MIDDLESBROUGH-BASED Kate Fearnley, the fashion designer from Stokesley, has won the prestigious national award of wedding dress designer of the year for the second year running.

The event was held in London at the Cafe de Paris on January 15, attended by all the great and good from the wedding industry suppliers in the country.

The awards are open to wedding professionals who deliver all aspects of services to the highest standards.

Past clients vote for their winner after completing a questionnaire, where a series of questions were answered and scored.

The judging panel take this information alongside other criteria to make a final decision.

Kate has come a long way from driving around with her rack of designs hoping to get the High Street interested, to having major stores all over the world selling her clothes, and dressing celebrities.

Her shop on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough is always buzzing during the Prom season, but it is her bespoke wedding dresses which have really taken off, and have won her countless awards.

She is no stranger to awards, having won several high-profile accolades including young fashion entrepreneur at the Cosmopolitan ultimate women of the year awards, designer of the year last year, and also the North of England Wedding Awards for outstanding customer service.

“Winning this award again really is one of the highlights of my career,” said Kate.

“We pride ourselves on giving the highest quality of service to all of our customers.

“We listen to their ideas, sketch and plan the designs, advise and carefully choose fabrics, tweak designs to give the absolute perfect fit.

“We want to create our client their dream dress, and we are delighted that we have been recognised for giving the unique experience that we do.

“We are over the moon, and we really are looking forward to working with lots more brides and prom girls.

“We are also about to launch our new ready to wear collection to the wholesale market ,and are delighted that we have been selected to exhibit at the prestigious London Bridal Fashion Week in March which is a real honour to be recognised at such a high level.”