When I was a teenager the hunt for a Saturday job was perhaps more competitive than it is now. There were no coffee shops, no 25 tills in Primark, no Sunday opening & very few all night shifts in Sainsburys. The vast out of town retail parks were just a twinkle in the eye of a demonic planner trying to send us to hell by way of Oak Furnitureland . The key target shops for the sharpened elbows of 15 year old Guildford dwelling Sloane Rangers in need of an income were Hobbs, Jigsaw, Benetton & Russell and Bromley. For the training? For the career prospects? Of course not, for the discounts and the staff uniforms. My friend Karen’s Russell and Bromley uniform was from Jaeger and the discounts on the Chelsea boots were worth pulling a bad shift in the kids section at ‘back-to-school’ time. Staff discount has always been a huge motivator for retailers, so what happens when all you retail is bridal wear?
Leyla, our Client Relationship Manager also got married in October and made the staff discount work in her way, the results of which will be revealed in You and Your Wedding in February and subsequently on the Miss Bush blog.
I am still not getting married so with the prospect of Brides magazine’s 60th Birthday Ball in the offing I commissioned Suzanne Neville to make me a dress. It’s pretty much a wedding dress but black and another example of the rare opportunity to indulge in staff discount. Call me Katherine Jenkins…
When I got wind of our Digital Media & Design Manager Leah’s impending elopement my first impulse was to offer her a dress. I knew Leah had tried on a dress at Miss Bush with graphic stripes & clean lines that she loved. What you choose in abstract when you are not getting married and what you choose in reality when your ‘big day’ or in Leah’s case your small intimate day arrives is another matter.
Despite being connected to all and sundry in the wedding industry Leah & Joe were absolutely true to their principle of having the simplest, lowest key wedding possible. It cost next to nothing and the photo shoot of Leah and Joe is less wedding and more celebration of their relationship. It’s darn cool and arty, but then so are Leah & Joe.
It might appear strange that I should love a wedding so much that Miss Bush had no part in and that I applaud Leah’s decision to wear ASOS and not Miss Bush. The wedding was the absolute antithesis of most of my clients’ weddings.
I have a luxury retail business. The products I sell represent good value for money within that context. The prices do not go up because the word wedding is attached and the clients I have can easily afford the dresses I sell, whether that is from sheer hard work, good fortune or prudent saving and budgeting. I would never encourage anyone to ruin themselves for the sake of a wedding dress but like all designer retailers I do hope to seduce and dazzle.
If at any point you feel that a wedding costs too much or the family politics are getting you down consider Leah and Joe’s wedding. If you feel that you having to please everyone else and you and your partner have lost control of your vision look at Leah and Joe’s wedding. The total costs were negligible, the love immeasurable.
However, let’s ask ourselves how we know this. It’s like the’ tree falling in the woods when you’re not there’ conundrum. Does it make a sound?
Leah & Joe did call in one wedding favour, an indulgence I guess. It is the one thing that will cherish longer than you cool canapés or Choos. It is the photos. I cannot put a value on how much a brilliant photographer and an exquisite set of photos is worth. I have seen beautiful brides and fabulous locations squandered by terrible photographers, felt quite queasy by endless tility-jaunty junk masquerading as reportage and yet a visionary photographer can find beauty, character & personality from modest surrounds and low key couples.
Leah is in charge of how Miss Bush looks visually. Her strong, independent and damn close to stubborn personality fits right in with our ethos and don’t be fooled by her frail beauty & that she is young enough to be my daughter. Leah kicks ass & whips me into shape.
The essence of graphic design is communication and Leah has done what she does best, she has not just had a tiny wedding she has illustrated and illuminated how fabulous that can be.
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If you’d like to find out more about Leah and Joe’s secret wedding and the story behind it, head over to read Annabel’s post over on Love My Dress.
All images used by Ali Lovegrove Photography.
Emma Meek, MD of Miss Bush
Miss Bush is Surrey’s leading designer bridal shop
