Former Miss Sunderland celebrates opening of new bridal and prom boutique in city

Alexandra Devine, 32, from Millfied, was crowned Miss Sunderland in 2009, and is celebrating the opening of Lace & Lily, on Melbourne Place, off Chester Road. which officially opened on January 2.

At age 19, Alexandra went on to represent Sunderland in the Miss England competition and always harboured dreams of being her own boss.

After leaving university she launched the ‘Envied Events’ company and also supported her Mam’s bridal shop in Hartlepool.

After supporting her Mam’s shop for several years, Alexandra knew she wanted to open her own bridal shop and is delighted her ambition has now become reality.

She said: “When I was at uni everyone around me was applying for grad schemes and that kind of thing but that was never something I was drawn to. I loved the idea of starting my own business and being my own boss.

During lockdown my events business was struggling which left me a lot of time to think and I decided I wanted to bring a really luxurious shopping experience to Sunderland. We will be working by appointment only and our customers will have exclusive access to the boutique during their appointment.”

Adding to the glamour of the launch, three beauty queens, Supermodel England 2021 winner, Kayley Metcalfe, Top Model North East 2021 winner, Aimee Whitton and Miss Tees Valley 2021, Nicole Murray were invited to perform the official opening.

Alexandra who originally hails from Millfield but now lives in Hartlepool added: “It took 2 months to renovate the space and I’m so pleased with the results. I was a little worried over the last few weeks, in case there was another lockdown which meant we couldn’t open, but thankfully we were able to go ahead as planned”.

Designers stocked at the boutique include Demetrios, a Milan based bridal designer and for Prom, award winning UK designer, To the Nines.

You can book a bridal or prom appointment on the boutiques newly launched website www.laceandlily.co.uk

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters.

Your support for our journalism means we can continue telling Sunderland’s stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe - and click here to get a snapshot of the Echo’s news and sport to your inbox through our email newsletters.