I’m really pleased to add to my honoured collection of accolades and get a Twitter Boost from Theo Paphitis.
I have received a business boost from Retail Entrepreneur Theo Paphitis. Last week, I tweeted Theo about my business during ‘Small Business Sunday’ and was one of six weekly winners to gain a retweet by Theo to his 500,000 Twitter followers. The weekly initiative, set up by Theo in 2010, now has over 2000 #SBS winners and supports small businesses in the UK.
Business and retail entrepreneur and self-confessed Shopkeeper, Theo re‐tweeted my message to his almost 500,000 followers and I’m now also profiled on the #SBS website (www.theopaphitissbs.com) that is exclusive to all Small Business Sunday winners.
Hanami Dream is still in it’s infancy so it is great to have support from Theo, because it’s been tough trying to raise our profile and Theo has recognised my hard work and helped spread the word about what I do to his following.
Small business champion and Ryman Stationery, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue Chairman, Theo Paphitis, said: “We are thrilled to welcome new #SBS members every week and highlight just how important it is to support our small businesses here in the UK. My vision is that everyone who has ever won an #SBS re-tweet from me becomes part of a friendly club; like-minded individuals who can share successes and learnings. The website and Shop #SBS will also give a valuable profile to the winners chosen and I wish Hanami Dream every success.”
#SBS Winners now also have access to the exclusive members’ selling platform www.shopsbs.co.uk where hundreds of winners are already selling thousands of products, from unique gifts and bespoke furniture to pet toys or jewellery. It is another opportunity for the #SBS winners to turn tweets into sales.
Anyone looking for a re‐tweet from Theo should tweet him about their business on Sunday between 5 PM and 7.30 PM and include the hashtag #SBS. Six lucky businesses are re‐tweeted every Monday at 8 PM and then invited to enter their profile on the new website, attend the annual #SBS networking event and take advantage of the networking opportunities.
It seems we are in the full throes of award season at the moment. Social media, television and magazines are strewn with images of glamourous celebrities on red carpets attending glitzy award ceremonies. At this time of the year there’s the SAG Awards, BAFTAs, Golden Globes, Grammys, Emmys and not forgetting the Oscars at the end of the month, and my favourite, the Brit Awards in a few weeks time.
And the world of weddings get in on the act too by recognising successes with various awards in their own right. I’m proud to also be a part of the whole award season, with my blog being a finalist in the UK Blog Awards 2017 (UKBA17) as well as currently being shortlisted for the West Oxfordshire Business Awards 2017 (#WOBA2017).
It was a pleasure to host the WOBA judging panel last week and share more about Hanami Dream weddings and special occasions and I look forward to hopefully being able to celebrate further achievements when the results are announced later in the year.
Celebrating achievements (no matter how big or small) is important so I wanted to share some personal musings about why I blog and how much I value the recognition that awards bring to niche blogs such as mine.
Why do you write your blog?
In a nutshell, I love to blog about weddings because I love weddings! How wonderful to have all the people you care about, from different walks of your life, in the same room at the same time on your wedding day!
I get to combine this passion for weddings with my skills and experience of organising amazing styled photo shoots. In particular, I love the unique detail shots. After all, it’s all the little details that bring any event to life.
My local Cotswold wedding blog compiles, creates and collates inspiration, providing couples with wedding planning tips, tools, trends and traditions to celebrate their personal milestones.
Since 2014, this blog has evolved (and continues to) wherever new opportunities and avenues take me. The possibilities are really exciting and my blog conveniently fits around my growing family commitments and lifestyle (with three beautiful children currently under 5 I’m certainly never bored).
The beauty of blogging is that I can work anywhere, at any time and write about the things that really interest me. I’m a big fan of local wedding businesses and I support and promote them whenever I can.
What does it mean to be a finalist?
Being a finalist in the UK Blog Awards for a second year gives me a huge sense of achievement, is great recognition and a wonderful testament to the level of support shown by my readers.
I feel honoured to even be considered alongside the calibre of my fellow finalists in the Individual Event and Wedding category. Being up against great finalists has given me the chance to re-evaluate my blog again, an impetus to continue to improve it and a challenge to think about further evolution.
It is great to have another reason to shout about my business. I’m also currently shortlisted for the next round of the West Oxfordshire Business Awards #WOBA2017. Both these accolades give me the opportunity to connect with other professionals in the blogging world, wedding industry and local businesses.
This added promotion has given not only my blog extra exposure, but I’m pleased it’s also showcasing the stunning venues and highly talented wedding industry professionals from small, local and independent businesses, that my blog supports in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside of the Cotswolds.
I’m really pleased to add to my honoured collection of accolades with this lovely Business of the Week award from BrightPig.
BrightPig are an award winning marketing company, helping Small Businesses become visible with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) & Social Media. As chosen by BBC’s Dragons’ Den Theo Paphitis!
They run a weekly Twitter competition for businesses called BrightPig’s Business Of The Week (run on a Friday between 9am – 4pm including #BrightPig in your tweet!)
This is another fantastic award for Hanami Dream and I look forward to the extra publicity as a result of being a #BrightPigWINNER.
“Nicola’s consistent use of images featuring mums throughout her board lends a wonderful cohesive feel—it feels like all of these images could have come from one wedding. (Sometimes, mood boards can feel disjointed because images are pulled from so many different sources. This one didn’t have that issue at all.)
The even balance of colors feels professional. Greens, whites, and blacks are all placed well throughout the board—there’s no “too much” of any one color in any one spot.
This board’s imagery helps to convey a number of different aspects of a wedding. We love that Nicola included everything from cake design to typography inspiration. Overall, her board communicates a wedding that is fun, modern, and organic.
Many thanks to Aisle Planner for their kind words:
“Nicola’s consistent use of images featuring mums throughout her board lends a wonderful cohesive feel—it feels like all of these images could have come from one wedding. (Sometimes, mood boards can feel disjointed because images are pulled from so many different sources. This one didn’t have that issue at all.)
The even balance of colors feels professional. Greens, whites, and blacks are all placed well throughout the board—there’s no “too much” of any one color in any one spot.
This board’s imagery helps to convey a number of different aspects of a wedding. We love that Nicola included everything from cake design to typography inspiration. Overall, her board communicates a wedding that is fun, modern, and organic.”
“Thank you for your wonderful advice and help in getting us started on our wedding planning journey.
Having your support and expertise on hand helped to minimise the fear of a blank canvas and meant that we could focus on making the fun decisions without worrying about missing a step.
Your enthusiasm and passion for weddings – in all their forms – inspired us to get stuck-in and enjoy the whole process, and your fabulous tools and documents have been the absolute mainstay of all our planning! Thank you again!”
Verity & Paul, ISIS Farmhouse, Oxford – August 2016
“Congrats 
