Bridal IRL: Meet Philippa Goodchild of Lyra Bridal Studio

What happens when a career in fashion, a move to Australia and a love of beautifully made wedding dresses eventually lead you to opening your own bridal studio?

Welcome to the very first episode of Bridal IRL, a new interview series from Revide taking you behind the doors of independent bridal stores and introducing you to the people shaping modern bridal.

For Episode One, Revide founder Liam Mulligan sits down with Philippa Goodchild, founder of Lyra Bridal Studio in Salisbury, to talk about her journey into the bridal industry, the inspiration behind Lyra, discovering Australian bridal designers and why she believes independent bridal stores still offer something incredibly special.

And, as Philippa explains during the conversation, sometimes being a good bridal stylist even means telling a bride not to buy a wedding dress from you.

From fashion graduate to bridal store owner

Philippa didn't originally plan a career in bridal.

After studying fashion at university, her ambition was to become a fashion buyer. But after struggling to find the right opportunity, an internship in the bridal industry appeared.

What was initially supposed to be a stepping stone became the beginning of a career.

Philippa went from intern to managing one of London's leading bridal stores, working with designers including Anna Campbell and Mariana Hardwick.

Her career then took her considerably further afield.

After moving to Melbourne, Philippa worked directly with Australian designer Mariana Hardwick, managing the brand's flagship store and gaining an entirely different perspective on bridal fashion.

When she eventually returned to the UK, she spotted an opportunity.

There were incredible Australian bridal designers creating something different, but many had little or no presence in the UK.

Philippa began working in bridal wholesale, helping connect Australian and international designers with bridal stores across the UK and Europe.

Eventually, all that experience led to Lyra Bridal Studio.

Creating Lyra Bridal Studio

Philippa opened Lyra with a very particular bride in mind.

Not every bride wants the traditional bridal experience, and not every bride wants to spend £8,000 on a wedding dress.

Lyra is designed around what Philippa describes as the "effortless cool girl bride" — someone who appreciates beautiful fabrics, interesting design and exceptional cut, but wants her wedding dress to feel like an extension of her own style.

Rather than trying to offer hundreds of completely different dresses, Philippa carefully edits the Lyra collection.

Every wedding dress has been personally selected.

Her philosophy is wonderfully straightforward:

Would I wear it?

If the answer is no, it probably isn't coming into Lyra.

That means brides who connect with Lyra's aesthetic often arrive and discover something quite different from a huge bridal store where every possible style is represented.

Instead of liking one or two dresses amongst hundreds, they can find an entire collection that feels like them.

Australian bridal designers and hidden gems

That international experience continues to influence Lyra's designer collection today.

Philippa works particularly closely with Australian designers and talks in the episode about Kelly Lin, whose combination of quality, design and price has made the label an important part of Lyra's collection.

She also talks about designer Edwina O'Gorman, whose dresses Philippa describes as embodying that effortless style at the heart of Lyra.

There's a personal connection, too.

Philippa chose an Edwina O'Gorman design for her own wedding dress.

For Philippa, discovering designers like these is part of what makes independent bridal shopping exciting.

Some aren't necessarily the labels a bride has already seen repeatedly on Instagram. Instead, finding the right independent store can introduce you to designers and dresses you didn't even know existed.

A bridal studio in Salisbury

Lyra Bridal Studio is based at Fisherton Mill in Salisbury, a historic building that's home to a community of independent creative businesses.

Its location close to Salisbury railway station also means Lyra attracts brides from considerably further afield.

Philippa regularly welcomes brides travelling from London and says some have travelled from as far away as Cornwall specifically because of the designers and aesthetic available at Lyra.

And that gets to the heart of something we believe strongly at Revide.

Finding the right bridal store matters just as much as finding the right wedding dress.

A bridal store doesn't need to have 500 dresses to be right for you.

Sometimes the better experience comes from finding a store whose taste closely matches your own.

Why independent bridal stores matter

One of our favourite parts of the conversation is Philippa's explanation of why she's so passionate about independent bridal.

Behind an independent bridal store is usually an owner or small team making very deliberate decisions about what they stock.

Philippa personally considers the fit, fabric, quality, production and design of the dresses she brings into Lyra.

It's curation rather than simply inventory.

Independent store owners visit designers, see new collections and make decisions about which handful of dresses deserve a place in their stores.

As Philippa puts it:

"We've edited those dresses and got the best of the best from what we believe are the best designers."

And that human element continues when a bride walks through the door.

"I can't let you buy this dress."

Perhaps the best example comes from a story Philippa tells about one of Lyra's earliest brides, Kim.

Kim visited Lyra while Philippa was still waiting for dresses from Indie Bride to arrive.

She tried a dress already in the studio and was ready to buy it.

There was just one problem.

Philippa didn't think it was her dress.

From meeting Kim and understanding her style, Philippa was convinced the forthcoming Indie Bride collection would suit her far better.

So instead of taking the sale, she told her to wait.

The Indie Bride dresses arrived, Kim returned — and found exactly what Philippa suspected she would.

For Philippa, that's what bridal styling should be about.

Not selling someone a wedding dress.

Helping them find their wedding dress.

A bride who's unapologetically herself

Lyra's tagline is:

"A bride who's unapologetically herself."

And Philippa believes that's increasingly representative of modern bridal.

Brides are becoming more confident about choosing weddings, dresses and experiences that reflect who they actually are rather than automatically following traditions or expectations from previous generations.

That's something we're seeing across independent bridal too.

The most exciting stores aren't necessarily trying to appeal to absolutely everyone.

They're developing their own point of view.

And when the right bride discovers the right store, that's where the magic happens.

Watch Episode One of Inside the Bridal Studio

In the first episode of Inside the Bridal Studio, Liam and Philippa talk about:

• Philippa's journey from fashion into bridal

• Working in London and Australia

• Launching Lyra Bridal Studio

• Australian bridal designers

• Creating a carefully curated wedding dress collection

• Why brides travel to Lyra from across the UK

• Supporting independent bridal stores

• How modern brides are changing

• Why honesty matters during a bridal appointment

• And why Philippa once talked a bride out of buying a dress from her

Watch the full 22-minute conversation above.

Full Transcript

00:05.69

Liam Mulligan

Hello, everybody. Welcome to the very first Revide. don't know what we're calling this. Inside the Bridal Studio, we're going to come up with a fancier name for it. oh Who knows? Who knows? But here we are, and this is our chance to speak to some of ah the the owners, the Bridal Studios on our brilliant platform and just learn a little bit more about them and promote them, really.

00:27.14

Liam Mulligan

So today, very first one, our very good friend, Philippa from Lyra Bridal Studio. Hello. Hello.

00:32.44

Lyra Bridal Studio

a

00:32.79

Liam Mulligan

Hello. Hello. Right. Let's get straight into it because we don't have a lot of time. I know you're you're ah a busy bridal studio.

00:40.15

Lyra Bridal Studio

busy busy

00:40.11

Liam Mulligan

So let's drive straight in. Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to to to form Lyra this time last year.

00:50.04

Lyra Bridal Studio

you know what it's i think i was thinking about this and it's been i've just let life take me like i i've not so i'm about to be 37 i can't believe it how did that happen. So when I was in uni, I did fashion in uni and I always had it in my head that I wanted to be a fashion buyer.

00:57.02

Liam Mulligan

Okay.

01:02.52

Liam Mulligan

Well, never a guest.

01:15.38

Lyra Bridal Studio

That was the path that I was doing. And after I finished university back then the only way to get a job was to move to London and do internships for free. And I could not get and a free job doing buying.

01:32.22

Liam Mulligan

hey

01:32.89

Lyra Bridal Studio

No one would have me even for free. I know, which was really sad. But I was desperate not to give up and stay within like the fashion industry. And to be honest, back then at 21, bridal, I was only 21, bridal hadn't even occurred to me, you know, that that was a journey.

01:46.97

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

01:48.67

Lyra Bridal Studio

And I found an internship in London, which was in the bridal industry. So I went for that. I thought, great, we're still in the same industry. I'll do this for now, figure things out and see where it life takes me. And then that was literally it.

02:02.65

Lyra Bridal Studio

So, you know, we were, I i went from intern to then managing one of the top stores in London. And we were the first, stockist of all these insane designers.

02:14.79

Lyra Bridal Studio

So you've got Ruda Sen, you've got Anna Campbell, Mariana Hardwick, all these like really key high-end designers.

02:18.61

Liam Mulligan

Hmm.

02:21.12

Lyra Bridal Studio

It was an amazing experience. And then I got a bit of itchy feet, but loving the bridal.

02:26.58

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

02:27.97

Lyra Bridal Studio

So I went to Melbourne and actually worked in-house for Mariana Hardwick, one of their top designers. And I managed their flagship over there. So then when I came home And then we're still in bridal.

02:40.94

Lyra Bridal Studio

I didn't know what I wanted to do.

02:41.21

Liam Mulligan

Hmm.

02:42.50

Lyra Bridal Studio

i was without a job again in my life. What do we do And after being in Australia, I noticed such a gap in the market to connect Australian designers into the UK.

02:45.88

Liam Mulligan

ah

02:54.62

Lyra Bridal Studio

So that's when I started my other business of wholesale and which I still carry on through today. and connect amazing Australian brands and as you know Irish brands and we've grown we've grown anyway to the rest of the UK and now entering into Europe and it occurred to me last year that I have access to the most amazing dresses and I see first hand

03:18.49

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

03:21.05

Lyra Bridal Studio

which are the best, which are the best quality for the best price for the vibe that I want to to have Lyra to be, to be a really cool chilled place for an effortless cool girl bride. And I've got access to all of these dresses. Cool girls don't wanna spend eight grand on a dress.

03:42.55

Liam Mulligan

yeah.

03:42.94

Lyra Bridal Studio

they' They're cool, but they but they appreciate fabrics they appreciate the cut and the drape. And, you know, they want to get that amazing quality, but not rinse their whole wedding budget on the dress. So that's when sort of Lyra was born. It was a natural progression. And yeah, it's been amazing ever since.

04:04.15

Liam Mulligan

Well, yeah, and and and yeah I can see that from your social media and the conversation that we had, that that you that you love it.

04:11.51

Lyra Bridal Studio

yeah

04:12.57

Liam Mulligan

Why do you think you love it so much, though? what What's inbuilt in you that you think, well, actually? Because you say you fell into Brad Lomar, but why why is it that you you you love that particular?

04:19.13

Lyra Bridal Studio

yeah yeah well I think it's the fact that the reason I changed from like fashion buying I suppose that with my mindset and then I was so focused on bridal is you still get

04:21.62

Liam Mulligan

It's because you could do anything. No.

04:34.81

Lyra Bridal Studio

to work with in fashion, but you're part of someone's journey and it's such an emotional time in their lives and you get to guide them and be a part of that and to be chosen by a bride as well to for them to trust you, to help them.

04:39.74

Liam Mulligan

Yeah,

04:50.61

Lyra Bridal Studio

i don't know, I get a buzz. I get such a buzz out of it.

04:53.41

Liam Mulligan

great.

04:54.33

Lyra Bridal Studio

I love it.

04:54.33

Liam Mulligan

right

04:55.09

Lyra Bridal Studio

I love making people happy. i don't know, if that's like me as a person. I just want everyone to be happy in the world. and like So to be... at the at a person's happiest moment is just, yeah, I think that's my drive is to just, yeah, keep pushing to make everyone happy.

05:13.27

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah.

05:13.69

Liam Mulligan

Well, and and I think you do. I mean, your reviews read read read obviously fantastically well. So what designers you do do you hold at the minute?

05:21.79

Lyra Bridal Studio

So mainly at the moment, I've, I work really strongly with Australian designers. Kelly Lynn is, I say, one of my core designers.

05:27.35

Liam Mulligan

yes

05:30.57

Lyra Bridal Studio

She is Australian in Melbourne. Yeah, amazing. Like the dresses are just the most incredible quality, but at the most amazing price. And I love Kelly, like she's a really nice human being.

05:43.74

Lyra Bridal Studio

Like she's lovely.

05:44.18

Liam Mulligan

Okay.

05:44.98

Lyra Bridal Studio

and I like, as we all know we all like working with really nice people so you know and it goes the same like I wouldn't want to work with a designer that didn't give me a good vibe I wouldn't want to pass that on to a bride so Kelly is a really strong and beautiful person and designer and I love having her so she's sort of a bit more she's cool girl but you still want to be bridal so you're a cool girl but you haven't quite got

05:49.37

Liam Mulligan

Absolutely right.

05:58.04

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

06:09.46

Liam Mulligan

All right.

06:12.63

Lyra Bridal Studio

like so cool.

06:13.75

Liam Mulligan

yeah yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I absolutely get it.

06:17.21

Lyra Bridal Studio

Exactly. And then obviously I've got the amazing Edwina who you know as well.

06:20.80

Liam Mulligan

Of course. Of course.

06:22.93

Lyra Bridal Studio

Edwina is the designer of my wedding dress.

06:23.12

Liam Mulligan

Brilliant.

06:24.81

Lyra Bridal Studio

She was the designer of you of Mel, your wife's wedding dress.

06:27.06

Liam Mulligan

Yes, absolutely right.

06:27.85

Lyra Bridal Studio

So hopefully we all love her.

06:29.21

Liam Mulligan

<unk>s Brilliant.

06:30.14

Lyra Bridal Studio

I love Edwina because she is like well she is that effortless cool girl like that is Edwina anyway and then her dresses follow through on that and then also i think when you find Edwina I think a bit like if you find my store or you find your store it's it's like you're finding a hidden gem like that's what our stores are and that's what Edwina is and she doesn't push the promotions like it's not in your face it's not that you find her and you're like oh my god this designer is just everything she does is just beautiful and i love her and it speaks to you on you know on a on a deeper level i think for sure and i love having her dresses in the shop obviously i can't wait to wear mine

07:11.10

Liam Mulligan

Well, no, and and a couple of months to go, I think, is it not?

07:14.04

Lyra Bridal Studio

yeah less just just less than two months was two months the other day ah yeah crazy very exciting

07:18.33

Liam Mulligan

Great. Very exciting times. Enjoy this run up to it. ah

07:22.62

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yes, well, yes.

07:24.63

Liam Mulligan

So youre tell us a bit about where you're based then. Where where in the country are you? Because I know you're from that area as well. So tell us a little bit about where you're from and and etc.

07:33.55

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah.

07:36.79

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah, yeah, I mean, actually, I'm from Nottingham up north, believe it or not, I am.

07:40.23

Liam Mulligan

Are you? Interesting. interesting

07:43.19

Lyra Bridal Studio

but Well, I was born in Doncaster. I'm from Old Iver, like gypsy.

07:45.43

Liam Mulligan

ah okay

07:47.23

Lyra Bridal Studio

I was born in Doncaster.

07:47.80

Liam Mulligan

Are you Nottingham?

07:49.43

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah, yeah, my parents still live in Nottingham. say yes So, yeah, so I...

07:53.34

Liam Mulligan

But you've got that that that's southwestern twang now.

07:56.92

Lyra Bridal Studio

I pick up accents really easily.

07:57.05

Liam Mulligan

in

07:58.96

Lyra Bridal Studio

When I moved back from Australia, everyone thought I was Australian.

07:58.90

Liam Mulligan

yeah

08:02.39

Liam Mulligan

ah

08:02.94

Lyra Bridal Studio

And then it slowly faded out and I've just become Southern. So I'm like a chameleon. i

08:08.50

Liam Mulligan

ah

08:10.04

Lyra Bridal Studio

So yeah, actually I'm from Nottingham. and then someone was looking at that And then after I came back from Australia, I moved down South.

08:20.87

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

08:21.26

Lyra Bridal Studio

It's better weather for me. I'm a very warm person.

08:22.81

Liam Mulligan

Fair.

08:23.70

Lyra Bridal Studio

I like being in summer. ah So as much summer as I can get.

08:26.33

Liam Mulligan

Yes.

08:27.88

Lyra Bridal Studio

And I ended up in Salisbury, so this is where the shop is now. And I'm really lucky with the space. It was literally meant to be.

08:36.17

Liam Mulligan

Hmm.

08:36.90

Lyra Bridal Studio

I was actually gonna be in a different, still in Solsbury, but in a different location, which would have been nice.

08:40.10

Liam Mulligan

Hmm.

08:42.20

Lyra Bridal Studio

But at the last minute, this space opened up and it's in a quite sort of area. It's a place called Fish to Mill. So it's a big old mill listed building. And it basically houses all sorts of independent creative people.

08:57.53

Lyra Bridal Studio

And it's a really great space.

08:58.06

Liam Mulligan

Ah.

08:59.77

Lyra Bridal Studio

There's an onsite restaurant and coffee shop and the food is like incredible. So it's great for my lunches or for anyone that wants a drink.

09:03.48

Liam Mulligan

Great.

09:07.53

Lyra Bridal Studio

Like and I can get them it brought over. They're really amazing. So it's a really great place be. It's right next to the train station. So i get a lot of of brides actually coming from London because there's a direct train to Salisbury and it's quite quick.

09:16.66

Liam Mulligan

Ah, yes.

09:19.61

Lyra Bridal Studio

Obviously in London, there's very few shops where they stock food. a lot of designers or like you're just going to say a designer's own brand shop and then you end up having to pay loads of times and it costs a lot of money so they end up coming on the train over here because i'm their like vibe and then yeah so that's like that's really good

09:26.03

Liam Mulligan

Mm-hmm.

09:38.59

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

09:43.29

Lyra Bridal Studio

a good location for that too. It's like literally two minutes from this train station. So, and that's sort of why it was perfect when I thought about what Lyra would be and what bride it would be for.

09:53.77

Lyra Bridal Studio

And looking at the other shops in the area, there isn't, there isn't anything like that around here.

09:58.10

Liam Mulligan

Right?

09:59.93

Lyra Bridal Studio

I even now I get brides, they travel up from Cornwall.

10:00.58

Liam Mulligan

Great.

10:03.21

Lyra Bridal Studio

So as far as like from here to Cornwall, I'm the only stockist of the majority of the dresses, you can't get them anywhere else.

10:08.57

Liam Mulligan

Ah, fantastic.

10:10.27

Lyra Bridal Studio

So brides are traveling from all over. to come because they can see that I am their vibe and they're going to like, rather than going to a shop that that's got loads of dresses and does a bit of everything and they might like one or two, they end up coming here and they're like, i like so many, like, oh my God, there's so many dresses that are just exactly my type of dress.

10:24.31

Liam Mulligan

Hmm.

10:26.69

Liam Mulligan

Yeah. ah yeah

10:31.39

Lyra Bridal Studio

So, you know, it's, it's like Salisbury's literally been an amazing location for it. So that's really good.

10:39.24

Liam Mulligan

Very good. Right. So i mean one of the reasons why we we we started Revide was to promote independent bridal stores. We're passionate about it i know you're passionate about it. Why should we be passionate about it?

10:53.12

Liam Mulligan

Why should we be passionate about independent upbridal studios or stores or boutiques rather than maybe getting your wedding dress from Sheehan or Sainsbury's or whatever it may be?

11:04.20

Liam Mulligan

what you know what does it cause it Because there's options, right? There is options for for everybody and every budget. But why should we be passionate about about independent studios?

11:10.68

Lyra Bridal Studio

and

11:14.31

Lyra Bridal Studio

I think obviously, you know, if if you have, if you budgets mean you have to get things from Sheen or or whatever, like you, you know, you've got to do what you've got to do and your priorities and things like that.

11:24.14

Liam Mulligan

Of course.

11:24.74

Lyra Bridal Studio

But obviously at the end of the day, the ethics, is that the right word? Ethics behind things like that aren't that great.

11:30.64

Liam Mulligan

Yeah, yeah.

11:32.11

Lyra Bridal Studio

And having something so like you, I wouldn't want to wear something so unethical. on such an important day.

11:39.26

Liam Mulligan

okay

11:39.39

Lyra Bridal Studio

And I think when it's independent people, like this is my shop, this is my baby.

11:44.28

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

11:44.69

Lyra Bridal Studio

I hand pick every single day for the shop based on its fit, the quality, of the fabric, how it's produced, that the but like especially like we know like Edwina, she knows the backstory of her fabrics.

11:54.63

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

11:56.65

Lyra Bridal Studio

So we know that it's a clean journey throughout the whole thing. And when you go to independent stores where it is just a really small team or just the owner herself, like myself, that that's here, we've purposely selected these gowns because of all those elements that fit together.

12:15.69

Lyra Bridal Studio

And obviously, once you start trying them on it's hard, I think, for a bride to imagine until they start trying them on. But then when they start trying them on, so there's a shop not too far away from me, suppose.

12:28.44

Liam Mulligan

Fair.

12:29.23

Lyra Bridal Studio

We weren't, so who it is? Which is a similar price point to me. You know, we kind of start from around $1,200. Max price for me is like two and a half.

12:39.70

Lyra Bridal Studio

So, you know, I try and keep within a good, like, budget-friendly price point, but it really lacks item.

12:39.89

Liam Mulligan

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

12:46.71

Lyra Bridal Studio

So, and they go to the other shop. And if they if they go there first and they come to me after and then they try on the dresses here, they end up, they're like, oh my God, the fabrics here are like amazing.

12:59.38

Lyra Bridal Studio

They're like, now I know the difference. They are literally amazing.

13:02.42

Liam Mulligan

yeah yeah

13:02.69

Lyra Bridal Studio

so I think until you start trying on and knowing how special you can feel in them, but you aren't going to get that from the not independent shops.

13:13.88

Liam Mulligan

yes hmm

13:14.10

Lyra Bridal Studio

So you're not going to get that because at the end of the day, nobody's really designed it. A computer probably just hashed it together and it's based on budgets. It's based on how much it costs to make it at the cheapest possible price and mass produce it. So these are actually designed to fit your body, a real female human body and feel incredible. And you're only going to get that from an independent shop.

13:39.70

Liam Mulligan

Yeah, raised some really, really good points. I mean, one of the the highlights of our year, a couple of occasions, we either go to London, we go to Barcelona, and we go and we speak to the designers, we see the the new and new designs coming out in in April, September.

13:55.32

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah.

13:56.50

Liam Mulligan

It is our favourite thing to do within within this this business, because it is a business. And and and and and I think that must be the same for you actually going out there and going, these design I need to have every single one of these designs in my store because that's really what it is.

14:11.24

Liam Mulligan

You've got to pick actually only eight or 10 of them to get in.

14:13.91

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah.

14:14.12

Liam Mulligan

But ah yeah, I mean, that that must be must be a good thing for you as well.

14:19.04

Lyra Bridal Studio

A hundred percent. I love I love to go and see like when what's out there. But I also like the challenge of only selecting a few because then, you know, when you come to me or when brides come to you, they're getting the best of the best.

14:25.77

Liam Mulligan

Hmm.

14:33.11

Lyra Bridal Studio

We have picked these. Yes, they were all beautiful. Of course they are. But we can't have everything and brides can't look forever. They can't try on everything. There's got to be a point where, you know, that's what it is. So when you're coming to independent shops yeah like us, we have edited those dresses and got the best of the best from what we believe are the best designers. So And I love it.

14:57.92

Lyra Bridal Studio

And I love seeing what everyone does. But yeah, all the time I'm like, I love that dress.

14:59.93

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

15:02.26

Lyra Bridal Studio

I need that dress.

15:02.39

Liam Mulligan

ah

15:03.22

Lyra Bridal Studio

To be fair, look I think that's why with Lyra as well, this is basically, I just buy all the dresses that I love.

15:10.65

Liam Mulligan

yeah

15:11.32

Lyra Bridal Studio

Like, would I wear this?

15:12.25

Liam Mulligan

yeah

15:13.27

Lyra Bridal Studio

100%. I will get that for the shop. If I wouldn't wear it, it's not coming in at all. So that's it. If you're my vibe, you're more than welcome. You will love them all.

15:24.70

Liam Mulligan

and And the future of, I think at the future of independent, I might be putting words in your mouth here, but the future future of independent bridal stores looks looks really strong. we we We support a lot of females in there in their journey and I hope you you echo that that thought.

15:40.22

Lyra Bridal Studio

100% yeah my whole ethos like the tagline for the shop is a bride who's unapologetically herself which is definitely becoming anyway like the the new age of brides they aren't necessarily having what their family is expecting them to have and it's it's not about that and I also am finding families letting

15:46.86

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

16:01.82

Lyra Bridal Studio

letting the brides do what they want now.

16:03.45

Liam Mulligan

You're having

16:04.18

Lyra Bridal Studio

The stigma behind a lot of stuff is is going, which is amazing. And brides having a lot more freedom and feeling happier, making decisions, even if it's not what everyone else would have.

16:15.70

Lyra Bridal Studio

You like my dress, oh my God.

16:15.78

Liam Mulligan

it.

16:17.30

Lyra Bridal Studio

ah When I tried on my dress, I think my family were like, interesting.

16:21.62

Liam Mulligan

ah

16:22.67

Lyra Bridal Studio

interesting and I was like I love it i was like this I'm having it I feel incredible like this is my dress so and that's I see that so much now I mean obviously I'm a bit more confident in that decision but you know I'm seeing it so much with appointments coming through and that's the whole point of my shop and I think as well like when they come in I am a hundred percent

16:23.48

Liam Mulligan

ah

16:27.06

Liam Mulligan

you're having it

16:38.20

Liam Mulligan

Yeah, yeah.

16:49.80

Lyra Bridal Studio

It's like shopping with your friend. I am so much your friend.

16:51.64

Liam Mulligan

h

16:53.48

Lyra Bridal Studio

Like, I'm your cheerleader, but I'm also going to tell you if it looks doesn't look good.

16:57.21

Liam Mulligan

Yeah, yeah, right.

16:57.50

Lyra Bridal Studio

Like, if that isn't the dress for you like im brought Like, my brides that I've had are so lovely. They're all so polite. So if they come out and they don't like it and they're like... They don't want to say anything bad.

17:08.83

Lyra Bridal Studio

And I'm like, it's fine. It looks awful.

17:11.22

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

17:12.22

Lyra Bridal Studio

Let's move on. Let's look.

17:13.21

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

17:13.54

Lyra Bridal Studio

We've got way better dresses in there. but I'm not just going to tell you you look great. I'm not just trying to get you a sale. You know, I'm just trying. I want you to find the dress that makes you feel how I felt when I found my dress.

17:27.03

Lyra Bridal Studio

Like everybody deserves that feeling. So, you know, we'll, it's a journey and we'll get there.

17:29.20

Liam Mulligan

Absolutely.

17:32.68

Lyra Bridal Studio

So, yeah. Yeah.

17:35.74

Liam Mulligan

Well, I i think, and these be the last couple of questions and points, but some of the most of the feedback that we get is before we arrived with you, before we arrived in the studio, we thought that you were just going to try and sell us any any dress, you know whether it looked good or bad.

17:50.76

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah, wholesale.

17:51.61

Liam Mulligan

That was our main fear.

17:52.28

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah.

17:52.97

Liam Mulligan

But actually, it's it's it's quite the opposite.

17:53.37

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah.

17:56.05

Liam Mulligan

We will be really, really honest like you and say, it's...

17:56.66

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah.

17:59.65

Liam Mulligan

it's It's just not a you dress. You've not got that feeling. We can see it in your in your face. You don't love it. So let's get it off. Let's try something else.

18:07.09

Lyra Bridal Studio

100% I mean gosh one of my first brides Kim shout out Kim love Kim and Kim was one of my very first brides so when I first opened not all the designers are the dresses have come in yet and I've got a beautiful designer really bohemian on order called Indie Bride so as you can assume by the name they're really bohemian really that kind of vibe Kim walks in she's

18:10.78

Liam Mulligan

Hi, Kim. a

18:24.77

Liam Mulligan

Nice. Mm-hmm.

18:32.17

Lyra Bridal Studio

renewing her vows at Stonehenge. Like, you could tell, like, you know, amazing tattoos, amazing piercings.

18:34.91

Liam Mulligan

Oh, yeah.

18:38.41

Lyra Bridal Studio

Like, she is an indie bride bride. But I didn't have these dresses in yet. They're just on order. I didn't really know when they were coming in because they do take quite lot. They're all handmade by Mina, the designer.

18:47.34

Liam Mulligan

Mm-hmm.

18:48.50

Lyra Bridal Studio

They take a while to to come through. Anyway, we were trying on dresses and Kim... fell in love ish with a dress that I already had in the shop you know it looked nice it was it would have done the job I suppose but I couldn't let her buy it I was like and she was ready to buy this dress and I was like I can't you just gotta wait was like if you come back when indie bride are in and you still love this other dress and get this other dress yeah it's fine but i was like I cannot let you buy this dress without you trying on indie bride's dresses like this I can't, can't do it.

18:56.42

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

19:07.64

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

19:14.55

Liam Mulligan

Yep.

19:21.93

Lyra Bridal Studio

It seemed like, it's like, you are like the muse of Indie Bride.

19:23.42

Liam Mulligan

Yeah.

19:26.51

Liam Mulligan

Great.

19:26.86

Lyra Bridal Studio

So yeah. And then we went, we were able to loan some in actually like a week later or so.

19:31.48

Liam Mulligan

right

19:31.66

Lyra Bridal Studio

And and that was it. And she was just, she was like, never thought I could find a dress like this ever. And that was it. So that's what I mean. i go so far that I tell someone not to buy a dress.

19:41.37

Liam Mulligan

Not so much. Gosh, I've never s seen that on any sales techniques.

19:43.22

Lyra Bridal Studio

Don't buy this dress from me.

19:47.34

Liam Mulligan

Don't buy from me.

19:47.54

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yes.

19:49.04

Liam Mulligan

I've never seen that.

19:49.38

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yes.

19:49.78

Liam Mulligan

but ah ah

19:52.65

Lyra Bridal Studio

I just want the best. That's right. I'm such a people pleaser. I just want the best for everyone, you know?

19:58.55

Liam Mulligan

Well, on that note, let's get you some more brides too, please. ah Just give us 30 seconds on on where people can find you, your appointment only. So how do they get to you, et cetera, et cetera.

20:11.93

Lyra Bridal Studio

And of course, what are finding on Revide?

20:13.58

Liam Mulligan

Oh, yes, you can. I'll put the link in below.

20:15.93

Lyra Bridal Studio

thank You go. Obviously we've got Instagram, which is @lyrabrydalstudio, all one word. we are putting google i think we're like the top search now if you just google wedding dress salisbury we come up which is really good yeah private appointment totally private we are very much a studio so it's a smaller space which every single bride i've had has actually preferred they've said obviously going into a shop with so many dresses is just way too overwhelming so this is really like said like we've said

20:25.36

Liam Mulligan

Yeah. Are you? Nice.

20:40.92

Liam Mulligan

Yes.

20:47.99

Lyra Bridal Studio

we've i've I've got the best the best. what I believe it's the best the best. I've edited these for you, for the bride. So... It's a smaller space, it's really intimate.

20:58.36

Lyra Bridal Studio

We close the shop, we lock the door, one out. Only the people that you choose to bring are gonna come. So obviously bring the best ones.

21:08.37

Lyra Bridal Studio

The ones that know you.

21:08.79

Liam Mulligan

Yes, of course.

21:10.14

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah, the ones that know you that are going to give you advice based on what you want, not what they would have if they were getting married, because that's pointless. And yeah, we do charge now for appointments.

21:23.71

Lyra Bridal Studio

It's a little fee of 20 pounds.

21:25.70

Liam Mulligan

Of course.

21:25.87

Lyra Bridal Studio

But yeah, it's just a small sort of token fee to cover the cost of of running the boutique. And obviously we make the experience so beautiful. I mean, yeah, like you say, you can read all the Google reviews.

21:38.01

Liam Mulligan

Yes.

21:39.00

Lyra Bridal Studio

so like They speak for themselves.

21:42.61

Liam Mulligan

Well, ah I mean, that brings us to time. I promised 20 minutes.

21:45.78

Lyra Bridal Studio

Yeah.

21:46.13

Liam Mulligan

We're at 22 minutes, a little bit over. But yeah, we are.

21:48.28

Lyra Bridal Studio

Oh, we're in. Wow.

21:49.56

Liam Mulligan

We are. We are. We're very quick. and I know you've got a busy busy afternoon ahead of you.

21:53.58

Lyra Bridal Studio

I have a bride coming, yes.

21:53.72

Liam Mulligan

So Yes, yes. So you need to get ready for that.

21:56.33

Lyra Bridal Studio

Thank

21:57.42

Liam Mulligan

um And I just want to say thanks. Thanks for being the first interviewee.

22:00.31

Lyra Bridal Studio

you. Yeah.

22:02.66

Liam Mulligan

And yeah, thanks everyone for watching and we will see you next time.

22:05.82

Lyra Bridal Studio

Thank you. Yes, bye.

22:08.85

Liam Mulligan

Bye.