When I started out in business in 1995, I was one of the first wedding planners and stylists in England, planning elaborate weddings across the UK and overseas, with a good smattering of celebrity weddings along the way, all of which helped my visibility in a growing market.
Early on, I established some of the service concepts used extensively today within the industry, including “On The Day” wedding co-ordination, now a staple of modern wedding planners.
Later, joined full-time by my husband Doug, we gradually shifted the focus of our business to wedding production and became one of the first dedicated wedding venue stylists in the UK!
On both occasions, Doug and I identified a gap in the market and used our creativity and management skills to set up and grow a successful business. Along the way we have been widely quoted and interviewed on TV and radio, as well as for newspapers, magazines and on-line. Increasingly, we also help venues starting out as wedding venues or looking to upsell their wedding and event services through venue styling.
Stressfree is now mandated or recommended by many venues who appreciate our creativity, attention to detail, and bespoke solutions.
When the Covid pandemic hit, we had to postpone over 250 weddings and events, as well as accommodate new clients wanting to use our services. As a result, we are now facing an exponential demand for venue styling services and are having to turn away three times as much business as we can take on.
Couples are even asking to join a “wait list” in case we become available for their wedding date, because they love what we do and can’t find a suitable alternative supplier!
With our enormous wealth of wedding and events knowledge (over 50 years combined), a reputation which is second to none plus a glut of enquiries and only a few businesses offering anything similar to us, we recognise there is another opportunity… an opportunity to pass on our knowledge, experience and expertise to a new generation.
Through this programme we aim to train a new generation of venue stylists and planners, so they can continue the journey we started in 1995.