The ‘one-woman’ bridal business: Lavelle Bridal Couture
We chat with Becky Lavelle from Lavelle Couture about her entrepreneurial journey as a one-woman business so far, the challenges she faced and the advice she has to offer to those wanting to follow her path.
Give us an introduction to Lavelle Bridal Couture.
Lavelle Bridal Couture is a luxury bridal boutique situated in the heart of historic Warwick and owned by me, Becky Lavelle (where the name comes from). I pride myself on offering my brides the best service with a very big smile, lots of laughs along the way and a sprinkle of gorgeous dresses that may or may not include some sparkle. The carpet of the shop is usually covered in glitter and I love it! I stock a gorgeous range of unique wedding dresses for brides that are looking for something super special to wear on their big day. I am with the bride every step of the way, from the very first phone call, DM or Whatsapp, right through to collecting their dress just days before the wedding.
Which designers do you stock, and how did you choose them?
I stock Pronovias, Dream by Savin, Dando London and Vera Wang. I think all of my designers offer something a little bit different for my brides and I’m always very conscious of that when I buy the dresses for my collections. I’ve had Dando London from the moment I opened, I love the fitted, sexy styles that Christine designs so well and my brides love these too. I had my eye on Pronovias for a while, their dresses are just so, so beautiful, and I knew that when I was offered to stock them I had to have them in the boutique. I love the traditional European style of their designs that encompass a modernity that my brides love. You can always spot a Pronovias dress a mile off: they have such a signature style. Dream by Savin I have only recently taken on, and I’m so pleased that I now have these in the shop. I was desperate to have a truly unique brand that was all designed and made in the UK. Andre and the team are so fab to work with and the quality of these dresses is second to none. There is nothing that can’t be done, so I love showing brides these dresses who might like to play around with design details that we can then change with the London Atelier team to make their dress just perfect. Vera Wang…I’m mean it’s Vera Wang. A design and bridalwear icon. These dresses are right up my street. Just the right amount of traditional wedding dress design paired with gorgeous elaborate details which usually means big bows. Mega Vera fan right here!
Tell us about your roles as a one-woman business/ what does your day-to-day look like?
Every day is so different. I have many different roles in the business from sales and customer service to marketing, visual merchandising and accounting, so no day ever looks the same. I try to maintain a little bit of structure so that I can plan my time to try and get everything done, but sometimes those plans go out of the window, especially if you have a bride in need of a dress urgently. Hands down though, the part I love the most is meeting all of my gorgeous brides. I feel so privileged when I find out that they’ve chosen me and my boutique to be a part of their special journey. I’m with them every step of the way and I think that’s what brides love about their experience with me the most. It’s true what they say, people buy people and I don’t care what anyone else says, I have the best brides: my Google reviews are a testament to that!
Walk us through the Lavelle Bridal Couture bridal buying experience.
It usually starts off very organised with lots of planning. Going through buying budgets, looking at best selling dresses and styles. I love data, so I’m in my element pulling lots of reports and doing the analysis before the shows. Then what tends to happen is I get there and I’m like a magpie drawn to all the sparkly, shiny things! I always make sure that I buy dresses that I love. Although I’m always thinking of my brides, I find it very hard to sell something that I don’t also love, so it has to give me all the feels. There’s usually a wild card or two, but I kind of love that. I like to have things that are a bit different, that not every other bridal shop has, as it gets people talking and it’s what people remember you for. I had a bride come to me once in the summer because of a dress she’d seen in my window the November before and couldn’t stop thinking about it.
What’s your favourite thing about being a one-woman business?
That every day is so different and that I get to experience it all. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it’s very hard, but I have so much flexibility being on my own and I get to do everything my way and reap all the benefits of seeing brides from start to finish. It’s such a rewarding career to be able to make brides dreams come true!
What’s one thing you wish you knew when starting out?
How lonely it would be working on your own and just how hard owning a business is. I’d never really thought that much about being on my own, but it was a bit of a shock to the system going from sitting in a busy head office with 500-odd staff to just little old me. I’m much more used to it now as I’ve found an incredible support network in local business owners, but to begin with it was really hard, and no one said anything about how lonely you can become.
What is one of the biggest challenges, and biggest rewards, of starting your own business?
Aside from a global pandemic when I was only 12 months into it! I think my biggest challenge is that the buck stops with me, always. That can feel very overwhelming at times but I also love it in a way because I’m such a problem solver. I’ve had lots of brides come to me over the years who have been physically turned away by other boutiques because what they were looking for didn’t exist: it always exists, you just have to know where to find it. I think my biggest reward is when I’ve started speaking to a bride and we get to know each other then they finally come in and feel like a friend and we find their wedding dress together. I love building relationships with my brides and seeing them physically relax when they come into the shop is so lovely. It can feel like such a daunting task for a lot of brides. They worry that they won’t like anything, it won’t look good on them etc, so when I show them that it absolutely can and you can have your dream wedding dress it’s such a warm fuzzy feeling. It makes everything worth it.
What are some pieces of advice/lessons you’ve learned that you’d want to share with other women working in the wedding industry or those aspiring to start their own business?
Find your support network really early on. Those people that are going through the same or similar things as you and hold on tight to them. They will be your biggest cheerleaders and they will be the ones you turn to when you need help, advice or support as they will most probably have been through the same things as you are.
Also, know that it’s ok to take a rest. Sometimes it’s really needed. Owning any business is a 24/7 career and you have to make sure you take time for you every now and again. I book myself in for a facial, massage or to have my nails done once a month as a little treat to myself and a pat on the back for getting through another month.
And finally, know that sometimes you can’t do it all. It’s quite hard for me to say that, but it’s ok. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Having your own business has massive highs but also lots of lows. It’s going to a be a rollercoaster, but if you believe in yourself then you’ll make it work.
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