Visit to Bath

Today I visited the city of Bath to consider in more detail whether it makes a good location for Wholehearted's first bridal boutique. I studied the city centre, the main shopping streets and the shops and boutiques as well as Bath's existing bridal boutiques and vacant boutiques.

I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the city and was inspired by the abundance of unique and contemporary boutiques which well compliment the style of my new bridal brand. I was surprised by the lack of both quality and quantity of bridal boutiques in Bath which proves there is a gap in the market for a contemporary and stylish bridal brand such as Wholehearted. 

Bath Shopping Street

Bath, Milsom Place

I also visited Bath's Wedding Fair. The fair was held in a luxurious hotel which mostly paid host to photographers, cake makers and florists.

Following my visit to Bath, depending on the rates of rent for the vacant shops I identified, I believe Bath makes a very suitable location for Wholehearted Bridal Boutique.

Wedding Time, Dorchester Interview

To aid this project and to help me build upon my market research I have planned to interview a number of local bridal boutiques. These interviews will be invaluable experiences and will hopefully provide me with information which justifies my plans for my new bridal brand. 

Wedding Time Shop Front

Overall, I found my visit to Wedding Time very enjoyable and beneficial. 

Tracy highlighted a number of points which are of particular interest to me. Firstly, she mentioned that several of their customers come from elsewhere in the country to shop with their mothers who have retired to South West England - many young women value the opinion of their mothers and enjoy sharing the shopping experience with their family. This is important due to my desire to remain local in a rural part of the country. I felt sure that there is a market for bridal boutiques in the South West however it is reassuring to hear it from a real business. 

I was inspired by Tracy’s adaptable approach to her business and her sheer determination to make it work, although I appreciate running a business is hard work, I feel determination is a characteristic I have which will benefit me in the future. Another aspect Tracy mentioned a number of times was how the business benefits from a long established good reputation. Reputations like this take years to build up but prove extremely advantageous for the business. 

Although I have no doubt Tracy has worked extremely hard to make her business a success I am aware she bought the business 9 years after it’s creation. As my next step, I’d very much like to speak to someone who has set up a bridal boutique from scratch, possibly a more contemporary boutique.

Progress...

I am pretty happy with how my major project is developing at the moment. Although I constantly feel like I have a lot to do, it's beginning to come together.

My research book is fairly full, I now need to edit this information down to create a brand introduction book/business plan. My next step is to also consider my digital feature story board with illustrations to explain the theory and practise of my digital ideas.

Also I have nearly completed my market research. I have had some great response from brides about their bridal shopping experience and have a interview lined up with a bridal shop in Dorchester.

Always plenty to be getting on with...

Umbourne Wedding Exhibition

As if on cue, my local village church held an exhibition of the parish resident's wedding and christening gowns from past years in celebration of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The country church was very small therefore I was expecting the exhibition to consist of only around 10 dresses; I was amazed to see about 40!


The exhibition was a great opportunity to take my research into the history of the wedding gown one step further and see a real history of wedding dresses from local people in one area of the country. As I plan to remain based locally in the future, it is important I understand the local bridal market. 

1958 May

1977

Bridal Visual Merchandising in London

In order to understand and fully appreciate the glamorous appearance and atmosphere of high end bridal boutiques I recently took a trip to London to visit a number of high profile bridal boutiques.

The boutiques I visited were generally located in areas with excellent transport links on fashionable streets full of equally high profile brands. As I expected, the shop fronts were extremely neat, clean and simple creating a good first impression. The name of the designer/boutique was generally clear and contemporary with an equally simplistic and effective window display. In most cases the boutiques displayed a small number of bridal gowns presented on mannequins with little or no additional visual merchandise cluttering the scene. The boutiques appeared to employ the ‘less is more’ approach; the stunning gowns spoke for themselves and illustrated a quality and professional bridal boutique.

Major Project Logo!

My project is still coming on well although I am feeling very aware that yet again time is ticking by very quickly. It's only two and a bit months before the deadline. I think I'm conscious of this fact as it's my last project, my final chance to show myself and my skills in the best possible way and possibly the work I'll be presenting to perspective employers!

I have recently designed my bridal brand logo which was very enjoyable - the first real creative task within the project. I am very pleased with the outcome and feel I have managed to achieve the fresh, stylish, modern and quirky impression I desire for my brand.