get me wrong, not every person wants to wear a colour, not every person wants to break the mould, but for those who do; why not? Shouldn’t every bride just be in love with their dress?

And so, a wedding dress can be any colour you want it to be. If blue is your favourite colour, if red to you symbolises your love for each other, if you always imagined yourself getting married in gold … then do it! It will only be you who regrets it and like I say time and time again to my brides, it doesn’t matter what you are wearing, if you love it, you’ll feel fabulous, show fabulous and look fabulous and in turn everyone else will love it too!!

Lottie xx

Something Different?

Something Different?

Well it’s been a while! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful time and are now enjoying drinking yakky green smoothies and having a dry January!

I decided when we got the new website that I would blog all the time, however things are busy aren’t they and I wanted to make sure I was blogging about generally lovely things and also things that are relevant to all our fab brides and readers. I think I am mainly prompted now by things people say to me whilst out and about and in the boutique and this blog post is no different!

Some of you may know, I have a little bit of a soft spot for one of our designers, Ian Stuart. It’s a story for another day so for now all you need to know is … I love his dresses! We are lucky enough to have one particular dress of his called South Pacific and oh me, oh my, what a dress it is. With a gorgeous floral print it really is that ‘something different’ and in saying that provokes a lot of different opinions when people visit us here at Lottie’s.

So of course it went straight into the window with magical props from Mel at Add a Little Sparkle!

Stewart Window-8

Ian Stewart-7

This dress is exquisite, but only for a certain type of person. It’s bold pattern and full skirt is all incredible, if you are a girl that likes to turn heads, be a little unique and really rock your own style, however I get asked all the time “What’s your most popular dress?” “Is there a best seller?” and really the answer is no. It’s ok if this dress isn’t your bag, if you like more lace or less drama. Each girl is different. We don’t all dress the same, we don’t all share the same love of pink that I do and that is what makes you the person you are! When you put on your wedding dress, be it lacy, flouncy (love that word), sleek, satin, strapless, sleeved, it should feel like you as a bride. If you feel like you are ‘playing dress up’ it’s probably not ‘the one’. It goes back to a point I make time and time again, trust yourself. Try on a whole selection of dresses and re visit the ones that capture your imagination, the one that sparks vision in your head of how your wedding will look and don’t be afraid to say what you do and don’t like along the way! But most importantly, have fun!

Ian Stewart-21

Ian Stewart-37

I hope you love these images as much as I do, I must thank the wonderful team at Flower Design for the stunning bouquet, the really kind lady who owned the horse who didn’t look at me like I was mad when I stopped her in the street and told her the horse had the same colour hair as my model and the really fabulous James Jebson Photography. These pictures encapsulate the essence of this dress perfectly!

Ian Stewart-25Ian Stewart-56

Hopefully see you in the boutique soon to find the dress that’s right for you!

Lottie x

 

 

“Is this normal?”

Saturdays are always days full to the brim of beaming brides, excited bridesmaids and families who have waited in anticipation for a time when they venture into the world of wedding dress shopping. And what a world it is!

For a lot of brides, it really is a complete unknown. What underwear should you wear? What questions will you be asked? What if there’s nothing you like? How long will, or even should, it take and so on. It is exciting and bewildering all at the same time.

When I opened Lottie’s Bridal, it was always going to be key that our brides felt happy and relaxed and enjoyed their experience. With that in mind, there is no right underwear! If you feel like you want to wear your neon green bra, then great, wear it! If it takes longer than planned whilst you work your way through the whole of the boutique, then fab, as long as when you come into us you feel relaxed (at least by the end of your appointment) and happy, that really is all that matters.

I’m not going to pretend it will be how it is in ‘the movies.’ You might not have the overwhelming moment of knowing your dress is ‘The One’ and that the nearest and dearest you bring with you won’t clash or be opinionated maybe, but we will always try our best for it to be a memorable, enjoyable experience.

Which brings me back to last Saturday. As my first bride of the day walked through the door, I could see that she looked nothing short of fed up! She had been to numerous shops and just hadn’t found anything that she loved. Her dress shopping experience so far hadn’t been great and the mood was generally down. We had a little chat, her Mum got me right up to speed and once we’d had plenty of bucks fizz and looked through the dresses, we began to try on.

By dress number 3, everyone was a lot happier and I was hearing all about the proposal (I love that bit) and themes and bridesmaids, it was fab. As I went in to help do up dress 4, the bride turned to me and said “Is that a silk dressing gown?” to which I of course replied with a giggle and a yes and what the bride said next made me both thrilled and slightly sad all at the same time!

“I can’t tell if this is normal or if this is just a really posh shop!”

Girls … We are normal! We are or try incredibly hard to be, everything you would expect or envisage the experience of buying your wedding dress should be.  I say time and time again at wedding fayres, to new brides, to my staff; we are all about you and yes shouldn’t that be normal?

After all if it wasn’t for our brides, Lottie’s would be fairly non existent! So bring on the twenty questions you have, feel comfortable with the suppliers you choose, drink lots of bubbly and just enjoy being a bride!!

Lottie xx