Shakespeare's Garden is now ready!

What an exciting week as our brand new collection "Shakespeare’s Garden” launched on Tuesday.

Inspired by a vintage garden, soft velvet flowers in pastels and richer shades will adorn the hair, choose from halos, headbands, combs and pins. Pretty delicate organza lace pieces and halos can be worn in a variety of ways. Go back to nature and feel like a Shakespearean Princess. Each piece is handmade to order in the UK and has a lead time. 

The Halo's are proving the most popular pieces with brides so far. We would love to hear what your favourite piece is ?

Portia Halo £90.00 

 Rosalind Fascinator £185.00

Desdamona Forehead Band £75.00 

Portia Pins £45.00 

 Cordelia Headband £125.00

Images curtesy of www.kerriemitchell.co.uk and www.dottiephotography.co.uk

The Little Pearl Bridal Boutique - New Beginnings!

Yippee, our beautiful website has finally gone live:www.thelittlepearlbridalboutique.co.uk!!

 It’s been a frustrating time, and i’m not sure who has been more stressed with it, me or our web designer!  I’ve certainly seen a different side to my assertiveness since starting my own business, but it comes with the territory!  It won’t be the only time so Brett keeps telling me!  We’ve had so much lovely feedback so far, and I’ve learnt that constructive feedback can only benefit you!  I still can’t believe its actually up there for everyone to see.  It’s an amazing feeling really and great that we’ve had enquiries from brides already!  We’ve also produced some gorgeous leaflets as part of our marketing material, so pleased with them 

It’s been a week of spending cash and watching that bank balance go down.  Albeit on very beautiful items, which I am loving, even if the hubbie isn’t!  We even had a trip to the auction rooms and actually won what we bid on, which was fantastic. David Dickinson would’ve been pleased with our deals! I’ve never been before, but it can get very intense and will certainly be going again.  

I’m not actually sure how we’ve got through this week what with a girlie do with lots of fizz watching a Gary Barlow tribute act.  He actually could be Gary, until he talks and his southern accents comes out! Trying to measure for curtains with a thick head the day after was an interesting experience!  Then numerous kids birthday parties to attend and topped off with my leaving do from work!  It was emotional and giving my company car back was one the hardest things!!!!!  Everyone was so lovely and supportive of my new venture, plus they gave me some fab leaving pressies!

So I am now officially self employed! - eek!

The Little Pearl Bridal Boutique - Decisions Decisions!

It’s certainly been a week of indecisiveness!  People do say its because my star sign is Libra, but it seems the whole of my family is indecisive!! It has worn me out!

First was deciding the size of some box shelving, then should we have floating or normal shelving? what height should they be? are we keeping the flooring or having carpet? what colour curtains, depending on if we are having carpet? It just goes on and on!

We have, however, finally decided on everything.  The joiner has built us something perfect to display all our gorgeous accessories on, and the decorators have done a fantastic job with the different colour ways. 

It’s gradually starting to look like a boutique!  Thankfully the decision on carpet or no carpet has been made.  I really want the boutique to feel warm and inviting and there’s just something about carpet that helps this, so despite my husband saying ‘I don’t think we should’, we are!! :)

It’s also been a great week for meeting and speaking to new people. An old friend from my previous work has started his own lifestyle magazine in the local area.  After having a chat with him about the reach and response he has been getting so far, its sounds such an exciting opportunity for us to be involved in, so watch this space!  

I also had a lovely chat with Liz Clayton from The Talbot Hotel in Malton, about them using lots of our images for their wedding marketing material - fab!! She has lots of great contacts too so it was so great to talk to her. Can’t wait to do something pretty special with them soon too!! 

Then to top it all off I met with a wonderful seamstress who will be coming on board to be part of The Little Pearl family!  Yay! She is so passionate about bridal, experienced and certainly knows her fabrics so we are thrilled to have her on board. 

In the midst of all the decisions and meetings, Theo has started his induction days at nursery :(. This has certainly pushed me to the edge, being wracked with guilt, despite him only going a 1 and a half days, but hopefully one day it will all be worth it!  Thankfully he is settling in really well and has definitely won over the ladies, the little charmer!

The British Wedding Awards 2015

Going to have a little break from Diana's diary at Little Pearl Bridal Boutique today to tell you about our night out at The British Wedding Awards. It's usually called The Wedding Idea Awards, but it's still organised and run by the folk at the Magazine, they have however done a little rebranding. Not the usual big glitzy party but a more elegant affair this year with a kind of a wedding theme. No red carpet entry or iced voda luge and no disco. Awards were down to 12 from about 20 last year.

Unfortunately Flo & Percy weren't up for any awards this year, but we have won best hair accessories for the last two years so no disappointment from us, See last years pictures here  we were just pleased to be able to come along and enjoy the party. We had a fabulous 3 course meal, watched the awards and got the chance to catch up with many friends from the Wedding Industry.

I went along this year with my business partner from sister company Kitty & Dulcie

I have to say the the room was beautiful decorated and the flowers out standing 

Even though there was no late night dancing and it wasn't quite so lively as previous years, we had a great time. Thank you to the party organisors!

The Little Pearl Bridal Company - It's starting to come together!

What a way to start the New Year….we have been announcing all of our designers in the boutique to the world this week and have got such an amazing response so far.  Over 400 likes on Facebook too! Just thrilled.  We have also been featured on the fantastic Brides up North!  The very lovely Julia Braime has done a blog feature on the boutique and our launch shoot.  It is a fantastic read if I do say so myself!  Here is the link if you’d like to have a read too, plus see lots of amazing images from the shoot http://bridesupnorth.com/2015/01/09/pearls-girls-little-pearl-bridal-boutique/

Drum roll please…….we also have the keys to the boutique…yippee!! 

  

It certainly does feel like a long time coming.  My mum even said it feels like we’ve had this shop for months already!!  Thankfully we can now finally start putting our thoughts and designs into practice.  Saying that I’ve already bought 2 chairs, lights, wallpaper, a rug, gowns and accessories!  I kept being told I was tempting fate, but phew, we are in!

Another great thing has happened this week too!  The 2015 edition of Yorkshire Brides has hit the shelves and we are featured on the inside cover (despite a few hiccups along the way)! 

So proud of our little boutique already.  I’ve been quite overwhelmed with people’s reaction to it too, all the wishes of luck and how well we are doing already.  It’s certainly making me feel like I did make the right decision to follow my dream.  I just hope it continues.

So from this week on we have the tradesmen in, plus lots of help from the family to get the boutique into full working and fabulous order!  I’m hoping Tobias will be happy with his frequent trips to mummy’s shop as there is plenty of space to race his remote control dino/car!  That will be my bargaining tool anyway :)  After a family morning at Tobias’ friends party we hot footed it over to Pickering with tape measure and carpet samples in hand.  We did, however, forget the essential item…tea bags! No one can plan without a good cuppa.  Thankfully Brett found a local shop doing take away teas on a Sunday!  I’m sure I’ll be finding lots of hidden gems as we make ourselves at home in the lovely town of Pickering.  

The Little pearl Bridal Boutique - A busy few weeks

Well it’s been all go since the launch photoshoot. We’ve been packing up all the gorgeous gowns and sending them back to the designers.  I can’t believe the next deliveries will actually be ours for the boutique…eeek!  I’ve also been writing an editorial piece for the 2015 Yorkshire Brides magazine.  Choosing the images to support it has been hard, there are so many amazing ones!  I’ve also been writing the copy for the website, which is looking so lovely and now live at www.thelittlepearlbridalboutique.co.uk Then to top a very stressful few weeks off, we are told the property for the boutique won’t be ready until after Christmas!!! Not a lot could be done though but it has certainly increased the stress levels in the McMann household!  Plus it has been the festive season, and we’ve had Christmas presents for the kids coming out of our ears!! After all the expense and stress our 3 year Tobias is still more than happy just playing on our IPad!  Despite the happenings with the boutique, we had a lovely family Christmas and really got to have some quality time, which I know will be limited for a while after the New Year! 

The Little pearl Bridal Boutique - The Brand!

Phew what a busy and stressful few weeks!  If anyone said emailing whilst bottle feeding and planning for your toddler to have an operation was easy, it’s not! Its certainly been a roller coaster of emotions.

All our social media pages are up and running so you can now follow us;

Facebook.com/thelittlepearlbridalboutiqe.co.uk

Twitter: @littlepearlbb

Instagram: @littlepearlbridal

Our website holding page is now also live at www.thelittlepearpbridalboutique.co.uk.  I always thought I was quite technically minded, until it came to talking to web designers about web functionality - its a minefield!  We finally got there though after LOTS of emailing from me!  I’ve just finished writing all the web content for the website, so now its just time to select the right images that portray The Little Pearl brand in the right way.

We’ve also just had the boutiques launch shoot! WOW what an amazing and overwhelming day it was.  Thanks to my good friend Jonny Draper (www.jonnydraper.co.uk) we had Yorkshire’s best wedding suppliers involved in the shoot.  The Talbot Hotel in Malton (www.talbotmalton.co.uk) was the location for the shoot.  Despite the grey day, it was a stunning setting and everyone was so welcoming.  We had three photographers involved, Hayley Baxter (www.hayleybaxterphotography.com), Samantha Ward (www.samanthawardphotography.co.uk) and Georgina Harrison (www.georginaharrisonphotography.co.uk), all bringing their different styles to the day  Catherine Elizabeth Hair and Make Up artist (www.catherine-elizabeth.co.uk), helped our models look even more beautiful and Leafy Couture (www.leafycouture.co.uk) brought the most gorgeous flower bouquets.  I’ll be sharing more details on this very exciting day very soon, plus you’ll see who all our amazing designers are.  I can’t wait! :)

The Little Pearl Boutique part 2

Picking the right location for the boutique was imperative for me.  I wanted something in more of a village location, with great community spirit and that wasn’t too close to other bridal boutiques.  Pickering was therefore the ideal location.  As soon as I saw 19 Eastgate on the agents website, its quaint look and feel was perfect.  It is currently a Hairdressers, so don’t get me wrong there is lots to do internally but the space is fantastic.  Its been a stressful process securing the property (solicitors!! Jeez!), but we are finally there and can’t wait to get the keys early January. 

From the moment I knew opening a boutique was going to become a reality, i knew that I wanted a particular word in the boutique name…Pearl.  That was my Grandmother’s name.  She was always such a fashionable lady, so the fit was perfect.  I can’t tell you the amount of names we went through, and everyone certainly had an opinion! But in the end..The Little Pearl Bridal Boutique was born.  I can’t take all the credit, I have to say my husband was the mastermind behind 'The Little’.  As soon as he said it I thought, yes, it describes everything the boutique is about - intimate, personal and caring.

Next stop was getting the branding designed.  Our good friends at QBC (www.qbcagency.co.uk) put their heads together and presented endless options to us. I knew the look and feel I wanted and also the colours, which helped to narrow it down somewhat!  I didn’t realise I could be so fussy over the tone of ‘blush pink’!  But these things have to be right! 

Alongside deciding on the right property and branding, I’ve constantly been researching bridal designers and deciding on who I wanted to approach to become a stockist.  Now that was nerve-racking!  I kept thinking to myself, how do I know if my brides will like what I’ve selected?!  To be honest though, how could you not, they are just divine!  I knew I wanted to get a particular look for the boutique - elegant, glamorous and stylish.  It’s so important to me to work with designers who are passionate and also supportive of their stockists too, especially as The Little Pearl is just starting out!  After meeting with the designers or reps in some cases, my top 4 designers were selected and orders placed!  I’ll be revealing who those amazing designers are very soon (with pics)!  Then it was on to select accessories - I love an accessory, it just completes the whole look!  When I was planning my wedding I found it so hard to find bridal shoes.  There are now some fabulous bridal shoe designers out there, and I believe we have one of the best!  Lots of different styles and even colours too.  I certainly took advantage of trying on a few pairs whilst visiting the designer.  Accessories are also what has led me to write this blog for Flo & Percy.  Their pieces are just divine, with so many that compliment the gowns I have selected but will also suit many more.  I can’t wait to try some on and play dress up!  Getting the right accessory stockists is a key feature of the boutique as we will be offering exclusive accessory styling appointments, even if you haven’t bought a gown from us.  They’ll be lots of veils, stoles and garters to choose from too!

So, all our gorgeous designers are secured and deposits are paid (ouch!).  I never realised that meeting designers is like meeting celebrities.  I had that nervous, not sure what to say feeling every time!

The journey of our newest stockist The Little Pearl Bridal Boutique to opening

This year we will welcome a brand new stockist The Little pearl Bridal Boutique. Each week we will be excitedly following Diana's personal journey as she works towards opening her boutique and the work she has put in while still juggling a family 2 small children. Here is her first blog entry and the start of her story towards her grand opening!

I was absolutely thrilled when Julie and Kirstie asked me to write a blog for their website.  I’m only just starting out though I thought!  Who would be interested in what I’ve got to say?!  But after thinking about it, I bet there’s lots of people out there in a similar position to me who might be inspired (even just a bit!) from my story!  

So this is me, Diana McMann, the proud owner of The Little Pearl Bridal Boutique in Pickering.

I am a mum of two young boys, Tobias 3 and Theo 6 months, and wife to the very patient Brett.

Owning my own bridal boutique has always been a dream of mine and after bringing two bundles of joy into the world I thought maybe this is my time!  Don’t get me wrong, it’s been the most nerve-racking, as much as rewarding, last few months.  Making the decision to leave my career in sales and marketing was a tough one, alongside the realisation of tightening the purse strings!  Plus Brett telling me ‘maybe you’ll have to stop getting your eyelash extensions done’ (I’m sure they can now be an expensable purchase!).  Losing my dad a few years ago also spurred me on.  Life is just too short and you need to make the most of the time we have here!  So….welcome to The Little Pearl Bridal Boutique journey.