I hope you’ve had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas. At this between and betwixt time, I often take the time to reflect on the past year. And what a fantastic year it’s been for Hanami Dream weddings and special occasions in 2018.
Highlights of 2018
My blog has had a really exciting year and continues to go from strength to strength. The highlight of 2018, has to be winning the event and wedding UK Blog Award in April.
I was also thrilled to obtain my Diploma in Wedding and Event Planning from the UK Academy of Wedding & Event Planners to become a Certified Wedding and Event Planner.
This year, my focus has been on developing the blog commercially, as well as providing inspiration to brides and grooms in the Cotswolds. And 2018 saw a new look for Hanami Dream with a logo refresh and a complete redesign of the website.
The blog has featured posts on different elements of wedding planning:
Plus some wonderful guest posts from local wedding professionals have featured on the blog (with top tips and an insight in to different elements of wedding planning from their area of the wedding industry):
I’ve continued to provide marketing consultation to some local, independent wedding businesses in and around Witney, Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. It’s great to combine my marketing experience, with my local knowledge, in the scope of the wedding industry. Some of my clients have included a fantastic florist, a few wedding venues, a children’s toy hire company and a vintage Rolls Royce hire company.
I’m delighted to have enquiries for different aspects of the business including venue styling and consultancy, as well as such lovely testimonials from happy couples and suppliers I’ve worked with in 2018.
Plus, an article I wrote on 2019 wedding styling trends has been published in Your Berks, Buck & Oxon Wedding magazine and have an article in Martha Weddings due to publish any day.
Looking forward to 2019
Now is also a great time to look forward to the brand new year ahead. I’ve lots of plans afoot including focusing the blog on supporting and promoting local wedding professionals, services and venues #keepitlocal. And I can’t wait to produce more styled photo shoots and have more opportunities to collaborate with local suppliers. Plus watch this space for my ‘wedding fairs with a difference’ coming soon.
Meanwhile, I’m excited about being a judge at the UK Blog Awards 2019 early in the new year.
Please get in touch if you’d like to advertise on the blog, submit your own wedding details, would like to collaborate on a shoot, write a guest post or need some marketing advice and guidance. Together we can build the local wedding industry and inspire brides and grooms for their special day.
Many thanks for your support in 2018 and here’s to an exciting and very Happy New Year!
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Pretty chuffed to have one of mood boards picked as finalist again in the UK Academy of Wedding and Event Planning SS19 Pantone® colour trend challenge.
What a day for celebration the fourth of July is: Independence Day, Alice Day and today is the 4th birthday of Hanami Dream weddings and special occasions!
four years since my first styled shoot
Yes, today marks four years since I published my first styled photo shoot under the umbrella of Hanami Dream. After that Alice in Wonderland shoot in 2014, came the Wizard of Oz, followed by a Wind in the Willows wedding in 2016. Last year saw the addition of 3 more styled bridal shoots: a modern Edwardian Secret Garden themed wedding, a real break from tradition with a Festival style wedding and also a lovely winter Journey to the Centre of the Earth themed wedding. I’m enjoying working with some amazing local suppliers!
Photography by Squib Photography
four years since my first tweet
From my first tweet in 2014, to a steadily increasing readership (and social media following) with around 1,100 unique page views a month on average. Plus a combined social media network of over 5,400 followers and ongoing promotion and networking means this is ever growing.
four years since my first blog post
It’s crazy to think how much has evolved over the past four years; now 310 blog posts later and this year I won the Event and Wedding category at the UK Blog Awards after being a finalist for the previous two years running, I’m now a Certified Wedding and Event Planner, and have recently had one of my shoots featured in Your Glos & Wilts Wedding magazine.
four years of further accolades
I’m really pleased to continue to add to my honoured collection of accolades, which include #QueenOf Wedding Inspiration by The Royal Connection, the #SmartSocial award from Marketme, #BrightPig’s Business of the Week, WOW Winner picked by Jacqueline Gold CBE. As well as winning Theo Paphitis’s #SBS (Small Business Sunday).
I am an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Certified Wedding and Event Planner with the UKAWEP.
Plus I launched #UKWedLunch nearly 2 years ago, as well as being a guest host on #BrideHour.
four years more experience
My focus has been on developing the blog commercially, as well as providing inspiration to brides and grooms in the Cotswolds. Plus I’ve continued to combine my previous 13 years of marketing experience, with my local knowledge, in the scope of the wedding industry. It has been great to provide marketing consultation to some local, independent wedding businesses in and around Witney, Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. I’ve been affectionately titled the Wedding Inspector – a bit like the Alex Polizzi of the local wedding industry!
work with Hanami Dream
I look forward to working with more local wedding professionals, services and venues #keepitlocal. And I can’t wait to produce more styled photo shoots and have more opportunities to collaborate with local suppliers.
Please get in touch if you’d like to advertise on the blog, submit your own wedding details, would like to collaborate on a shoot, write a guest post or need some marketing advice and guidance. Together we can build the local wedding industry and inspire brides and grooms for their special day.
Happy birthday to Hanami Dream – definitely time for cake now!
I’m thrilled to announce that I have recently obtained my Diploma in Wedding and Event Planning from the UK Academy of Wedding & Event Planners and am now a Certified Wedding and Event Planner.
I’m over the moon to (finally) complete the course! It’s taken a little while longer than I first planned but actually this has been for the best as it has meant my business has developed along the way.
Many thanks to my tutor for their invaluable support and guidance over the last few years. The course has opened up my eyes to the whole wedding industry beyond just planning and I’m delighted with how my business has evolved over the course.
Thanks also to the interaction and networking with fellow students (new and upcoming entrants to the industry bursting with fresh ideas) as well as an impressive alumni, tutors and advisory board full of experience and expertise.
My tutor gave me some brilliant advice about playing to my strengths, entering competitions, having a niche and fitting the business around my life. Three years later and I’m a finalist in the UK Blog Awards for a third year running, combining my photo shoot experience and marketing background with my passion for weddings and supporting local businesses.
It is great recognition to have my experience, skills and expertise acknowledged with a formal qualification. I’m really excited with where things are going and what lies around the corner next.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas. At this between and betwixt time, I often take the time to reflect on the past year. And what a fantastic year it’s been for Hanami Dream weddings and special occasions in 2017.
This year, my focus has been on developing the blog commercially, as well as providing inspiration to brides and grooms in the Cotswolds. Plus I’ve continued to combine my marketing experience, with my local knowledge, in the scope of the wedding industry. It has been great to provide marketing consultation to some local, independent wedding businesses in and around Witney, Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. I’ve been affectionately titled the Wedding Inspector – a bit like the Alex Polizzi of the local wedding industry!
I’ve also organised a festival style wedding open day, along with three styled bridal shoots with some amazing local suppliers this year. These have included The Secret Garden, Festival and Journey to the Centre of the Earth themes (look out for images from the latter of these coming soon). I was chuffed to have these shoots featured on Bride Magazine online and SoGlosWedding too.
#UKWedLunch has been going over a year now and attracts new followers every week. This is a great Twitter hour for wedding planning in your lunch break with other brides to be, grooms to be and wedding professionals in the UK.
I’m delighted to have enquiries for different aspects of the business including venue styling and consultancy, as well as such lovely testimonials from happy couples and suppliers I’ve worked with in 2017.
The blog featured posts on different elements of wedding planning, local wedding venue reviews, wedding fairs, wedding transport, favours, alternatives to bouquets, wedding cakes and some wonderful guest posts from local wedding professionals (with top tips and an insight in to different elements of wedding planning from their area of the wedding industry). Plus my series titled ‘the holy trinity of wedding planning’ looked at wedding budgets. See the top posts of 2017.
My blog has had an exciting year and continues to go from strength to strength. The highlights of 2017, were being a finalist in the UK Blog Awards in April again, having one of mood boards picked as finalist again in the UK Academy of Wedding and Event Planning SS18 Pantone® colour trend challenge, plus I was proud to win Theo Paphitis’s Small Business Sunday #SBS recently.
Now is also a great time to look forward to working with more local wedding professionals, services and venues in the brand new year ahead. #keepitlocal. And I can’t wait to produce more styled photo shoots and have opportunities to collaborate with local suppliers.
Please get in touch if you’d like to advertise on the blog, submit your own wedding details, would like to collaborate on a shoot, write a guest post or need some marketing advice and guidance. Together we can build the local wedding industry and inspire brides and grooms for their special day.
Many thanks for your support in 2017 and here’s to an exciting and very Happy New Year!
So pleased that my favourite colour is going to be so prominent next year. Here’s the Ultra Violet mood board that I submitted in the UK Academy of Wedding and Event Planning SS18 Pantone® colour trend challenge earlier this year.
Ultra Violet | Geometric Glamour | make a statement with geometric hexagons lavishly strewn with greenery and pops of purple at a modern wedding
Pretty chuffed to have one of mood boards picked as finalist again in the UK Academy of Wedding and Event Planning SS18 Pantone® colour trend challenge.
Last week marked a whole year since my Twitter networking hour came to fruition. Having partaken in many local and wedding related networking I noticed that most hours are in the evenings and sometimes don’t include many brides or grooms to be. #UKWedLunch was born to cater for couples and wedding professionals planning a wedding in their lunch break.
A year on and #UKWedLunch is going from strength to strength; with 1,156 followers and counting; a different discussion topic every week; and lots of lively interaction between brides and grooms to be looking for recommendations and UK based wedding professionals networking in their lunch break. Lots of connections and new contacts have been formed as a result of #UKWedLunch. I’m incredibly proud of how it is developing and look forward to the next year of networking. Please spread the word so others can join us on Wednesdays 1-2pm on Twitter.
However I’m not always good at celebrating my successes. I’m often guilty of looking at the ‘hole rather than the donut’ – whilst I may have ticked plenty off my to do list, I’ll still be thinking about what I haven’t done. Earlier this year I fell in to this trap and felt a bit despondent as there wasn’t enough time to bring many of my ideas to light. It resulted in me blogging less and this made me feel more disappointed. What I had failed to do was recognise what I had managed to achieve alongside the growing demands of another baby joining our family.
It is now (following a fantastic break away in France with my family) that I look back on the year so far with fresh eyes. Now I can see and celebrate the great things I have achieved rather than dwelling on what I haven’t yet done. Before my holiday a series of exciting things happened which over whelmed me as they all came at the same time. After a bit of a step back, I now can appreciate and shout about these great achievements.
Thirdly, I also embarked upon on a 100 Day Goal challenge run by The Business Bakery that reached its climax last week. The essence of the strategy is to try to do a little every day to chip away at your ultimate end goal. Back in May, I challenged myself to monetise my blog which has been an ambition and business objective I’d set my sights on this year. These 100 days have enabled me to see little steps that can build to a whole. And in the last 100 days I’ve achieved this goal – not via the advertising route I’d envisaged but I’ve discovered to take opportunities wherever they arise and I’ve been really pleased to do some consultancy for a local wedding venue. The next 100 Day Goal starts again on 1st September and I look forward to seeing where this mind set takes me in the build up to the end of the year.
Additionally, some other great forthcoming opportunities have come my way include styling the Wedding Open Day at Cogges Manor Farm next month – watch this space for the images from this festival inspired shoot that will I will feature on the blog.
I continue to receive more wedding styling enquiries so I’ve now included a venue styling page on my website so couples can see the types of services I offer.
Plus more plans are afoot for another photo shoot in the autumn as I’ve been approached to style one by a local venue.
And lastly (and most importantly), I was lucky enough whilst away to celebrate my own wedding anniversary with my amazing husband. I continue to be grateful for the love and support he gives to me. We’ve done quite a lot in the 6 years that we’ve been married and I look forward to our many adventures to come too. Six years of marriage traditionally would warrant getting an iron as a gift (which could be more inappropriate for me – I can’t remember the last time I ironed anything!)
So, after a brief social media break (forced due to lack of wifi!) but a wonderful family time away en vacances, I come back refreshed and raring to go.
What a day for celebration the fourth of July is: Independence Day, Alice Day and today is the 3rd birthday of Hanami Dream weddings and special occasions!
Yes, today marks three years since I published my first styled photo shoot under the umbrella of Hanami Dream. After that Alice in Wonderland shoot, came the Wizard of Oz, followed by a Wind in the Willows wedding. Now, I’m just about to promote my latest shoot, a modern Edwardian Secret Garden themed wedding. I can’t wait to share the images soon!
From my first tweet in 2014, to a steadily increasing readership (and social media following) with around 1,200 unique page views a month on average. Plus a combined social media network of over 4,000 followers and ongoing promotion and networking means this is ever growing.
It’s crazy to think how many things have evolved over the past three years; now 209 blog posts later and I’ve been a finalist in the UK Blog Awards two years running, a finalist in the West Oxfordshire Business Awards, won mood board competitions, launched #UKWedLunch, won accolades such as #QueenOf Wedding Inspiration by The Royal Connection, the #SmartSocial award from Marketme, #BrightPig’s Business of the Week and I was also picked by Jacqueline Gold CBE to be a WOW Winner.
Personally in the last 3 years, I’ve also had another 2 babies, managed our building project and continued to study with UKAWEP. I was proud to be picked as Student of the month and the course has (and continues) to open my eyes up to a whole world of weddings beyond just wedding planning.
My focus has changed this year and I’m concentrating on making the blog work commercially as well as providing inspiration to brides and grooms in the Cotswolds. This feels like a fantastic evolution, which really excites me and fits in with my current family life, plus combines my experience within the scope of the wedding industry.
I look forward to working with more local wedding professionals, services and venues #keepitlocal. And I can’t wait to produce more styled photo shoots and have more opportunities to collaborate with local suppliers.
Please get in touch if you’d like to advertise on the blog, submit your own wedding details, would like to collaborate on a shoot, write a guest post or need some marketing advice and guidance. Together we can build the local wedding industry and inspire brides and grooms for their special day.
Happy birthday to Hanami Dream – definitely time for cake now!
Hanami Dream is a wonderful wedding service:
marketing consultant, blogger and venue stylist;
plus inspiration for couples to start wedded bliss!
To have and hold,
In the Oxfordshire Cotswolds?
Then you should be heading
To my blog about weddings! www.hanamidream.co.uk
I hope you’ve had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas. At this between and betwixt time, I often take the time to reflect on the past year. And what a fantastic year it’s been for Hanami Dream weddings and special occasions in 2016!I’ve continued to study with UKAWEP and was proud to be picked as Student of the month in October. The course has (and continues) to open my eyes up to a whole world of weddings beyond just wedding planning.
My focus has changed this year and I’m concentrating on making the blog work commercially as well as providing inspiration to brides and grooms in the Cotswolds. This feels like a fantastic evolution, which really excites me and fits in with my current family life, plus combines my experience within the scope of the wedding industry.
I also worked as a consultant with a local venue to help them with their first wedding open day where I held a wedding planning drop in clinic.
Plus I launched #UKWedLunch in August – a Twitter hour for brides and grooms to be who are planning their weddings in their lunch breaks.
I’m delighted to have enquiries for different aspects of the business including venue styling and consultancy, as well as such lovely testimonials from happy couples and suppliers I’ve worked with in 2016.
The blog featured posts on different elements of wedding planning, local wedding venues, catering vans, a series titled ‘the holy trinity of wedding planning’ and some wonderful guest posts from local wedding professionals (with top tips and an insight in to different elements of wedding planning from their area of the wedding industry). See the top ten posts of 2016.
My blog has had an exciting year and continues to go from strength to strength. The highlight of 2016, was being a finalist in two categories of the UK Blog Awards in April and I was delighted to get a highly commended award.
I was also chuffed to have some of my articles (on seating plans and stationery) published on Bride Magazine online too.
I’m pleased to add to my honoured collection of accolades with #QueenOf Wedding Inspiration by The Royal Connection, the #SmartSocial award from Marketme, #BrightPig’s Business of the Week and I was also picked by Jacqueline Gold CBE to be a WOW Winner.
I’m really proud to have won the UK Academy of Wedding and Event Planning’s Greenery (SS17 and colour of the year) Pantone® mood board competition again this year.
If all this wasn’t enough, I’m over the moon to have found out last week that I’ve been shortlisted for the next round of the West Oxfordshire Business Awards #WOBA2017. So I’m looking forward to meeting the judges in the New Year and to seeing what other exciting things 2017 has to hold for Hanami Dream.
Now is also a great time to look forward to the brand new year ahead. I’ve lots of plans afoot including focusing the blog on supporting and promoting local wedding professionals, services and venues #keepitlocal. And I can’t wait to produce more styled photo shoots and have more opportunities to collaborate with local suppliers.
Many thanks for your support in 2016 and here’s to an exciting and very Happy New Year!
The blog has featured posts on different elements of wedding planning:
What a day for celebration the fourth of July is: Independence Day, Alice Day and today is the 3rd birthday of Hanami Dream weddings and special occasions!
Hanami Dream is a wonderful wedding service:
I’ve continued to study with UKAWEP and was proud to be picked as 
