A professional Team of Event and Wedding Specialists providing Luxury Chair Covers, Accessories and Table Linen for Weddings, Corporate Events and Private Parties.
The Speakers Agency offer a range of specialists who talk expertly about their specific
subjects and hugely successful entrepreneurs
who demonstrate how to succeed as well as inspirational
and motivational speakers who leave a lasting and positive impression
on their audiences. Did you know that our MD Sarah Pittendrigh now features on www.thespeakersagency.com as one of their esteemed inspirational speakers available to book to speak at your event?
Sarah knows what it’s like to have to bounce back.
Four years ago, she was a single Mum to a 9 year old son on Income
Support. However, as founder of Simply Bows and Chair Covers, Sarah is
now a nationally-acclaimed businesswoman, offering an insight into what
it’s like to go from bankruptcy to be one of Britain’s brightest
business stars - quote from The Speakers Agency.
What
is your venue name, industry rating and where is your venue located?
The
Caledonian, by Thistle Hotel; 10-14 Union Terrace, Aberdeen, AB10 1WE. We are a
4* hotel.
What facilities does your venue boast?
The
Caledonian Hotel is an elegant Victorian hotel overlooking Union Terrace
Gardens in central Aberdeen. Located close to the city centre, it is opposite
the railway station and handy for the airport and heliport, making it an ideal
venue for business meetings or enjoying a city break.
With
its contemporary comforts, The Caledonian Hotel is the perfect base for
enjoying Aberdeen’s wealth of parks and gardens, museums, galleries and other
attractions. And when not out and about, you can unwind in the Café Bar Caley
which, along with a varied menu, offers an extensive cellar of classic and New
World wines, as well as a wide selection of the finest local whiskies.
The Caledonian Hotel, Aberdeen at a glance:
• Located
in Aberdeen city centre, close to the station, heliport and Aberdeen Airport
• 83 bedrooms, plus four function rooms
• Private parking available on site
Does your hotel cater for weddings? If so, what numbers can you accommodate and
what packages do you offer?
At The Caledonian we provide a completely bespoke
wedding service, in which every aspect of your day, from the roo layout to the
wine list, food to flower attangements, is yours to choose. Decorated in neutral
colours, the Terrace Suite is a beautiful room overlooking Union Terrace
Gardens, with high ceilings, ornate chandeliers, a lounge area and its own bar.
An attractive, welcoming roo with plenty of natural daylight, the Terrace Suite
is suitable for parties of up to 60 day guest and 100 evening guests.
What about events, both large and small, what
numbers can you accommodate?
We have 4 meeting / function rooms hosting events
from 4-100 people.
Can guests stay over at your venue? What accommodation is on offer?
The
Caledonian has 83 bedrooms, including Deluxe rooms and Suites. In conjunction
with events and weddings, we offer reduced accommodation rates.
Tell us about your food/ menus/ wines...
We
offer a varied menu, as well as an extensive cellar of classic and New World
wines, as well as a wide selection of the finest local whiskies. Our menus are
reviewed on a seasonal basis, please contact the hotel direct for our most
recent selections.
Do you have any sporting/ spa/ golf
facilities on site?
We do not have any leisure facilities on site, however we
do have investment plans to introduce an in-house beautician in the future.
What sets your venue apart from others?
The
Caledonian is 120 years old and is one of the oldest buildings in Aberdeen.
With a £6.4m investment, we have retained many of the Hotel’s original features
adding to the beauty and originality of the building.
Where can we get more information/ read more/
contact the venue?
We are thrilled to share with you that Simply Bows and Chair Covers Managing Director Sarah Pittendrigh has been asked to
host a weekly column in the Newcastle Journal, every Thursday starting
next week.
She will be sharing her experience from starting a business
from scratch as a single mum, right through to franchising it and now
having 12 multi award winning offices across the UK. Sarah says 'I hope my column
will inspire budding entrepreneurs and offer support to existing
companies. I would also be happy to try and answer any questions on
business people may have'.
I
have worked as a photographer since leaving school. I began by working in a photography studio
and shadowing the professionals there when they photographed weddings and
portraits, being promoted after a few months to assistant photographer. I then used the training and experience that
I had gained to start up my own business 15 years ago and I haven’t looked back
since!
Tell us a little about your wedding….
I
married my wife, Elaine, in June 2010.
Because we spend nearly every weekend at weddings (in a photographic
capacity!), we kept our day relatively low-key and relaxed. It took place at Mannings Heath Hotel with
around 50 close friends and family. We had
a Caribbean steel band playing on the sun
terrace overlooking the lake and kept the traditional wedding formalities to a
minimum - deciding against the conventional speeches and first dance. Our evening disco (FoxRox Discos) was
fantastic and kept people dancing well into the night!
Why
do brides come to you?
I
believe it is important that the bride and groom feel relaxed around their
photographer because this will obviously result in much more natural,
flattering photographs on the wedding day.
I always aim to put potential wedding couples at ease during the initial
meetings and really try to get to know them in order to create a more relaxed
atmosphere on the day. I also think that
our photography packages represent genuinely good value. Unlike some photographers, we are fully
transparent on the price of our photography and exactly what is included in
each package.
What
is your favourite design and why?
My
favourite type of album which we produce are our “deluxe storybook” albums. These are top of the range, hand-bound coffee
table books produced in Italy. They are available with a range of
photographic covers including solid alloy and a beautiful crystal finish. They are presented in a high quality
personalised wooden box printed with your choice of photograph. I believe that these albums really offer the
best format to show off your wedding photos!
What
is the most popular item you supply and why?
The
deluxe storybook albums described above are our most popular album, but our
wedding couples tell us that their favourite item is the preview prints which
we include in our packages. Every single
image from the wedding day is printed off to A5 size and presented in boxed
ivory preview albums. There are no
watermarks or “proof” text on these images and they are yours to keep. We also present all of these images on a
high-resolution CD which is printable and free from any copyright
protection. The preview prints,
high-resolution CD and your choice of finished album are all included in the
price. Our wedding couples seem to like
the fact that they end up with a full set of “real” photographs as well as the
digital images on a CD for emailing or uploading to photo-sharing websites etc.
Where
do you get your inspiration from?
My
wedding couples themselves often unknowingly give me inspiration for new ideas
- seeing the way different couples behave towards one another and interact
together gives me ideas for new romantic poses to try out. In terms of artistic and reportage photographs,
it is really a case of having a keen eye and seeing the day “through a lens” in
order to instinctively know the right angles, composition etc to create
beautiful photographs of the wedding couple plus all the tiny decorative
details that will have been organised.
But a large amount of our photography is unposed. Capturing those spontaneous moments (be it a
stolen kiss between the happy couple, little flowergirls playing with confetti
or a joke shared between groups of guests) is what we pride ourselves on. These types of photographs are almost always
the favourites of our wedding couples, as they give a real impression of the
atmosphere and emotion of the day.
What
is in store for you in 2013/14?
2012
was a bumper year for us in terms of bookings and 2013 is already going the
same way. Most of our wedding couples
book us around a year in advance, but there are generally a few late notice
bookings to fill any remaining gaps in the diary! Many of our bookings come from
recommendations or are the friends and family members of couples that we have
already photographed. This is especially
nice when we photograph the weddings of several brothers and sisters plus their
friends for example, and you really get to know the family well. I am also often called upon by my previous
wedding couples to offer portrait shoots in my studio when they go on to have
children. This is obviously really
lovely to see, so I look forward to a few more jobs like this in 2013!
Who
would be your dream client, and what sort of design would you envisage for
them?
Anyone
who enjoyed having their photograph taken and was willing to experiment with
some more artistic, creative shots!
What
would be your top tips for brides when searching for a supplier in your
industry?
I
have prepared a free download containing some top tips for anyone looking to
book their wedding photographer - it can be found at http://www.sephotography.co.uk/8-questions.php
Tell
us something super interesting about you or your business that we wouldn’t
already know…?
I
enjoy performance car track days and I am a keen scuba diver.
Where
are you based and where can you supply?
I am
based in Loxwood, just on the border of Surrey and West Sussex in the centre of
Farnham, Guildford and Horsham. We cover weddings all over the UK and internationally, so there really is no
limit on where we can supply!
How
can I get in touch to discuss my requirements or place an order?
Please
feel free to contact me for a no-obligation chat, on either 01403 753775 or
07748 066972. Alternatively, my email
address is se_photo@hotmail.com.
Full details of my services can be found at www.sephotography.co.uk.
Why
do you like to work with Simply Bows and Chair Covers?
Simply
Bows & Chair Covers always go above and beyond to make the space being
dressed look absolutely amazing. Our
most recent wedding with them was at Farnham House Hotel and we have never seen
the ceremony or reception rooms look so stunning. The chair covers, sashes and table runners
had a much higher “quality” look to them than other similar products that we
see at weddings, and the finishing touches were impeccable. A first-rate company.
Hand painted
shoe customisation of the highest standard!
How and why the company begin?
I wanted to
hand paint my own wedding shoes, so I bought a ‘practice’ pair and uploaded
work in progress pictures on my artwork Facebook page. The response was
phenomenal and it all started from there. I now work in partnership with my
brother who is also an artist.
Tell us a little about
your wedding….
I just got married last week April 5TH! We had a small
Las Vegas wedding, just me and my husband, our 2 sons and my sister and my
brother in law. We married at the Chapel of the Flowers and had an amazing day,
everyone loved my ‘Las Vegas’ themed wedding shoes. We wanted somewhere relaxed
and fun for the meal afterwards, so ate at Bubba Gumps on the balcony
overlooking the strip. Brilliant and stress free, I would recommend it to
anyone. We were inundated with ‘congratulations’ from the Americans, such
friendly people!
Why
do brides come to you?
I think brides
are getting more adventurous with theme and wedding ideas. They come to us
wanted something totally unique and personal to them, shoes are a total blank
canvas and we can paint them to match the required theme perfectly. Also, they
are a fashion investment as they can be worn after the wedding, I’ve already
worn my Vegas pair again I love them. Word of mouth and support for us has been
fantastic and I am very grateful, we get a lot of referrals from friends of
friends.
What is your favourite design and why?
Difficult question! Both my brother and I are perfectionists, and
as artists spend hours scrutinising and studying the work to get it right, I
fall in love with every pair I paint and seem to think that the latest pair is
the best as I feel I improve artistically with each one.
What is the most popular item you supply and
why?
We get a lot of Disney requests and have now stopped accepting them,
purely for copyright reasons. What started as a bit of a hobby is now my
profession and I want to do things right. I have honoured a couple more orders
that were booked initially but turn down all Disney now. The more finished
shoes that we showcase enables customers to think outside the box and request
non branded designs and fresh ideas.
Where
do you get your inspiration from?
It’s a cliché but I was and still am a
massive Disney fan, I used to spend hours copying the artworks when I was
young. This is where my interest in art started, but for the shoes now I get
inspired by the quirky fashion that is out there. I personally like tattoo
culture and anything gothic or fantasy and that bit different. My time at the
moment is booked up with customer requests so I have not been able to showcase
anything from this personal genre.
What
is in store for you in 2013/14?
We are currently working on a shoe dedicated
website to enable customers to access any info about our services that they
need. We would also like to produce more ‘one off’ pairs painted in our own
styles and to release these regularly.
Who
would be your dream client, and what sort of design would you envisage for
them?
Again going back to the tattoo theme, I am a massive Kat Von D fan both
as an artist and as a style icon. I’d love to do her a pair! Think I would opt
away from the obvious though and paint her something personal to her, rather
than a cultural pair.
What
would be your top tips for brides when searching for a supplier in your
industry?
Shop around and do your research for customer service and a quality
product. Cheaper isn’t always the best option, good artwork takes time and this
will obviously impact the price. As does the use of specialist, professional
paints and materials.If you shop around a bit the good stuff always stands out.
Tell
us something super interesting about you or your business that we wouldn’t
already know…?
The brother I work with is actually my twin, David. We have very
similar painting styles and give each other constructive criticism. I don’t
like to see his in progress works, I like the wow factor of seeing a finished pair
so he doesn’t send me any images until I see them for real when they are ready.
Where
are you based and where can you supply?
We are based near Wigan
in the North West and have had customers from all over the globe.
How
can I get in touch to discuss my requirements or place an order?
We prefer
email rather than the telephone, purely because we spend most of the day
painting and as an artist, if you have mixed a specific colour it’s important
to get it on the artwork before it dries and interruptions can hinder the
process. You are welcome to leave us your number however and we can call back
when we are free.
We can be contacted via
email (currently under my old business name)
