Wedding suppliers networking

I’ve been throwing myself into some networking this past week, and there’s some good news for brides in the north east – the region is full of wonderful wedding suppliers!

Two of the events I’ve been to have been wedding-related, so I’ve been chatting to photographers, florists, event dressers – even pyrotechnic experts.

I’ve been a member of the Inspire Network for two years and the women who run wedding-related businesses in the group decided to meet up for the first time.

Sandi Gall, from Betty Bage Photography, brought the group together and it was nice to catch up with the people I know, meet some new people and put faces and voices to social media profiles.

Among the businesses represented in that small group were Helen Scott Design, the Wedding Handbook, Alice and the Fox, The Anticipation Cake Design, Love and Cherish Me, Wild Hearts Photography, My Big Day Bridal and Baker Be.

We all sat round a table at the Mecca Bingo in Gateshead (a popular starting point for hen parties heading for the Toon, apparently) and shared our stories over a Costa coffee.

The second event was organised by Gina Griffiths, who runs the Bewildered Bride blog.

It was held at the Mercure George Washington Hotel in Washington, which brought back memories of my cousin’s wedding – particularly the golfers who didn’t appreciate the guests cheering for the camera as we got our photos taken!

It’s not every day you meet someone who creates firework displays (and other special effects) for a living, so I had a really fascinating chat with Kevin Hulse, from Impact Pyrotechnics Ltd.

I can’t help but switch to journalist mode when I go to these things. I tend to ask a lot of questions because I love hearing the stories behind everyone’s business.

I’m looking forward to making more connections in the future and seeing where these ones lead.