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Yorkshire ladies. Stop. Right. There. Before you even think about ordering your wedding gown, pay my lovely friend Hayley at The Harrogate Wedding Lounge a visit. This wedding blogger wants to move in to Hayley’s gorgeous boutique and sit on her flumpy sofas, flicking through planning guides and ogling the gorgeous wedding dresses forever more! That ok with you Hayley?
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Anyway. Let’s talk shop.
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When did The Harrogate Wedding Lounge open and what is your background?
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I opened The Harrogate Wedding Lounge on 29th May 2009.
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After taking voluntary redundancy from my full time job in Leeds I decided it was time to do something I loved. I had my own wedding planning business which was growing and developing nicely on a part time basis and I decided this was the route I wanted to take. The wedding industry is such a lovely industry to work in and bridal fashion and trends were always my favourite part. When an opportunity presented itself to move into existing premises currently used as a bridal shop it just seemed like fate had dealt me a hand. We completely overhauled the then existing shop in just 6 weeks. We replaced all of the designers and stock and created a beautiful, welcoming and homely shop brides can be proud to visit.
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What lines of wedding gowns do you stock?
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We are very proud to stock some of the industry’s leading names including Maggie Sottero, Ronald Joyce, Madeline Gardner and Justin Alexander Signature. The designers and their gowns have all been handpicked by us for their quality, structure, fine fabrics, attention to detail and because they are just that little bit different.
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What lines of accessories do you stock?
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We are well known for our accessories collection! Having gowns that are a bit different means we have to accessorise accordingly and we have great fun choosing our fabulous designs to complement our gowns. We stock everything from birdcage veils to Art Deco and vintage inspired head bands and tiaras. We have lace veils, short funky veils and cathedral veils from industry leaders like Richard Designs. We also have an amazing collection of bridal jewellery from the fabulous award winning Chez Bec (a wedding blog Featured Supplier), stunning vintage inspired headwear and jewellery by Madeline Isaac James and plenty of glam shoes from the likes of Rainbow Couture, Rainbow Club and Shades. We also have lots of quirky extras like “Weddington” Boots, bespoke garters exclusive to The Harrogate Wedding Lounge, parasols, wraps and jackets in lots of fabrics and styles. One of my favourites is the Milan wrap pictured below its so glamorous!
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Where are you located?
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We are located on the main A59 Between Harrogate and Knaresborough only a 30 minute drive from either Leeds or York and a big bonus is we have free parking – either at the side of our shop or in the small residential cul-de-sac next to our shop.
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Annabelle
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Can you give Brides Up North an idea on price?
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Our gowns start from around £800 for some of our lightweight more destination style gowns and our top end is currently £2,200. We do add to our collections all the time but this is the usual price range you would expect to pay for one of our gowns. Accessories start from £70 for veils, £90 for headbands/tiaras and shoes by Rainbow Couture start from £115.
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Geneva
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Do Brides Up North need an appointment?
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We work on an appointment basis to make sure each and every bride gets the undivided attention she deserves. You won’t have to share a changing area, nor sit with other people’s relatives at this special time. At The Harrogate Wedding Lounge we pride ourselves on our personal service and we only ever see one bride at a time. We also give you a generous appointment time of 90 minutes so you can take your time and really enjoy this wonderful experience.
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Hadley
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What can Brides Up North expect when they come in for an appointment?
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At your first appointment we will sit down and have an initial discussion. We get to know the facts: when is the wedding, where, are you having any bridesmaids, what’s your dress budget etc, then we discuss what you have tried on to date, what you like and don’t like and we talk you through our collections. You are then left to browse the rails for a few minutes while we prepare refreshments for you and your party. We have pink fizz, bucks fizz, orange juice, tea & coffee with a selection of flavoured syrups and lovely little treats to eat. We then review your selection with you, possibly throw in a couple of wild cards of our choice and get on with creating a stunning wedding day look. If at the end of your appointment you require some thinking time there is no pressure, we simply make a note of your favourite gowns and accessories on one of our beautiful keep sake cards and send you away to sleep on it.
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Lidia
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What is your current favourite gown that you stock and why?
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Oh no! I hate that question because we handpick all of our gowns at selected shows throughout the year and it is so difficult to select one as my favourite, I love them all in their own way. My very favourites include the Maggie Sottero Geneva because it has so much amazing detail you just can’t stop looking at it! Maggie Sottero Annabelle is a beautiful fitting dress that is very elegant but also a bit sexy. The Ronald Joyce Lidia has the ability to make any bride feel like a true princess.
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Is there a particular style of dress that is popular with your brides at the moment?
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A key trend at the moment is backless gowns, they are really popular this season. Glamorous gowns like the Ronald Joyce Sable are a real hit and the Maggie Sottero Bernadette with its beautiful key hole back and lace shoulders is a gorgeous twist on a classic shape. For a more lightweight style or a beach wedding the Caprice is unbeatable! It’s cool, sassy, understated and elegant all in one.
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Nora
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How does The Harrogate Wedding Lounge provide a superior experience to other wedding dress boutiques?
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We are a down to earth friendly team of females who absolutely love what we do! This isn’t just a job for us – we genuinely are so excited about helping you plan your dream day whether that be just your gown, our help with finding other fabulous suppliers or helping with styling ideas too. We are much more than just a dress shop. We offer each bride our personal one to one service too with enhances this special experience.
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Do you stock Bridesmaid Dresses?
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We hold around 20 great selling styles from Ronald Joyce in a fantastic selection of colours and fabrics. We don’t stipulate that you have to buy your bridal gown from us either so if you already have your dress you are still welcome to come and view our range of gowns for your best girls. We normally recommend a dedicated bridesmaid appointment and not doing it at the end of your bridal appointment. It adds a sense of occasion for your bridesmaids and means we get to concentrate on you all individually too.
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We hear you offer planning consultations – can you tell Brides Up North a bit about that?
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We offer our popular Wedding Lounge “Sessions” – these are a perfect way to gather your nearest and dearest who you would like to help with the planning process. Mums and bridesmaids often chip in to give this as a gift to the bride to get her started on the planning. It really is an informal evening full of ideas and advice to set you on your way. The evening is a 3 hour workshop with drinks and treats and offers you great tools along the way. Including guest trackers, budget planners, helpful websites, wedding blogs, planning advice and a few other surprises too! Our planning sessions represent great value at £179 and they will get you off to a fantastic start with the planning aiming to make things clearer in your head.
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What did you wear on your wedding day? What would you choose to wear now?
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My dress was very different, it was actually green! Is was by a designer called Catherine Jane and was a two tone shot silk. It shone lots of colours from peacock blue to rich yellow tones, I loved it. I would probably wear something very different now I love the Maggie Sottero Nora dress, it has a low waist so helps to pull in your tummy and it has a real fairytale feel without being too cumbersome to move in. It is very sparkly too .
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How can Brides Up North get in touch with you/ find out more?
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We can be contacted by phone on 01423 888 242 10am – 5pm Monday to Saturday or you can email us on info@theharrogateweddinglounge.com There is also an appointment request service on our website www.theharrogateweddinglounge.com Fill in the form with your desired date and time and we will call you back with the options.
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Anything else that Brides Up North should know?
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We do 2 late night openings per week, usually a Monday and Wednesday nights with the last appointment being 7pm. If you do require a late night or a Saturday appointment give us plenty of notice as we currently book around 4 weeks in advance for these times. We look forward to seeing lots of Brides up North readers very soon.
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As a special treat if you mention Brides up North when you book your appointment you will receive a goody bag with luxury skincare and perfume samples for you to try!
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What are you waiting for Yorkshire brides?!
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To see me rocking some of Hayley’s amazing samples to celebrate the Royal Wedding earlier this year, click here.
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Image by Assassynation
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Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © The Harrogate Wedding Lounge
The Harrogate Wedding Lounge is a Brides Up North Featured Supplier
Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier
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