If weddings are your passion, then it is only natural to think about starting up your own wedding-based business to help brides-to-be achieve their dream wedding day.
Setting up your own bridal store business is a lot of work, but it is also a lot of fun, You get to source and sell some of the most beautiful bridal gowns and accessories and see the look on women’s faces when they find the perfect dress for their big day.
Sound good? Here are some top tips for running your own bridal store business:
1. Do your research
Before you do anything else, research your local bridal market. Work out what styles local brides tend to go for, how much they typically spend on wedding dresses, and what they expect the bridal store experience to be about. There’s no point starting out selling designer gowns if budget dresses are big where you are or offering an outlet experience when local brides are looking for an upmarket boutique, after all.
2. Find your unique selling point
That being said, if you can identify an area of the bridal market that is not currently being well catered for, perhaps curvy brides have to go out of town to find plus size dresses or alternative brides struggle to find dresses in their style, this can be a good way to break into the business. Why? Because although your market might be smaller than it would be for a general bridal store, you will be able to corner the market in your niche, which means it should be easier to make your business a success.
3. Set up a website
Where many bridal store businesses go wrong is by not having an online presence. Yes, most brides want to see, touch, and try on their gowns before buying, but many will narrow down the field by searching online first, which is why you need to have an inline presence.
It’s easy to set up a bridal website using WordPress and our recommended WP partner for fast hosting. Use a template to set the site up and then all you need to do is take lots of pretty pictures, at every angle, of the dresses and accessories you sell, to showcase them online and sign point people to your bridal store.
4. Attend bridal fairs
Although your shop will be rooted in one location, if you want your business to be a success, you need to get on the ross and attend as many bridal fairs as possible, Most brides who are looking to plan their weddings and buy the perfect dress will attend one or more of these bridal fairs, so if you do not have a presence out there, you could be easily overlooked as an option. Don’t let this happen by attending as many as you can with as many of your best dresses as you can and talk to those blushing brides to be!.
Good luck, I hope your bridal store business is an amazing success!
