The wedding industry in Cornwall; a bright and beautiful tapestry of creative beings and specialists, all playing their part in forming unforgettable days. I for one am extremely proud to be part of it and I have met some really wonderful talented people that I love working with time and time again.
Due to the nature of our industry however it is rare that we ever get the opportunity to chat properly as usually we only ever see each other on the day of a wedding when of course we are all naturally rather busy doing our jobs! The Cornwall Wed Meet Up is a networking event organised by myself and Hazel Parsons that gives Cornwall based wedding suppliers, venues and planners the chance to meet, network and have a chat in a relaxed environment.

Now on it’s fourth event and growing every time it has become Cornwall’s largest wedding industry networking event offering something fun, quirky and really different from other somewhat stuffy business networking events. This year over 120 businesses attended, including bridal press.
The event held at the stunning Pendennis Castle and the feedback we received was excellent, here are a few of my favourite quotes:

“Cornwall Wed Meetup has given me confidence in my wedding business”
“I’ve learnt so much at this event it is ridiculous”
“Cornwall Wed Meetup networking and dinner is an excellent chance to make great connections”
” Cornwall Wed Meetup is fantastic”
Decribe your overall experience of Cornwall Wed Meetup – “Enlightening”

Essentially there are three parts to the event, a photo shoot in the morning at the two chosen wedding locations in Cornwall, the daytime networking event and the evening dinner event (styled beautifully as if for a real wedding).
Here is a little insight into the days events through my event planner eyes…

Day prior

I was up and in the car bright and early and off to my chosen Bridal shop to pick up the beautiful dress and shrug I had picked out weeks before for our model Natalie to wear for the shoot. As I was swooning over the dress, Hazel was picking up the locally made mulled cider for our guests, kindly donated to us. Very fitting for our Winter wedding theme.
A quick check and drop off of bags into the St Michaels Hotel then it was straight to work setting up the function room to create the wedding winter wonderland look that I had planned closely with the suppliers I had handpicked.

Once all was set up Hazel and I met with our guests speaker for our event, Kylie Carlson from The Wedding Planning Academy who had travelled down from London. We chatted about the next days plans over a glass of wine next to the log fire and Kylie’s passion for the industry was so clear from the moment we met her.
Tiredness started to kick in, as well as the realisation that we have over 100 Goody bags yet to stuff with leaflets and pressies from suppliers! So it was off up to our room to get to work, so much for a swim in the hotel pool, use of facilities!

Day of the event

We were up early, taking full advantage of the help yourself cooked breakfast to fuel us for a busy day ahead. Our models Natalie and Treve arrived promptly along with my chosen photographer and videographer, make up and hair stylist.
We must have somehow picked the nicest day possible to do the shoot, blessed with sunshine and blue skies (thank you to the wedding weather gods!) After our models were primed and prepped by Natasha and Holly, off we went to shoot.
Our photographer captured some great shots at both St Michaels and Pendennis Castle and our stylist even provided some pretend snow to create a real wintery look! After lots of holding reflectors, topping up lip gloss, adjusting clothes etc, the shoot was wrapped up.

Time for a well deserved lunch break for us all. Our chosen caterer for the daytime event put on a great lunch for us and just as Hazel and I sat down to eat it our dedicated volunteer team turned up right on time! Andy and Olivia two lovely ladies from Falmouth university that are currently studying event management. After a briefing with the team, set up of the register desk and all sponsor areas and a tech check it was nearly 3pm and time for our event to begin.

As guests arrived into the castle keep, they were greeted by the sounds of a very talented musician based here in Cornwall and given a glass of fizz. After a bit of a mingle and lots of people catching up, Hazel and I did a little introduction then handed over to two local registrars to do a short talk about their work here in Cornwall and answer any questions people may have. This was especially useful to ceremony licensed venues.

Next it was outside for a quick group photo and watch some fire entertainment.

Once all were warmed up with a hot drink and some delicious canapés (thank you again to our caterer) it was straight into speed networking, giving everyone the chance to make contact with every business there and exchange details. Needless to say our team were on the ball with topping up water glasses, as all that chatting makes for some very dry mouths!

“The speed dating style networking was fun and a great idea.”

Then it was straight into Kylie talk which has been described by one guest as

“Kylie Carlson’s presentation was high quality, entertaining, very informative”

Kylie gave us all a real insight into her business, her journey to get there and trips along the way and how she learnt from them. It was really interested and very inspiring.

It was then into the Ignite talks where 3 of our chosen businesses gave a very sort sharp presentation on an area of their choice.
The daytime event then drew to a close and as some travelled home after a great day of new connections made others joined us over at St Michaels Hotel for the evening dinner.

The welcoming room, beautifully dressed by the team earlier that day was perfect for our party of about 30. A very talented pianist here in Cornwall, played for us as we sipped on the mulled cider and Hazel and I finally began to relax a little! The dinner was excellent and staff could not have been more helpful. A great testiment to them as with most of us being in the hospitality industry we are a pretty tough crowd to please! A local talented magician dazzled us as always with his table magic tricks.

After a really successful day it was off to bed, although we could not resist staying up until 2am to read all the glowing feedback forms and as I am sure many event managers do, analyse the whole days events!

A big thank you to all involved, the event is only possible with your help, giving your time and resources to make it all happen. We have had lots of fantastic coverage from the event already and are overwhelmed by the feedback and kind words.

If you would like to get involved in the next Cornwall Wed Meet Up, do get in touch! info@jennywrens.com

We hope to see you there!

Jenny x