Regional Winner of The Wedding Industry Awards 2019

These prestigious awards were set up to recognise excellent wedding suppliers and are the benchmark used by couples across the UK - they know if they book a TWIA award winning supplier then they will receive an excellent service from an experienced supplier. Wedition is proud to announce that they are the regional winner of the the special touch category.

#TWIA19 Wedding Special Touch - How the awards work

Business can enter themselves into the awards or they can be nominated to enter by fellow businesses or customers. A judging profile needs to be completed, where you can submit up to 10 images and 1 video and you will need to answer the following questions:

• What is your company ethos?
• How many weddings do you supply each calendar year on average?
• How did you come to do what you do for your wedding clients?
• Describe the product(s) or service(s) you provide to wedding clients.
• How do you keep up to date with changing trends in the wedding industry?
• What drives and motivates you to be involved in the wedding industry?
• What do you do that makes you different from your competitors?
• What was the most valuable thing you learned in your last year of business?

The next step is to invite your eligible clients to vote, these are couples who’s wedding took place in the last 12 months. Couples will score the company out of ten on seven different areas and then are invited to leave both negative and positive feedback.

#TWIA19 Special Touch - what do the judges look at?

The panel of judges will take into consideration the answers to the profile questions as well as the images and video. They will pour through your social media platforms and your website and read the all important comments from your voters.

#TWIA19 Wedding Special Touch - meet the judges

Sandy Moretta - Wedding Planner and Director of UKAWP

Sandy is a highly professional and experienced wedding and event planner, having been in the industry since 2003. She is well known in the industry and regularly asked for expert interviews on TV, radio and in the press about 'all things wedding'.

Sandy is also an Owner/ Director of The UK Alliance of Wedding Planners (UKAWP) - the leading industry body for wedding planning in the UK, which builds professionalism throughout the industry via training and support. Sandy constantly trains and mentors newcomers to the industry.

Sandy has been involved in judging the awards since their inception and loves to see how entering TWIA or being shortlisted for or winning an award can fundamentally help wedding industry businesses.

Julia Braime - Award-winning Wedding Blogger

Professional wedding blogger Julia Braime knows weddings, having grown up as daughter of a wedding planner and hotelier at one of the North’s most prestigious wedding venues. In its first year, Brides Up North has skyrocketed in popularity and profile to become one of the most visited wedding blogs in the UK - and is the only top bridal blog especially for Northern Brides - offering a double daily dose of real and celebrity wedding inspiration, bridal fashion, supplier showcases, discounts, giveaways and more.

Lisa Hogg - Director, The Wedding Affair (UK) Ltd & #WeddingHour

The Wedding Affair is owned by Lisa and her husband Chris Hogg. A multi-award winning wedding website designed for local, national and international stylish brides and grooms, containing pages of some of the finest wedding suppliers and venues that any bride and groom could wish for.

They specialise in working with castles, stately homes and historical wedding venues as well as in 4* and 5* Hotels. The company was formed in 2009, organising approximately 12 luxury Wedding Shows a year, wedding industry networking events through #weddinghourlive, originating and hosting #weddinghour on Twitter every Wednesday evening, 9-10pm, an international online networking discussion group for the wedding industry, as well as for brides and grooms which reaches between 20-40 million Twitter followers.

Kirsten Butler - Owner, The Little Wedding Helper

Kirsten is an award winning venue stylist with a love of all things vintage and unique - encouraging couples to step outside the box when it comes to decorating their big day. Since its launch business in 2008, The Little Wedding Helper has grown from venue styling to dressing boutique window displays, Art Directing photo-shoots, and helping other small businesses style their stands for wedding fairs.

When she's not consulting with a couple, adding the finishing touches to a table setting, or hanging yards of bunting, Kirsten can be found treasure hunting in charity shops and car-boots, all the while trying to curb her addiction to Pinterest.

Helen Hopkins - Wedding planner and stylist

Helen is the founder of Pudding Bridge, a multi-award winning wedding and event company like no other. As well as providing an expert wedding planning service, Helen designs and creates an innovative range of handmade decorative items for stylish celebrations throughout the UK.

Since its launch in 2013, the Pudding Bridge brand has become synonymous with trend-led, forward-thinking design. Transforming uninspiring nuptials into dazzling occasions, Pudding Bridge works with more than 100 couples each year, supplying little decorative details that make a massive impact.

Helen's unabated enthusiasm for sparkle and glamour, as well as her keen eye for fashion and trends, has made Pudding Bridge the UK’s leading supplier of sequin tablecloths. Helen's work is consistently featured by blogs and magazines and she's previously partnered with an array of celebrated brands, including Goodwood House, Brides magazine and The Little Wedding Helper.

Louise Beukes Award-winning wedding blogger and entrepreneur

Louise is the founder of award-winning wedding & lifestyle blog B.LOVED and the B.LOVED Hive, a community and resource for ambitious wedding pros. As a wedding entrepreneur with a background in interior design, there’s nothing Louise doesn’t know about design, styling, and how to make it in the wedding industry. These days, Louise will most often be found at her latest venture, The Hive – a hub of business advice, coaching, and the wedding industry’s first dedicated studio space in London. With a signature straight talking approach, Louise is dedicated to supporting wedding professionals by equipping them with practical skills to build a thriving business. Louise brings her editorial and business savvy to the TWIA panel, seeking trailblazing wedding pros breathing new life into their field.

#TWIA19 Wedding Special Touch - south central regional final

This year's regional event was held at the glorious Farnham Castle, where Wedition is proud to be preferred supplier.

Upon arrival we were greeted with glasses of prosecco, canapés and bowl food and an hour and a half of fabulous networking opportunities. At 8.30pm we all took our seats Damian Bailey welcomed us and started to announce the winners. I was thrilled that Anna Bridal Couture won their category, we were at The Hampshire Wedding Supplier Awards and they won there too. I was also over-the-moon to find out that The Classic and Vintage Car Company were the winners of the wedding transport category, Angie and Andy were the first wedding suppliers I spoke to at my first wedding fair and we’ve been pals ever since!

Regional winner - #TWIA19 Wedding Special Touch

The wonderful thing about the suppliers in the special touch category is that we all have the chance to make our couples' weddings stand out amongst others. It is our job to make their day uniquely theirs and one that will be forever remembered. I was absolutely delighted to hear Damian call out Wedition as the winner of this fantastic category.

Who was at #TWIA19 south central regional final?

Regioanl Finalists

• Alistair from Nightlights Disco - check out the fab Wedition wedding he worked on here
• Nathan from Shot by Canon - take a look at Wedition customers Gil and Paul's special day
• Awesome photographer Hana Laurie
• The lovely Claire from Totally Flawless
• Laura P and Laura W from The Elvetham
• Gorgeous Nisha Haq wedding photographer
• The on pointe Martin Bell wedding photographer

Regional Winners

• The Classic and Vintage Car Company - winner of best wedding transport provider
• The team from Anna Bridal Couture - best bridal retailer
• Instagram and cake extraordinaire Liz from Cake Buds - best cake maker
• New pals !daft! party cover band - best wedding band