Warmwell House – Venue Launch
Today’s blog post is dedicated to showing you the details of one of our most exciting projects of the year, helping to launch the charming Dorset manor, Warmwell House to the wedding market. Warmwell House is a Jacobean manor in Hardy’s Dorset. Privately owned and a very much loved family home. The Ross-Skinner family took the decision to host special weddings and celebrations (alongside an existing glamping business) to secure a...
One thing you MUST DO this autumn!
The crazy season is over (for most anyway) and there is a small window of opportunity to regroup and restock before (dare I mention it?) the Christmas season is upon us… I’m all about making every minute count, maximising opportunities and making the most of your hard work to help you SHINE for your future brides and grooms. To this end, the one thing you absolutely need to do this...
What makes a brilliant venue?
Ask the Wedding Planners – Straight-Talking Answers! As a consultant dedicated to helping venues shine more brightly in the industry, I talk a LOT on my blog, in my training programmes and via the talks and presentations I make about what venues need to do to keep relevant and appeal to modern couples. Today I throw open the doors to some trusted industry colleagues and fellow wedding professionals, specifically independent...
Wedding Venue Expert, Consultant & Trainer
It's been a long while since I've introduced myself fully. With many new followers, community members and venue connections joining me of late, it felt like a very good time to tell you more about this wedding venue expert, consultant and trainer ... How long have you been in the events & wedding industry and how did you get started? I’ve been in event planning for 23 years and wedding planning...
Back to School – Places to Learn and Be Inspired this Autumn
Back to School – Diary dates for an inspiring Autumn September always has that back to school feeling, doesn’t it? Whilst you might still be incredibly busy delivering the last of the summer’s gorgeous wedding celebrations, there’s an element of looking ahead and planning for the next season and next year (with hopefully a little bit of rest and recuperation thrown in). I’m a big believer in constant learning and...
Hosting extra events to boost your wedding revenue
Luxury weddings, often with a very international client base, have long been thinking of wedding weekends. But it’s becoming much more of a trend for mainstream weddings to extend beyond the day itself, particularly as more and more guests are travelling greater distances to be at wedding celebrations. Also because younger couples are tending to favour spending more time with their nearest and dearest in less formal settings over the...
The power of the recommendation – are you working it?
Everywhere I go at the moment recommendations are the talk of the town! On a weekend away with Mr C at a gorgeous “restaurant with rooms” the owner was telling us that Trip Advisor & Facebook recommendations are pivotal to his business and whether it sinks or swims. Every day my Facebook feed pops up with requests for recommendations from wedding colleagues for products & services and that’s not even...
What are my training events really like?
In today’s blog, I intend to give you a little personal insight into what my training events look and feel like and what you should hope to gain as an ambitious wedding venue. The training series kicks off again (for the 3rd year) on 20th September and runs until 17th November with lots of options for helping your teams improve either the wedding volume you host or your wedding quality...
Creating that powerful first impression with paper goods
So, you’re ready to welcome couples to your beautiful venue and everything is perfect. Of course, first impressions count and you probably have less than a minute for that first impression to leave the right mark. Imagine yourself in your couple’s shoes. What does that first impression look like? Does it start when they arrive for a show round? Or, does it start from the moment they contact you? The...
Targeting the “older” couple?
This is a topic I’m asked about by quite a few of my venue clients, as it’s a highly desirable sector to market to. So I thought a post on my tips for making your offering most relevant to older couples would be useful: First up, who is the older couple? There's no specific age range here. Bearing in mind that the average age to marry is around 30, we...