New Collections and Celebrations at the British Bridal Exhibition Harrogate

September marks a special time in the bridal industry calendar with designers, stores, and press all coming together in the picturesque town of Harrogate in the United Kingdom to showcase what’s on offer for the next season. From September 11-13, the Enzoani UK and Europe teams came together for British Bridal Exhibition Harrogate (The Harrogate Bridal Show) to present the 2017 collections to customers...and to take home a major award!

Here's what Mark Stevens, UK Sales Director had to say about the show:

"BBEH 2016 was an upbeat and buoyant market for 2016, with plenty of retailers attending, a great sign for the coming year ahead for all involved in the bridal industry. Customers from as far as Norway attended the stand, specifically with purchasing Enzoani in mind.

With the new, improved construction within all 3 Enzoani collections, the response was very positive, with customers commenting how much more hanger appeal the gowns have and how well the dresses fit the body. With a turn away from lace slightly, all of the collections were warmly received by retailers saying that there is much more diversity within all 3 collections, something they hope carries on.

Tracie (European Marketing Manager) and the creative team also designed a brand new gloss black runway; this was an incredible investment and showed the detailing on the dresses perfectly. In all, a very successful show with encouraging numbers of new retailers being welcomed on board the Enzoani train, a perfect platform for the future."

And the Winner is...

The team was absolutely thrilled to receive the 2016 Bridal Buyer Award for ‘Best Bridalwear Manufacturer’ for the second time! See below for video of the winning announcement.

The morning after the awards, the stand was buzzing with excitement, with industry friends coming to join in the celebration. See below video capturing the emotion of the morning!

Here's what Jeanette Stevens, European Managing Director, had to say about the winning the award:

"The Bridal Buyer Award is THE most prestigious and desired accolade everyone dreams and strives to receive.  It’s the Oscars of the bridal industry, this prestigious ‘seal of approval’ is a clear sign to our customers of our ongoing dedication and commitment to them but also helps our retailers boost brand awareness with confidence, giving positive signals to brides. Commitment from a brand is key, reliability is essential and support is critical for good partnerships. These awards recognise the best of the best and bring with it a high level of kudos that all businesses strive to achieve.

The process starts many months before with an extensive application form to even be considered for the award. It's not enough to just have an exceptional product; they are reviewing your support to customers, ethics, approach, development, commitment, attitude, integrity and much more. Many hours go into the application form to make sure that we put on paper what Enzoani and all our dedicated team do behind the scenes.  It can be mentally draining, but a feeling of immense pride emerges as you’ve captured it all into one document and you realise what an awesome team and company you have a privilege to work with.

It’s not an exaggeration when we say it’s an honour and privilege to make the top six finalists chosen from a panel of experts in the industry, bridal retailers themselves who know exactly what they need in a ‘Best Bridal Manufacturer.’  The six finalists were all of a high calibre and we were proud to stand among them. When the awards were announced, we really had no idea, and did not want to get our hopes up…but the announcement of 'Best Bridal Manufacturer 2016 is Enzoani' made time stand still for a moment. There was overwhelming pleasure and pride to know that each and every one of your team who work so tirelessly, enthusiastically and passionately day in and day out has just been recognised in the industry for what they do. The emotions take over and you are lost in that moment.

What an amazing achievement!!! We’re so lucky to have an INCREDIBLE committed, passionate team at Enzoani who are SO focused on delivering the ABSOLUTE best possible service for our customers, and we believe in investing our time and energy into them and into our customers; winning this award is a reflection of a fantastic team and all the things we constantly strive to achieve."

Some kind messages of congratulations:

“I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS to you and your team as it’s such a wonderful accolade to have.” Lesley, Scottish Wedding Directory

“Congratulations on your win last night for Enzoani ... well done” Charlotte, The Bridal Lounge

“... and how could I forget to congratulate you on being in the most awesome team hahaha winners xxx”  Kimberley, Eden Bridal

Featured above Creatiques who also won Best Retailer Award, The Bridal Rooms, Niinatar, Eden Bridal and Vintage Rose Bridal. 

Even more to celebrate...

The celebrations didn’t stop there with the surprise engagement of Judy and Andreas from our new retail partner in Norway. Andreas decided to surprise the beautiful Judy during the event's main catwalk show, and the team had the pleasure of being there to see it all. Jeanette, Thomas and Tracie were lucky enough to be a part of this beautiful moment on Monday evening. As they all sat waiting for the fashion show to begin, Andreas snuck off, and to Judy’s surprise, appears front and centre on the catwalk mic with ring in hand. After his heart-warming speech about how they met and their lives together, he bent down on one knee and proposed. Judy, shocked and overwhelmed, took a while to realise what was happening, but of course said "Yes!" to a round of applause from the packed audience!

 “This was the first time in BBEH history that someone has proposed, and we were there not only to see it, butalso  experience it with them. They are a lovely, friendly couple who are totally in love, and we just couldn’t resist getting caught up in the excitement with them. I wish them every happiness in the future and hope they have an amazing wedding...which I think Jeanette, Thomas and I have invited ourselves to! This was probably my favourite Harrogate market so far…It's going to be hard to top it next year!” -- Tracie Williams, European Marketing Manager

Thank you to the entire Enzoani team who makes us the ‘Best Bridalwear Manufacturer 2016!'

Dress Credits: 2017 Lisa, Jovita, Jamari, BT17-31, Jadorie, Luanne