Fiona Todhunter enjoying a successful year to date

THE year is still young but Tallaght company Fiona Todhunter Bridals has already enjoyed a 2017 to savour – winning a major business award, relocating to an impressive new facility, and recently accepted to join the largest bridal network in the UK.

Fiona Todhunter, owner of the business, has also found time to cater for an army of brides at the store, citing the change in trend to weddings all year around, which has eliminated winter slumps and fallow periods.

The store employs five people and was established in 1998 at Old Bawn Shopping Centre, before moving to a new premises on Greenhills Road last month.

In January, Fiona Todhunter won the business award at the Bride of the Year show in the RDS, and this week, the company was accepted to join the British Bridal Retailers Association, which provides opportunities to develop the business further.

“It has been a busy year already,” said Fiona, who originally set up a mail-to-order business in 1998, before importing international designs.

“The new store is slightly bigger than the previous one and is open-plan. We have got a great response from people.”

Part of the success of the business is that Fiona enjoys a good relationship with past customers, who often bring their soon-to-be married friends to her in preparation for the big day.

She continued: “We invited brides past and present in for a make-up trial demonstration twice this week. The industry has definitely picked up in the last 14/15 months. Usually it was quiet in November/December, but now, it’s busy throughout the year.”

Along with stocking bridal gown collections from Sophia Toli, Mon Cheri, Tony Bowles and Eternity Bridal, Fiona also designs and stocks her own brand bridal gowns.

“Our brand goes for a simplistic look to extreme designs, vintage and boho (bohemian) looks,” said Fiona.

“Every bride is totally different in what they require and what they want. We have done black wedding dresses, while another girl got married in the zoo and wanted a purple dress.

“You can’t get an off-the-rails dress. We do custom-made and have a workshop behind the shop. The process normally takes eight/nine months, but we also have emergencies which we try to accommodate, and you always have one or two of them. The biggest concern for brides is that the dress is exactly the same when it arrives for them. We cater for every bride’s requirements.”

Fiona Todhunter Bridals is located at 4 Greenhills Retail Park, and open Monday to Saturday, with late openings on Thursday night, call 4526854.