So, three years...
The old adage says that time flies when you're having fun and in this case, it's really true. It almost feels like it was only yesterday that Lisa and I met on an entreprenuerial programme at York St John University and realised we had the same vision and, together, the skills to make it happen. So The Wedding Affair began... and wow what a journey - fun, scary, exhausting, emotional and most of all, rewarding.
I don't think either of us realised just how much the business would grow in those three years. Anyone who knows us or who has joined our journey along the way probably realises that not only do we have a vision, but that we work so hard to achieve it. Our business is built on trust, respect and admiration for those in the industry who excel at what they do and our passion for promoting them as being the best in their field. We potentially may seem over zealous in our decision of who The Wedding Affair will support and promote but we're protecting a reputation that has taken exceptionally hard work to achieve (both ours and the suppliers we do work with).
What started as a company that wanted to raise the bar for wedding fairs, is now one that has grown into something so much bigger. We organise the wedding fairs for some of Yorkshire's most stunning venues, we blog, we network (or make that party!), we are freelance event managers for venues, we write and create our luxury online bridal magazine, we provide marketing services, we turn visions into amazing photoshoots and we have one of the finest wedding websites in the industry. Not bad for three years eh (or for such a small team for that matter!)?
One thing we are very quick to recognise is that we wouldn't be where we are today without the people who support us in return. Loyalty means everything to us and it's the foundation of all that we do. We still remember our very first exhibitor booking - step forward the fabulous Jim Poyner of Jim Poyner Photography. We love this guy! We're also very proud to say that he and many of the others who started this journey with us, including Joanna from Twisted Willow Floristry, Hayley from The Harrogate Wedding Lounge and Chris & Lucinda from the Event Music Company, to name but a few, are still by our sides. Thank you.... thank you so much!
If you ever get a chance to see The Rips or Pauper Kings go, go, go! They are amazing and such eye candy for the girls too!
We also have some thanks for people involved in the party production. Huge Wedding Affair hugs and thanks to the following:
The Venue - Elaine and the team at Sutton Park Stately Home www.statelyhome.co.uk
Marquee - Henry and his team at Your Marquee www.your-marquee.co.uk
Catering - Jonathan, Katrina and the guys at Friends For Dinner www.friends4dinner.co.uk
Bar Services - Ben and his team at Louisiana's www.louisianas.co.uk
Photobooth - Susie at Booth Revolution www.boothrevolution.co.uk
Casino - Michelle and Mike at Miss Deal Fun Casino Hire www.missdealfuncasinohire.co.uk
Venue Styling - Pamella at Pamella Dunn www.pamelladunn.co.uk
Furniture - Rosie and all the team at Event Prop Hire www.eventprophire.com
Cake - Elaine of Cakes For All Occasions Yorkshire www.cakesandsweets.co.uk
The Band - The Rips (known also as The Pauper Kings) (seriously the best guys for a party!) www.thepauperkings.com
Last but not least in the roll call of honours is Chris of Chris Milner Photography (www.chris-milner.com). Thank you so much for partying WITH your camera!
As for the Photo Booth well, as usual we all had such great fun... and here's the proof!
Before I sign off, I have some personal thank you's (it's beginning to sound suspiciously like an Oscars speech!!!). Firstly, to the team... Shaun, Jason, Ashley, Sarah, Hannah, Justin, Jenny and Tiffany. You've all been superstars along the way.
To our models, we couldn't make everything look so beautiful without you... Sean, Matt, Ollie, Sam, Chris, Anastasia, Jess, Tabitha, Kelcie, Charlotte, Abby, Kay, the three Amy's and our catwalk models.
To our Venues - thank you for believing in us and supporting us.
To Ollie Hogg - for being the best business manager, even at 8 years old!
To Chris - for not only being a constant support during the three years, but for being our website God. Who'd have thought that a 6 week course in Dreamweaver would have resulted in such a fantastic end product, with over 750 pages on our site, all looking utterly fantastic. Chris, thank you so much for the phenomenal amount of work you've put in along the way and for your continued support and help. You rock!
Lisa - I can't thank everyone else and leave out my business partner can I? So darl, three years ago, did you think we'd be where we are now? Three years of laughter, tears (usually mine!!) madcap ideas (again usually mine!!), stress and exhaustion, but also fun. What a team... Here's to many more years sweet.... x
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