The Wedding Shop was founded in 1990 by a friend of ours, Karen Pocock, after being disappointed with what was available when she got married. She set out with the goal of providing the widest possible offering of product with unlimited flexibility, expert advice and outstanding customer service.

She started at her home in Wimbledon and when you visited her in those days the rooms were full of presents in the middle of being gift wrapped. We gave them their first computer to do the accounts and when 10 years later she needed capital to grow, we became natural investors because we share that same vision.

The company’s first premises were in Fulham and the first shop was in Chelsea at 171 Fulham Road where we are still today. We opened our first showroom in Selfridges in 2006 and in Brown Thomas Dublin in 2008.

By delighting couples we grew through word of mouth and by 2008 we had become the biggest independent wedding list company in the UK and Ireland.

Along the way we pioneered many things in the wedding space, for example we brought Vera Wang and her wedding dresses to the UK in 2003, we licensed our wedding list software to a number of well-known retailers and then in 2015 we launched the first truly unlimited wedding list service available.

Our most important innovation for you is the establishment of a separate Trust Account to hold the pledged monies required to complete your list. This ensures that no matter what happens to The Wedding Shop your list will be honoured in full. This we believe remains unique to us.

The business was sold in 2013 and Karen retired but we felt the new owners did not make the most of the business, so in 2015, we bought 100% of The Wedding Shop and have since made a substantial investment in all aspects of the business.

The world has changed a lot in 28 years and what couples want has changed, so we have expanded our offering to include anything that couples would like on their list including honeymoons, any products, charities and experiences. Our website is an opportunity to show ideas, to give inspiration and there are 10,000’s of them but ultimately we will put anything on your list that you want.

This expansion of the service is really just an updating of our founding goal to be the best and most flexible service you will find.

The heart of the Wedding Shop has always been our knowledgeable, friendly and helpful team, there to guide you through what can be a challenging task. We have added to that team and invested in them. Whether it’s through the online chat, on the phone or in the showrooms you will find that they embody the principles of our business which is to help, inspire and delight you.

We are honoured that you are considering using us. We are proud of the Wedding Shop and we want your experience with us to satisfy and delight you so much that you are proud to recommend us. We are always trying to improve our service and respond to your needs, please let us know how we can achieve that, your feedback is invaluable.

Gary Channon