One bridal shop owner has explained why she charges for appointments

Welcome to The Bride Files - covering all things related to weddings as Laura prepares for her big day.

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Earlier this week I wrote about how some bridal shops are now charging for appointments. You have to pay €30 to attend an appointment, but that fee can be offset against a dress you buy from that shop. It was met with a mixed reaction; brides are annoyed by the change and shop owners are welcoming it. I reached out to one shop owner in Limerick, from Áibhéil of Adare. She only just introduced the charge at the beginning of the year. I wanted to get both sides of the story and understand from her side. This is her response:

"After 14 years in business, we thought long and hard about introducing a charge for Saturday appointments. We found our diary was always booked out 7-8 weeks in advance, often with appointments that failed to show up or with people who wanted to enjoy a nice day out with friends, perhaps not ever planning to purchase at all. As Saturday is our busiest day, and often the only day that suits a bridal party to go shopping together, we wanted to ensure that brides who were seriously looking to buy their dress were getting appointments in the near-term and we were not losing their business. The Saturday charge was introduced at the start of this year and it is working really well. We can now offer appointments within 1-2 weeks of a Saturday request. The fee is refunded if 48 hours notice of cancellation is given. Customers are now ringing to cancel or re-schedule thereby giving us the opportunity to offer the slot to someone else. The fee of €30 is redeemable against the dress purchase. Weekdays are and will remain free of charge and we welcome anyone who is at any stage of their wedding dress shopping to come for a consultation without any obligation to buy."

What do you get for your €30 Saturday fee?

• 1 hour and 15-minute appointment with a one-to-one personal assistant.
• Choosing from a wide selection of gowns from high-quality designers.
• The gowns are well presented and pristine. (They have a strict 'no-fake-tan' policy)
• They also have a large selection of sample gowns available to buy off the rail for last minute brides, also in excellent condition.
• Their website is always up to date, so can be viewed prior to deciding on making an appointment with them.

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If you have any other advice or if you have a product/company you want to feature on The Bride Files you can get in touch with me through email, [email protected], or on Twitter @LaurHolland.