Wedding Ideas Awards 2011

We finally arrived in London on Thursday evening after several hours of driving and Tube rides. After booking into our hotel, we grabbed a bite to eat and managed to fit in a little sightseeing before tucking down for an early night ready for the Wedding Ideas Awards the following day.

The Awards were held at The Brewery in London and what a fantastic venue! Originally a Whitbread brewery, the building has been tastefully refurbished with many of the old features still being used. On arrival we were greeted with Champagne containing 24 carat gold leaf – a first for me which I could get used to!

The venue was filling up fast with the best people from the bridal industry. Famous faces including Jenni Falconer, Jane Dayus-Hinch The Fairy Godmother from Wedding SOS plus a number of top designers from the industry could be spotted amongst the growing throng. The Champagne reception was a perfect excuse to meet and chat with old and new friends, many of whom we have chatted to for some time on Twitter but hadn’t had the opportunity to meet before. Unfortunately, there were a few of our Twitter friends who we had wanted to catch up with but didn’t get around to meeting… Sorry – next time guys…

We were soon asked to attend our table (number 29) and as the large white curtain was swept back it was breathtaking to see such a wonderful arrangement of seating, lighting and candles.

We were privileged to have some amazing people at our table, including the lovely well spoken and good conversationalist London Toastmaster Richard Birtchnell, Elizabeth Gall from Simple Elegant wedding planners , Helen Sharland from Cutture, suppliers of luxurious laser cut stationery for weddings and events, Maria Duddin, General Manager of The Brewery, and last but not least, the lovely Lisa Anthony from Wedding Ideas magazine.

Both Wedding Belles of Otley and Simple Elegant were nominated for an Award, Wedding Belles of Otley for Best Bridal Retailer and Simple Elegant for Best Wedding Planner. Sadly, neither of us walked away with an award on this occasion. However, we are both pleased to have made the TOP 5 in our respective categories and this is a massive achievement in itself.

All in all, the Wedding Ideas Awards were a fantastic occasion, with the opportunity to meet and mingle with celebrities and the very cream of the bridal industry. I would like to congratulate all of the winners, and to all the runners up I would say that we are all winners to have even got to where we are, so well done!!!