This year the London Bridal Show became London Bridal Week and White Gallery, and what a whirlwind it was! Exhibitors and designers were packed into the vast ExCel London in what can only be described as a super-show of all things bridal. And some designers and suppliers hosted their own, very glamorous, showcase events in hotels and boutiques across London too.
I made my way down to the ‘big-smoke’ on Saturday, accompanied by LOVE co-director, wedding photographer extraordinaire and my lovely husband, Jonny Draper, feeling just like Anna Wintour on her way to Paris Fashion Week…;) Front row seats to catwalk? CHECK! Invites to boutique showcases? CHECK! Dark sunglasses? CHECK!
We had a lovely day settling in, seeing some sights and sampling the delights of Shoreditch (we’d treated ourselves to a stay at the fabulous new Nobu hotel which was every bit as amazing as we’d hoped!) leaving us feeling refreshed and raring to go on Sunday. And what a start to the week! Savannah Miller held a showcase of her Isolde’s Dream collection at the unbelievably swish Edition hotel in London. The beautiful suite, complete with huge terrace and views across London, was the perfect back-drop to her dreamy and ethereal collection. The range of dresses were eclectic yet luxurious, with sheer capelets, sexy slip dresses, elegant sheath gowns, high lace necklines, and prairie-style ruffles. And seeing the collection again, it convinced me that the Kate and Michelle dresses coming to LOVE in July will be perfect for our brides.
We then hot-footed it over to The Biscuit Factory in Bermondsey to see our brand new designer, Made with Love to support them with their highly-anticipated showcase. I’d already made my dress selections from this beautiful collection, but I’ve had my eye on a couple more dresses that I couldn’t resist seeing in person. And I wasn’t disappointed! Watch this space for the full lowdown on the dresses we’ve picked for LOVE!
We then made our way to ExCel London to see what London Bridal Week had in store for us. Synonymous with luxury, prestige and exclusivity, it’s the ultimate destination for designer brands, luxury retailers and the fashion press.
With an appointment already booked that afternoon with our fabulous designer, Sassi Holford, we had a mooch around the show before feasting our eyes on her brand new collection. Sassi’s creations were stunning as always, celebrating the female form with classic silhouettes and corsetry, using the most luxurious of fabrics and tapping into some of the season’s key trends. I was fascinated by the way she added texture to her classic designs through her use of feathers. And dresses could be customised to individual brides with lots of versatile and detachable accessories like capes, bows, skirts and trains. She also upped the cool factor, pairing elegant gowns with a leather jacket, a great way for brides to keep their look contemporary.
We selected six beautiful dresses from Sassi’s handmade collection, but you’ll have to wait until September for the big reveal! 😊
After a busy first day we certainly deserved some R&R after all that excitement. And what better way than with dinner and cocktails at Nobu with our good friends Diana and Brett from Little Pearl Bridal Boutique! This has become an annual buying trip ritual with this amazing pair!
Monday saw us back at ExCel for Day Two of events including an early morning Industry Training Seminar with the amazing Wendy Rivera – a motivating start to the day (after a couple of obligatory coffees of course to give us a kickstart of course! 😉 We were later delighted to have front-row seats (eeeek!) for the fabulous Sassi Holford catwalk show where we could see the gowns we had been drooling in motion on the catwalk. We were joined by our very own LOVE stylist, Charlotte, and were sitting next to the wonderful team from Brides Up North too. The show was sensational! It confirmed that the gowns we had chosen were perfect for our brides… and might have just added a couple more to our wishlist… that was inevitable of course!
Our trip wouldn’t have been complete without a trip to our most wonderful and elegant bridal shoe designers Harriet Wilde and Charlotte Mills who were both revealing brand-new collections. LOVE brides, form an orderly queue for these beauties! I can’t wait to get the new collections in store soon! Keep your eye on Instagram for some sneak peeks and we’ll be adding another Accessory Event to our calendar very soon too!
Finally, before jetting back to the boutique we selected new accessories from our designer Halo & Co, who continued with the modern, fashion-forward trends we’d been enjoying all weekend. Their intricately designed hairpieces, clips and crowns make the perfect finishing touch. We also added some beautiful veils from Elizabeth Dickens to our collection and had to stop ourselves ordering them all!
So, farewell London for another year – we had an absolute blast! Stay tuned to our Instagram for a first look at our gorgeous new dresses, shoes, accessories and veils. I know I won’t be able to resist sharing them with you!
Lots of love,
Emma xoxo