I owned a bridal shop AMA

[Pigeonpresent]

Just that

[Rarfy]

What made you give it up?

[LeroyJenkins]

What was your worst experience with a b2b

[Pigeonpresent]

the rent on my shop was raised higher than I could afford, it’s now a charity shop.

[Pigeonpresent]

My worst experience was a bride who decided she hated her dress when it came in, cried, shouted at her mum, shouted at me, refused to pay the remainder and wrote a horrible review on line. The sad thing is I always tried to work with brides who felt that way but she just wouldn’t let me help.

[PrincessDaff]

Have you ever thought that a bride looked ridiculous in the dress that she picked?

[Pigeonpresent]

I honestly haven’t. I was always very honest with brides and even if they chose something I didn’t particularly like I could see it made them happy. When it’s your own shop you tend to only stock dresses you like anyway.

[Pigeonpresent]

I had already considered giving it up though rarly it’s more stressful than you might think

[Pigeonpresent]

Haha is AMA dead then?

[Bimgy85]

Did anyone ever just use the bridal shop to come in, prance around for ages and not buy anything

[Pigeonpresent]

Yes! All the time! In particular men, or they’d just ring up and try to talk about corsetry

[Pigeonpresent]

I actually never minded if they were just honest and it was quiet, everyone needs a little pick me up sometimes

[ClemDanfango]

What do you think of shops like wed2be?

[Pigeonpresent]

Every shop has it’s place and it’s nice to see brides on a budget aren’t confined to 2nd hand anymore but it always killed me when a bride comes in having wasted a massive portion of her tiny budget on a dress made of shower curtain

[Pigeonpresent]

It amazes me that people can pay £100 and expect it to look like the £10k version

[DieAntword]

Do you ever get fat people getting upset that none of the dresses look right but it’s not the dresses fault so much as nothing is going to look right when you’re that fat but they’re in too much denial to realise? How would you deal with that?

[TimesNewRoman]

Do you have a deal with the dressmakers, advising people to order a slightly bigger dress which obviously needs alterations?

[starryeyed19]

How did you get into the business? How do you source wedding dresses to stock? Who were your favourite designers? Did you also stock accessories? What kind? (I may watch too much Say Yes To The Dress)

[mrsb06]

I always thought owning a bridal dress shop was harder and far less glamorous than it looks.

What are the hardest bits? I'm guessing you had some days when you hardly saw anyone?

[Pigeonpresent]

I dealt with that all the time Die Antword they were actually my favourite customers! Any good bridal shop owner has a few dresses that bigger girls look AMAZING in and there’s nothing like the look on a B2B’s face who thought they’d never find their dress and then finally feel beautiful! The key was usually finding out what it was they hated, usually arms, and then disguising it while showing off an area they liked

[Pigeonpresent]

I didn’t Times but many do. Some shops just worry you may put weight on and want to play it safe. I always showed the size chart and made a mutual agreement

[Wildboar]

Have you ever had a bride that has completely changed weight since ordering and there’s no way the dress will fit?

[DieAntword]

I was fat and I designed my own dress but sometimes I wish I’d got it off the hanger. I think it would have been a lot nicer if a real designer had designed it but I wanted it to look a ceirtainly way. Not sure I’d have found what I was looking for but I guess it’s too late now. I’ll never be a beautiful bride. I did suggest to my husband as a reward if I lost ALL the weight I want to lose that I get some bridal pictures taken in a beautiful white dress but that sounds crazy (he agrees, crazy) although he said he’d indulge it if I really was that crazy ;)

[Whisky2014]

How much of a mark up did you put on the dresses/ what was your profit per dress?

[Pigeonpresent]

I worked part time ina shop and loved it, my old boss was a great mentor. There’s a massive bridal event every year in Harrogate- all the international designers take their entire collection and they give you champagne and canapés to soften you up. It’s amazing because you get to see every new dress on the market in one place. It goes on all weekend and everyone has a brilliant time and spends too much! Our designers would lay on evenings whilst we were there with five course meals and free booze to thank us for our loyalty. My favourite high end was Vera Wang and low end Eternity.

[Pigeonpresent]

Wild boar- yes it’s awful when that happens!