Welcome to Our New Blog!
From a dream we both had to becoming bridal boutique owners!
The journey begins!
What a journey the last 7 months have been. It's been the steepest learning curve of our lives!
The year 2020 really made us re-evaluate our lives like many others around the world. We both had a dream to do something more fulfilling and creative and if now wasn't the time to make our dreams come true, when was?
We explored several ideas but kept coming back to something we were both passionate about. The wedding industry! I mean who wouldn't love being around beautiful dresses all day?! We had NO idea what we were letting ourselves in for.
When we least expected it an opportunity presented itself and we decided to go for it! That's when we became the new owners of White Rose Bridal Rooms, Midgham.
Having taken over the business from the original owner Ashley, we had the challenge of not only making it our own but being sympathetic to what had been created and achieved so far. We decided to keep White Rose Bridal Rooms name but knew we wanted to update the logo and give the boutique a fresh new look.
Re-branding is something I get very excited about so I got to work! After a couple of tweaks we had our new brand palette & logo!
Then came the refurb! We gave ourselves a couple of weeks to transform the boutique and re-open. We called in every single favour we could and everyone pitched in!
After a crazy two weeks, we were broken but proud of what we had achieved in such a small space of time with next to no budget.
Naively, we thought those weeks would be our toughest and that things would get easier after that! I mean, how hard can it be selling wedding dresses, right? Wrong!
The struggles so far!
We completely underestimated the detrimental impact to the business because of the 'closing down' messaging that had been communicated for nearly 5 months. That was our first challenge, reversing the messaging and reminding everyone we were still here and under new ownership.
We both have other jobs as well as running the bridal boutique so time wasn't a privilege we had! With a limited budget and even less time, I did the unthinkable and ended up getting a puppy and Sophie was in the middle of looking for a new house!
Yeah, we know.........We are CRAZY! 😜
Having set a max budget to renovate and re-stock we had to get creative (it's what we are great at!). Luckily we have the most amazing suppliers. We both are incredibly tenacious so we had no choice but to make this work. After all we had invested everything we had into it.
So who are we?
We're two former work buddies who share an obsession of beautiful dresses, sparkles and all things pretty! We both love providing a truly personalised experience and get our kicks out of going the extra mile and delighting our clients.
Having met each other 8 years ago, we've had endless 'dreamy' conversations about working together again one day. We'd spend hours exploring ideas but the timing seemed to never be right, until July 2021!
What's next?
We want to be the 'Must Go To' boutique in area. It's as simple as that!
Sitting in beautiful surroundings in West Berkshire with Hampshire and Oxfordshire just a stones-throw away. We offer an inclusive, friendly service to all and really want your time with us to be memorable for all the right reasons.
After our own experiences and that of many we meet everyday, we have created an environment where you can feel comfortable, cared for and heard. Let's face it, this is likely to be the most important dress you will ever buy and it needs to be the right one! We genuinely LOVE what we do and if we don't think we have what you want, we'll help you with ideas to get it!
We have so many exciting projects in the pipeline and we can't wait to share them with you!
We want to thank you for your love & support for far! ❤️
We will certainly be celebrating our first year with a glass or two but don't worry, we will still have plenty chilled for your visit!
If you'd like to start your bridal experience with us then Book Now! We can't wait to meet you!
Lots of love, Hayley