I attended a wonderful new wedding fair last weekend, and it was such a great experience, I wanted to share it with all of you!
The Pretty & Punk Southwest Wedding Fair is the brainchild of two wedding planners, Hannah and Daniella, who wanted to offer a unique, fun and quirky wedding fair experience for suppliers and potential clients. They chose the wonderful venue of Tavistock Town Hall, offering such beautiful space inside and out, alongside the magnificent Butcher’s Hall, which is where I was lucky enough to be based.
So with the weather having been dire for weeks on end, how blessed we were to have a gloriously sunny day for a trip out to the Cornwall/Devon border! Tavistock is such a gorgeous little spot too, with stunning architecture and full of independent shops - a far cry from today's typical high street. And not only was the good weather helpful to us exhibitors with loading and unloading our cars, it was lovely for the visitors who could enjoy seeing all Tavistock had to offer, and undoubtedly helped our footfall; it was little wonder that we saw easily over 200 brides plus families pass through the door by lunchtime.
Now I don’t know if this was the plan (I can only assume so!) but the town hall was host to the ‘punk’ theme and it was a riot of colour with some truly amazingly creative and slightly alternative exhibitors. And the Butcher’s Hall very much felt like the ‘pretty’ theme, complete with millions of twinkly fairy lights and its fair share of glittery bling. Just have a look at the photos to see what I mean!
I really enjoyed meeting my fellow exhibitors – and I thought I’d give a shout-out to a few of my favourites: firstly – Leila from Unity Event Design - talk about glamourous camping…this tipi (along with the beautiful styling) is simply the best I have seen. Lauren Dillon was opposite me and I loved seeing her photography – being a local lass, she really knows all the best spots for those stunning images. My neighbour (another Lisa!) of Gatehouse Trailer Bar would have won the prize for sparkliest stand (had there been one) but a bar on wheels is a fab concept for your DIY wedding. Everyone should have one :-)
There were two musical entertainers in the Butcher’s Hall keeping us all jigging about – Dave Wright on sax and Crown Entertainment – and both were AMAZING!! These guys worked incredibly hard all day. Other exhibitors who were kept super-busy with their free demos included Cassie from Cornwall Caricatures, and every time I looked at (fellow vegan) Katy from Makeup Magic she was treating someone to a fab makeover. Plus it was also lovely to meet the lead sponsor (and speaker) for the event - Linzi of Uncoventional Wedding – a truly perfect partner to Pretty and Punk!
Of course, one of the fantastic things about wedding fairs is getting to meet prospective clients in person, and I really love this opportunity. It was wonderful to meet so many people who understood celebrancy and all the exciting elements of a celebrant-led wedding, and who had questions about hand fasting and other symbolic actions to personalise their wedding celebrations.
Many of the couples I met were unsure of their wedding plans, but were keen to explore options for a wedding on a budget. And of course, this is where a celebrant wedding comes into its element – as couples can choose to have their celebration wherever they wish, with garden and outdoor weddings being great ways to keep the cost down.
I nearly forget to say - the highlight for me was meeting this little dude! (Yes, just call me a crazy cat-lady...) This darling ginger ninja was visiting with his Mum and Dad, and while I do admit to at first doing a double-take at seeing this feline visitor, it was great to chat to his family about the outing being all part of his therapy cat training. A truly amazing kitty – he took all of it in his stride!
In short, I loved the spirit and positivity of this fair, and the feedback has been phenomenal from exhibitors and visitors alike. Massive congratulations to Hannah and Daniella – who are well on their way to selling out their Spring Fair already! – and also many thanks to Victoria Welton from Vocal Eyes Photography for sharing her fabulous images (as seen here) with all of us.
And if you are a couple getting married in 2021, don’t forget my special price freeze on ceremonies applies should you book before the end of October 2019!
Anyway, just a little insight into my most recent wedding fair – if you’d like to catch up with me at a similar event, my next attendance is at Cornwall’s Ultimate Wedding Show on 12 January 2020 on Wadebridge. Really hope to see you there!