I am absolutely delighted (and still somewhat overwhelmed) to share the amazing news that my wedding blog has won the Individual Wedding and Events UK Blog Award this year! I am completely over the moon.
The news is only just sinking in and I’m feeling pretty darn chuffed to be brandishing this shiny badge!
announcement of the UK Blog Award winners
Last month, one Friday evening, I sat down on my back step with the bifolds open, enjoying the warm evening air, hunched over my phone trying to follow the results from the UK Blog Awards 2018. Sadly I wasn’t able to physically attend the award ceremony this year and, whilst I’m pleased to have avoided the big smoke of our capital city in the midst of a minor heat wave, I’m disappointed that I wasn’t there for the announcement of the UK Blog Awards and to hear my company name be called out as a winner.
My wedding blog has come so far … from highly commended in 2016, to winning in 2018. I’m pleased that this time my company name was pronounced correctly at the ceremony, though a little disappointed that my big moment was marred by a glaring typo in my name on the big screen. Nevertheless, this doesn’t take away from the fact that my wedding blog was chosen to be the individual winner this year.
Despite my best social media stalking, it was tricky to follow who was winning the awards on the night and they seemed to be whizzing through the categories. Then out of the blue, someone sent me a congratulations tweet. I wasn’t quite sure what this meant. Had I got highly commended, had I actually won, or was it just a prank?
I spent ages trawling through twitter for confirmation. I felt that I couldn’t get too excited until I knew for sure. Then a couple of other bloggers from my category very kindly tagged me in their Instagram stories and included shots of the big screen showing my name as the winner. It was the confirmation that I needed but then I was in shock!
why I entered the UK Blog Awards
My tutor, from my time studying with the UK Academy of Wedding & Event Planners, gave me some brilliant advice. She said to play to my strengths, enter competitions, have a niche and fit my business around my life.
Three years later and I’m combining my photo shoot experience and marketing background with my passion for weddings and supporting local businesses.
I’ve also entered the UK Blog Awards for the last 3 years and have been lucky enough to be a finalist each year. I was honoured to get a highly commended in the events category in 2016. However, against stiff competition, last year I returned home empty handed.
I guess I kind of fell out of love with blogging and twitter for a while after this knock. And this was wrong as I had forgotten to look at what I had done rather than what I hadn’t achieved. I didn’t take my own advice and ‘look at the donut instead of the hole!’
It was whilst I was on holiday, that I took a step back and looked at where my strengths lie and what I am really good at. I stopped worrying and looking at what others were doing and concentrated on my own stuff and focused on what I do best – creating my own content.
So, last year I organised three wonderful styled wedding photo shoots. It is really important to me that my blog creates wedding inspiration in the beautiful Cotswolds. The uniqueness of the blog comes from showcasing my own beautiful and inspirational, trend-led styled wedding shoots, collaborating with local venues and innovative wedding suppliers.
That is why I’m so pleased to have won the UK Blog Awards in a year when I’ve been doing what I enjoy best – showcasing my own content and keeping it local.
what it means to be a winner at the UK Blog Awards 2018
Just being a finalist in the UK Blog Awards for a third year gave me a huge sense of achievement, it is great recognition and a wonderful testament to the level of support shown by my readers.
For full disclosure, I want you to know that I didn’t pay to enter these awards. I nominated my own blog and then it was down to a public vote to get through to the finals. Out of 4,000 entries and nominations I was one of only 6 bloggers in my category. So I was pretty chuffed and honoured to even be considered alongside the calibre of my fellow finalists in the Individual Wedding and Events category.
Then a judge picked one winner and one highly commended blog from the 6 finalists in my category.
To win the category is most definitely the icing on the cake and I can’t wait to see where this recognition will take the blog. You can see all the winners and highly commended blogs from the night at the UK Blog Awards website.
It is great to have another reason to shout about my business and to connect with other professionals in the blogging world, wedding industry and local businesses. This added promotion not only gives my blog extra exposure, but I’m pleased it also showcases 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.
why I blog about weddings
In a nutshell, 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 my 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 family commitments and lifestyle.
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.
thank you for your ongoing support
A massive thank you to everyone who reads and shares this blog. And thank you very much for your votes to get it to the finals in the UK Blog Awards again.
Thank you also to my incredible family and friends for their unending support.
A special thanks goes to my wonderful webmaster at Wondernet (and the best boss I’ve ever had) – his advice and teaching have played an important part throughout my whole career.
development of the blog
I’m still feeling fairly chuffed about the UK Blog Award win at the moment. More importantly I’m now spurred on to develop the blog further. Being alongside such amazing blogs has given me the chance to re-evaluate things again, providing an impetus to continue to improve it and a challenge to think about further evolution.
work with Hanami Dream
Now is also a great time to look forward to working with more local wedding professionals, services and venues. 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 this award winning blog, submit your own wedding details, would like to collaborate on a shoot, write a guest post or need some marketing advice and guidance.
Many thanks for your support and here’s to more exciting times ahead!
Wowee! What a great start to the New Year – I’ve made it to the finals of the UK Blog Awards again!
Thank you so much to everyone for all your votes. I really appreciate your support and it has ensured the blog has made it to the final round in the Wedding and Events individual category.
Out of 4,000 entries and nominations I am one of only 6 bloggers in my category. So I’m feeling pretty chuffed and I’m pleased to make it through with some other amazing blogs.
Congratulations to all my fellow individual finalists in the UK Blog Awards Wedding and Events category. I’m proud to be a finalist alongside you.
Happy New Year! And huge congratulations to you if you’ve got engaged over the festive period.
Telling people your big news and flashing your new piece of jewellery is such an exciting time and it won’t be long until you’ll be asked (again and again) when is your big day.
So here’s a little help with picking a date for your special day (and take a look at this useful guide to setting the date too).
Make sure you think about what else is going on in the world such as national, local and annual events including:
Public holidays
Sporting events
Royal occasions
Other people’s occasions (like birthdays, wedding anniversaries and religious festivals)
Here’s a list of some events (in England) in 2018 that could influence your choice of dates:
New Year’s Day 1 January
Epiphany 6 January
Orthodox Christmas Day 7 January
Orthodox New Year 14 January
Burns Night 25 January
Winter Olympics 9-25 February
Shrove Tuesday 13 February
Valentine’s Day 14 February
Chinese New Year 16 February dog
St David’s Day 1 March
International Women’s Day 8 March
Mother’s Day 11 March
St Patrick’s Day 17 March
First Day of Spring 20 March
Boat Race 24 March
Clocks go forward 25 March
Good Friday 30 March
Passover 30 March – 7 April
April Fool’s Day 1 April
Easter Day 1 April
Easter Monday 2 April
London Marathon 22 April
St George’s Day 23 April
May Day Bank Holiday 7 May
Ramadan begins 15 May
Royal Wedding 19 May
FA Cup Final 19 May
Spring Bank Holiday 28 May
Trooping the colour 9 June
Eid 14-15 June
Father’s Day 17 June
Royal Ascot 19-23 June
First Day of Summer 21 June
Wimbledon 2 – 15 July
Independence Day 4 July
Henley Regatta 4 – 8 July
British Grand Prix 8 July
Summer Bank Holiday 27 August
First Day of Autumn 23 September
Diwali 19 October
Clocks go back 28 October
Guy Fawkes 5 November
Remembrance Day 11 November
Thanksgiving 22 November
St Andrew’s Day 30 November
Hanukkah 2-10 December
First Day of Winter 21 December
Christmas Day 25 December
Boxing Day 26 December
Enjoy celebrating in 2018 and I wish you a very Happy New Year.
Weddings are a wonderful celebration of love and marriage. They can blend together families, traditions, cultures, creativity and lots of personal touches. Whether a religious, civil or humanist ceremony, a traditional or themed reception, these special days are about what is important to each individual couple.
Despite some couples’ originality, there are always trends that appear and popular themes that epitomise a particular era (think puff ball sleeves from the eighties). Sometimes fashion, films, television programmes, interior design, celebrity weddings and even current affairs influence these trends. Of course, there are some timeless and classic themes that never seem to go out of favour like a ‘romantic’ theme and personalisation is still key at the moment.
So what does 2018 hold for the world of weddings? Here is a curation of some of the top trends to look out for next year.
Choices Making your special day all about you is the name of the game. With Pinterest at our finger tips, there are lots of ways to personalise your nuptials and break from tradition. In particular, I think that alternatives for the following aspects of wedding days will continue to be more and more original:
Alternative stationery – go beyond paper with different material types such as perpex, denim, wood or agate slices
Alternative guest books – think about things you’ll use or see every day such as recipe books, furniture and artwork (see more ideas at alternative wedding guest book ideas)
Alternative florals – the greenery trend has meant less flowers and more plants and foliage. Along with paper florals and other lasting alternatives to bouquets, consider new ways to wear flowers such as corsages, floral rings, anklets and chockers. My personal floral alternative favourite is succulents and air plants, as well as foraged items such as moss, fruit, vegetables, feathers, cones and other seasonal items from the environment around us. Plus the archway will be superseded by the ceremony wreath. And urns, vases, bell jars and different ways to show flowers will be big next year.
Alternative rings – mixed metal trends will start to be seen in wedding rings as well as décor, plus more finger tattoos are emerging as another option to wearing a ring at all.
Culling Uncertain times, call for purse strings to be a bit tighter. So I believe that budgets may be slightly dwindling in 2018. This could result in trends for:
More couples to diy and create, source or design elements themselves
Using industrial, blank spaces or open spaces as a blank canvas
Minimalist styling with one accent or monochrome colour schemes
Smaller guest lists
Later weddings held at a different time of day so couples don’t have to feed people twice!
Clothing Bridal wear is continuing to see a shift in trends to provide new, innovative and unusual styles to make sure the bride makes a statement and is different to any other on her big day. Fashion trends that are appearing on the catwalks (that will surely influence weddings next year) include:
Covering up the arms with arms warmers, long sleeves or capes
Adornments on dresses such as cascading shoulder bows, butt bows, feathers, shirt collars and 3D flowers
Skirts will have plenty of drama with high/low hem lines or slits
Whilst the backs of dresses will continue to wow with the 18th century style Watteau backs (a section at the back of a dress that is gathered or pleated at the neck and falls unbelted to the floor)
Fabrics will be structured and sheer
With metallic detail and even black accents
Soft colour dresses will continue to grow in popularity
Accessorise with big earrings and embellished shoes
Colour and styling So much influences our daily lives which in turn spills over to the world of weddings, including decorative elements from different arenas such as interior design, architecture, graphic design, lighting, furniture and textiles. One part that overarches these elements is the importance of colour.
The Pantone® Colour of the Year always plays a big part in influencing popular colours and I don’t think next year will be any exception. In 2018, the colour of the year is a striking blue-toned purple called Ultra Violet . Pantone are citing it as ‘optimistic and empowering color” for “originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking” [take a look at my report about the colour of the year – https://www.hanamidream.co.uk/pantone-announce-the-color-of-the-year-2018/] and I’m pretty pleased as purple is my favourite colour! I think it will work particularly well teamed with the greenery colour of 2017. Here’s my take on the other colours to look out for in spring/summer 2018 – https://www.hanamidream.co.uk/top-spring-2018-colours-from-pantone/.
Textures – crushed velvet will become more prevalent for more luxurious styles
Transparent – Perspex chairs, tables, menus and signage will continue to grow in popularity for a modern style and this is evolving further to iridescent details
Metallic – the metallic trend isn’t showing any signs of tiring just yet. Next year will be the turn of copper to take to centre stage
Gem stones – agate (or hollow geodes) are still going to be at the forefront of designs, as well as marble. Plus pearl details are set to come back into the limelight in 2018.
Mix and match – you don’t have to settle on one style for a great fusion of modern/vintage, different cultures and mixed colours. I’m hopeful for vibrant folk art style weddings to be a great evolution of the boho festival trend.
Foraged items – my personal tip is for peacock feathers and all the bright associated colours of this beautiful bird
Catering Family style serving is still a great way to share the wedding reception which works so well on long, large banquet tables lining the room. Plus couples want their food to look amazing so that it is Instagram worthy.
Other food and drink highlights to support emerging tends include:
Local produce – organic, farm to table that supports local suppliers
Unusual catering vans, dessert tables and interactive stations at the reception – think gin bars, hot chocolate stations and make your own pudding
Dietary requirements – upsurge is requests for vegan desserts so that it caters for all guests
Personalised cocktails – have your own cocktails created and served as the ‘house’ aperitif instead of Pimms or Buck’s Fizz when guests arrive. Or how about two different personal cocktails to represent the different tastes of the couple.
Culture The world of films and tv always influences trends and 2018 looks set to be a year of blockbusters to choose from such as:
Comic book films like: Incredibles 2, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Avengers: Infinity War, and Fantastic Beasts 2
Children’s classics including: Jungle Book, Arctic Justice, and Mary Poppins Returns
Sci-Fi movies such as: Solo: a Star Wars Story, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Black Panther, and Aquaman – wouldn’t an Atlantis underwater wedding be amazing!
Action movies including: M:I 6 – Mission Impossible, and Ocean’s 8 – a brilliant female reboot set in New York
Love stories like: Fifty Shades Freed, and Love, Simon
Plus big tv shows such as Peaky Blinders, Dr Who (complete with a new female doctor after Christmas) and a new adaptation of Vanity Fair (set in the 19th century around the Napoleonic Wars) will help some wedding themes.
Film and video will continue to be more prevalent at weddings with couples choosing 360 videos, virtual reality experiences and drones to capture their big day. Along with social media being a part of the day and a way to capture everyone’s pictures of the day (it’s just the modern version of the disposable cameras on the table!) with personalised snap chat geofilters and your own hashtags for the day.
Celebrities As well as the wonders of Pinterest, couples are inspired by seeing others doing something first. So it’s no surprise that details from celebrity weddings will influence wedding trends. Here are some famous engaged couples that could make it up the aisle in 2018 and their special days will be ones to watch:
Prince Harry & Meghan – need I say any more! This will be THE wedding of the year and will surely spur some British street party style themes
Candice Brown & Liam Macaulay – she is a former Great British Bake Off winner so I’m sure there’ll be some wedding cakes goals emerging from this day!
Kate Mara & Jamie Bell – perhaps some Fantastic 4 or Billy Elliot themes
Matthew Lewis & Angela Jones – he played Neville Longbottom so will we see some more Harry Potter themes?
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley & Jason Statham – surely an action packed wedding expected there
Stephen Webb & Daniel Lustig – these guys are stars of Gogglebox and sure to have some original details to aspire to
Robert Pattinson & FKA twigs – Twilight themed weddings are still popular and great outdoor weddings
Current affairs You may be living and breathing your wedding and everything else in the world is taking a back seat. However, things are still going on around you and some national, local and annual events may have an impact on your guests involvement, availability and enjoyment. Here’s some events around the world that could influence your choice of dates and could also influence wedding trends:
Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea 9-25 February 2018
Commonwealth Games in Australia, 4-15 April 2018
World Cup in Russia 14 June – 15 July 2018
These are a few of my predictions for wedding trends in 2018. I’d love to hear what you think are going to be popular wedding trends next year. Email me with your predictions and take a look at more of my curation and inspiration on Pinterest.
May I take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year.
Are you getting married in 2018? Is your wedding going to be following one of these trends? Let me know if you’d like to share the detail shots of your day on my blog to inspire other couples who are wedding planning. If you (and your photographer) are happy, then take a look how to submit your wedding.
With great excitement, I’m pleased to say that Hanami Dream has been nominated in the UK Blog Awards® again in 2018.
The UK Blog Awards® was founded to recognise individuals and companies that develop content on their Blog, Vlog and new for 2018 Digital platforms too. The awards are now in their fifth year and are the biggest and UK’s longest running programme to recognise influencer talent and I would love to build on my achievement of the previous two years.
If you like reading my blog then I’d really appreciate your support again.
So please vote for Hanami Dream in the wedding category of the UK Blog Awards #UKBA18 at:
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
As well as general wedding planning chat, today we look at anniversaries – whether it’s your 0th, 10th, 25th, 30th or 40th #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 1: Anniversary gifts increase in value to reflect the time the couple have invested in their marriage and each other #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 2: Buy your new spouse an 0th anniversary present to celebrate your wedding day such as cuff links, jewellery or a photo album #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 3a: Have an anniversary dance at a wedding instead of throwing the bouquet… #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 3b: … All couples come on dance floor. One by one, couples are asked to sit down during the song based on the length of their time together… #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 3c: …The last couple on the dance floor will be the longest-married couple and they receive the bouquet #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 4: There are traditional and modern anniversary themes plus flowers and gemstones per wedding anniversary year #UKWedLunch
This week’s top tips are taken from ‘Happy Wedding Anniversary!‘ Good luck making plans for a new anniversary! #UKWedLunch
As well as general wedding planning chat, next week’s theme will be on ‘wedding themes’ #UKWedLunch
JOIN US EVERY WEDNESDAY! on Twitter between 1-2pm GMT
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.
Weddings are a wonderful celebration of love and marriage. They can blend together families, traditions, cultures, creativity and lots of personal touches. Whether a religious, civil or humanist ceremony, a traditional or themed reception, these special days are about what is important to each individual couple.
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:
