3. You must also know which gown shapes, styles, fabrics and prices are working well for you. Don’t guess this stuff! Look through the past 12 months sales, and make a list of your top 10 best sellers. And identify why this might be, is it fit, price or something else. Where there are clear winners, consider looking for another couple of gowns to add to your rail to expand your range in this area, it’s a reasonably safe bet that you will do well with an updated version of a winning style.

4. Don’t rush it…I’m notorious for taking a long time to make my decisions and I know many reps have pulled their hair out with me in the past as I may well still be there in the final hour of a Tuesday confirming my order! But it is such a vital decision, that I need to be as confident as I possibly can be that I’ve bought well and that the styles are strong and will repeat for me. Of course, we all want that, but I will regularly go back and forth between designers to compare similar dresses before committing to one or the other. Don’t feel pressured and don’t fall for the ‘this is a best seller’ line because in the most part the dress has never been tried on by an actual bride. You know what works for you because you’ve done your homework, so stick to your plan and don’t succumb to all the pretty!

Another trick I’ve adopted more recently is to video the gowns I am buying (and often those I’m not if I’ve spent a long to time making my decision) giving a commentary of the colour and size I have chosen and my thought process behind the decision. Then 6 months later when the gown arrives in, I’m not scratching my head wondering why on earth I ordered it, as I know it would have been based on lots of other factors at the time that I certainly will have forgotten by the time it arrives in store. It also covers me should a gown arrive in Peach, size 6, when I know I ordered Ivory in a 14.

How do you plan your time at a buying event like Harrogate?

So as a rule of thumb my first day will be spent viewing all the dresses from my top 3 or 4 designers with my manageress and often my entire team. We will compare collections, looking at crossovers, taking pictures and making notes about the dresses that we love. We’ll debate which favourites are likely to work for us, and those that may not despite the fact that we love them.

Taking someone with you, even if you don’t have a team, can be hugely helpful, as by nature we are usually drawn to ordering styles that we love personally and so another opinion is likely to result in a more balanced collection on your rails in a few months time.

Then on day two, I’ll make my final decisions and on day three (yes I’m always a three-day girl), I’ll look at new designers and accessories to compliment the gowns I’ve ordered. It’s a pattern I’ve followed for many years and it has always worked well for me!

Why do you attend the Harrogate Bridal Show?

Harrogate is by far my most favourite show: I love the buzz of the place and seeing new designers come along and blossom over the years, there’s just something very special about it.

As I said before, I also love the opportunity to catch up with designers and fellow retailers, to enjoy a glass of fizz and swap and share ideas.

We are also regular attendees of the awards (though unfortunately not running in 2021) and love the chance to dress up and enjoy a great party.

I’ll never forget the most recent Bridal Buyer awards in 2019, as we were crowned as the winners of the coveted England’s Bridalwear Retailer of the Year award, an accolade I have always dreamed of winning but never imagined I would.

It now sits in pride of place where every bride will see it on her way into the store, and it really is the pinnacle of my career as a bridal store owner thus far.

I hope more than anything that life will be able to return to something close to what we know as normal soon enough that we can enjoy such occasions again as they really do celebrate all that is great and good in our wonderful, challenging, competitive and incredibly rewarding industry.