“This has been such a lovely mum and daughter day – a really special time” – Colleen Stevenson, mother of bride-to-be Nicole Stevenson
There was love, laughter, mother and daughter bonding and catwalk capers at Bride: The Wedding Show at the Norfolk Showground in Norwich
Thousands of brides, grooms and their families made Bride: The Wedding Show 2026 at the Norfolk Showground in Norwich a record-breaking event.
Organiser Diana Sims, general manager of Archant Weddings East, said: “The show has been really successful, with almost 3,000 visitors – up 15% from previous years. It’s a pleasure to see so many couples planning the biggest day of their lives and we’re proud to play a part in their wedding planning journey. A big thank you goes to all our exhibitors – their hard work and enthusiasm contributes to making this the biggest and best wedding show in the region.”
The show, in association with the Eastern Daily Press, was organised by Archant Bride, publishers of Norfolk and Suffolk Bride magazine. The fun-filled atmosphere saw happy brides and exhibitors coming together to plan perfect wedding days. Colleen Stevenson, mother of bride-to-be Nicole Stevenson of Attleborough said: “This has been such a lovely mum and daughter day – a really special time,” while Michelle Oatridge from Thetford said: “This is my first wedding show. As we’ve just started planning, we don’t even have a venue yet, but this has given me lots of ideas. I love all things vintage so there was plenty to see and I fell in love with a dress on the catwalk. I was struggling to find a venue in Norfolk and Suffolk but now I’ve got lots of ideas. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly and there was no pressure.”
With 150 exhibitors from venues to photographers, cakemakers to beauticians and transport providers to entertainers, Bride: The Wedding Shop is a one-stop-shop for couples planning their weddings in Norfolk and Suffolk.
Daughter and mother Kirsty Taylor and Melanie Fletcher of La Belle Angèle Bridalwear were so delighted with the show they put their thanks in rhyme:
Bride: The Show. It was the best
The stand-holders, they had no rest
The brides they came from far and wide
With grooms and bridesmaids at their side
We’ve never made so many bookings
Lots of appointments not just lookings
We hope that everyone did well
So thank you all from La Belle Angèle
Exhibitor Michelle Boon of Swaffham and Fakenham Florist said: “A bride coming here can book everything for her wedding and not need to worry about going to another show, and it caters for a vast variety of brides.
“Lots of couples have booked appointments – I’ve even done a few consultations in the corner – the time has gone really quickly.”
First-time exhibitor Tracy Harrison from the Peacock Cake Company said: “People are here because they are serious about looking for their wedding suppliers. It’s been a wonderful if shell-shocking experience and I’d definitely recommend it to exhibitors and brides – you can literally sew up your whole wedding here all in one day.”
As well as a wealth of exhibitors, ideas and inspiration, visitors enjoyed superb catering from Brasted’s which ran the café, and entertainment from performers around the venue including Bill Downs who warmed up the audience at the highly-anticipated catwalk shows with his music. The catwalk, which ran four times daily, played to packed audiences and featured bridal fashions from show sponsors Pure Brides & Grooms, La Belle Angèle, Slaters and Jarrold, in a series of scenes that combined great music, beautiful girls and some very cheeky male models. In addition, brides who found a golden envelope in their goody bag won one of more than 100 prizes, which ranged from a bottle of prosecco to bridal beauty packages, photography or transport packages.
This year’s show sponsor, Anna Hare from Pure Brides & Grooms in Norwich, announced she would be sponsoring the 2017 show after the success at the weekend. Anna said: “This year has been the best yet. I think the amount of promotion behind the show makes it the best attended and the quality of the exhibitors is really high. Over the weekend we’ve run a competition to win £1,000 to spend in the boutique – we’ve had well over 1,000 entries and the bride who won, Stevie Green, was over the moon when I called her. She was really shocked, she said ‘you must be kidding, I never win anything’. We’ll definitely do the same thing next year.”
Bride: The Wedding Show is back at the Norfolk Showground on February 18-19, 2017.