PROVEN RESULTS Berkeley Castle

Gloucestershire

Kelly Chandler Wedding Industry Expert | Berkeley Castle

Here’s what Pippa had to say specifically about our monthly membership club for venues.

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I’m pleased to say that our wedding success markers are something to be proud of. Despite the pandemic and all its implications, with Kelly’s consulting support by our side, we have managed to implement changes and improvements which leave Berkeley Castle Weddings with an exciting future bookings diary.

Comparing January 2020 (when we commissioned Kelly) to January 2021, the volume of wedding showrounds has remained constant (no easy feat when your doors are closed and viewings are virtual) HOWEVER, our conversions have more than doubled from those viewings into booked weddings and sales. This is incredibly satisfying and allows our very small team to manage the extreme challenges of weddings in a pandemic world and look to growth in the future.

The consistency of Kelly’s support through private consulting, group training and through membership of Wedding Venues Rebuilding has been a large part of the focused action that Berkeley Castle Weddings have taken to keep on track.

Pippa Crossman

Weddings & Events Manager

Here’s what Pippa had to say specifically about our monthly membership club for venues.

PROVEN RESULTS Thicket Priory

Yorkshire

Kelly Chandler Wedding Venue Expert and Consultant
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Kelly has become a valued Friend of Thicket Priory via various training sessions which we have attended and also the Refine & Shine Programme. Through the combination of group training and the private programme working on a one-to-one basis with Kelly we have gained mass amounts of knowledge, guidance and invaluable advice which has helped yield amazing results as a new venue!  We have come from a venue who was unsure of our target market, pricing strategy and how to achieve something different in a very competitive market...however now we are very clear of our target market, we have a very well thought through pricing strategy and have found our way very comfortably in both the North Yorkshire and UK wide markets! Over the past year getting to know Kelly and working with her has been a pleasure for the whole Thicket Priory Team, she has definitely earned her Gryffin Wings! Highly recommend both group training and one-to-one to help you achieve great things in the world of weddings...with Kelly by your side you cannot fail!

Anna Winkworth

General Manager

PROVEN RESULTS Applewood Hall

Norfolk

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I worked with Kelly on a private consulting basis earlier this year (2020) to review our wedding venue business. It was so helpful to get a completely fresh perspective! Kelly helped me to streamline our show round experience, refresh our response to enquiry emails and most importantly, identify our target market and create a unique tone of voice and personality that really shows our passion and family-friendly credentials.

I have also joined Kelly’s ‘Wedding Venues Rebuilding’ membership club which has been invaluable during the challenging circumstances of this year. Having other venues to share concerns, soundboard ideas, discuss the latest regulations and celebrate positive news with in a completely safe space is credit to Kelly. With guest experts on a monthly basis too, the WVR group has helped me to keep moving forwards positively on both a personal and business level.

Kiera Goymour

Venue Manager

PROVEN RESULTS Prestwold Hall

Leicestershire

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Before working with Kelly, we had become conscious that our offering needed to be refined for the modern couple, as our wedding numbers were under pressure from new entrants to the market. Whilst working together she provided a wide range of advice covering (amongst other things) physical improvements to the venue, show round techniques, our new website, marketing in general, use of imagery and language, and introductions to new contacts (eg high end wedding planners and bloggers). As a result of hiring Kelly Chandler Consulting, our wedding bookings are up by 15%for 2019 (10 additional bookings) and forward bookings for 2020 are looking very healthy and ahead of budget. I recommend working with Kelly because she comes originally from an operational background, and so has direct relevant experience of our market; she can empathise with the challenges of running a busy venue and brings fresh eyes to the task. Kelly is unfailingly supportive and generous with her time and contacts. We have all enjoyed working with her.

Henry Weldon

Managing Director

PROVEN RESULTS Hothorpe Venues

Leicestershire

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We have gained hugely as a business from sourcing external help…we brought Kelly in to advise on why our weddings were dropping in number and we were competing on price and we appreciated Kelly’s honest and challenging assessment as to where we were. There was a need to differentiate the two venues we have on all fronts. Kelly’s advice was to increase prices at Hothorpe Hall in particular which felt scary but has worked. She knows the wedding business inside and out and can be trusted.

There was no denying it was hard work to put everything in place, but Kelly was encouraging and supportive throughout and we have not looked back since. Our team have gained so much confidence as to where to follow trends and just keep moving forward.

Nicola Firth

Managing Director

PROVEN RESULTS Baddow Park House

Essex

Kelly Chandler Wedding Business Consultant
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Commissioning Kelly Chandler and her 10,000 + hours of knowledge of the business of weddings was one of our smartest business moves with this new venture.  She got us immersed in the modern wedding market and its expectations quickly and easily, razor focussed us on our best wedding offer for financial success, on our renovation plans, on our pricing and vital early marketing strategy.  She has enabled us to move forward in our plans with confidence and clarity and in just a few short months we are now launched, raising our profile, taking our first bookings and on track for a VERY successful (and on target) first year of weddings in 2020.

James Martin

Owner

PROVEN RESULTS huntsmill farm

Buckinghamshire

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Previously our venue was a little low on bookings and a bit unsure of what marketing and sales techniques to focus on.

We have worked with Kelly across her online training, her Refine & Shine programme and her group training days as well as through social media groups. We’ve known her for two and half years and her advice has always been bang on. As a self-employed business a lot of your success relies on good advice and the people you surround yourself with, be they employees or freelancers like Kelly.

 As a result of our work with Kelly, our venue now has achieved bookings 20% above target.

It has also enabled us to feel confident about making strategic decisions on the direction of the business. It has enabled us to know what is achievable and in what needs to be done to achieve long-term targets.

Kelly can help you see the key issues in your business that may be holding you back. She knows how to identify those areas and give you an approach to fixing them. We found it especially useful to have a mentor who held us accountable for what we had agreed to do.

She didn’t take the money and run, she is invested in our success and continues to look out for opportunities for us, even though our programme with her is complete.

Henry Hilsdon

Owner & Operator

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PROVEN RESULTS Polhawn Fort

Cornwall

Kelly Chandler Wedding Venue Coach | Polhawn Fort
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Since working with Kelly, we have managed to freshen and modernise our offering. We have noticed a considerable upturn in conversion rate with 50% of visiting couples now booking the Fort (previously this was more like 20%).
This resulted in achieving our best sales month in the history of Polhawn Fort
one month after Kelly’s consulting. As a result of this increase in bookings we received deposits of £30,000 above our sales targets which negated any reservations we had about the cost of instructing Kelly.

Sarah Turpitt

General Manager

PROVEN RESULTS Riverside Yorkshire

Yorkshire

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When we met Kelly at a wedding conference just over a year ago, we knew we’d struck gold! Everything that she’s asked us to do that we have actioned and put into place has really started paying dividend. We couldn’t be more grateful. I really hope that we have a long ongoing working relationship with Kelly and that she’ll enjoy it as much as we do. I know it can be a considerable investment but when the time is right and you can do it I would highly recommend that you do. You will not regret it, it will pay back tenfold.

Allanah Bourne-Arton

Events Manager & Venue Owner

PROVEN RESULTS Brinsop Court

Herefordshire

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We met Kelly at just the right time. We knew we had to change and she facilitated and directed us with that change. Her no nonsense but friendly approach meant her instructions were met on time, her suggestions taken seriously and then properly executed. Combining Kelly with a new GM, Brinsop has realised a new life- and a busy one!

Pat Churchward

Owner

PROVEN RESULTS Waddesdon Manor

Buckinghamshire

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Our team delivered the same number of weddings this completed financial year compared to last but with a 20% increase in revenue, meaning that we're booking the quality of weddings that we desire, by applying Kelly’s strategy and vision in all that we do.

Claire Holland

Wedding & Events Manager

Kelly has brought immense clarity to our vision for taking our wedding business to a new level, with a clear, easy-to-understand step by step strategy. With her calm, reassuring manner, amazing organisational skills and meticulous attention to detail, Kelly inspires confidence and is helping us achieve things we simply couldn’t have done without her.

Sara Sweetland

Managing Director

PROVEN RESULTS Thorganby Hall

Lincolnshire

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Having listened to Kelly Chandler speak at the Farm Innovation Show, James and I felt that she would be an excellent consultant regarding our proposed new wedding venture. Having been in the self catering accommodation business for 14 years, weddings are a new market for us and we had a huge list of questions and concerns. These ranged from pricing, preferred suppliers, the logistics of a ‘weekend wedding’ (and the movement of guests through the buildings), and noise issues, to name a few. Kelly spent the good part of a day visiting our proposed venue, looking at plans and also visiting one of our existing businesses. Her report clearly addressed many of our questions and areas of concern.
It was divided up into practical sections addressing key points which provided a good deal of answers to our immediate challenges.
To have an expert look with knowledge at a concept in the early stages of its conception was invaluable and we look forward to working with her in the future.

Emma Milligan-Manby

Owner

PROVEN RESULTS Warmwell House

Dorset

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We approached Kelly because we were considering setting up a small, luxury wedding business at Warmwell whilst continuing to live in the house. Anyone working in Hospitality knows what a difficult balance this can present so we felt it was important to have some expert advice.
Kelly helped us to understand how much the Wedding Business has evolved and how important it is to use social media and top-quality suppliers in order to start the way we would like to continue....at the top end of the market. Our intention has always been to hold relatively few, profitable events in order to minimise wear and tear on a fine Grade 1 listed building and retain our privacy and family life. With this in mind, Kelly helped us with the all-important issue of pricing and spearheaded an inspirational photo-shoot and launch event with an expert group of wedding planners and suppliers. We were bowled over by her energy, enthusiasm and attention to detail. We have also been encouraged to think ‘outside the box’ and consider other types of events which could be invaluable during quieter months.
We now have an excellent springboard from which to launch our business and already have enquiries flooding in. Kelly continues to advise us, when necessary, and is always there for us if we have any concerns. We couldn’t have wished for a more inspirational mentor.....

Sam & Serena Ross-Skinner

Owners

PROVEN RESULTS Capesthorne Hall

Cheshire

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As a result of our work with Kelly Chandler Consulting and the significant changes and refurbishments we have made, our wedding bookings have increased by 20%. I can highly recommend working with Kelly as her vast experience and calm approach has helped move our wedding business forward both easily and effectively in just a short time. Thank you for being the catalyst for this change!

Christine Mountney

Hall Manager

PROVEN RESULTS Chiswick House & Gardens

London

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Before we started working with Kelly, our wedding business was successful but somewhat "stuck in a rut". We were achieving but not over achieving and needed to look to the future and how we could shape our wedding business for the changing marketplace. While we worked with Kelly, she helped us to look beyond our current audience, look in detail at our marketing and to think outside the box. Through making revisions to our marquee,  online presence and valuable introductions to industry contacts, media,bloggers and wedding planners we have seen an increase in enquiries and a much improved conversion rate. Our weddings business is now set for the future, more attractive to potential clients and we have already an increase of around 20% on our confirmed bookings. Kelly is a pleasure to work with, she is down to earth, honest and has amazing ideas and proposals that don't cost the earth but make a significant difference to a venue.

Nicki Thomas

Head of Events