Situated in the picturesque town of Holmfirth the shop perfectly manages the balance between being welcoming and luxurious without being overwhelming or pretentious. We spoke to the owner, Shannon Martin, all about the process of setting up shop.

Why have you decided to open the store?

I decided to open the boutique nearly a year ago now and after doing lots of research I decided it was the right decision to make. I already own a sample bridal boutique in Holmfirth and after the huge success we have had since opening only last year in April I knew it was time for us to break into the new bridal market.

We have received so many great reviews from our brides and have been a part of more than 70 weddings in our first year it just felt like the right time to expand. I’ve loved running my own business and find everything about the bridal industry to be just fantastic. It is actually such a difference from what I’m used to, after spending 10 years as a retail store manager for lots of different brands from Victoria’s Secret to Cath Kidston I’m so pleased that I took the plunge, left my job and perused this amazing career.

How have you gone about setting up shop?

The whole process of setting up the new boutique has been a very time consuming and tricky thing, however, now looking back I can see that the things that happened all happened for a reason and we wouldn’t be where we are today without those hurdles. We firstly found a property in Hebden Bridge near Halifax, which was the perfect place to open our next boutique as there is little in terms of bridal around that area. Unfortunately the lease on the property fell through and it meant I was back to square one!

I wracked my brains to find a suitable area for the shop and really wanted it to be in a quaint, idyllic location with tea rooms and cute little gift shops and then I realised it was staring me in the face! Holmfirth was home to the much loved tv series ‘Last of the Summer Wine’ and is where the current boutique is based so it only seemed right to stick to the place where both the team and I love spending our days. As if by a turn of fate we then found the most perfect property in the centre of

Holmfirth just a five minute walk from the current shop. The shop had been ‘Joe’s Ye Olde Bike Shop’ for the last decade and was now up for sale so we quickly snapped it up and, after many months of waiting for the sale to go through, we finally received the key, moved into the property and started the work. Whilst all this was going on I was lucky enough to secure some amazing designer who I’m so excited to begin working with.

The branding for the boutique was a big thing for me as I really wanted to try something a little different to the norm. We have gone for a rich charcoal grey with beautiful metallic gold writing with an explosion of dots to show of our name Dotty Taylor Bridal. The boutique is an abundance of beautiful pastel calamine pink with rustic original wood panelled walls and cupboards.

Which brands are you going to be stocking in the shop?

We have some fantastic dress designers who we are so proud to stock in the boutique those being Pronovias, House of Mooshki and Eliza Jane Howell. We also have the fabulous Rachel Simpson Shoes and Lily Bella accessories along with stunning Pronovias Les Accessory veils and belts. 

What have been the most challenging aspects?

I would say the most challenging aspect has easily been the purchase of the property, it has been such a long winded process and the whole way through we just didn’t know if everything was going to work out and if we were ever actually going to get into the shop. All in all this process took over seven months! So you can imagine my relief when we finally received the keys!

Other than this I would say piecing together all the branding and the look and feel that I wanted to portray in the boutique was challenging. I have the vision for it but trying to imagine how everything was going to sit together has been difficult but on as a whole it has been a great experience.