The White Room moves to stylish new home

If Marion Mathews knows any wedding disaster stories, you won't get to hear about them, for discretion, subtlety and class are hallmarks of "The White Room", the bridal shop that Marion opened five years ago, and that has now moved to a new location, at Lough Sheever Business Park.It would, however, be a mistake to confuse "class" with "cost", as, conscious of today's recessionary times, Marion made a conscious effort to ensure that the buzz word of today, "affordability", applies."Because of the recession, it was the perfect time to look at different lines," she says."We saw people becoming more price-sensitive, and while we always had a mixture of high-end and middle-range, when we saw the price-sensitivity coming into the higher end, we expanded our range of less expensive brands.""We've always tended to go for the classic look, the simple, clean, look; we don't do fuss; our look is simple and classic." "People have been very surprised to find that we're within their budget, but we have put a lot of work into looking for designers who offer the same look and feel as the designers we had; and we have kept the mid-range designers."Proving very popular are dresses from Pronovias brand - the biggest wedding brand in the world; and also dresses from the Spanish label, Jesus Peiro - which, Marion has also been selling wholesale, mainly into the UK, for the last number of yearsIt's not surprising Marion has such an entrepreneurial streak: she is daughter of local business couple Mary and the late Alo Gowran.However, what is surprising is the route that Marion took before getting into the world of bridal fashion."I was actually a teacher - I studied at the Mater Dei Institute - and after that, I went to Japan Airlines as a hostess for four years; and after that, I didn't want to go back to teaching, and decided on event management, so I went working for a company in Dublin, literally making the tea and doing the photocopying, and then I worked on the Killarney Summer Festival," she summarises.Ultimately, she went on to event-manage the Kilkenny Arts Festival, but when her husband set up his own business, and the couple looked at moving closer to either his side of the family (Collon in Louth) or her side, they chose Mullingar, as Marion had identified that the town didn't, at the time, have a bridal shop.From the off, Marion threw her all into the businesss, and quickly, the word grew, and customers started coming from, quite literally, the four corners of Ireland."There were a lot of big US brands you couldn't get here at the time, so I brought a lot of those in," she recalls. In addition, a lot of top stylists cottoned on quickly to what Marion was doing at The White Room, and regularly asked to borrow outfits from her for bridal shows and magazine spreads. What makes The White Room special is that it isn't just a "shop" into which one casually pops in while looking for a wedding dress: customers make an appointment."We do it that way because it means we can give clients the attention and the time that they need," explains Marion - who stresses that brides need to making their choice of dress six months before their wedding, to give time for delivery, and for alterations. However, last minute brides can also be accommodated either off the peg or through rush orders with some of her designers.She advises brides-to-be to bring a trusted friend - or two - with them when looking for their dream dress, and the move to the new premises at Lough Sheever Park means that The White Room has three large-sized rooms for brides and their companions, each with its own changing room, so that each party has absolute privacy while as the bride tries on some of the fabulous dresses stocked at The White Room - along with the headpieces, hairpieces, veils, shoes and bridal jewellery, as The White Room offers, quite literally, a head-to-toe service.Marion also stocks bridesmaids' dresses - and for fans of the Hollywood red carpet look, there is the Amsale range - which, despite having fans as glamorous as Kate Hudson - range from about €280 to €330. On top of all this, in an exciting innovation for the White Room, is a new cashmere range of shrugs, cardigans and wraps, in white, with beading - which will be designed in-house, and shortly to go into production. "We have noticed over the years that there's not much besides fur, or else you can get something made in the same fabric as the dress, but it won't keep you warm. Our new cashmere range will be beautiful, and luxurious - and will be something you can use again, or pass on as an heirloom."To visit The White Room, contact Marion, or any of her friendly staff at 9347661, or by email at info@thewhiteroom.ie.There is also a White Room website - www.thewhiteroom.ie.