Month: June 2017

Welcome to this week’s Supplier Story! ‘Supplier Stories’ are an original Bridebook Business article series, where we go behind-the-scenes and into the wedding world through those that know it best – the experienced and talented venue and supplier professionals across the UK.

So whether this is your first story or 10th, enjoy as we look into the industry as a whole, and celebrate a true story in itself! Who says couples have all the fun?

Weddings at QMUL’s Supplier Story:

Today our featured supplier is Saran, wedding co-ordinator at Weddings at QMUL (Queen Mary University of London). QMUL is a hidden gem in the heart of London that offers something a little bit different. University campuses aren’t considered a common venue choice, but with a beautiful library reminiscent of the iconic scene from Beauty and the Beast and an excellent wedding team that keeps everything running smoothly behind the scenes, QMUL proves that they should be. 

So without further ado, Saran over to you! 

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m Saran and I’ve worked at Queen Mary University London for 6 years now. My official job title is ‘Sales Executive’ – but when it comes to weddings I double up as our in-house Wedding Coordinator.

Photo credit: Emmie Scott Photography

2. Share the story of yourself and Weddings at QMUL?

I was thrown, head first, into the world of weddings to be honest. Shortly after I joined the team at QMUL, we were hosting one of our first, if not THE first, wedding celebration in the Octagon – our signature venue. This was way before we ‘officially’ hosted weddings and so I was tasked with the challenge of being the event coordinator for that wedding. Of course, I was terrified. New to my role and being given something so important was very daunting – it meant that one of the most important days in someone’s life was in my hands. But determined to make the event a success, I rose to the challenge. The day itself went really smoothly and the sense of achievement afterwards and knowing ‘I can do this’ gave me a thirst to do more!

Photo credit: Jessica Reeve

3. What drew you to the wedding world?

Having successfully delivered my first wedding, I was keen to develop this new found skill and I worked with my team to officially launch our weddings product back in 2012. We soon realised that we had such a unique offering, that we should really shout about it. ‘Weddings at QMUL’ was born in February of this year. We contacted couples who had previously hosted their weddings with us and basically asked them to be honest and tell us what they really felt about their experience with us as a venue. This was invaluable information for us and it formed the foundation of our new wedding offering.

As a venue, our objective is to offer an extraordinary experience in a historic venue that is relaxed and beautiful. Our new branding is clean and simple and more importantly, our new packages are transparent and easy to understand. Planning a wedding comes with so much stress as standard, our role is to ensure that we take a lot of that stress away from the couple so that they can focus on each other and their guests for a truly unforgettable wedding day.

4. What do you see as the biggest challenge in the wedding industry currently?

Every space is becoming a wedding venue – from warehouses to pubs and roof gardens, so for us, as a venue, our focus is to remain unique and attractive to prospective brides and grooms. We are very fortunate that we have such a beautiful, unique and versatile venue. But for our team, that is just the foundation. We continually look at ways we can offer an amazing experience for our couples that they won’t get elsewhere. This all starts with me and making sure that I support them through the entire process, from the moment they first enquire, right up to the wedding day and sometimes beyond!

Photo credit: Jennifer Adams

5. What wedding venue trends are you seeing in the industry?

I’ve noticed that one of the key trends is shorter lead times. Of course, we still get those couples who plan their big day months, if not years ahead of time. But we are seeing a greater demand for weddings with much shorter lead times, sometimes even as short as a few weeks.

We have also seen an increase in year-round weddings. A couple of years ago we only ever received enquiries for summer weddings, a cluster of dates between June and August that were in high demand. Now we are hosting weddings in what we used to class as ‘off-peak’ season.

6. What is the biggest challenge you face on the wedding day itself?

Anyone working in the wedding industry knows that weddings NEVER go 100% to plan. The biggest challenge I give myself on a wedding day is to make sure that when things go wrong (like we all know they do) that the couple and their guests know nothing about it. My priority is to make sure that the couple has the most wonderful wedding day, free from anything that could cause them any stress.

Another challenge for us is that we are a university, not a purpose built wedding venue so sometimes logistics within our facilities can be challenging. To ensure that this doesn’t impact on the big day, I make sure that everything is planned out from the moment of booking, right up to the day itself. I have my own ‘checklist’ that I have designed and I use it to ensure nothing is missed and everybody who is involved from the venue is briefed and aware of every last detail.

Photo credit: Jennifer Adams

7. How do you feel technology is changing the industry?

Today, everyone has a smartphone as an extension of their arm, so everything is just a click away from a social media platform or a Google search. As a result guest expectations are higher and there is a lot of pressure on the bride and groom to try and think of something innovative to make their day different and memorable.  On the flip side, it does make it really easy to find new and quirky ideas with just a scroll, a click or a quick chat with Siri.

8. What has been your biggest time saver this year?

Our new packages for sure! When we re-branded to Weddings at QMUL, the first thing we did was look at what we offer and how accessible that information was. We realised that it was really difficult for our potential couples to find out how much it would cost for them to host their wedding with us. So we designed brand new packages that were transparent and allowed couples to see exactly what is included in each package and the costs associated with it. No little surprises later down the line. This saves me so much time as I am not constantly playing ‘ping pong’ with lots of questions from couples and it reduces their levels of frustration in having to ask so many questions.

Photo credit: Jennifer Adams

9. How do reviews affect the industry?

It’s human nature to seek validation in something by hearing about something from someone else who has experienced it first hand. Couples planning their wedding are no exception – they want to hear more about ‘real life’ wedding stories and read first-hand recommendations in order to make an informed decision about something they are going to spend a lot of money on. For us, word of mouth recommendations and reviews are really valuable. 

10. How do you get to know your couples before the big day?

When I meet a potential couple I like to think of them as a friend and not a client. I spend a lot of time with them through the wedding preparation process, so when a couple comes in for their menu tasting session with our chefs, I make sure I am there as well. It’s a really nice relaxed environment and I find it gives me a great opportunity to get to know the couple even better. We form a partnership and it allows us to work together to ensure their day goes perfectly.

11. What do you think makes Weddings at QMUL unique?

Our signature venue is our Grade II listed Victorian ‘Octagon’ venue. Anyone who steps inside for the first time is always blown away by just how extraordinary it is. We call it ‘The Hidden Gem in the Heart of East London’ and it really is! It’s the only venue of its kind in London. However, as a team, we wanted to ensure that we didn’t get complacent and expect that the venue would sell itself. As lovely as a venue can be, after all it is only a ‘room’, albeit a pretty one. For us it’s all about the additional services and support we provide as a venue. From having myself available as a point of contact throughout, to the transparency of the new competitively priced packages and the complimentary extras we include at no additional cost, we have designed a truly unique offer for all potential couples.

Photo credit: Lauren Page

12. What do you think makes for the perfect wedding?

The people. If you have the most important family and friends around you, you will have memories that last a lifetime. Therefore, making sure that everyone attending is happy on the day is the number one priority. If they are happy, I am happy!

13. What’s your favourite wedding memory?

My own wedding – it was an incredible day that was filled with so much love from family and friends. It was a colourful Indian wedding with an abundance of food, drink and LOTS of dancing! My friends said that they had never been to a wedding where the dance floor was packed from beginning to end.  It was also a great learning curve for me too – to be the bride was the most important lesson ever. It made me experience first hand what our couples at Queen Mary University London are going through when they are planning their big day. It’s very stressful, but now I make sure that I do whatever I can to help them and put their minds at rest.

14. What do you love about Bridebook?

The app is brilliant! It’s great for couples who do not know where to start when they are planning their wedding. Having a resource like the Bridebook app is a great tool for them.

Photo credit: Jessica Reeve

A huge thank you to Saran for sharing her Supplier Story. Check out the stunning Queen Mary University of London in their Bridebook profile.

Want to feature in your own Supplier Story? Get in touch with Beth at beth@bridebook.co.uk.

Welcome to this week’s Supplier Story! ‘Supplier Stories’ is an original Bridebook Business article series, where we go behind-the-scenes and into the wedding world through those that know it best – the experienced and talented venues and suppliers across the UK.

So whether this is your first story or 10th, enjoy as we look into the industry as a whole, and celebrate a true story in itself! Who says couples have all the fun?

Hattie & Flora’s Supplier Story:

What do you get when you take two best friends, add bundles of talent and then finish it off with creativity, colour and fun? The answer is suppliers like our guests this week: Harriet and Jodie from Hattie & Flora, a wedding stylist company that creates bright, festive layouts for a couple’s big day. Having worked as events stylists for Jamie Oliver, The Savoy, BBC’s Children In Need and more,  the team know exactly how to make a day magical and let a couple’s personality shine through.

So without further ado, Harriet over to you! 

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?

We are Harriet and Jodie – Directors of Hattie & Flora Ltd. I’m (Harriet) a trained florist and Jodie studied Theatre Design at the Arts University Bournemouth – these skills seemed to  ‘marry’ (forgive the wedding pun!) perfectly to create our Event Decoration company!

2. Share the story of Hattie & Flora?

We met when we were 8 years old and almost immediately started a jewellery company called Bohemian Beads – we’ve been destined to run a colourful business together from the beginning! Bo’ Beads fizzled out as we discovered you can spend your profits on sweets and panda pops…  However, it was the start of our adventures in the world of business and 16 years later, after studying for our degrees, we were thrown back together by fate!  I was working on a large Indian wedding creating lots of varmala garlands; Jodie was living back at home and freelancing as an event designer so I got her on board to help me out.  We had so much fun together that we agreed we would make it a regular thing!

3. What drew you to the wedding world?

The big wedding that sealed the deal was that of a Channel 4 producer for whom Jodie was the prop stylist.  She needed a florist and asked me to join the team. We were asked by so many people at that wedding for a business card, so we went home and made some that night!  The name Hattie & Flora comes from our original businesses – I had a floristry business called Flora’s Garden, and Jodie had a hat/fascinator company called Hattie Pom Pom.   After that we went on to work for Mercury Events designing the look and feel for Bluewater Wedding Fair, and also began collaborating with Jamie Oliver on his annual festival The Big Feastival.  Although we now work on many types of events such as festivals and parties, we do love the personal one to one nature of working on weddings – you really get to know the bride and groom so well, it’s wonderful.

4. What do you see as the biggest challenge in the wedding industry currently?

With social media platforms such as Pinterest you find that many brides and grooms are getting really hands on with their own weddings and making their own decorations. However, on the flip side, we’re also finding that this means that their ideas and visions are more ambitious so are coming to us to help with some of the more wild and wonderful creations!

5. What wedding trends are you seeing in the industry?

We’ve seen a rise in the popularity of botanical inspired design – from terrariums and miniature greenhouses to eucalyptus chandeliers, it’s a beautifully natural and wild look that we adore putting together.

6. What is the biggest challenge you face on the wedding day itself? We often have a short space of time to achieve a high level of decoration – from laying out all the flowers, sometimes creating floral archways on the morning of the wedding, to hanging hundreds of ceiling decorations.  We make sure to have a strict time plan in place but also make sure that we still enjoy the process!

7. How do you feel technology is changing the industry?

Social media platforms such as Instagram and tools such as Pinterest have really helped us to communicate with brides and grooms visually, not only for marketing purposes but during the design process too.  And of course apps such as Bridebook are helping us to connect with suppliers and potential clients in a big way!

8. What has been your biggest time saver this year?

We have invested in an awesome vinyl printing machine which means we can design and print bespoke vinyls for signage.  Some couples prefer a hand painted look but for those wanting a slick design the vinyl option can still be really effective!

9. How do reviews affect the industry?

Reviews and testimonials are so important in a competitive industry where word of mouth and recommendation is key.  People want suppliers they can trust but how else would they know to trust a supplier they’ve never used before?  We always ask for a simple review or testimonial, either via email or posted directly to social media. 

10. How do you get to know your couples before the big day?

We always meet the couple for consultations prior to the wedding, and also site visits so we can visualise the décor together.   We make sure to build up a great relationship via email and are in constant contact with our couples up to the big day.

11. What do you think makes Hattie & Flora?

It’s all about confident use of colour and magic! The process has to be enjoyable for both us and the couple we are working with. We have a lot of fun designing and brainstorming with our couples and we are often told that we make the process exciting even to those couples who haven’t got a natural eye for creative details. That being said, we thrive on working with the super creative couples too and we have a reputation for creating quirky and unique decorations. We’ve heard people saying ‘this must be a Hattie and Flora wedding!’ which is so flattering!

12. What do you think makes for the perfect wedding?

A wedding which is true to the couple, and reflects the couple on a personal level, will always work.  The more uptight you are, the more formal and less relaxed a wedding is in our experience!  We tell our couples to enjoy every process – you (hopefully) only get to do this once in your life, so why let it be stressful?!

13. What’s your favourite wedding memory?

We were honoured to be bridesmaids for a best friend of ours, so Jodie and I wrote and performed a playful song for her at the wedding – we played ukuleles too! There were lots of giggles and happy tears!

14. What do you love about Bridebook?

It connects us with a range of couples and suppliers whilst providing a place for us to show all our wedding experience in one simple but amazing way!  A company like ours, who work on a range of events (not just weddings) needs Bridebook to help couples see all our wedding photos and services in a focused way.

A huge thank you to Harriet and Jodie for sharing their Supplier Story. Check out their jaw-dropping work in their Bridebook profile.

Want to feature in your own Supplier Story? Get in touch with Beth at beth@bridebook.co.uk.

Welcome to this week’s Supplier Story! ‘Supplier Stories’ is an original Bridebook Business article series, where we go behind-the-scenes and into the wedding world through those that know it best – the experienced and talented venues and suppliers across the UK.

So whether this is your first story or 10th, enjoy as we look into the industry as a whole, and celebrate a true story in itself! Who says couples have all the fun?

Thoughts of You Flowers’ Story: 

This week we’re talking to Amy Crammond, florist extraordinaire at Thoughts of You Flowers. Thoughts of You Flowers are an attentive and creative team of two who make eye-catching floral arrangements out of fresh and silk flowers. Their adaptability and ability to recreate their couples’ vision earned them the North of England Wedding Awards for Outstanding Customer Service 2015, and is the linchpin of their work.

So without further ado, Amy over to you! 

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a wedding florist, wedding blogger and a published writer, basically, if it involves weddings and flowers, I’m on board! I love to learn new things, whether it’s a new floristry technique, a new tip or trick for social media or something to improve my website. This year I have even purchased a ‘proper camera’ in the hope of learning how to take some better photos of my work – currently, I’m using my trusty Samsung camera phone. So, the amazing photos you are seeing of my work are by some of the very talented photographers we have had the pleasure of working with.

2. Share your story?

Having trained as a florist in 2008 and worked at various local florists in the area, in 2013 I opened my own florist shop creating flowers for all occasions, including weddings. In 2015 we won a regional award for Outstanding Customer Service for wedding flowers in the North East. After we won the award our wedding bookings have just kept increasing and increasing! We decided it was time to focus on ‘just’ being wedding florists, so on Christmas Eve in 2016 we closed the florist shop and became a wedding only florists. We entered the Bridebook Wedding Awards this year and our couples were very so supportive of us. We’re now looking to the future and finding a new studio to work from for 2018, to create lots of lovely wedding flowers in and to keep growing our business.

3. What drew you to the wedding world?

It’s really simple: weddings are lovely happy occasions. Being involved in the planning of someone’s wedding day and then seeing them on their wedding day is amazing, building up the relationship and trust and then delivering the final product. It’s really special and we love it!

4. What do you see as the biggest challenge in the wedding industry currently?

I think a potential issue at the moment is the number of companies who are not fully insured or fully registered as businesses. Lots of these types of businesses are run as a hobby and may not have the correct insurance policies or experience to produce high-quality work or offer high service levels. There are so many businesses that are amazing at what they do and are fully insured – these are the wedding industry professionals that brides and grooms should be looking to have as suppliers for their wedding day.

5. What trends are you seeing in the industry?

It’s all about the relaxed, informal approach – with the ever increasing popularity of barn or country hall wedding venues and relaxed styling to match. With green being the Pantone colour of 2017 using foliage is a huge wedding flower trend, with some weddings using more foliage than flowers – in buttonholes, bouquets, garlands on the tables and foliage on the chair backs and even on the cake. It really is all about the green!

6. What is the biggest challenge you face on the wedding day itself?

For me, it’s trying not to show how stressed I am. I always stress the day before and the day of the wedding, once the flowers are delivered and I get that happy hug from my brides (and/or grooms) I relax! It’s an ongoing joke that I am so relaxed when helping with the wedding planning and consultation stages that my couples would think I was a different person if they saw me the day before and morning of their wedding day. I guess this shows how passionate I am about my work, delivering the end result and knowing my couple are happy with my work. Receiving a lovely email, text, call or review within a few days of the wedding is always lovely too!

7. How do you feel technology is changing the industry?

Pinterest is giving brides and grooms so much more choice and inspiration. It is so handy for a bride or groom to pin their ideas to one place and then be able to show their ideas to any supplier, so if they talk to me about wanting some flowers for their cake they can then show me a photo of said idea for cake and the flowers to go onto it so quickly. Another ongoing joke – what the heck did we do before Pinterest? How did anyone manage to plan a wedding without it?! Instagram and Facebook are also becoming more important for helping to source inspiration and suppliers for couples, especially seeing photos and reviews from past couples. Of course websites are still vital for couples to view, but social media is a huge tool for suppliers to show their work and for couples to find suppliers, especially when using hashtags.

8. What has been your biggest time saver this year?

Honestly, I’ve not found a time saver yet, if I stopped going on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest when I was meant to be getting on with my to-do list I’d save hours each day. I’m sure we are all guilty of that though, aren’t we? #procrastination

9. How do reviews impact the industry?

Positive reviews and happy customers can make your business but negative reviews and unhappy customers can break it. We all aim to create amazing work for our couples with amazing service to match and I am sure every professional wedding supplier would do everything they could to turn an unhappy customer into a happy customer before it turns into a bad review.

10. How do you get to know your couples before the big day?

We spend time with them, be it through face to face consultations, emails, Facebook messages or phone calls. We ask lots of questions – sometimes they may seem silly or irrelevant but every answer helps us to find out more about the couple’s ideas and personality. One question we always ask is if they are messy or tidy, to get a feel for whether they’d want a neat, structured look for their flowers or a more relaxed style. We ask to see photos of anything and everything they have organised for their weddings – particularly the bride’s dress, bridesmaids’ dresses and the groom’s suit. It’s handy to know as much as possible and it’s nice for the couple to see us showing an interest and getting excited about their wedding. When we post on social media we know that certain couples will like certain posts – some of them can’t get enough of our archway and others just adore an over the top unstructured bouquet.

11. What do you think makes Thoughts of You Flowers unique? 

I suppose it’s our award-winning customer service that makes us unique. We try to be as relaxed and helpful as possible throughout the planning stages for our couples. Any questions our couples have we answered as soon as possible and if a couple is struggling with any part of wedding planning we do our best to help, whether it’s finding a certain supplier or thinking of that all-important colour scheme. We work using the ‘your style is our style’ idea, meaning we do create any style of wedding flowers that are requested by our couples – nothing is too ‘out there’ or ‘not us’. From the first enquiry until the wedding day our couples get to build a relationship with us, and then on the wedding day we can make sure that the flowers are everything they wanted (or hopefully even better). We also like to add a personal touch, calming any nerves they may have and wishing them all the best. 

12. What do you think makes for the perfect wedding?

A wedding that reflects the couple – their tastes, personalities, lifestyles and hobbies. We love it when table names are places that are important to the couple, or the songs played are important to them in some way. We also love to include any flowers or foliage that are sentimental in some way to the couple. One groom had always bought pale pink carnations for his bride, so pale pink carnations were a must for their wedding flowers. Another of our past couples were worried that they would forget their wedding vows so we included rosemary in the groom’s buttonhole and the bride’s bouquet as rosemary means ‘remembrance’.

13. What’s your favourite wedding memory? 

It has to be at my cousin’s wedding, when in the groom’s speech he thanked my team for their hard work and patience helping my cousin to choose the flowers for their wedding day (she’s very indecisive!) to match with their colour scheme (pale blue and purple (‘Eeyore blue’)). It was so lovely to be mentioned and thanked in the speech although when all the guests then clapped and cheered it was a little embarrassing!

14. What do you love about Bridebook?

I love how easy it is to use for me as a supplier and for brides and grooms. I also love that the staff are all very helpful and friendly and clearly want to help both suppliers and couples.

A huge thank you to Amy for sharing her Supplier Story. Check out her gorgeous arrangements in her Bridebook profile.

Want to feature in your own Supplier Story? Get in touch with Beth at beth@bridebook.co.uk.

Welcome to this week’s Supplier Story! ‘Supplier Stories’ is an original Bridebook Business article series, where we go behind-the-scenes and into the wedding world through those that know it best – the experienced and talented venues and suppliers across the UK.

So whether this is your first story or 10th, enjoy as we look into the industry as a whole, and celebrate a true story in itself! Who says couples have all the fun?

Woodhill Hall’s Story:

This week we’re handing the proverbial microphone to Rachel Fenwick (photoed above), Marketing and Communications Manager for the romantic and quirky Woodhill Hall. At Woodhill Hall, every nook and cranny is crammed with personality and every tiny detail is taken and made their own. The wedding team’s hard work and dedication to their couples has earned them several awards, including “Most Romantic Wedding Venue 2016” for the English Wedding Awards.

So without further ado, Rachel over to you! 

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your team?

I’m Rachel and I work as Head of Marketing at Woodhill Hall. Our team is very much like one big family – works well together, always helps each other out and loves a good cocktail party!

2. Share the story of Woodhill Hall so far?

Woodhill Hall was bought by Corrinne and Chris back in 2005 as a holiday let, but in 2009 they fell into weddings after a local lady asked if they could use the venue as a place to hold their wedding reception. It was then Corrinne had that ‘light bulb’ moment and realised this was an industry she’d like to be involved with more and that her day job, working as a divorce solicitor of all things, just wouldn’t cut it anymore. It was at that point the business started on a whirlwind fairytale adventure but still keeps to its core values:

• Allowing couples to feel at home at a fully exclusive venue.
• Giving as much flexibility as possible so couples have their day their way – if they want to create their own wedding breakfast menu then why not!
• To create the best possible atmosphere for a two-day celebration without a corporate feel.

3. What drew you to the wedding world?

I’d always worked in marketing, however, in October 2016 I actually got married at Woodhill Hall – a match made in marketing heaven some would say. A month after the wedding I was thrilled to be offered the Marketing Manager position by Corrinne and immediately felt at home with the team. So in essence, what drew me to the wedding world was my experience of having a brilliant wedding venue with a fab team.

4. What’s your favourite aspect/room/part of Woodhill Hall?

It’s very difficult to choose at Woodhill as there are so many parts to the venue! If I had to choose I’d say the Elephant Courtyard. As a bride at Woodhill, I remember it being a hive of activity with everyone chilling out in the space with drinks and for photographs. On a work level, I love sitting back and relaxing in the courtyard, on a warm sunny day, like today, you feel like you’re abroad – it’s so hot, peaceful and all you can hear are the birds in the background!

5. What do you see as the biggest challenge in the wedding industry currently?

The current struggle we are seeing a number of venues face is couples wanting to really personalise their day and expecting more from their venues. Knowing a number of wedding professionals in the sector, we know some have struggled in recent years to cope with the demand from couples when they come forward with ideas of personalising their day or changing packages to want they want. We’re one of a few venues in the North-East that offer a two-night experience which really helps us work with couples to do this. It also helps with us being family run that we’re not restricted to corporate guidelines so can be flexible with timings on the day, helping them decorate and also delivering a truly personal experience.

6. What wedding venue trends are you seeing in the industry?

In terms of venues, it seems as if year on year there’s a big trend, so last year was barns and this year it seems to be warehouses in the North-East, but you can guarantee next year it will be something different.

7. What is the biggest challenge you face on the wedding day itself?

Facing the unexpected! From having a dad lose their entire wedding speech, to florists not turning up on time, we’ve faced it all! It’s all about being able to remain calm in the situation and doing your best to help resolve the issue without causing unnecessary stress for the couple.

8. How do you feel technology is changing the industry?

I think being in a digital age now, couples – whether they’ve booked or not booked with you – require quick response times to queries. For example, Facebook now allows people to see when you’ve read your message regardless of if this is 11am or 11pm, where we can we’ll always respond to enquiries as a wedding is a huge investment and therefore all customers should receive a first class service.

9. What has been your biggest time saver this year?

Directing brides to our handy costs calculator online.  At Woodhill we don’t run set packages, this allows couples to create their own wedding and make it more personal to them. The calculator allows couples to go through all our options and also work to their budget online – we’re pleased to say we’ve received such great feedback from couples on the tool too.

10. How do reviews affect the industry?

Reviews are so important in the industry!  For example, with my wedding, I booked my photographer, videographer and florist based on word of mouth recommendations. At Woodhill, we receive such wonderful feedback from our couples and try to showcase it online wherever possible.

11. How do you get to know your couples before the big day?

At Woodhill, we pride ourselves on knowing our couples prior to their big day! Wherever possible we have a dedicated coordinator to see the couples at all points on their journey, from serving them on their food tasting evening to running their planning meetings and, of course, being there on the big day. It’s a really important part of the process for us and it’s not just the couples we know by the big day, it’s their families too.

12. What do you think makes Woodhill Hall unique? 

Well, how many venues do you know that have giant grass elephants in their courtyard?

Aside from the quirky décor, we like to think we’re unique in our approach to weddings. Being a family run venue means we get to know our couples really well and they definitely feel like family after 2 nights staying with us. In addition, there are additional extras which definitely help couples feel at home with us. For example, we allow couples to personalise their wedding breakfast menu on their big day. We had a couple in which the groom was from Italy and the bride was from a lovely farming family in the UK and therefore they had an Italian based starter, venison lasagne and a fruit crumble with their favourite fruits for their dessert.

We also offer couples free use of the prop shop on-site which houses hundreds of items from copper lanterns to candelabras, wooden crates, log slices and so much more, As a bride, this was such a cost saver! I was quoted £295 for the items I wanted to hire for my wedding, but was thrilled to find they were all in the prop shop after I booked the wedding!

13. What do you think makes for the perfect wedding?

A great atmosphere with fab friends and family.

14. What’s your favourite wedding memory?

My all-time favourite wedding memory was standing on the orangery terrace as the sun was setting with my other half, having a quiet moment away from the guests and saying goodbye to a few guests, namely my grandparents.

It was always touch-and-go as to whether my Grandma would make it as a few months prior she became wheelchair bound. The venue was great and was fully disabled-friendly which put us at ease on the day for sure. I remember my Grandad came to give me a hug to say goodbye, but unlike his usual hugs this one was different. He whispered to me “What a great day hunny, you looked beautiful. But what am I going to do now… I’ve lost my little girl”.

In that moment, albeit 20/30 seconds I realised how important I was to my Grandad. They say weddings are wonderful family occasions and they really are, but I’ll never ever forget that memory for that reason and also it was the first and only point in the whole day I cried my eyes out – luckily I had my makeup artist on hand to sort me out!

My Grandad unexpectedly passed away a few weeks after the wedding which makes the moment even more memorable. I’m just so pleased I have a brilliant photographer and videographer there to capture the moment – a huge tip to couples is to invest well in your photographers and videographers as they will capture some of the most important memories in your life.

15. What do you love about Bridebook?

We love the look and also how easy it is to use! We also love how we can put some of our favourite suppliers on the site, ones who are familiar with Woodhill and know the venue well.

A huge thank you to Rachel for sharing her Supplier Story. Check out the charming Woodhill Hall in their Bridebook profile.

Want to feature in your own Supplier Story? Get in touch with Beth at beth@bridebook.co.uk.