From Bride to Marketing Manager

Having been an Andrea Hawkes bride myself earlier this year I have since become an employee of Andrea Hawkes taking on the position of Marketing Manager just a few months ago, and so wanted to share my unique story with you as I have gone from bride to employee.

Since Nick proposed to me 2 years ago at the top of The Peak in Hong Kong, and after many hours of wedding planning and dare I say countless wedding related ‘differences of opinion’, we finally tied the knot earlier this year at the beautiful Merriscourt, Oxfordshire. We had our hearts set on a relaxed family celebration and a ceremony involving all of our loved ones, with beautiful views, great food and lots of music and dancing.

As soon as we drove up the beautiful tree-lined driveway to Merriscourt we knew we had found our dream wedding venue. As part of the hire of Merriscourt we had the option to also hire their stunning on site accommodation – three rather large cottages which are all beautifully decorated making for a luxurious stay. We therefore had Merriscourt to ourselves for the entire May bank holiday weekend, with our close family and friends staying on site with us. It really was a long weekend to remember.

The Wedding Party Looks

Nick, the Groomsmen, and the Father of the Bride and Groom all looked handsome in matching suits and tails, each with a different colour cravat for added detail and personalisation. My six Bridesmaids wore beautiful dresses from Whistles with a pretty blue and white floral pattern, and held bouquets of lots of green foliage and white flowers to match my own. All of our flowers were provided by Wild Lily Flowers and added the perfect finishing touch to the day. During the morning while getting ready I also gifted my lovely bridesmaids with some English Pear and Freesia Jo Malone perfume – a fresh floral scent that now brings back such wonderful memories from the day. I walked down the aisle with my Dad feeling so lucky to have all of my friends and family around me.

My Andrea Hawkes Wedding Dress

Working with the Andrea Hawkes team to create my wedding dress was a wonderful experience from start to finish. Up until my appointment with Andrea Hawkes I had been struggling to find exactly what I was looking for in a wedding dress, but as soon as my Mum and I sat down with Siobhan to discuss my wedding plans over a cup of coffee, I felt immediately at home and excited to find my dream dress. I fell in love with the paired-back simplicity of the Andrea Hawkes designs, with a less-is-more approach to bridal and a beautiful minimalist aesthetic. I quickly settled on the beautiful Zoe dress from the Reflection Collection as I loved the simplicity of the shoe-string straps and V-neckline, and the luxurious texture of the Sandwash silk together with the lace detail on the back.

Having opted for the ‘Made to Measure’ service whereby the dress would be made to my exact measurements, in my second appointment Siobhan and I began to discuss the ways in which I could customise Zoe to make it my own. In addition to slightly raising the neckline of the dress I also decided to swap the existing lace for the beautiful appliquéd daisy lace that I had fallen in love with in my first appointment. I also discussed having a beautiful long-sleeved lace top made in the same lace, with each daisy being hand appliquéd on in the perfect position. To know that I was able to wear a dress designed with touches that only I got experience made the whole thing feel extra special and more personal.

Around four months before my wedding day I came back to the AHB showroom to have my measurements taken. This was then followed by my toile fitting appointment around a month after that whereby my dress had been made in a fine cotton toile, and any final tweaks could be made to my dress design. The most exciting appointment for me however, was coming to try on my wedding dress and lace top around six weeks before my wedding – it was absolutely perfect and everything I had hoped for, and I felt so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with such a lovely team to create my dream dress. I felt absolutely beautiful in my dress and comfortable in it for the entire day – in fact I didn’t want to take it off at the end!

From Bride to Marketing Manager

It wasn’t until a few months after our wedding that I happened to see that Andrea Hawkes posted to their Instagram that they were looking to hire a Marketing Manager. As fate would have it this was in fact perfect timing for me as I was in the midst of searching for a new job. With a background in fashion marketing and an insight into the Andrea Hawkes brand having loved my client experience so much earlier in the year, I decided to apply for the position. I was so happy to hear back from the team later that week asking me to come in for an interview, and it was a strange but lovely experience to come back to the AHB showroom this time not as a client but as an interviewee hoping to become part of their amazing team.

I went on to officially join the AHB team as Marketing Manager in September of this year and haven’t looked back since. It has been an incredibly exciting few months with our wonderful Catwalk Event showcasing our Identity and Dovetail Collections, as well as our Christmas Styling Event where we invited our brides-to-be to listen to an exclusive talk given by Andrea about the different ways our collection can be styled to reflect your own sense of style and personality. It’s also been a busy time for me with lots to take in and learn about the brand together with laying the foundations for our exciting plans for 2020, and I feel very lucky indeed to be part of such a wonderful team and can’t wait to see what next year brings for us.

If you are looking to book an appointment yourself please do visit our Contact page for details on how to get in touch – we will look forward to seeing you in the showroom soon.