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

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.

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!

Okay so it would be wrong to publish names but we all giggled when Rob (in menswear hire) told us the reason one of our menswear waistcoats was returned completely buttonless was because an Usher had quite literally torn his clothes off during a passionate fling with one of the bridesmaids! Oooo, sounds like the start of a flourishing new Colchester romance!! Our own new love this month is the lovely Lisa who has joined us for a while to support the hectic menswear hire department and our many Saturday bridal and bridesmaids customers. Already proving herself as a real asset, Lisa is a bubbly, kind and friendly person and we love having her around, well done Lisa and welcome to the team! A special mention of congratulations to Jodie and Dan Lowe, it was a pleasure assisting you all with your wedding wear, we are so delighted that your wedding went well and can’t wait to see more pictures, Dan nearly made me cry when he spoke of how beautiful he thought Jodie looked as she walked down the aisle, who says modern men aren’t romantic? Last week saw the arrival of the first of our gorgeous new collection of Divina Sposa wedding dresses, ‘Parma’ is a stunning crinkle and flat taffeta combination which features a striking layered flamenco style skirt…. I have resisted the temptation to put it on myself (last time I put a dress on I nearly got my bottom stuck). I think I’ll leave it to Lauren who absolutely loves it and says ‘It’s such a wow dress, I adore it!’…