** As a big fan of Love My Dress, The White Room would love to extend a huge welcome to all of our new enquiries and those who would love to become a White Room bride or just love what we are about.
We would love to offer you all a helping hand in purchasing your wedding look, so should you make an appointment to see our beautiful collection in June or July 2012, and purchase a gown from us within those two months, we will give you a free made to measure service or £150 towards your accessories, the choice if yours!Just mention ‘Love My Dress’ when you book your appointment! **
It is with real pleasure this morning that I introduce my readers to one of my new sponsors, Chloe and her team from The White Room – Sheffield’s leading designer bridal wear boutique. I’ve not only featured Chloe’s wedding before {way back in 2010!}, I have met Chloe in person and she is so lovely and extremely passionate about beautiful designer bridal wear and the delivery of excellent customer service. Over to you Chloe…
“We are The White Room bridal boutique in Sheffield. We are different, we are memorable and we are unique. We don’t just ‘do’ bridal, we create concepts, we style, we advise and we support brides to be who they want to be, without the pressure, fuss or fakery…”
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Cat Hepple {top} & S6 Photography
We are beautiful, relaxed boutique influenced by Sheffield and stock designers including Claire Pettibone, Cymbeline, Jenny Packham and Stephanie Allin who are predominantly found in London and the South of the UK.
We do what we do in our cool and calm space, where we get to know our clients and support their wedding from start to finish with enthusiasm, interest and passion. At only 10 months old, we have created a reputation of excellent service and unique gowns and continue to grow daily. We now reach brides as far North as Newcastle, as East as Grimsby, West as Liverpool and as south as London, showing that good news does travel fast!
Where are you based?
The White Room is based in a beautiful grade II listed building right in the heart of Sheffield, a stone’s throw from the theatres and across the road from the stunning St Marie’s Cathedral. With being in Sheffield too, we are so central for so many brides, and have had girls from all over the UK including York, Leeds, Scarborough, Manchester, Newcastle and Carlisle!
Our address is 20 Norfolk Row, Sheffield, S1 2PA…
How did the White Room come about/ how did you get into the wedding industry?
The whole reason for me pestering banks, estate agents and my husband with my ‘wedding idea’ was that I believed I could do something different that what was not already being done well in the surrounding area. I believed that behind all the fluff and froo froo was a genuine desire to be realistic, honest and give women what they wanted. Behind all the research and stats, the underlying story was one of need and expectation that to find a wedding dress which made you feel amazing, the emotional connection was by far the biggest pull but this was matched with service and the designers stocked.
My interest in the wedding industry began in March 2008 when I was studying for my Psychology degree at Sheffield Hallam University. It was dissertation time and every angle was going at to research was shot down so I on the day of submission, I literally had 10 mins to choose a path…
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Cat Hepple
I thought about what I liked, what was going on in my life at the time and who I could access for interviews. As a huge fan of ‘You and Your Wedding’ chat forum, in the midst of planning my wedding and stressed at looking for a dress, I picked that!! What it ended up looking at was the expectations from marriage on a female sample group, looking at the psychological and emotional effects of marriage and long term relationships, including the search for the ‘perfect gown’.
After graduation and my own wedding in 2009, whilst working within the substance misuse field, I continued out of work to research the wedding industry, focusing on bridal retail and expectations from dress shopping as this is what flagged up in my under grad research as a massive element of stress.
This research again suggested significant gaps in the industry, such as lack of designers in the North of the UK, poor customer service and just a general lack of interest and regard for a shopping bride. I found it was all to fluffy, too fake and that most girls I spoke to said that the shops they had visited just didn’t offer what they wanted or expected, no-one seemed to enjoy buying their dress.
The interviews I carried out flagged up huge gaps in the industry such as:
♥ lack of knowledge of the dresses and how this would work with the entire day, also lack of interest in the theme of the wedding, the venue or being able to offer additional ideas as to the styling of some dresses
♥ over crowded changing areas, with 3 or 4 women waiting for dresses and the feeling of ‘one size fits all’ syndrome
♥ rules of the number of dresses allowed to be tried on – 6 maximum in one store with a £25 weekend booking fee and hour only appointment
♥ dirty gowns – which were handled with little care or regard
♥ pushy sales assistants – misrepresenting discounts and ‘special offers’
♥ Poor surroundings including worn and tired furniture, old underwear offered to try with gowns and no shoes!!
♥ bad lighting including no outdoor space to see dress in ‘true light’ or mirrors in which the whole gown could be viewed
♥ Little communication in regards to appointment availability and letters to inform of progression of gown when being made
It was then when I started to think about developing The White Room. When I set out to create The White Room, I wanted to make a space that was calming, cool and edgy. The White Room is my interpretation of how bridal should be done for the bride of today, creative innovative and inspiring.
As a lover of music, individuality, people and fashion, I blended all my passions together and created a place where all women could go.
The The White Room boutique’s goal was and still is, to fill the segment of the market for women who wish to experience a unique, consultative and memorable approach to finding their wedding look rather than the “retail” approach that dominated the region.
What’s special about the White Room? What can a bride expect from her time with you?
The The White Room bridal boutique, Sheffield has been open a whole ten months now and as a new business, I have learnt massively what works as a boutique and also what works most importantly for my brides.
We always have and always will offer 1:1 appointments to all our brides (regardless of the day) and dedicate 1 hour and 15 minutes to them for a thorough initial styling consultation and styling session.
We are developing more than just a wedding dress shop so, as a result of this, we have broken down our consultations in to 3 brackets. We offer browsing sessions for the brides who want to make a start on their search but aren’t ready to commit to a gown just yet, so those who maybe have 2 years to go but want to make a start and styling sessions to those who are looking to make a decision on their gown and need to get to grips with fabric, shape and style…
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, India Hobson
Once a bride has chosen her look, we offer commitment sessions where we do all the formal paperwork and celebrate with a glass of something fizzy! All of our brides can expect current, young and honest service, delivered by myself in a fun and approachable way. You can also expect to walk in to a boutique that offers you space, choice and relaxation. We have a wonderful selection of gowns but not too many to confuse and we deliver on offering a calming approach to finding your gown, allowing you time and space to make choices.
We also offer a drinks service as standard for all brides and their party, ensuring that your guests are made to feel as special as you are.
What do you love about your job?
I love the variety of my day to day working life and having the capacity to manage my own time and be fully in control of my own destiny! I also love people and working with women who come to me because I see past the title of ‘bride’ and see them as an individual.
There is no better feeling I get when I really get to know the bride and support her in finding her look that she loves and feels comfortable in. It’s great when you take a woman and get her to try a gown she would never have thought of or even dreamed she could wear and see her face when it blows all the others out of the water! I’ve chosen more than 50% of my bride’s gowns for them, just by listening and supporting their ideas and that is a great feeling knowing they trust and believe in your styling and judgement!
What inspires you when it comes to your work? Which designers/artists to your admire and why?
I am inspired daily by everything around me, fashion, music, the weather, the bride I just dressed, travel, friends… Throughout my life I have always liked to think and act creatively and have regularly changed my personal style almost daily to reflect how I feel and I think that is now transported in to my working life. I have always been influenced very much by music and in the last 3-5 years, more so by art and design which is a new one for me as I always thought of myself as more the academic than the artist. It appears now that this judgement of me wasn’t accurate! I think the balance of me now works well for the business side to The White Room and the creative side to The White Room although I very much have my business partner and husband to thank for the spreadsheets, with whom without him I may still be writing my business plan!
My key influences in my life have been Green Day, Foo Fighters, Marilyn Monroe, Lady Gaga, Florence Welch and just those who aren’t afraid to take risks and be true to themselves! I also very much respect my father for being a hard worker and dedicating his life to continuing to work hard to get a life he wants!
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, S6 Photography
How would you describe a White Room bride?
She is confident and aware of what she wants from her bridal gown and the service that comes with it. She is a little quirky, not afraid to embrace her individuality and express that in the wedding gown she chooses. The lines I carry I believe attract a fashion forward bride, and one who wants to shout about her femininity, sophistication and individuality on her wedding day.
She is also aware that coming to The White Room, she don’t need to get dressed up to walk over the door step, nor need to have dreamed of her dress since she was 5 years old, love weddings or pink or pretend to like huge skirts and taffeta! The girls we are attracting are the real women of the world. Intelligent, funny, those happy to sleep in a tent at Glastonbury but would kill for Carrie Bradshaw’s wardrobe. Women who want to show who they are on their wedding day rather than conform to tradition, whatever their view of tradition is.
Can you provide a price guide?
I wanted to create a realistic price point for our gowns and focused much of my research before opening on what brides wanted and how they felt about spending money on a gown. I kind of came up with the analysis that a gown purchase is an emotional purchase, something very hard to put a price tag on if the budget isn’t a significant factor.
However, recognising the economic climate and that many brides pay for their weddings with their fiancé and little external help I wanted to cast the net wide enough to get a variety of women in but focus of those who knew that they needed to invest in quality and design to be a White Room bride. The White Room represents the best names in bridal couture, offering exceptional fabrics, style and design and this is reflected in the collections we buy and hold for our brides.
Our gowns start at £1,500 and go up to £3,000 with the majority of our collection represented within the £1,750 to £2,600 bracket. We also stock Rachel Simpson shoes which start at £145 and accessories by Debbie Carlisle, Jenny Packham, House of Istria and Silver Sixpence in her Shoe which start at £45 and go up to £380. Our veil collection is by British designer HM Veils and these start at £65.
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Cat Hepple
If you weren’t running a successful bridal boutique, what would you be doing?
Before I opened The White Room I was working for Addaction, a drug and alcohol misuse charity which supported drug and alcohol offending adults in to recovery and supporting them to change their lives. I loved the interaction with the clients and the people I worked with, they taught me so much but I felt I needed more and wanted to do something for me.
If The White Room wasn’t here, I believe I’d be working very hard at building the foundations to open my own drug rehab centre with some of my old colleagues who I knew would be with me all the way. Either that or trying to get in to Vogue!
I’d love to just take this opportunity to share with Love My Dress readers some of the lovely things our brides have said about their experience of The White Room and how they found me, my boutique and my ethos so here are some testimonials from girls just like you:
“Thank you for a truly memorable experience when choosing and buying my wedding dress. From walking in the door you made me feel relaxed, and throughout the appointment you made me feel in control, and enabled a really hassle free experience. You understood exactly what I was after, and your choice of gowns really suited my style….I have not come across a bridal boutique that stocks such a range of vintage chic styles, that offer brides something different to the ‘norm’. Your shop is also something out of this world! Such a lovely style, very elegant and inviting. The experience was so calm and enjoyable, the only thing had to worry about was how easy it was to find my dream dress!!! Thank you so much.”
♥
“I just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you for being so lovely and accommodating to my ‘wobbles’ today. I really admire your approach to your work and your brides – I never once feel like your customer or client, and feel like I am able to try my dress in a very friendly atmosphere. I think everyone (in ALL shops) needs that attitude, the world would be a lovely place, and I would go shopping much more often! I really admire your ambition, ethos and style, you made me feel so happy to buy a dress from you, and I think more brides deserve that opportunity”
♥
“I wanted to say thank you for helping me find MY perfect dress, after 6 shops I was losing the will to live and almost going to settle for a dress I “sort off” liked, I’m so glad I came to the White Room to find my beautiful Stephanie Allin dress! Words can’t describe my thanks to you and you have made one happy bride to be!!”
♥
“I have had a lovely time at The White Room trying on their beautiful dresses. I felt so relaxed and unpressurized when trying so many different gowns on. The dress I love is totally different from what I would have chosen so Thank You to Chloe for suggesting this and helping me find the gown right for me and my wedding?”
To get in touch with Chloe and her team and for any further information or enquiries, please visit The White Room website, email [email protected] or telephone 0114 – 272 2336. The White Room can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Also check out this link where you can see more from The White Room on Love My Dress, including the beautiful ballet dancer photoshoot by Cat Hepple.
Remember too to ask about the fabulous offer detailed at the very top of this page, where you can save yourself some precious pennies whilst planning your wedding.
Much love all,
Annabel
♥
This is a sponsored feature – all my sponsors receive an introductory feature like this. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please email [email protected] and request a media pack.
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
