When it comes to all things wedding, there’s not much Abigail Neill doesn’t know.

Her bridal business has a turnover of about £750,000.

“In 2005 after my wedding I decided to open a bridal shop following my own disappointing wedding dress shopping experience,” she said.

“I had really strong ideas on how I could do it better and was convinced despite the competition that I could shake up the market and really make a difference to brides.

“The concept was launched at a time when there was a real gap in the market for an ultra-special, VIP, personal and totally private shopping experience within bridal and menswear retail.

"Our customers are literally the heartbeat of our business and are treated to the ultimate shopping experience and we work really hard to wow and we strive to delight!.

“As well as being an image and styling based business, ours is a ‘feeling’ business and one where customers have high expectations for the biggest and most expensive day of their lives.

“The wedding planning journey can be fraught with politics, pressure and stress.

"We don’t really just ‘sell wedding dresses and menswear’ we style, we boost, we uplift, we encourage, we support and we help people to look their absolute best at one of the most important times of their lives – that’s a pretty big deal.

"For them and for us.

"It’s an incredible industry to work within and it’s a total honour to do what we do.”

Abigail is mum to seven-year-old Arabella, and her business partner is her husband.

Her days start at 5.30am.

“When you own a business and are truly tuned in to it you never really switch off,” she said.

“My mind is always racing with new ideas and the ‘next thing’ - thank goodness for hypnotherapy, meditation, yoga and gin.”

And the dedication is more than paying off.

“The business, and me personally, are well known on the awards circuit and in thirteen years we’ve worked extremely hard and have won 26 trophies including six Best in UK bridal titles, six customer service accolades and 11 TWIA honours,” she said.

“I’m honoured to now sit on the judging panel for the Bridal Buyer Awards and the Wedding Industry Awards.

"Personally speaking, I have proudly won North Essex Business Woman of the Year and also North Essex Entrepreneur of the Year titles in Essex – these achievements mean a huge amount to me.”

It seems as though this was a career Abigail was always destined for.

Her first job in fashion saw her causing quite a stir at just 18.

“I worked at a company called Bay Trading as a Fashion Allocator - stock replenishment and sales analysis, all done on paper and by fax machine back then,” she recalls.

"I persuaded the MD that I could assist with getting their garments featured in magazines such as Just 17 and Mizz Magazine - which I successfully did.

“I was only 18 and just out of sixth form but seemed to have a nose for marketing and a sort of self-starting approach even back then.”

Visit www.abigailscollection.co.uk