"Confetti Bridal Gowns" was established in 1994 and originally run from a home bridal barn in Chiltington, West Sussex for 20 years.
In 2014 i took over as the new owner/manager and decided i wanted to be different to all other bridal shops and offer a lot more for brides. I myself got married in 2011 and arranged the whole wedding by myself and learned a lot along the way.
When i took over the bridal business i was surrounded by beautiful wedding dresses and stock, 2 wedding dress designer labels and a website. From then on it was all down to me to not only make a business for myself but make it work as well. The next day i turned on my business brain and made notes on what i wanted out of the bridal business as well as what my brides would want.
Research was my first step and what a big step it was, as the research i did had not only shocked me but made my business what it is today. So you are wondering what my research was, it was simple i put myself in a brides shoes and went to other bridal shops. i looked at dresses, prices, service, sizes, asked questions, spoke to actual brides and my conclusion was...To be different to the mediocre high street wedding shop.
I did not want to be classed the same and have my wedding business include any of the bad points i came across whilst doing my research. I do not intend any disrespect to other bridal shops as every bridal shop owner has the right to run it how they see fit and what works best for them. So what the bad points?...
1.Only skinny sample sizes in stock so most dresses can't be tried on by an average sized bride.
2.Brides being judged on their weight or being turned away being told to go and lose some weight and come back as they cannot help
3.Petite brides being told they are too small so wont fit into any wedding dresses as they are a child's size.
4.Snooty shop assistants that are being pushy to make a sale.
5.The same designer wedding dresses that are seen all over or online and can't be changed to suit the bride without it costing a fortune
6.Brides being charged extortionate prices for alterations because the dresses are ordered in a standard size
7.Limited colours for dresses for bridesmaids, 6 colours and not many styles.
8.Charging really high prices for designer wedding dresses and accessories just because of a label.
So these are main issues i found and i thought of a way i could change that. When i took over Confetti Bridal Gowns it came with 2 designer labels, i started off selling these designs for a year but for me i wasn't offering enough as these were standard sizing that brides had all seen and no changes could be made to the dresses if a bride wanted it. This is where my design label came about...
My design label is called "Pure Joie" which is french for "Pure Joy" in English, it means that you can design your own dress or customise any of our dresses to suit you. So how did i go about making sure i could offer this service to my brides? i went directly to 4 dressmakers that i had come to know in the wedding industry, actually bought dresses from them to check the quality, had them made to my exact sizing to see how well they fit and i built up a very trusted relationship with them.
During the past 8 years ive learned about the different fabrics used in the industry, watched how wedding dresses are made, learned about sizing and shapes and i can even tell you a womans wedding dress size just by looking at her.
Getting to know my dress makers and how they work was imperative to ensure i was offering a professional service that could be trusted by my brides. All 4 dress makers that make my dresses are top notch, make exquisite dresses and they are the heart of my wedding business.
After selecting my incredible dress makers i had become known for my customised service. I was offering brides the chance to customise any of my wedding dresses to suit them, have unlimited colour options and made to their individual sizing to fit no matter what size they are.
All of my wedding dress in stock are unique designs not found anywhere else and they have been designed to what my brides tell me they like, there is something for everyone.
Offering this service was the best thing i ever decided to do for my wedding business as its taken off in Sussex, so much so that i made this my main focus and decided to promote it therefore the change of name to "Carolyn Anne's Bespoke Bridal" in 2019 was needed. Where did i decide on the name Carolyn Anne's if my name is Lea?
A wonderful lady who raised me from 8 years old, a lady who had one of the biggest hearts of anyone i know and was one of my biggest supporters in my bridal business but sadly passed away too soon in 2019 from Leukemia- My beautiful mum Carolyn x x. I wanted my mum to live on and for me to say her name every single day is an amazing feeling for me to do that and i know that she would be so proud.
So my wedding business has been run from a home bridal barn, 2 shops and now a beautiful bridal boutique in my home. I may not be a great big wedding shop in the middle of town with lots of bridal assistants but what i can assure you it has the biggest heart with better service and more options than any other bridal shop in Worthing Sussex can offer and we are proud.
