Hi lovely ladies and gents :) Thanks for stopping by Love My Dress today. Sundays are a time I can muse about what's been going on, what's made me happy and to share some of the exciting things I'm looking forward to with you.
OK, so this week has been pretty exciting. On Wednesday evening, the inaugural Wedding Industry Awards ceremony was held at the Cafe De Paris in London. It was a packed affair {400+ people?} and it was a lot of fun to spend time with the judging panel and regional and national award winners. It was the best fun to see the award winners collect their trophies from the organiser, and to share in the excitement of all those there shortlisted for an award. I wrote about the awards the morning after {amazingly, I woke with a clear head!} and reiterate again how proud I am of my involvement with the awards - for the opportunity to work alongside such a brilliant team of judges and opportunity to help showcase the talent we have within this wonderful industry...
LOVE this shot of national awards winner in the Makeup Artist category Kaz Fernando with her husband David...
Image Credit: BH13 Photography
Now, it's got back to me this week how a couple of people are having a bit of a pop at the awards; I've heard the judging process being criticised {it should be peers judging peers, what do customers know?}, the organisers being got at for not harnessing social media {not using twitter effectively} and the awards just being generally got at a little bit.
I don't want to waste too much time reacting to this but do want to make the following points:-
♥ The judging process was the most transparent and fair judging process it could possibly have been - it was infact an extremely rigorous voting and judging process that opened up a level playing field for the small one-man-band business to go up against the big guys - it was nothing to do with the brand who got the most votes. We took everything in to consideration from the quality of the application, customer feedback and usability of the brand's website. A group of regional and top judging panel experts spent hours and hours examining customer feedback and taking many criteria into consideration. I know. I am a judge. It took yonks and dried my caffeine supply clean out!
♥ Give Mr Bailey a chance on the social media front please :) He's fully aware he needs to get on the case with a dedicated Awards twitter account and harness the power of Facebook etc. All these things and many more have been fed back to him already.
♥ Damian and his wife Anna are genuinely and wholeheartedly passionate about creating a foundation for the best in this industry to be recognised for their talents and customer service efforts. We should be getting behind them and supporting this.
♥ And finally, the customer actually does know quite a lot you know! Sassi Holford said in this video that this is the one industry where customer service really kicks in AFTER the sale has been made. In our industry, it is of vital importance that good customer service is delivered from the moment the first enquiry is received to even beyond the wedding day celebrations themselves. I believe customers should have a right to be a part of these awards - their feedback counts for a whopping great deal. All the regional and national winners were given access {on an anonymous basis} to the customer feedback that was taken into consideration by the judging panel on Friday this week. I have seen twitter after twitter message and many Facebook status updates from shortlistees and awards winners practically crying with joy at the wonderful things their customers have said about their brand.
Now that's what I'm talking about people!! Tears of joy! ;)
Please, let's be a little less ready to criticise and a bit more open to the opportunity to build on a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this industry, supporting Damian and Anna Bailey with their genuine efforts to make this a reality. I can tell you know after long talks with fellow judging panel members since the awards ceremony last week that next year is going to be a killer party and awesome {I never use that word!} opportunity for suppliers of all kind to get involved and recognised for all their hard work and talent. Sign up here to receive notification in April of how you can apply to enter the awards. If you're not in it, you can't win it. And you won't be wanting to miss out on next year's party, not if the plans Sarah Haywood and I have up our sleeves come to fruition any road up :)
What you might have missed this week...
Another week full of beatiful inspirational blog features. If I may say so myself...
♥ A Short Polka Dot Veil, Gold Ballet Flats and a Vintage Inspired Wedding Dress...
♥ How To Accessorise Your Vintage Wedding Dress...
♥ The Leap Year Proposal ~ A Fun, Romantic Gesture, Or Old Fashioned & Unladylike? Discuss...
♥ An Ugo Zaldi Wedding Dress For A DIY Orchard Farm Wedding....
♥ How To Create A Rustic Table Plan for £20 ~ A DIY Tutorial...
♥ A Monique Lhuillier Wedding Dress for a Fun, Relaxed Outdoor Wedding in Devon...
♥ The 2012 Wedding Industry Awards National Winners...
♥ Bridal Inspiration Board #32 ~ Red Carpet Glamour Inspired By Angelina Jolie At The Golden Globes...
♥ Dreamland...
Also my lovelies, two competitions closed this week, this Love Illustrated one and this twobrids Bridesmaids one. Watch out for the shortlisted applications on the blog soon where we'll be inviting readers to vote for their winner! ;)
What's coming up next week?
Oh you know, just a bit of this for starters....
Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Annamarie Stepney
...more DIY tutorials anyone? What about some delightful lace and tweed bunting {plus win the bunting below for your wedding!}
Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Katy Lunsford
I'm not sure if it will be next week or not, but I could not resist THIS sneak peek that many of you will have seen on the Love My Dress Facebook page already. To. Die. For.....
Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Eliza Claire Photography
There will be an opportunity to win an exquisite headband from the lovely Hermione Harbutt...
...and there will be another interview with a inspirational lady running her own hugely successful business in the wedding industry. Sneak peek tease? OK then....
What's made me happy this week...
My Edith Piaf inspired hair do fashioned by Severin Hubert, for the 2012 Wedding Industry Awards ♥ Meeting Lucy Baker ♥ Lunching with Tiffany Grant Riley ♥ My first KFC ever. At midnight! ♥ Grandpa calling me on a Saturday evening for a natter ♥ Finding a brand new red lipstick and nail varnish that I'd forgotten I'd purchased months ago ♥ The purchase of two lovely new frocks ♥ Excellent customer service on East Coast Rail ♥ Watching the sun-set on my train journey home from London - beautiful ♥ reading through a children's dictionary with my daughter - she chose to buy it with some of her Christmas money! ♥ Hanging out with the Reverie Girls ♥ Carluccio's at St Pancras Station ♥ That feeling/smell/instant comforting effect you get when laying down into a freshly changed bed ♥ Champagne ♥ Watching my girls play sweetly with each other ♥ Beating my eldest on the Wii !! ♥ My very glittery and gold high heel shoes ♥ The Wedding Reporter {she be a very funny lady} ♥ Seeing my Daughters bedroom all neat and tidy ♥ Chucking out lots of rubbish and taking clothes to the clothes bank = SPACE! ♥ And finally, my cupcakes delivered as a treat by GC Couture this week - super lovely delish and fabulous. And very beautifully packaged and wrapped and left in a cute little bag for me to carry home and share with my family. My fave? The lemon cupcake! Thank you so much GC Couture! ;)
What has made you happy this week?
So, that leaves me to go and enjoy some time with my family today and make final preparations for a week full of beautiful and inspirational wedding blog content :) Have fun today, whatever you're up to!
Much love all,
Annabel
♥
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