New bridal outlet opens in Portsmouth offering brides-to-be the chance to pick up their dream dress without the price tag

SC Bridal was opened by Lyn Massey at the end of January, with the store already garnering a lot of attention and appointments due to the quality of the dresses on offer. The outlet, based in Technopole on Kingston Crescent, houses ex-sample stock as well as dresses from previous ranges which may be classed as out of date.

A few weeks in, Lyn is delighted with how it is going. She said: “It is good, we have had lots of appointments and sold dresses straight away which I was not expecting. We have more dresses arriving and it is constantly changing so I am really happy with how it is going so far.”

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The idea to open an outlet came from Lyn’s relationships with a number of bridal stores across Hampshire, Sussex and Dorset. For the past three years she has been running The Wedding Index, a wedding magazine that this year launched as a paid edition in TG Jones stores.

Lyn said: “We do all of our own photo shoots and work with a lot of bridal shops who advertise with us. They were all saying the same thing, that they need somewhere to sell their excess stock such as sample stock or pieces that are slightly out of date. Bridal shops all over were saying the same thing as they needed to make space for new collections.

“In November we started a website for brides to be able to view ex-sample dresses from all the boutiques and we put them in touch with the shops directly. However, the brides were then saying, ‘actually we want to try these dresses on’. That gave us the idea that we need an outlet which is how this all came about.

“We have dresses from lots of different boutiques all in one place and they are affordable.”

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As well as a range of dresses, the outlet in Portsmouth also hosts stands from other wedding suppliers so brides-to-be can visit to look at the dresses but also tick off other things on their wedding lists like invites and favours.

For Lyn it has been a whirlwind three years, entering the wedding industry and following the opportunities that her hard work and dedication has helped to present.

She said: “I never thought I would be doing this, I have fallen into it. I was working for Botley Mills in Southampton doing marketing and digital advertising when I was approached by a friend who had been asked to run a wedding fayre. She didnt want to do it and knew I had experience in the events field and asked me if I would.

“From that first wedding event in Waterlooville in 2023 all the suppliers where saying the same thing, that they wanted to be seen but were not not sure how. I suggested a magazine and it snowballed from there from a pure chance conversation with the suppliers at that fayre, and I have not looked back since.”

To see the range of dresses available and to book an appointment visit https://scbridal.co.uk/.