Belle Mariée Bridal

Continuing on with my Bridal Feature, another shop I have recently visited is Belle Mariée Bridal, which is located at Main Street, Athboy. Belle Marie Bridal is new to Athboy, it opened it doors over a year ago and is located in the former McElhinneys Bridal Rooms.

I know some of you will remember McElhinneys. Fiona, the fabulous owner of Belle Mariée was telling me that she bought her wedding dress from the original shop, I thought that was a lovely story and now she is the proud owner of a bridal shop in the same location. It goes to show you never know where life can take you.

Onto the shop itself, as with my other visits I was warmly welcomed by Fiona and we chatted away about all things bridal. Belle Mariée literally oozes elegance, the decor is French elegance. Fiona has an astounding attention to detail from the way the dresses are displayed in the window and the shop, through to the lighting, the window draping, the opulent mirrors and the luxurious seating it is very fabulous.

It is an extremely spacious shop, which gives brides plenty of room to move around during their fitting. The beautiful over sized mirrors will greet you when you come out in your dress, so can see yourself in full glory. There are two fitting rooms and they are wheelchair accessible. To complete your look, Belle Marie stock beautiful accessories, veils, headpieces, bags and shoes. New to the shop are Bridesmaid dresses and communion dresses.

Below are Fiona's top tips, trends & advice for brides to be.

Tips for dress shopping:

Choose carefully when it comes to deciding on who you will bring along with you to your appointment and look at bringing along like-minded people.
Do not bring too many people along with you. Too many voices can lead to confusion.
Check the website first so you can get an idea of what is in store and if you want to try on a specific dress let them know at the appointment or when booking.
Try a “wild card” dress, this could be a dress that is chosen at your appointment by staff. More often than not brides are known to go for the wild card.
Research your shops and do not over try on dresses.
Go with your instinct if you put on “The Dress" and you feel amazing in it then go for it. Do not let people sway your decision or feeling.

Trends:

Strapless dresses
Simple Fabric
Crepe Fabric (light fabric suitable for a summer wedding or for the bride who wants to show off their figure)
Nude undertone dresses with beading
Beading on the back for detail, again brides are wanting that detail for the ceremony.
Bardot style dresses (off the shoulder detail)
Royal elegance, think of Princess Grace. (Elegant, simple and chic)

The Experience:

You can expect to get the full Belle Mariée experience. They are not focused on the hard sell. Their focus is on you the bride and the experience you have is extremely important.
Staff are extremely knowledgeable and professional. They can tell by looking at a bride what their body shape is and what style would look good on them. This ensures the dresses that are pulled for you are suited to your shape.
Not all brides are a size 10, in fact the average wedding dress size for an Irish bride is a 14. With this in mind Belle Mariée cater for sizes 8-30.
When you go for your appointment, your dress size will be catered for as every bride deserves to have same experience when trying on a dress regardless of size.
Appointments are scheduled to last for 1 hour 30 minutes.
If you do not have an appointment you are welcome to come into the shop but only if another appointment is not in progress or due. Belle Mari€e pride themselves on this element of their customer care.