Hello! I hope you’re all having a lovely week!
Wow, this year seems to be flying by at a rate of knots, and I know all our beautiful LOVE brides getting married this summer are feeling exactly the same! Where does the time actually go?!
It’s been an absolute whirlwind for us here at LOVE as we started off the year in a way we could only ever have dreamed of… winning the title of ‘BEST BRIDAL RETAILER 2015‘ IN THE COUNTRY(!) in The Wedding Industry Awards (TWIA). Seriously. Wow.
Back at the end of last year, we were thrilled to have been shortlisted for the TWIA regional awards for Best North-West Bridal Retailer, the first stage in the awards competition. The regional awards ceremony was held at Sandhole Oak Barn, Cheshire in November. We were up against a great number of fabulous bridal retailers in the North-West, and we also had a great number of fellow bridal friends up for awards so it promised to be an exciting, albeit nerve-wracking evening!
And then it happened… we only went and won! We were officially THE Best North-West Bridal Retailer, and we were absolutely thrilled :o) We had joint won the same award the previous year, so to win outright this time was just fabulous! For so many of our good friends in the industry to also win their categories made the celebration even better than ever :o) Huge congratulations to the fabulous Howard Wing, The Flower Lounge, Heaton House Events, Top Table, Andy Murphy DJ, Sonara Parker, The Rush Band, Sam Fitton magician, The Word is Love to name just a few!
Well that was just the start of it. So (all glammed up of course!), on 15th January 2015, we made our way to the Café de Paris in London, as a finalist in the National TWIA awards, along with the finest crop of wedding suppliers in the country, to a fabulously swanky awards ceremony!
We were excited and nervous but never thought it would be ‘our night’! Surrounded by an amazing group of friends and fellow bridal suppliers, our category was announced quite soon into the evening. An array of fabulous bridal retailers shortlisted in our category were read out and we could not believe it when our name was announced as WINNER!!!! of ‘BEST. BRIDAL. RETAILER.’ NATIONALLY!
No matter how many times I write/read/say this it never truly sinks in, but it’s so wonderful to have this recognition, and it’s all thanks to our gorgeous brides. We truly put our heart and soul into everything we do at LOVE, and our brides are always put first. Above everything. We love what we do, we love our brides, our boutique, our designers… everything. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
The best thing of all about the TWIA awards is that you can only be voted for by your actual brides, so it’s not just a popularity contest for the supplier who can get the most votes. Only LOVE brides who got married between November 2013 and October 2014 could vote for us. They were asked to rate us in several categories and write extensively about their experience with us. This, coupled with an awards submission and review by a highly acclaimed panel of judges, resulted in us winning this mind-blowing award.
The day after our award win we received our scores and comments from our brides who had voted for us. Needless to say just reading these comments had me in absolute pieces. Have a read for yourself (they’re all anonymous but if any of my brides would like to put their name to these I would be delighted!)…
“Love Bridal were fantastic throughout the lead up to the big day. Emma made me feel really special, nothing was too much trouble, she was so keen to help me find my dress. It was an experience, rather than a shop to get a dress. The shop itself is perfect, appointment only, she dedicates that time to you. Some shops I went to you were one in a number of brides being seen, not here! She and her team thoroughly deserve this award.”
“As soon as I stepped into LOVE BRIDAL I was given a warm welcome by Emma. I could see from the range of more unusual dresses that there was a strong chance I would find ’the one’ here. I spent a long time trying on a range of dresses and Emma advised with great patience and honesty. I did in fact find my dream dress and when I did ’the big reveal’ complete with accessories we all cried! Throughout the process I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the shop and Emma. A fairy tale experience! Xxx”
“Emma at LOVE Bridal Boutique made me feel like an absolute princess throughout the whole experience. As soon as you entered the boutique you were made to feel like a close friend and one of the family. It was such a pleasure that I now miss my visits to the boutique! The level of service was more than outstanding, nothing was too much trouble, and Emma was always on hand with help and advice no matter what my query or silly worry I may have had. I cannot rate Emma and LOVE highly enough xx”
“Emma was amazing from start to finish & I was so so happy with the end result & how my dress & accessories all looked. I didn’t have the moment where I found “the one” but I kept going back to try on the same dress & Emma was super patient whilst I stood there trying on my dress time & time again. I don’t think I truly realised how much I loved my dress until the wedding day and I got to the end of the aisle and my husband said I looked incredible….that was all down to Emma & LOVE Bridal Boutique.”
“LOVE Bridal Boutique is an absolutely beautiful shop & one I would ordinarily feel out of place in but Emma is very welcoming & puts you at ease. The dresses were all exceptional & even the ones that were not to my particular taste I could tell were chosen with great care. Emma has an intuition & helped to show me how you can change the look of a dress so it suits what I wanted, even though I didn’t quite know myself. The result being that I have the perfect dress that is unique to me.”
“LOVE Bridal and Emma created a completely magical experience versus other bridal shops I had visited. Every visit was special and every detail considered. Emma is truly one of the loveliest people I’ve met and I continue to recommend her to every bride to be!”
“LOVE Bridal Boutique is a place that you dream of being the place you bought your wedding dress from. The reasons for this are that the Boutique is the most stunning place ever. Emma is a dream in every way. She treats you with the utmost care and becomes someone so dear to you. At LOVE, you get VIP treatment. Her advice is very well considered and excellent. The business is run so well and the dresses are amazing! Accessories are to die for. There is no negative to find with LOVE Bridal.”
“LOVE Bridal is a beautiful shop & the dresses are gorgeous but what really made a difference was Emma. Meeting Emma & purchasing my dream dress felt like something out of a fairy tale. It was exactly what I imagined buying a wedding dress would be like. She is warm, caring, interested & fun. All the little details – offering coffee & cake & fizz! the handwritten note when I picked up my dress – Emma is so lovely I almost wish I could get married again just so I could spend more time in the shop.”
“LOVE gave me a perfect experience. I had already visited over a dozen boutiques and was losing hope I would ever find my dress. From the moment I entered LOVE I knew the place and particularly Emma was special. Kind, encouraging and patient she delivered a faultless service. I was made to feel very special indeed and she put the magic back into my dress shopping experience.”
“I fell in love with LOVE as soon as I walked in…beautiful shop, lots of room, decorated perfectly. Emma is amazing, really made me and my bridesmaids feel at ease and had lots of excellent advice. She listened to what I wanted but wasn’t afraid to suggest something new that I wouldn’t have thought of! I completely trusted her service and she went above and beyond. I tried about 8 dress shops and none of them were a patch on LOVE. I would wholeheartedly recommend LOVE – brilliant, thank you”
And these are just a small selection of comments we received from our brides… Wow. And wow again. It’s just wonderful and touching to see how we have helped so many brides receive the first class experience they deserve, and at such a special time in their life. I feel so lucky to be a part of this, and to have built such great relationships with these fabulous ladies.
This award (and all the other awards we’ve had the fortune to win since we first opened!) and this post are dedicated to all our gorgeous LOVE brides who made this happen, and to every single one of our brides past, present and future for making this the most rewarding ‘job’ a girl could ever have. Feeling very lucky indeed!
Thank you ladies – love you lots and to those of you who are now married – I sincerely miss your visits so if you’re ever passing come and see us, even if it’s just for a big hug!
Finally, an ‘Oscars-stylie’ thank you to my fabulous husband, Jonny, who is heavily involved in everything we ever do at LOVE, in addition to running his own successful photography business, and constantly keeps me focussed. To my lovely sister Lisa for always being on hand to help whenever I’ve needed her, and to my right hand woman Clare who has literally been a godsend since she came on board last year and our brides are absolutely loving her as much as I do!
With lots and lots of LOVE,
xxx Emma xxx