I WON AN AWARD! SO WHAT...?!

It was with great delight, a large helping of disbelief, and a whole lot of whooping, that two weeks ago I picked up my first ever Wedding Industry Award at a glitzy event hosted at Heaton House Farm in Cheshire.

Post awards I grinned so hard that my face did genuinely start to ache. I joyfully accepted congratulations from my fellow wedding industry friends, and I celebrated...Hard!

When I woke the next morning, the first thing I did, was to sit up in bed and lift my shiny, Wedding Industry Awards award from the bedside table, stare at it to make sure I hadn't imagined the whole thing, and start to relive and relish the whole awards ceremony experience over again in my head.

The intervening two weeks has involved even more recounting of that Glorious night to friends, family, colleagues, and potential customers, and in that time, through the recounting of how I felt, why it was so exciting for me, and why I ended up staying up way past my bedtime to sip on a few glasses of bubbles, I've had the chance to ask myself...so what?! Why are awards like the one I picked up for the North West's Wedding Accessory Designer of the year, so important? What does it actually mean?

So what? For me:

To win a nationally recognised award at the Wedding Industry Awards gives me something exciting, tangible and credible to shout about! I can blog about it, send out press releases to local media. I can let my followers on social media know, announce it on my website, tell visitors to my studio, as well as the people I meet at wedding fairs. It creates a buzz around my wedding accessories supplied by voting from past Glorious brides, which in turn gives me a big opportunity to raise awareness of the quality of my products and service.

So what? For my customers:

An award from the Wedding Industry Awards is an instantly recognised mark of approval for businesses involved in supplying goods, services and expertise to brides, grooms and their family and friends. To be shortlisted for such an award tells my future customers that I'm an established professional. To win the award tells my future customers that I'm established, and recognised as something special in my field!

So what? For the future:

Through winning the regional award for Wedding Accessory Designer of the year, I'm now through to the national Wedding Industry Awards held in London in January.

I get to buy a dress for the awards do! And shoes!

After the January awards, I get to actually see the comments made by past Glorious brides when they voted for me. This is invaluable to me and my business, as it gives me the chance to see what my brides think I do well, and plan to develop those aspects of my service. It also allows me to see where the gaps are in what I currently offer brides and their bridal parties, and plan to improve those areas.

So thank you TWIA:

For arranging an award that is voted for by past brides, giving businesses like mine a true reflection of what we're doing well; and for giving us the chance to get together, to kick off our shoes, and to celebrate our industry and what we do best.

So thank you Glorious brides:

For taking the time to vote for me, and by doing so, giving me the chance to tell future Glorious brides that they can expect award winning accessories and service when they come to Glorious Tiaras.

Roll on January and London!

http://the-wedding-industry-awards.co.uk