Our History

27 Years of Serving our Wonderful Brides

Although The Pantiles Bride opened in Kent in 1997 our story really starts 8 years before on the Caribbean island of Vieques.

La Casa del Frances


I got married at La Casa del Frances on Vieques. We jetted to California to meet my new sister in law and went to a fashion outlet where brides were trying on wedding gowns at the amazing price of $50 each. Having just bought my gown in the UK I realised what a great bargain they were – even better as the exchange rate was almost two dollars to the pound!! So I invested $300, bought a suitcase and scribbled my business plan on the back of the menu card on the BA flight home!

Our First Bridal Studio

First foray into bridal was hiring gowns from a studio in our Kentish Oast House.

 

Photo of Maria Sitting at Fair

Our First Boutique in The Corn Exchange

The South East was saturated with shops selling satin, sequinned “meringues” worthy of Four Weddings and a Funeral! Our niche was to offer the best designer gowns under one roof outside of London with Harrods as our main competition. Our first designer was Sassi Holford and our first location was The Corn Exchange.

Our New Boutique Design

Winter 1997 – Needing More Space

Work started on 34 The Pantiles with the help of a fine artist and a master cabinet maker.

The Upper Walk

Spring 1998

We moved to the The Upper Walk of The Pantiles over 2 floors and expanded from 1 fitting room to 3.

Our Boutique with Joanna Lumley

Summer 1998

The boutique was transformed into Joanna Lumley’s shop Chic to Chic in the film A Rather English Marriage with Albert Finney & Tom Courtney.

The Corn Exchange

We “get into men” and open The Pantiles Groom in the old location The Corn Exchange.

The Second Pantiles Bride

We opened our second boutique in Henley & Arden in a very quirky old building.

The Current "A" Team

Alexandra & Donna joined the team and shared their vast experience with leading retailers Liberty and Harrods.

Celebrating 25 Years

And, just like that, we’re celebrating 25 years on The Pantiles with a new logo, the same team since 2012 and designers we’ve had for years – all reflecting our brand which is all about Luxe, Location and Longevity.

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