Bride-to-be whose wedding was postponed three times opens bridal shop

A bride-to-be who has had to postpone her wedding three times over the last 18 months has opened her own bridal shop selling second-hand dresses.

After getting engaged to her fiance, Laura Hilton, 31, was thrilled to begin planning her wedding.  

“I was super excited to go and find a dress,” said Miss Hilton, who has a degree in textiles and previously worked for Chanel in London. 

“I’ve always worked in fashion… and it’s always been a keen interest of mine,” she said. 

“I very quickly realised that the budget that I had wasn’t going to get me a dress.”

As well as the cost, Miss Hilton said she was also concerned by the ethics and environmental impact of the dresses’ production process.

“I looked around Norfolk and Norwich and Suffolk to find a shop that was selling second-hand wedding dresses that were affordable, and I just couldn’t find one anywhere,” she said. 

“I thought: I can do this. This is something I’ll be able to offer other people who are looking for the same thing.”

Located at Salle Moor Hall Farm in Reepham, Miss Hilton opened her shop, called Threads, at the start of this month. 

“It has been a challenge, however I do think that this kind of slots into where people are going in terms of organising a wedding at the moment. 

I think people are not penny-pinching as such but they’re thinking: ‘We can’t spend £20,000.’ I think people’s mindsets have changed.”

Feedback to the new shop has been very positive, Miss Hilton said. 

“I’ve had such a positive reaction. I’ve had so many people say to me: ‘This is what I’ve been looking for. Thank goodness there’s another option.’”

Miss Hilton was originally due to get married in the spring of 2020, before postponing to October of that year, and then again to June, before finally re-arranging the date for September of this year. 

She said: “I really feel as though this is it - we’re on the home stretch now, and I can finally get excited about it."