MEMBERSHIP MATTERS

Being part of a long-standing industry body has a huge number of advantages, and solid support is core to the proposition. Sharon McPherson talks RBA business

Ok, so the Retail Bridalwear Association (RBA) has been around for a long time – 26 years to be precise. I think we are the longest-serving bridal retail association out there.

I am, however, delighted to report that we have consistently moved on from those early years… just as the industry itself has completely changed, so has the Association. And today more than ever, with all of our businesses constantly changing, so the RBA has needed to consolidate its activities, and build on its offering to members.

We bridal business owners – and that includes the volunteer Executive Council (EC) members – are forever reinventing ourselves; we have to in order to stay one step ahead at all times. We recognise that it is vital if we are to compete in the retail industry in this day and age, and to further encourage and stimulate growth and improvement in our sector.

The past 18 months have proved that we never know what’s coming next, and that we need to be ready to move with times.

Like everyone else, the RBA have had to adapt to a new way of working. It has actually been amazing – not at all easy, though – but out of adversity comes innovation, opportunity and strength, and that’s just for starters.

Time well spent

We have used the past year and a half to set up new training programmes, new events, new discounts, new discussions, new ways of communication, new marketing, and many more new ways to support our members. It’s all on our new website.

One of the things I have appreciated most was our once a month members’ Zoom meeting. My businesses are in Scotland and it has kept me in touch with the rest of the industry around Britain. It was great to actually hear this from some more of our members during the Harrogate Bridal Show

Rob and Andrew Pearce from Creatiques, have been members of the RBA for the past seven years. They said:

“As a long-standing bridal business, we have felt the RBA support – from the advice from the legal team, to discussions with fellow bridal shop owners.

“Through this past year we have all experienced the highs and lows of our industry, but with our regular Zoom meetings and support calls from other members, we have the knowledge that the RBA has our business

interests and needs covered.”

For me, hearing this makes all the hard work the Association’s EC puts in so very worthwhile.

Looking ahead

I am also very excited for our next block of training coming up soon, some for business owners and some for our staff.

We are covering many different subjects with new trainers who have a wealth of expertise in their own areas.

We have also partnered with Wendy Riviera and her Do You Speak Bride team to provide free quarterly sessions, and we are jointly offering RBA members a substantial discount for the unlimited full DYSB training and resources.

With that alone, the cost of my RBA membership is already covered, and that’s not including our established benefits of:

*Free legal advice *Brides Assurance Scheme *RBA Times bi-monthly newsletter *Terms and conditions pro forma *HR resource pack *Health and Safety resource pack *Recruitment resource pack *Access to the Kickstart Scheme *Discounted shop insurance, gown bags, quality printing, payroll management , training days, conference weekends, online training

I think you will have realised by now that I am a fan. Although I sit on the EC, I am very aware that I am not an expert on everything – none of us are – but as a group, our collective years of experience are off the scale, and this resource is the one I use most of all.

I have met wonderful business owners, seen the most encouraging quality of service and provision, and made friends for life.

Best of all, we all understand that we are a part of the fashion retail industry that is like no other, and just as Andrew said, I, too, know that the RBA has our businesses covered.

FUN WEDDING FACTS, FROM RBALTD.ORG.UK

• The largest wedding attendance was a Jewish wedding in Jerusalem in 1993, where 30,000 people attended. • The most expensive wedding was the one held in a purpose-built stadium in

Dubai for a Sheik’s son. The wedding cost over £22 million. • The longest wedding dress train was found in Germany, it measured over 515 feet. • Tuck a sugar cube into your glove — according to Greek culture, the sugar will sweeten your union. • Rain on your wedding day is actually considered good luck, according to Hindu tradition! • For good luck, Egyptian women pinch the bride on her wedding day. Ouch! • Peas are thrown at Czech newlyweds instead of rice. • A Swedish bride puts a silver coin from her father and a gold coin from her mother in each shoe to ensure that she’ll never do without. • A Finnish bride traditionally went door-to-door collecting gifts in a pillowcase, accompanied by an older married man who represented long marriage. • Moroccan women take a milk bath to purify themselves before their wedding ceremony. • In Holland, a pine tree can be planted outside the newlyweds’ home as a symbol of fertility and luck. • Engagement and wedding rings are worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because it was once thought that a vein in that finger led directly to the heart. • Diamonds set in gold or silver became popular as betrothal rings among wealthy Venetians toward the end of the 15th century. • Snake rings dotted with ruby eyes were popular wedding bands in

Victorian England – the coils winding into a circle symbolized eternity. • Queen Victoria started the Western world’s white wedding dress trend in 1840 – before then, brides simply wore their best dress. • In Japan, white was always the color of choice for bridal ensembles -long before Queen Victoria popularized it in the Western world. • In Asia, wearing robes with embroidered cranes symbolizes fidelity for the length of a marriage. • In Korea, brides don bright hues of red and yellow to take their vows. • Ancient Greeks and Romans thought the veil protected the bride from evil spirits. Brides have worn veils ever since. • The “something blue” in a bridal ensemble symbolizes purity, fidelity, and love. • The tradition of a wedding cake comes from ancient Rome, where revelers broke a loaf of bread over a bride’s head for fertility’s sake. • The custom of tiered cakes emerged from a game where the bride and groom attempted to kiss over an ever-higher cake without knocking it over. • Queen Victoria’s wedding cake weighed a whopping 300 pounds. • Stag parties were first held by ancient Spartan soldiers, who kissed their bachelor days goodbye with a raucous party.