A Week in the Life of...

Over a late night drink this week, Susie Evans asked me a really good question. "What is Guides for Brides ?"

Given the setting (one of Britain's grandest stately homes) and the others present (luxury wedding planners, content creators and photographers) it was blatantly obvious that Guides for Brides is far more than an online directory. So, I thought it might be interesting to share my week; with a few insights into what Guides for Brides does (in addition to our online directory) and why we do it.

Monday: We organised and hosted a FAM (familiarisation) trip to Knowsley Hall near Liverpool. They are one of our marketing clients ( Big Day Agency is part of Guides for Brides), we'd identified that Knowsley Hall has to be seen to be believed, so we made that happen. An awesome group of planners and content creators, carefully chosen to maximise the size and breadth online reach for the venue, were hosted for a champagne reception, dinner and overnight stay.?By chatting to the 19th Earl of Derby about life at Knowsley Hall, hearing from the curator, tasting the food and wine and wandering around the gardens, the wedding planners we invited could see the venue's potential, and the venue team could develop stronger relationships with them.

Tuesday: We collaborated with a local planner for a styled shoot at Knowsley Hall, bringing in various businesses that we felt couples should know about, including a bagpiper and a royal portrait photographer, to help them get some really good Instagram content and grow their networks, while also helping the venue. We recorded videos with planners, the Earl of Derby, and Fortnum & Mason 's non-alcoholic champagne; a lot of our Beyond Weddings couples and planners are based in the US and we take every opportunity to showcase all that the UK can offer,?highlighting royal?connections wherever possible.

Wednesday: While the team caught up with connections made at The National Wedding Show at the weekend, and collated content from the FAM and Styled Shoot, I was on the road doing a viability study and competitor analysis for a new wedding venue.?We have 30+ years of wedding data and industry insights, so I have become the obvious "go-to" for venue consultancy for private and corporate investors. I always really enjoy this work; I can quickly identify venues that will appeal to couples, and we have the tools and data to assess the competitor landscape and future opportunities?or threats.??

Thursday: At last a morning in the office, set aside for finalising the sponsor and speaker line-up for the UK Wedding Conference next month, but hijacked by my in-box and various requests for advice on other upcoming wedding conferences too. I speak at wedding industry conferences in?various?countries, and we work as media partners for others, so I spend as much time signposting clients to other conferences as I do to our own.?

In the afternoon I headed to the Showman's Show, which is the biggest UK event for outdoor events and always a great source of information and connections for marquees, mobile bars, event pods and new entertainment ideas, including a champagne fire truck and beer dispensing donkeys!?

Friday: I'm one of this year's venue judges for The Wedding Industry Awards (TWIA) so the morning was set aside for a final few hours?of judging. It's time consuming work, but for awards to be meaningful the judges need to be industry experts, and we all rely on each other to volunteer our time and expertise when we can. It's also the best possible way to understand and appreciate what's important to venues, the challenges they're facing and what "great" looks like.?

Friday is always a quiet day in the office; our account managers work from home that day so it's a good time for me to focus on the marketing team. Our marketing team has doubled in the past year, and now works more like a marketing agency, with Guides for Brides being just one of our clients. It makes the work varied and interesting, which enables us to attract ambitious and talented team members, which in turn attracts great clients. The final task of the day was to set up a desk ready for a new intern introduced by the fabulous?Kelly Chandler who'll be starting with us on Monday.

In the meantime... I'm ready for the weekend!??

#weddingvenues #weddingplanners #weddingmarketing #weddingconference