The Bride, St Albans | Designer Wedding Dresses

The Bride, St Albans | Designer Wedding Dresses

Welcome to my latest Big Day Small Talk interview with the fabulous wedding professionals with whom I have the pleasure to work. This time it’s Polly Parkin, owner of The Bride, a beautiful bridal shop here in sunny St Albans specialising in designer wedding dresses.

Tell us a little bit about yourself – where are you from?
Well, I was born and bred in St Albans. I went to St Albans Girls school, and went off to Brighton University for my degree (my daughter’s there!) [Did you enjoy it?] I loved it – I did history of design, and I had a great time there. I then got a job as a trainee buyer at Next in Leicester, lived there for a few years, then moved to London and came back to St Albans – it felt like I was coming home.

Do you have a family?
I have a husband, Duane, and 2 children, my son Hector, 11, and Maisie, 9.

Are you in the middle of a project now?
My husband is building the first eco house in St Albans. He has designed it and is overseeing the build. (Duane Parkin www.livingspace3.co.uk)

Are you conscious of being eco friendly in your business?
Yes, as much as possible, although I am dubious of the amount of recycling done by the waste contractors that collect everything – it all seems to go into the same bins.

How long have you been in the wedding business?
8 years, with one and a half years to restore the building – it was derelict and open to the elements with pigeons in the roof. It is a very beautiful building and we’ve tried to restore it sympathetically and retain the original character.

What is it that you love about your job?
I love seeing these beautiful brides going up the aisle looking the best they possibly can. As soon as they walk through the door here, we will do the absolute best for them, we will give them a dress that fits them like a glove. I really enjoy working with people who may be petite, or really tall, or a little bit different, and we will send them up the aisle looking a million dollars, whoever they are. It’s an absolute pleasure every time. We get lovely feedback from our brides which is so so nice.

What do you feel is the most challenging thing about selling wed dress?
Everybody is so driven by price. I think sadly people have taken their eyes off the service side of retail, which is what we are so good at delivering. They are focussing much more on whether they can get a bit off or rather than actually thinking about a lovely experience with the best possible service, and for the whole thing to be an absolute pleasure. We are selling a promise that you will look amazing on your wedding day, and that’s very valuable. It’s hard not to sound false when you’re trying to convince people of your good service.

What do you think are the trends this year?
Lace, we have Kate Middleton to thank for that – she’s reinforced the trend for lace, definitely long sleeves in lace. There is also a move away from the strapless look towards sleeves and straps. I think so many brides have seen ill-fitting dresses, they’re now wary of strapless styles.

What has been your most memorable booking and why?
There are so many!

What do you think of the wedding industry at the moment and where do you see it in 5 years from now?
I think the next five years are going to be good. Inevitably shops are going , shutting down left right and centre, wedding dress shops too. I think people will have to pull their socks up and make their businesses work as hard as they can. The weaker stockists and labels will disappear. People will expect value for money, but also quality and good design – the want something GOOD!

What was your most embarrassing moment?
We have lots! Well, way back during our first year, someone came to pick up the dress, we stupidly gave them the wrong dress, and they were heading up the M1 before we realised! It never happened again! Systems take many months to organise we are a very slick and fine-tuned machine now! When we first opened we didn’t realise these things could possibly happen!

A website and/or blog you like?
I am an avid follower of all my designers’ web sites, blogs and tweets. It keeps me posted – for example Suzanne Neville is doing something exciting on TV every week at the moment, or with a celebrity, and it’s important for us to be able to say to our brides ‘did you see Tess Daly’s dress?’, or tell them that a celebrity was wearing a Stephanie Allin.

What talent would you most like to have?
I’d love to be able to sew like our seamstress can – it’s an amazing skill, she just has such finesse,

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My husband of course! And my children! And I do love my work, I have to admit!

Something that is overrated?
Designer days – I used to love them, when designers came to the shop, and spend the day with us. Sadly it’s become a discount day in a lot of shops, rather than a designer day. We don’t have discounts on Designer Days, that isn’t the point – you get to meet the designer, they’ll measure you and offer style and design advice, and you’ll have a lovely experience with them. So it frustrates me that it’s turned into a discount day and people are not interested in meeting the designer. [Surely you should charge more for a designer fitting - it should have a premium on it!] Yes! We’ve got Sassi Holford in on the 4th February, which we’re really looking forward to – she’s lovely, very bubbly and full of energy. She’s elegant, stylish, classic – the brides love her.

Your favourite film of all time?
Raising Arizona. I love art house movies, we go through phases of Japanese films, or Spanish films and we love Campus West over at Welwyn, where there is an amazing International film club.

A book you’ve enjoyed recently?
I’ve been in a book club at Maple School since my son was in reception. We’ve read hundreds of books over the years. I’m currently reading ‘The Help’, which is amazing. Favourite book of all time? Probably ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, for nostalgic reasons.

What ambition have you yet to achieve?
My ambition I’ve yet to achieve is finding my home. We move around a great deal, my husband and I, we’ve moved sooo many times. My ambition is to have a house that I can stay in. Even ten years would be lovely.

What would you say has been the main key to your success in your business?
We are very thorough here – it’s somebody’s wedding dress, we don’t leave anything to chance. We are on to everything, super organised, and pay attention to every last detail to ensure everything is perfect. Our brides pay a lot of money for a beautiful dress and they should get nothing less than perfection. It is our attention to detail that has made all the difference. We work very hard – I have a fantastic team here, there are eight of us altogether, six in attendance on Saturdays! I have amazing loyalty from my staff, they have all been with me for many years.

What advice do you have for anyone wanting to become professional and do what you do?
Make sure you take on the best supply base you can, because your business is only as good as your dresses. You need to be somewhere where you’ll definitely get footfall, although we are a destination, so not as crucial for us here. And you need a good team with you.

Three tips for brides?
We make sure they have the right silhouette for them, the right neckline is absolutely critical, as that’s the bit every body notices, and trust us that it will fit beautifully. It’s leap of faith sometimes, as all the dresses here are a size 12, so they have to imagine it fitting them perfectly. They need to choose the right fabric, the right neckline and the right silhouette. Some people will suit shiny fabric, some will suit matt fabric – that’s the level of detail we look at here.

What is your most treasured possession?
Difficult question, hmmm, nothing springs to mind. I have many things from my childhood, my Steiff teddy, for example. My husband and I have been together for 25 years now, and we buy classic things and keep them forever. I love all my things!

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
It would be to have a week where I don’t have to think about anything at all. A summer holiday! I can’t imagine going away for two weeks – that would be an absolute dream. I don’t think that’s going to happen in the next decade! That would be my dream, a two week switch-off! (Laughs!)

What would your superpower be?
To be able to cure people – healing.

Is there something you’ve always wanted to try?
(Loooong pause…) [Jumping out of a plane, climbing a mountain, bungee jumping, he says helpfully] NO! I’m not very adventurous. I tried snorkelling and loved it. I’d like to go to the Caribbean, I imagine it’s very beautiful. I’ve no desire to jump out of an aeroplane or anything along those lines, I’m quite cautious actually. I’d love to try some amazing restaurants, I’m a real foodie – every week a new restaurant, that would be great.

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
We sought a lot of advice from our suppliers when we opened. Sassy Holford advised us to give brides their privacy when trying on dresses. When we designed our dressing areas, we gave each bride a lot of space, and also privacy – no-one wants to be stripped bare in front of everybody, so we offer a lot of discretion. They are very safe in here, there’s a locked door at the front. [There's nothing worse than trying on clothes when someone pokes their head round the curtain and says 'how're you getting on?'] Yes, our brides feel very secure in here, however self-conscious they feel.

Your favourite indulgence?
I love dark chocolate – my son always buys me for birthdays, or Christmas, or any excuse really, a box from Hotel Chocolat

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
I’d probably still be in retail buying. I still have a lot of friends who buy for big high street names. I also bought for Daisy and Tom in their day, Tim Waterstone’s venture, which I really enjoyed.

Tea or coffee?
Both – tea in the early morning, coffee mid-morning, tea in the afternoon, decaff coffee in the evening.

Cat or dog?
Neither.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
Hopefully still here – we plan to make this business stand the test of time. We are always adapting and moving forwards constantly so we stay fresh.

If you had one wish…
I wish for a two week holiday!

Thank you so much for taking time out to chat this morning, Polly, it’s been an absolute pleasure.

www.the-bride.co.uk

mydress@the-bride.co.uk