A Shrewsbury wedding shop owner is celebrating

A Shrewsbury wedding shop owner is celebrating after striking gold thanks to her many satisfied customers.

Heavenly Brides and Belles, which is based in the town’s busy Pride Hill Shopping Centre, is the only Shropshire business to have gained a gold award on a national website.

The weddingspot.co.uk award is calculated from the number of top reviews a business receives from satisfied customers with no fewer than 15 needed to earn a coveted gold award. Suzanne Heavens, who opened Heavenly Brides and Belles just under two years ago, says she is delighted so many of her customers have taken time out to review the service they received on the popular wedding planning website.

She said: “I couldn’t be more pleased the way things have gone since I started my business. And to have the service I offer recognised by so many satisfied customers is absolutely brilliant.

“I do have a lot of Shropshire brides who come to me when planning their big day but I have also looked after brides who travelled from as far away as Oxford and Aberystwyth. “I’m really pleased people are prepared to travel so far to allow me the privilege of advising and supplying that special gown for their wedding day. ”

Suzanne, 32, of Wenlock Road, Shrewsbury who is mum to four-year-old daughter Bethany, said: “Starting up on your own is a big step but I made sure I had the right advice and having spent nearly five years managing a successful bridal shop, which gave me plenty of experience, I knew what I was doing was going to be hard but rewarding work.

“When I opened Heavenly Brides and Belles I sold all sorts of other dresses, such as prom and ball gowns, but I decided it was better to concentrate purely on short wedding dresses and bridal accessories and I think that has paid off as I have expanded my range of wedding gowns to include a made to order collection from Lincoln based designer ‘Brides By Harvee. ”

She added: “Anything goes these days when it comes to weddings and I have a couple of customers who have purchased wedding dresses online that are a little bit different. One bride is going to get married abroad while another one is getting married outdoors in a rather unusual place. “I can’t say too much as the weddings haven’t taken place yet and I have to respect the bride’s wishes to keep things under wraps!”

And Suzanne says it’s her dream job. She just loves helping blushing brides find the right gown as there is something special and romantic about weddings. She said: “I have always got lots of ideas and I’m also a good listener. Once you’ve found someone their dream dress it’s just such a great feeling. Buying a wedding dress, not just any dress but the right dress, is so important to a bride and it’s massively rewarding seeing it come right.

Kevin Lockwood, Manager of the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside Shopping Centres, said: “We’re always delighted to hear any success stories relating to stores within our shopping centres. Suzanne has done particularly well and receiving a gold standard award on a national website is fantastic.

“It is, of course, particularly pleasing that the gold award is a direct result of reviews from satisfied customers and of course we are delighted to hear that Heavenly Brides and Belles is attracting customers from as far afield as Oxford and Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury.

“Her business illustrates the strength of the Shrewsbury Shopping Centres because we have a fantastic mix of the big high street names and innovative and specialist independents like Suzanne. ”