Abigail's Collection

Well after being (very happily) based on the first and second floor of a building in  Colchester High Street for three years we’ve officially opened our new ground floor shop doors to the world and can now welcome our customers into 2300 sq feet of wedding gorgeousness over 4 floors!!  Now that we have the space and after many requests we are thrilled to be able to offer a Mother of the Bride range in our luxuriously decorated Mother of the Bride department.  Customer feedback about our small but beautifully formed own label collection has been wonderful so far, thanks to everyone who has already ordered their outfits with us. Our launch party on Sunday was absolutely fabulous!  Everyone loved our new look Bridesmaids and Menswear departments, it was such a buzz!! We’d really like to thank Dave of Dreamwave Events for his fabulous and funky tunes, Bespoke Caterers and their brilliant staff for their delicious canapes, Nick Reade for his outstanding magic and our very own N’swana for the beautiful songs that she sang! (check out the Abigail’s Collection facebook page for the You Tube Video of her amazing performance).  So, yes, the bubbles literally flowed and everyone complimented us on our beautiful shop - a few customers even threatened to move in, perhaps not a bad idea, if we all move in the staff can save on travel and my Doggie would probably get less lonely…. It was really lovely to see our customers past and present as well as getting the chance to catch up on a few wedding photo albums that we hadn’t yet seen …. Katie Elias’ album was amazing and Casey and Sean looked so wonderful (can’t wait to catch up after her honeymoon).  Special thanks goes to Laura, Wedding and Events Co-ordinater at Braxted Park for joining us with her Sister Katie and it was also really special to have Mark and Lesley Designer and manufacturer of their award winning label ‘Mark Lesley’  here to celebrate with us.  We’ve just received our Mark Lesley gowns in-store and are really excited to have them, they are simply gorgeous; fabulous structure, stunningly elegant fabrics and beautiful bead work!….  So many exciting things to report and so much happening …. actually the refurbishment has been thoroughly exhausting, all of the staff have had to work really hard and over long hours to get everything finished - it’s with huge thanks to them all (including my adorable Husband and Business Partner Rob) that we managed to get our new shop up and running and with minimal inconvenience to our customers so I’d like to end by saying thank you to all of our Customers for their support and especially to Rob, Kirsty, N’swana and Lisa you are the best ever and I am very lucky to work with you all! x

My first favourite thing about owning a bridal shop is the sense of privilege (and satisfaction) that I feel from dressing Brides and Grooms for their big day.  It’s such a rewarding industry and helping Brides with their preparations is a real honour.  I absolutely love seeing the pictures after the big day - I don’t think I could ever tire of this job!  My second favorite thing is the buying!  Selecting styles for our future Brides is lovely, sometimes it’s hard to choose which Designers and which dresses to have on our rails (mainly because I love them all) but again, it’s a really fun aspect of what we do.  This year saw the launch of a new designer wedding dress trade show in London called the ‘White Gallery’ and Kirsty (our shop Manager) and I went to check it out …. I didn’t exactly have to drag her along she too shares in a relentless passion for bridal and loves buying as much as I do. Out of earshot of my husband Rob (Menswear) I plotted with her, ‘look; I know it’s only 45 minutes on the train to London but it’s an excuse to stay in a posh London hotel I’ve found us.  I’ll tell Rob it’s absolutely critical that we stay over and do two days …Oooo and let’s see if we can pop and do a little shopping in Zara whilst we’re there!’ ….  So we got our way and our plan worked, lol!  We packed faaaar to much!!  The Porter who welcomed us had to use a wheelie luggage cage (a frequent side effect of my ‘shoe-bag-itus’).  We checked in early and our rooms were not available so they allowed us to use the spa facilities before we went off to the show.  Within ten minutes of being in the spa I sufferred two hideouesly embarrassing experiences … Firstly I walked into the loo where a lady had omitted to lock the door!!  Oh God, it was awful!!  Self consciously I made a quick exit and proceeded to freshen up, I’d been wearing flip flops across London and decided to wash my feet in the shower cubicle.  So, fully dressed, flip flops off, I selected the switch for the handset I was then holding.  It was the wrong switch!  Instead of the hand held shower head delicately spraying on my feet all three super power body jets hit me in the face!!!  I got drenched, my make up ran and I suffered further humiliation as afore mentioned toilet lady helped me to switch it all off!  She and I agreed it was not a good look, although worryingly I’m not sure if she meant mine or hers!!!!  Anyway.  The show itself was a huge success, we really enjoyed the fashion shows and meeting new Designers.  We took on a new designer called Pepe Botella, new to the UK market, these dresses are dramatic and romantic, gorgeously stylish and I know that our Brides are going to love them.  They’ll be available - from September!

Sometimes it feels as though our building is literally bursting at the seams with our lovely Customers!  On Saturday at one particular point I counted 31 customers in store at once – which, (with our existing set up) sure is a bit of a squeeze!  We’re really passionate about our high level of customer service, our unique shopping experience and of course our little pampering touches which I why we’ll all be thrilled to have more room for everyone very soon!  Our menswear department is currently on our top floor and they’ll be relocating down to our new bit in July.  We’re currently busy designing the new areas and instructing Builders on where we’d like walls put and what kind of lighting we want …. so far they’re coping well and are patiently coming to terms with my bossiness!!  Moving the Lads will come as a huge relief for many reasons; most critically it will mean customers won’t have to wait as long for an appointment with us and we’ll also have more comfortable plush waiting areas in-store too.  Rob can’t wait to move into the new part of the building - he thinks he’ll get some peace and quiet from me and Kirsty (no chance, I’ll only be upstairs Darling! – You’d have to move Counties for that and even then if I shouted you’d probably hear me!!).  And I can’t wait because it means that the men wont have to share our toilet which, (sorry Gents) can be a little frightening on occasion for us girlies….. arrr, heaven …. calm serene lovely ladies in our bit and not a beer or an extreme sports dvd in sight, soon that will all be downstairs.  Of course The Groom’s Room will continue to offer our menswear hire  and made to measure suit service but along with our extended new look menswear department we’ll be unveiling one or two more lovely surprises including a new and first exciting own label range (Oooooo????) and a gorgeous new style special room for our Brides (arrrrrr????) … I’m in heaven shopping for chintzy bits and bobs to decorate the new ladies rooms and can’t wait to start planning our little July launch do too.  Finally, whilst on the subject of our Gents a special congratulations to Mr Stephen Midgley and his wife who wed on Saturday - Everybody looked fabulous and Stephen’s Dad sent Rob and the team a lovely photo and e-mail; …….. ‘Your professional advice and attention to detail, as well as the service you provide is second to none.  The groom looked fantastic as did both fathers, as well as all the ushers, they looked so smart, it made the day perfect.  I most certainly know where to come to for future events and will recommend you to all my family, friends and work colleagues.  On behalf of myself, and my family, thank you…… ‘ , What a lovely e-mail, thank you Sir!  We’re delighted that you all enjoyed a wonderful day together – please send the happy couple our best wedding wishes once again and we hope to see you sometime soon.

Well it certainly feels as though it’s been a long winter!  I think that customers and staff alike are feeling the benefits of the long over due Spring sunshine.  Personally I love Spring and not just for the sun but for the sense of ‘newness’ that it brings.  Spring’s all about growth and development and Abigail’s Collection is defintiely in full Spring mode!!…  Just a few weeks ago Lauren sadly left to have major foot surgery.  The first of this year’s (two maybe three) operations has gone well though and she’s being nursed by her Mum (and dog Clover).  Everyone wishes her well.  We miss Lauren already and Rob sarcastically says he has no one to tease anymore!!  Lisa and N’swana have been working like troopers this month (well done and thank you girls) and we’re all ready to welcome our new Manager ‘Kirsty Vaughan’ who joins tomorrow!  With 5 years industry experience and a natural passion for all things bridal we’re really excited that she’ll be working with us.  It’s certainly a busy time to be joining because the business is expanding with an additional 1500 sq ft, yes I said an additional 1500 sq ft!!!  Watch this space for news of our swanky refurbishment and exciting July launch.  Customers are really positive about the expansion and we’ve had some lovely feedback from Brides.  On Saturday amidst the usual bridal buzz we welcomed back two previous Abigail’s Collection Brides with their Sisters for whom this time, it was their turn for a wedding dress; Hayley (was) Hart and Claire (was) Ferris came to see us with their lovely bride to be Sisters Claire and Kirsty.  Many congratulations to Claire (was Ferris) who is now Mum to a little girl called Grace (we love that name) ….. and thank you to Hayley for the beautiful Aruba wedding day picture, we loved it so much we decided it was a perfect pic for this sunshine themed blog …. just looking at it makes me want to book a holiday, maybe I could squeeze into Claire Hart’s suitcase when she goes off for her St Lucia wedding abroad, she’ll need someone to get her into her dress after all?!… Mmm, I think Rob may have something to say about that little trip, if only because he doesn’t trust me and my airport shopping reputation!

Wow!!  My Goodness, it’s been hectic!  Do I always say that at the start of every blog post???…..  So, firstly; Rob and I visited the British Bridal Exhibition just a few weeks ago and we had a such a brilliant time, especially at the awards ball!  It is with thanks to our wonderful customers for their votes that we made the finals for the 2010 ‘Bridal Retailer of the Year’ award, we made it to the top six in the country!  Sadly we didn’t win but that’s okay, we have many business awards  under our belt and ever the optimists, there’s always next year!  Harrogate plays home to the exhibition twice yearly and it’s where we select and buy our styles for the forthcoming season.  I’ve chosen some absolute stunning dresses from a new label called Mark Lesley.  We are so thrilled to have taken on this gorgeous range and along with their signature label we’ve also taken on their couture and paradise collection which will be in-store from September…. Last weekend I flew to Madrid for the exciting launch of the 2011 San Patrick collection, they are totally stunning!  I love this years collection and found it hard to whittle it down from the 100 styles shown on the catwalk.  Next year’s trends are set to continue with even more elegance…. beautiful lace, fabulous layering, romantic ball gowns, sleek fit and flare fishtails and wow factor glamourous ball gowns!!!  I went alone (which was a real bonus beacuse at Stansted I nipped into the Mulberry handbag store and brought myself a black Mulberry clutch, a huge treat for me and a special purchase which wouldn’t have been allowed had my adoring husband been with me, he just doesn’t get the ’shoes & handbag’ thing!)…. Business is (as usual) booming and we have received so many wonderful thank you cards and photographs and we were so thrilled to see the video highlights for Chris & Cally’s wedding – we were lucky enough to look after the beautiful Cally for her bridal, bridesmaids and menswear needs and they all looked stunning on the day.  I’m so soppy and literally wept through this mini video.  I hope you agree that it certainly looks like there was a lot of love and laughter on their big day, everyone looks amazing! Cally & Chris’s wedding day video highlights  thanks so much for sending this in and many congratulations from us all.

Wow!! It’s certainly been busy for us!! The shop has literally been buzzing with lots of lovely Essex Brides and Grooms some of which are still shopping for Summer 2010 weddings!!!  Girls, Girls,Girls …. why have you left it this long?  Well don’t panic, it’s no problem – if you still need help with your wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses or Groomswear for Summer 2010 just contact us and we’ll get you booked in asap…  On a personal note February’s always a big month for Neill celebrations, of course there is Valentines day but Rob and I also enjoyed our birthdays this month (well I sort of enjoyed it but realised it was finally time to invest in some new anti-wrinkle cream much to the delight of Estee Lauder!).  On 26th of Feb we celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary, this year it’s represented by wood!  Yes, it’s Wood?!! (When exactly is it gold or diamonds Ladies?)  Anyway, ‘wood’ aside, we’ve booked the day off work and intend to do something lovely together, perhaps lunch somewhere special and a romantic dog walk in the ‘woods’.  I may persuade Rob to watch our wedding dvd again.  I always cry when I watch it.  Our wedding day at Layer Marney Tower was everything that we had dreamt of, we had so much fun together and I have often wished that we could have our wedding day all over again which is (drum roll please) why I am soooooooo excited to tell you about our latest project ‘The Essex Wedding Belle Ball’, it’s a chance for us to wear our wedding dresses again whilst the Guys glam it up in a Tux!!  The venue will be set with with a special red carpet entrance and a sparkling champagne reception followed by fabulous dinner and dance.  I’ve got a very special evening lined up with some brilliant entertainers – it’s going to be absolutely fabulous, the date is May 28th.  Of course like many of you I need to suss out if I can actually fit into my dress but I’ve got my Seamstresses on stand by for us all so don’t worry if like me your dress needs a little alteration here and there (out!).  By the way if you would like friends to join you (married or not) they are welcome just so long as they follow the dress code too…. See you all there, it’s going to be fantastic! x

We’ve got gorgeous new dresses, had some beautiful new shop pictures taken and we’re enjoying welcoming lots of new Brides & Grooms.  It certainly looks like it’s going to be another fab and busy year in the world of weddings!  Christmas has been and gone and as lovely as it was we are all relieved that the snow has finally melted.  Thank goodness most of our Christmas Brides and Grooms report that their guest lists were (mainly) un-disrupted, six newlywed couples report that it snowed on their actual wedding day which I’m sure made for some stunning winter wonderland pictures.  And talking of stunning; we’re thrilled to be an exclusive Essex wedding dress stockist and have the new ‘Eglantine’ French label now in store.  This delightful collection features classic pure silks and vintage lace styles delicately adorned with pretty crystals.  Also new in are some striking designs by our gorgeous White Rose wedding dress label and the sought after 2010 designer dresses by San Patrick have also arrived too! New for the Grooms Room at Abigail’s Collection is another 6 waistcoat designs, a staggering 100 new fabulous fabrics for our made to measure suit service and a grand new total of 400 cuff-link options!!  Newest staff member N’swana has completed her three month ‘trial & train’ period with us and is officially welcomed to the Team (N’swana we love having you around, keep up the good work) and the lovely Lauren is congratulated on her promotion to ‘Senior Consultant’, well done Lauren we’re very proud of you and hope you enjoy popping the champers in celebration.  Here’s to a lovely year and to customers past, present and future we hope that all of your 2010 new year wishes come true!  Happy New Year from us all!

I am soooo proud to announce that we scooped not just one but two more business awards at the 2009’s Colchester & District Business Awards ceremony last Friday evening!  Six hundred guests gathered at the glittering black tie dinner and dance to celebrate the best and most successful businesses in Colchester, Essex.  The girls, Rob and I were really excited about the event and were absolutely thrilled to have reached the finals in two categories, however, to actually win both ‘Growing Business of the Year’ and ‘Excellence in Customer Services’ was simply fantastic!  We all drank far too much champagne to celebrate our double win and poor Lauren had to look after all of my Clients on Saturday because I was struggling with one of the worst hangovers ever!!  Our thanks go out to the Newsquest paper group for organising such a brilliant event, to our Customers for all of their support and to CCL Communications and Springlands Nursery who were the Judges of our categories.  We are very proud indeed and now have a total of 7 award trophies!  Thanks also to one of our lovely Brides (Sarah) who popped in with a congratulations card and made us giggle by saying that if there was an award for winning awards we would probably win that also!

The damp, dreary and cold weather has kicked in and so what did Rob and I decide to do???…. find an excellent last minute deal online and book a holiday to Mauritius! We went for a week and it was aaaaaamazing, I feel very lucky indeed, it was a holiday to remember forever!!! Whilst Rob and I were relaxing in the sun Lauren, Kirsty, Nswana and Lisa held the forte fabulously well, they had a very busy week and so a huge well done girls! For anyone that is considering Mauritius for their honeymoon or wedding I say ‘go for it’! The weather was beautiful, the food was lovely and the Mauritian people are wonderful. Highlights of our romantic holiday included a trip to a tropical bird park where we had a once in a lifetime experience of walking with lions, we were safely guided by a South African Keeper and walked with two Lions for an hour through a sunlit forest, it was awesome. Also whilst in Mauritius we visited a beautiful Hindu temple and the stunning Chameral waterfalls. We stayed on the east coast in a hotel called the Sugar beach. We saw several wonderful weddings taking place there, a few were set in the beautiful gardens and one or two on the stunning beach. One couple had a very quick and vey windy ceremony and then spent so long having photographs taken (literally about three and a half hours) all of their guests got bored and seemed to leave!! We all know it’s important to capture the moment but I wanted to tell them to quit the photo shoot and go and celebrate their wonderful occasion with their guests before it was too late!! Other shop news …. It’s awards season and our fourth year competing in the Colchester Business awards …. This year we are in the final for not one but two award categories including ‘Growing Business’ and ‘Excellence in Customer Services’. We are very excited about attending the awards ceremony on November 27th so watch this space and please keep everything crossed for us….

Wedding Fair season has been (and nearly gone) which means we’re nearly at Christmas! I can’t believe it’s only ten weeks away!! It seems like only yesterday Rob, Lauren and I were having to psyche ourselves up for onslaught of the September and October early morning Sunday wedding fairs and now we’ve nearly finished them which means (for Rob & I), back to a lovely routine of Sunday morning doggie walks, bacon sandwiches and relaxing Sunday evenings with the X Factor! …. Wedding fairs are great fun but can be hard work loading, unloading and setting up (Rob would argue that I mainly chat whilst he unloads the cars, I keep telling him it’s called ‘networking’) …. Anyway, we love catching up with our friends (other industry exhibitors) and the best bit of course is meeting new Brides and Grooms and stealing chocolate fountain profiteroles from melting chocolate moments! Charter Hall was a success, lots of brides came to see us at the stand and booked appointments and we’ve seen some of you already who have excitedly placed orders for bridal dresses for wedding days as far ahead as 2011 and in the case of one lovely Bride 2012!! It just shows that it’s never too early to get the dress arranged girls!!! We’re busy in-store getting ready for our October sale which takes place on 25th and 26th and features some absolute bargains at just £299 (see web site/call for more details) we think we may have queues to contend with … one Bride has even threatened to arrive at 7am in order to get first choice, now that’s bargain hunting dedication for you!