We’ve all seen the movies; a picture perfect bride stepping from behind the curtain in her dream dress to the oohs and aahs of her champagne-sipping besties. Of course, as a boutique owner we all want to recreate that movie moment for our customers too, so what’s the best way to go about it?

As the owner of Nora Eve Bridal for the past decade, creating the perfect bridal shopping experience is something I’ve become a bit of an expert in. Over the years I’ve tweaked and improved the service we offer our brides constantly, and last year I even moved our shop to a new state-of-the-art studio that would allow me to create everything our brides had been asking for!

The most important thing I’ve learned is that the bridal shopping experience starts well before your customers even step foot into your boutique, in fact it’s most likely their first impression of your service comes from a social media post, so ensuring that your online and offline presence are seamlessly integrated is a must. As much as 90% of a bride’s shopping experience could be conducted online - from seeking inspiration and researching boutiques, to booking appointments, arranging fittings and shopping for accessories - so this is a huge part of your customer journey and one that must not be forgotten.

The Online Experience

Do you know how customers discover your brand? The first touchpoint for almost all of our brides is TikTok and Instagram, so focussing on these platforms and ensuring they are consistent in terms of branding, aesthetics, personality and language requires daily effort from our team. Using the very best images, from designer collections, professional photography of the boutique and imagery from our own styled shoots help to reinforce our brand and style - we are aiming for aspirational yet friendly - and to set expectations well before their visit. In fact, some of our brides might even have chosen to shop at Nora Eve before they’re even engaged (shhh…we won’t tell!)

To us, it’s important to use these platforms as an extension of our boutique, communicating with potential customers, liking, commenting and replying to messages as well as running a friendly out-of-hours automation to make sure we don’t miss a thing!

Our brides can even book their appointment directly from our social profiles, making it super easy and efficient for them and us. Our booking system has been a big investment, making sure the process is simple, straightforward and quick, explaining each step and the options available along the way to ensure they get just the right amount of time with our stylist in the boutique. Once they’re booked in, a follow-up call to confirm is booked into the shop diary which is a great excuse to get chatting with the bride about their wedding & style, as well as give some underwear advice and calm any nerves about dress shopping. If you find that cancellations or no-shows are an issue, follow up with a text or email reminder 48 hours in advance so you have plenty of time to re-fill that slot if needed!

The Offline Experience

Stepping through the door at Nora Eve should feel like being welcomed into the home of your super-cool and chic bestie; a personal welcome at the door, a private bridal lounge for the bride and her guests and an excited chat about the wedding, dress likes & dislikes, body confidence, and of course, budget! If there are Pinterest boards, magazine cuttings and inspiration involved then even better, our stylists can quickly get an idea of what to select from the rails. The first appointment is also a great time to talk about who you are, share your story and talk about any memberships or accreditations you hold that may help build trust and confidence with your brides - you might have said it all online but repeating it in person helps cement that trust.

Brides who have booked with us after seeing our social media and website are expecting the best, so our stylists ensure they are looked after from the moment they step in the door, really listening to our customers to understand body confidence issues while helping them in & out of dresses, offering genuine help and advice and suggesting accessories to pull the bridal look together. It’s important to us that our brides don’t feel pressured to buy, so we’ll advise on lead-times, ordering and alterations to ensure they are fully informed and offer a second appointment to compare their three favourites if they need a little thinking time to consider. For brides who want something a little ‘extra’, we offer a VIP experience which treats the bride & her guests to cocktails from our bar and a special goody bag!

Once the ‘one’ has been chosen, we’re in on the excitement, offering our brides their ‘Insta’ moment in our seriously photogenic store. Over the years we’ve added lots of aftersales options to help our brides, from offering in-house customisations on our own Ella Kate gowns to referring to seamstresses for alterations. We’ll also even offer payment options to help with budgeting if really needed.

Before our brides leave the boutique we make sure they have all the details of their designer, dress, accessories and estimated delivery date, booking an accessories appointment to help finish their look and a final fitting nearer their wedding date if needed. We’ll also make sure we connect on social media so we can stay in touch with the wedding plans, and offer delivery updates before we invite them back to collect their steamed and bagged dress ready for the big day!

The Aftercare

Dress collected, big day been & gone, there are a few more things we like to do before we say goodbye to our brides (sad face); we’re fortunate to stay in touch with most of our brides and see our dresses tagged in their wedding photos, a great opportunity to get in touch and request photos to share on our own social channels. We also use this time to request feedback and a review. This is important social proof to show future customers that our online presence really is reflected in our in-person service - in fact, most of our brides recommend us to their friends as soon as they get engaged and can’t wait to come back as bridesmaid. That’s a perfect experience!

9 Things To Remember

• The dress shopping experience begins before the bride even steps foot in your boutique
• Keep your online and offline experience consistent and seamless
• Branding, aesthetics, language and style all need to be considered
• Invest in a good online booking system, and follow up with automated and personal reminders
• The first appointment is the time to cement everything your bride has learned about you online, build trust and confidence in your brand
• Give them their movie moment, celebrating when they find the one
• Don’t forget about your customers as soon as they walk out the door, stay in touch and keep them updated
• Make sure your fittings and collection appointments are as special as the first
• Follow your brides on social media (with their permission) and ask for feedback and testimonials so you can back up your perfect experience!

Nora Eve Bridal is a boutique bridal store in Derbyshire.

To visit their website, click here.