I absolutely adore vintage and vintage inspired wedding dresses! There is something so classically chic about the various styles available and if you are lucky to have a once off vintage piece then aren’t you especially lucky! have you ever wondered where the idea to open a vintage wedding dress store came from? I decided to find out just this from Donna, the owner of Lilac Rose, a boutique specialising in vintage and vintage inspired bridal and bridesmaid gowns. So I’m going to hand you over to Donna (yes that is herself and her husband David in the image above!) to tell you how it all began for Lilac Rose…
“The idea of setting up my own business specialising in original vintage wedding dresses came from my husband, David surprisingly. David saw how difficult it was for me to source my own original vintage wedding dress, coupled with bouts of poor customer service and lack of choice spurned me on to form Lilac Rose. It was from there that I began sourcing gowns from the US and Europe, exhibiting at fairs around the country and just getting a general feel for what brides were looking for.
I operated from home for a long time where brides would come to try on our gowns, which ranged from 1920s-1970s. Listening to our customers soon brought me to realise that it would be a good idea to stock vintage inspired gowns. Because I was proud basically of the cuts, fabrics and styles of the original gowns I had sourced, I was eager to find designers whose vintage inspired gowns stayed true to vintage design and quality, which I think I have found in Charlie Brear and Lou Lou.
From there I thought it would be a good idea to bring accessories to Lilac Rose. I have decided to stock headpieces from Limerick designer, Sharon Galvin, Niamh Ni Rourke, Visionary Veils and brooch bouquets from Ruffled Ruby. I have also joined forces with Limerick designer Maria Sheehy from A Hint of Vintage to create a vintage inspired bridesmaid collection.
With the every increasing appointments and dresses over running my dining room I decided it was finally time to take the leap and open a store. After much searching I found a lovely ‘shell’ of a unit in the pretty Georges Quay which we are currently transforming into an oasis of calm and luxury minus the stuffiness sometimes associated with bridal stores. The two main facets of my business; providing beautiful unique dresses and accessories together with an excellent customer service. Sounds a bit cheesy I know but it’s true!”
Click on an image to open the gallery and to view the larger images of some of the stunning dresses at Lilac Rose:
