Vows Awards fall in love with Perth’s Alison Kirk Bridal shop

A Perth bridal shop has lit a beacon of hope for independent retailers after winning an industry ”Oscar” at a top awards bash.

Alison Kirk Bridal was named Best Bridal Retailer at the 2011 Vows Awards, considered the top honour in its field.

Two other Perth businesses, Flutterby Bridal Hair and Arabesque, were also nominated in categories.

Alison Kirk shop manager Amy Parker said it all reflected a still vibrant small business sector in the Fair City.

She said: ”The awards are based on customer nominations so you have to have your customer service right. There are about 150 bridal shops in Scotland and only nine get through.”

She added: ”It’s nice to see something positive happening because so many sad things are happening to smaller businesses at the moment, but we’ve worked so hard to get this recognition and people are travelling from further afield to visit us.”

Leanne Malcolm, who runs Flutterby Bridal Hair, said: ”It’s a really positive thing for the area to be recognised like this.”

Coach House Flowers in Grandtully, near Aberfeldy, was also nominated but narrowly missed out on an award.