Inside the wedding dress shopping experience at Kudos Bridal Dunfermline

We headed to Kudos Bridal Dunfermline to get a taster of the wedding dress shopping experience and chatted to lovely assistant manager Megan who shared everything from the Fife boutique's impressive dressmaking background to the international designers they proudly stock.

So if you're a bride-to-be planning your visit to Kudos, or you're still trying to find the right place to start shopping – you've come to the right place. 

How Kudos Bridal began

"Kudos Bridal was launched in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh back in 2007 as a couture bridal and eveningwear business.

"Jackie Kelso and Michelle Scott, the owners, were inspired to set up shop after Jackie designed and made the bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses for her own wedding and for Michelle’s, as well as for other brides too. 

"Jackie continued designing and making for a few years before the boutique made the transition from couture to designer made-to-order gowns to better match the service our brides were looking for.

"As the business grew and evolved, we moved to a larger space in Edinburgh’s Morningside before expanding to Dunfermline in 2011, building a consistent reputation for quality and customer service in the process."

Creating confident and comfortable brides

"It’s an absolute privilege to be involved in our brides’ wedding plans, and that is really the driving force behind everything we do.

"Our goal is to make every bride feel comfortable and confident, and we will always go the extra mile to make sure we find you a dress as unique and special as you are."

What to expect at your Kudos Bridal appointment

"A warm welcome and a private one-to-one consultation with either Jackie or me. During your appointment, you have the full bridal suite to yourself – a calm, stress-free environment.

"Appointments last between an hour and a half to two hours, so you won’t feel rushed."

How do you ensure each bride has a personalised experience?

"We send out a questionnaire ahead of your appointment but I also love to have a quick sit-down chat with each of my brides before we start shopping. This always helps to break the ice, lets our brides get comfortable and allows us to get into the nitty-gritty of what you’re looking for.

"We know everyone is different, so this ultimately helps us to tailor each appointment to your specific wants and needs."

Stay confident and stress-free with help from Kudos' Megan and more as the experts share their top tips when it comes to period planning for your wedding  

"Our brides always comment on how warm and welcoming we are. We are a two-person team here at Kudos, so it’s inevitable that our brides get to know us exceedingly well, and vice versa!

"Being such a small team really makes things feel more personal, and I definitely think our brides appreciate that."

How to know when you find 'the dress'

"I love it when you see a bride walk out of the fitting room and just ‘shine’. There’s a definite way she carries herself; it’s subtle but her posture picks up, she’s swishing about and can’t stop looking at herself."

"That’s when I know she has found ‘the one’. Seeing a bride light up is the best part of the day and it’s a moment that often doesn’t need words – you know it’s the dress before she even says it!"

What do you wish more brides knew before they start shopping for a dress?

"That there is no such thing as starting too early, but there is such a thing as leaving it too late. Depending on the designer, our dresses can take anywhere from four to seven months to arrive.

"The majority will need alterations, so you have to allow time for this. A year to nine months ahead of your big day is perfect timing."

Handle with care! Megan gives us the inside scoop on ensuring your freshly altered gown stays in perfect condition for the wedding 

Bridal designers you'll find at Kudos

"We are proud stockists of renowned international designers Essense of Australia, Luna Novias, Alma Novia and Maggie Sottero. Quality gowns at fantastic price points is always at the forefront of deciding which labels to stock.

"All of our designers are well known and this is a definite plus too. Each buying season we try to ensure that we’re providing our brides with fashion-forward styles that bring something different to our rails."

Curvy-bride couture coming soon

"We are so happy that we’ll be stocking Rosa Clara’s Martha Blanc range later this year. This brand-new capsule collection was created with curvy brides in mind and we just had to snap up a few of them when we were in Barcelona earlier this year."

Wedding dress styles Fife brides are loving right now

"Clean, simple and timeless are words that we hear all the time from our Kudos brides, many of whom crave classic designs with a modern edge.

"One of my favourites at the moment is Essense of Australia’s D4158 gown. The basque waistline is super-flattering on all body shapes, and I am in love with how floaty and light the skirt is."

Which bridal trends are back in fashion?

"Trends are always very circular so I find it fascinating when I start to see things that went out of fashion now coming back into vogue.

"When I started working with Kudos nine years ago, the trend was very much lace, lace, lace; nowadays, though, simple styles are at the forefront.

"Basque waistlines and statement sleeves are having a resurgence and we’re starting to see trends with echoes of styles from the 1980s and ’90s."

Check out these current wedding dress trends

Accessories, bridesmaid dresses and styling extras at Kudos

"We have veils, hair accessories, jewellery and bridesmaid dresses for sale, and can offer a gown storage option.

"This is where brides keep their dress with us in store right up to their alterations and then return it to us for steaming and prepping, ready for collection the day before their wedding.

"When it comes to customisations and alterations, we work very closely with our recommended seamstresses to ensure everything goes exactly to plan.

"For any tweaks outside the norm, we will make a point of phoning your seamstress to talk through the vision on your behalf. Jackie’s own dressmaking background is invaluable in these situations and I have definitely learned from this myself too."

Browse our supplier directory for even more bridal boutiques and designers to consider 

The future of Kudos Bridal

"With our Edinburgh boutique closing its doors this year, all our focus going forward is now on the Dunfermline store and making every effort for it to thrive.

"We’re already in the planning stages of some exciting events – we hosted our first open evening in store in January and will be bringing back this event twice more this year – and we can’t wait for the upcoming arrivals of our newest collections."