I’m delighted to be chosen by Andy Quinn as one of this week’s winners to be given the title of #QueenOf Wedding Inspiration. I will wear the crown with pride.
It’s great to network on Twitter and to add to my honoured collection of accolades with this one from The Royal Connection. It’s a competition that was started by Aqua Design Group to celebrate women in business with a weekly #QueenOf competition during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012. Due to its popularity it still continues every Thursday 9am-9pm on Twitter (and now also includes a #KingOf competition every Tuesday 9am-9pm as well).
I’d love to hear from any fellow #QueenOf or #KingOf winners and look forward to connecting with them on #TheRoyalConnectionHour every Wednesday 9-10pm on Twitter.
Off I trundled to the UK Blog Awards at the wonderful Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster Bridge, London. The staff there were great and gave me a brilliant first impression of the evening (oh my goodness, I will pay to valet park everywhere now as it was so seamless and a stress free start to events!)
Let me say that I went with little expectation of anything other than a good night out and some nice food and drinks. Well, I wasn’t let down in that department (the sausage, mash and delicious onion gravy was divine!) PLUS I had the added bonus of actually picking up a highly commended award as well!
At first, I could hardly believe that my company name was on the screen when Kate Russell was announcing the highly commended blogs in the individual events category (albeit that my company name was being pronounced a little differently than intended!) But what a very pleasant surprise and one I have to keep pinching myself about. You can see all the winners and high commended blogs from the night at the UK Blog Awards website.
I’m so pleased and feeling fairly chuffed at the moment. More importantly I’m now spurred on to develop my blog further.
“Congratulations once again on being awarded highly commended at the UK Blog Awards. Your Blog made it to the shortlist after 2,000 entries, 79,000 public votes which narrowed your Blog down to a top ten shortlist.
The judges then assessed your Blog against a rigorous criteria of: Design | Style | Content | Marketing |Usability Which was then assessed against five sub-criteria’s. Some of our judges have said that the criteria is the most intense that they have critiqued against.
Therefore, you should be super proud of your highly commended blog achievement!”
It’s been nearly 4 months since my blog was announced as one of the 10 individual finalists in the wedding category of the UK Blog Awards 2016. After voting and then judging, we’ve had a long time to wait. Now finally we get to hear the winners announced this Friday at an awards ceremony in London.
I’m proud to be a finalist and, honestly, I’m so honoured to just be counted alongside my fellow nominees. I’m going along really for a great night out, the delicious bowl food and a brilliant chance to network with some amazing bloggers. I feel like I’ve won already (yes, I know that sounds cliche and cheesy!) as the process has given me such a sense of achievement.
Win or lose, the awards have changed the focus of Hanami Dream. It has given me more confidence and the opportunity to promote my blog more.
For me, blogging has put me back on a level playing field again. After being on maternity leave, I found that there weren’t many flexible options available for women with experience, knowledge and great skills. But no one knows if I’m writing a blog post in my pyjamas late at night, or if I’ve just returned from the school run, or I’m covered in snot from one or more of my offspring. I feel on an equal footing again and blogging means I can still use all my skill set but at a convenient time to me.
The UK Blog Awards have been the catalyst for me to open my mind up to different opportunities and it has given my blog a new lease of life. Since I was announced as a finalist in January my blog has evolved considerably and I now feel that I’ve honed it and progressed it to the next level.
I look forward to hearing the winners announced on Friday night. But more importantly I look forward to the next chapter in the journey of my blog.
“Fiesta is bold, bright, exciting, and a total party color, which is why Nicola Jackson’s energetically red mood board was the winner for me. Indian weddings are big, colorful, (often) week-long events with a multitude of parties and red is a beautiful color for that amount of enthusiasm. Plus look at that cake – it’s fit for a queen!”
“Having worked with Nicola on a variety of projects as a photographer, on each occasion she has been an absolute pleasure to collaborate with and a lot of fun.
Her energy and enthusiasm for creating the perfect environment, is matched by her ability to be extremely well organised and flexible. Once she has an idea she will research it in detail, create mood boards for inspiration, and then meticulously plans how everything is to unfold.
Her careful attention to detail has meant that nothing was missed on our photography shoots. She always thought of everything. Her creative abilities shone through, from making tutus and fairy doors to decorating the location with props that we had bought, borrowed or made.
She is highly motivated and has a natural ability to organise others, develop, manage and evolve strong relationships. She is an indispensable asset to the organisation of any event.
“Congrats 
“(What) an amazing wedding! I was in awe of your planning, organisation and attention to detail. In fact all of us involved (were).
