Good morning everyone!
On Monday we shared just one of many photographs of our amazing evening at The Wedding Blog Awards 2016. If you missed it, have a look here, or keep reading, as Im about to tell you all about it!
Friday morning arrived and Maria and I were very excited! We had been nominated for two awards at this years Wedding Blog Awards, Best Regional Wedding Blog and Best Wedding Blog Team. Looking at the people we were nominated with, We Fell in Love, London Bride, The Nuptial and Brides up North for Best Regional Blog and The National Wedding Show, Festival Brides, So You’re Getting Married and Brides Up North for Best Wedding Blog Team, we weren’t going to hold out breath. We were over the moon to be nominated and looking forward to an awesome night with some fabulous people.
Stationary by Eagle Eyed Bride
After painstakingly curling my hair and discovering, with no time to amend the situation, that I had the same style as Liz McDonald, I headed to meet Maria and begin the journey to London.
Our excitement was annoyingly quashed as we didn’t take the opportunity to push in the queue to get on the coach, and so instead had to sit rows away from each other! Maria was sat next to someone lovely who chatted away to her as she straightened her hair. I was sat next to the most miserable teenager in history. I even offered him a Malteaser and he just grunted at me! I was more annoyed that he had no idea what a big deal that was in itself – I don’t share food! Its just a good job i had my ‘water’ with me to drink. It definitely wasn’t vodka and lemonade as you’re not allowed that.
So instead, I say rigidly in my seat so as not to mess up my ‘Liz Do’, texting a variety of ‘I’m Booooooooored’ texts to Maria. Three and a half hours later, we arrived in Victoria Station.
A quick tube to Liverpool Street and we arrived, donned in the comfy leggings, to the beautiful Andaz Hotel. Feeling spectacularly underdressed and inappropriate, we made a quick dash for the toilets (which were more like deluxe changing rooms) to sort ourselves our and get party ready! After giving new friends, Photo Buzz UK an unwanted and uncalled for flash of my Spanx (Im too tall to fit in the loos and change like Maria can!!), we enjoyed in a G&T at the bar, then headed into the event.
Holy Moly, that ballroom! You know when you’re little, and you imagine you’re a princess and you’re dancing with Prince Charming in the most beautiful ballroom you can imagine, with pillars and spectacular glass dome in the ceiling? Yeah, its like that. Its just stunning. And to top it off, it was decked out in the most glorious of floral decor by the fabulous and just lovely, Simon Nickell.
Image courtesy of Andaz 1901 Ballroom
After much mouth open appreciation at the room and the spectacular cake made by Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium, we settled in nicely and enjoyed our copious complimentary prosseco’s, selfies posing for the official photographers whether they wanted us or not (Sorry you lovely bunch at Priceless Memories Photography) and photo bombing (I am so sorry I do this everyone! Its like an addiction).
Then came the time for the awards to be presented. And who should be presenting?? Not Mark Wright as originally booked, but the Welsh gorgeousness that is Gethin Jones! As you can imagine, we were over the moon. Ok ok ok, Maria was pleased, I was over the moon! I have got quite a crush on him.
We stood and cheered and clapped at the wonderful winners. Then came the award for Best Regional Wedding Blog. Standing next to Michelle from The Nuptial, we all pulled ‘oooooooo’ type faces and, Maria and I began planning our gracious losers faces/applause. The Woodland trust, who sponsored the award began with, ‘and the winner is…..’
Cut to Maria and I, genuinely no reaction except hands poised ready to clap the winner…..
‘……..Cwtch The Bride!’
Cut back to Maria and I just screaming at each other. We possibly would have just stayed there doing exactly that if I wasn’t also super excited about going up on stage to stand closer to Gethin and so shoved us in that direction!
So up we went, completely gobsmacked and over the moon. I felt the need to tell Gethin about the crush I was harbouring on him (*slaps self on forehead*), and Maria felt is necessary to shout at Gethin, ‘she’s going to stand by you, she’s obsessed with you’, which is hugely untrue. Obsessed is quite extreme. Honest.
Well, ecstatic is an understatement. And everyone was so so lovely, coming over to wish us well and congratulate us. What a moment. Us Cwtch Girls work very hard to keep Cwtch The Bride full of exciting and inspiring content, supporting the Welsh wedding industry wherever possible. To be recognised for this is a complete and utter joy and we are so grateful.
We partied the night away wth some fabulous new friends, drinking and laughing (a lot), having our pictures taken in the Photo Buzz UK Photo Booth, dancing to the brilliant band, ‘The In Crowd’ and generally having a wonderful time.
Right at the end of the night before we left, the gorgeous Simon Nickell decided to share the beauty, and began giving us bouquets of the display flowers. I was over joyed!
Maria was most put out when she saw my gorgeous little bunch, Simon heard, and produced the most enormous bouquet you’ve ever seen. I wasn’t bitter (Hmph)
As well as our award and flowers, the wonderful people at Just Us Box handed out super big gift boxes of halloween goodies that we were to save and open with our partners! I haven’t had a really good rummage yet, but I am very excited to find out whats on there!
It was finally time to go home sadly and we were booked onto the 23:30 National Express back to South Wales. So we popped our trainers back on, grabbed our goodie bags, waved bon voyage, and headed to the tube.
Whilst on there, looking down at my flowers, I realised that there was no way I was going to get them home without ruining them! And besides, tiny Maria was really struggling to carry her humungous bouquet around. Looking around, there were lots of people looking a little glum. It was late, they were tired and just wanted t one home. So we decided to share our joy after a fantastic evening, and handed out a flower each to everyone we could see. There was suddenly an awful lot of happy faces, and we left the tube to a fabulous round of applause and lots of ‘thank you’. That felt amazing, and was a superb end to the evening.
All in all, we had the most amazing night. Thank you so much to Wedding Magazine and Andaz for being such amazing hosts. Thank you to you lovely readers, you make it all worth it! And thank you to our contributors and Lush Listers – we couldn’t do it without you!
We will continue to work hard, and hopefully be back again next year!
For a look at all of the winner of the awards, have a little look here!
The Album
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