Brides, rejoice! For our beloved boutiques are finally back in business.
In line with the re-opening of non-essential shops on 15th June, Northern bridal boutiques are finally flinging their doors open once again to welcome their brides back.
However, while this may have you jumping for joy towards the nearest gown retailer, it’s not uncommon to feel slightly hesitant about flexing your shopping muscles in the midst of a pandemic.
Luckily for you, three of the North East’s leading boutiques are taking considerable precautions to ensure their premises are safe and adhering to government guidance.
We caught up with them in search of a little reassurance for our brides, and to discover how bridal browsing may look in the near future.

Lace & Co

Lace & Co is a beautiful award-winning bridal boutique located in Yorkshire, showcasing a stunning collection of bohemian, vintage, urban and contemporary wedding dresses.

Owner Heidi talks us through the steps they are taking ahead of their re-opening on Monday 15th June.
“Like most businesses, we have been closely reviewing the guidance issued by the Government to help boutiques create a safe environment during the COVID-19 pandemic, not only for our own team members, but for our lovely brides and their families.
We want you to enjoy what should be a very special experience visiting our boutique but we also appreciate how important it is for you to feel safe and protected.
With this in mind, we have developed an incredible new way of working in the boutique, and we hope that our new COVID-19 strategy will not only put your mind at rest but make you excited about your visit.”
Social distance measures are in place in the boutique, with separate entrance and exit points and staggered arrival procedures – allowing time to deep clean between visits. They are also limiting the number of customers at any one time to one lovely bride and one specially-appointed VIP guest.
In addition, there will be hand sanitising facilities at the entrance and exit points of the boutique and face masks and disposable gloves will be readily available if required.
Furthermore, as the UK’s sole stockists of Claire Pettibone, Lace & Co staff will be wearing her iconic cotton and silk ‘Love Masks’ to welcome their guests.

"Wearing a mask is an act of love" – Claire Pettibone 

This is the BIG one ladies!!! As well as already having a state-of-the-art contactless payments system, they are now implementing a fabulous new video conferencing system to allow brides to connect with all her friends and family during her appointment.
This means absolutely no-one needs to miss out on your special moment as you say YES to the dress!
Lace & Co’s gentle reopening of the boutique will be Monday 15th June.
www.laceandco.com

Y.A.P Bridal

Y.A.P Bridal offers the most exquisite wedding dresses at their sensational multi-award-winning Newcastle studio.

Danni, owner at Y.A.P, explains their COVID-19 strategy.
“We have taken the initiative and are sending our safety guidelines to our brides pre-visit.  This includes them carefully choosing their one Diamond Guest, who’s support they would totally adore to join them during their experience in our studio."

"We are also implementing keep-in-touch Zoom technology, allowing brides to have virtual styling appointments, and our staff are all equipped with the necessary PPE and training.
We have gone above and beyond to keep the experience superb, whilst also taking the correct safety precautions."
"The messages of support from our brides has been incredible, and we are so excited to open on Wednesday 17th June. Our full set of guidelines will be present on our website from next week.”
www.yapbridal.co.uk

House of Mooshki

Based in Seaham, House of Mooshki are the experts in impeccable bridal wear from some of the industry’s hottest designers. We spoke to owner Vikki to uncover what plans she has in place ahead of their soft re-opening on Monday 15th June.

"We are extremely lucky to have an 11,000 square-feet showroom, meaning social distancing can easily be observed throughout the bride’s experience."
"However we have also implemented a range of procedures to ensure the safest shopping possible. The bride and her one Superstar Guest will have access to cotton gloves which will be sanitised between fittings, as well as plastic visors to wear during their visit."

"As usual, we will have a staggered fitting schedule meaning there is ample time between appointments to fully sanitise the gowns and the whole showroom, as well as the PPE used by staff."
"Our aim is to make our appointments as, if not more, enjoyable than before. We can’t wait to welcome you all back on 15th June.”
www.houseofmooshki.com
For more up to date guidance surrounding safe shopping during COVID-19, click here