In Bloom

Well, we have been very busy bees in May.

The shop has been buzzing with all the fittings, with brides coming in to have their dresses pinned and looking at how much weight they've lost. Our workroom girls are fantastic and I’ve yet to find an alteration they can’t do. From making a whole front panel for a pregnant bridesmaid's dress, to downsizing a dress for a bride who has lost two and a half stone. I’m very proud that we are able to offer this in-house service to our brides, I think they really appreciate that we're with them right through to their wedding day!

We also had a visit from my good friend Karen Taft, managing director of Benjamin Roberts, Enzoani, Blue and Tia. I totally admire her drive and energy and after seeing my new project it was off for a pub lunch. It’s great to get together and talk about our plans for the future.

George Efstratiou and Karen Taft visit The Wedding Shop

It's also been an amazing buying month with all our new collections for next year. We have been in Barcelona looking at the amazing new Pronovias collection; it really is cutting edge, very detailed and flamboyant, also lots of their lace signature dresses.

The White Gallery was held in Battersea Park and we attended on the last day to avoid the crowds, giving us time to look around all the new collections. Sassi Holford has some beautiful lace vintage inspired dresses with shoulders and straps, which is a great relief as we have all been crying out for something that is not strapless! We also took a look at the new Caroline Castigliano collection which is being launched for the first time, but we felt it was not up to the standard and quality of Suzanne Neville and with a more expensive price tag, we felt it wasn’t for us.

Suzanne Neville hosted her collection at the Tower of London, which was just fantastic, the best collection she has ever designed. I wanted to have them all! There was a style to suit every figure and taste, from her signature corsetry to soft lace and real 50’s glamour with full organza skirts and beaded detail. We had a lovely goodie bag and I am now a complete convert to her body crème which smells divine. It is incredible to think that next year will complete 10 years of working with Suzanne and we have grown closer and closer, we are very happy to be the only stockist in Essex.

With Suzanne Neville at the Tower of London (sorry about the BlackBerry picture!)

Last but by no means least was Jenny Packham. Famous for her 1930’s glamour dresses, not for the faint hearted, with their figure hugging charmuse silk and low plunging necklines. We were blown away by the intricacy of this new collection with lots of her trademark beaded dresses, necklines had been designed slightly higher making them more wearable for most brides and I loved the muted colours of Champagne and platinum.

After all these years I still get so excited seeing the new collections, all of the designers have really surpassed themselves this season. We will be having designer days towards the end of the year as the new collections arrive, so keep an eye on the website to see when your favourite designer is going to be at The Wedding Shop Colchester!