New Telford wedding shop proposes help as lockdown lifts

Nicola Hiller has just opened a new wedding shop on Madeley High Street called Opulent Occasions, and hopes to support brides affected by the pandemic this past year.

What started off as a hobby has grown into a full time shop for Nicola as she starts her venture.

The shop sells everything from wedding stationery, balloons and decorations to wedding dresses and prom dresses.

Nicola's own wedding was meant to go ahead on September 6, 2020 and was then postponed to April this year. Since then, the wedding has again been postponed to September this year.

Instead, Nicola and her partner, Deej, got married at a registry office in September last year and hope to celebrate with family soon.

"I have been in the wedding stationery industry since about 2009, just as a side hobby really," she said. "I got made redundant just before Covid hit and I was left some inheritance, so I had to think what I was going to do.

Lockdown

"I have always been interested in the wedding industry and I was meant to be getting married myself last year but that didn't happen how it was supposed to.

"In November I was supposed to open the shop as I had the shop since October. But we went into another lockdown so couldn't open. I had a big opening on April 12 though and the shop covers everything from all stationery, venue dressing, prom dresses and wedding dresses. Even personalised gifts and balloons, anything anyone would need really."

Nicola, from Trench, said after the tumultuous year for her fellow brides she is hoping to be able to support them anyway she can, as she knows the anxious feelings all too well.

"It was horrible when we did not know what was going to happen, and how bad it was going to be," she said. "It was the unknown, and that feeling of anxiousness, so I can 100 per cent sympathise with what brides are going through because I went through it myself.

"Our main goal is for people when they come into the store to feel like they are with friends."