Thursday 28 July 2011

Simply Party Inspiration: We don't just do weddings!

Scarily the Christmas party season is galloping towards us at break neck speed despite us being in full summer wedding swing! We therefore thought it may be a good time to give you a little of our party inspiration as we dress much more than just weddings! 


 
We can help make any event look spectacular at Simply Bows and Chair Covers including Christenings, Birthday Parties, Baby Showers, Christmas Parties, Bridal Showers and even Dinner Parties in your own home! Not only can we dress them for you but we can help you pick a theme, style and look to make your event stand out!


Below is just a little taster of what we can offer...



 


 

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Simply Royal Countdown: Zara Phillips' wedding is approaching

By next week  the second Royal wedding of the year will all be over in the blink of an eye and the bunting will be banished to the lofts of England. But what can we expect from Zara's wedding to fiancee Mike's wedding?

Chic and Unique? Royal and Regal? Small and Intimate? Brash and Bold? You tell us what you think!

It has been revealed that Zara has surprised the fashion world by choosing a wedding dress designed by her grandmother the Queen's favourite couturier. Designer Stewart Parvin has designed Zara's dress which holds the key to the theme and style of this weekends upcoming nuptuals. The Queen is regularly seen dressing in Parvins designs and holds him in high esteem.

The Queen in a Stewart Parvin Outfit


Zara has revealed that she does not want a high fashion dress like Kate Middelton's Sarah Burton design but Stewart is the youngest of the royal couturier's so it will be chic and modern.... Join us next week to see all the photo's of Zara and Mike's big day!


Wednesday 20 July 2011

Simply Pleased To Meet You; Alexandra Stead - Franchisee

Hi I'm Alex!

I am 51 and cover the Harrogate, Wetherby and Skipton area. My venues include Rudding Park, The Old Swan, Devonshire Arms, Ripley Castle and Fountains Abbey.

Alex Stead
I, like many of the other franchisee's trained in the hotel industry both in the UK and abroad covering all aspects of hotel work including event management. I had often thought about joining the Simply Bows and Chair Covers team as I have known Sarah for many years and have a lot of admiration for her and the company but the timing was never quite right.

A change in circumstances recently led me to believe the time was now right and I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this vibrant and continually expanding team of industry professionals. I love putting my energies into something that will have direct results for me rather than someone else and I love the satisfaction of making someone's big day even more special so this is perfect for me!


If I had to dress a celebrity wedding I would love to dress Zara Phillips' as I think it would be lavish yet tasteful. When I got married my theme was cream, purple and pink but if I could get married now with all of these amazing fabrics and ideas at my fingertips I would opt for black flock chair backs and matching table runners on butter linen; sophisticated yet has the wow factor!

If you are looking for a comprehensive range of venue dressing options and the scope to have a bespoke creation made just for you then get in touch now! 

There are several ways to contact me:

Twitter: SimplyHarrogate
Phone: 07802357842
Email: alex@simplybowsandchaircovers.co.uk

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Simply Award Winning: If we can you can


The 'If we can, you can Supporters of Entrepreneurship and Business Growth Award Winners have been announced!

After its fourth successful year, the ‘If we can, you can’ Challenge continues to present these special tributes to acknowledge those who support entrepreneurs as they aim to build successful businesses across the region, and for the Business Growth Award, recognising those entrepreneurs who have demonstrated significant growth in their businesses over the past 12 months.

Carole Beverly, CEO of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum said:  “We introduced the ‘Business Growth’ award this year to highlight the importance of growing regional businesses and brought back the ‘Supporters of the Year’ accolade for this year’s Challenge because we believe that it was vital to recognise and reward those who have had an active role in supporting the growth of entrepreneurship in the region.”

Here are the winners for Supporter of the Year and Business Growth:

Hexham Courant
Winner: Ross Golightly from Sphera Consulting
The Journal
Winner: Mark Bryce, owner of United Carlton.
Sunderland Echo
Winner: Ian Smith, owner of Surreal Creative.
South Shields Gazette
Winner: Darren Williams, founder of Harland Corporation.
Northern Echo
Winner: Marj Newman, Operations Director of Patchwork People
Hartlepool Mail
Winner: Melissa Middleton who works for enterprise development consultancy, PNE Group.
Middlesbrough Evening Gazette
Winner: Mark Hill of the Institute for Digital Innovation

Business Growth Award
Normally there is an overall winner for this prestigious award, but the judges were so overwhelmed by the levels of significant growth demonstrated by two outstanding entrants, they called it a tie and were delighted to announce Simply Bows and Chair Covers and Cell Pack Solutions were joint winners!

Sarah Pittendrigh, owner of Simply Bows and Chair Covers.
Sarah said, 'I am absolutely thrilled to have been named as the Business Growth Award Winner, I have been working very hard since setting the business up in January 2009 and to win this award is a great ‘pat on the back’.

“I have been steadily growing the business since setting up however our major growth has happened since franchising in November of that year. Since then we have basically opened a new office every second month, we are now looking to open our 12th and 13th office by August 2011

“We were also recently named as a finalist for the Best Website in the National Franchise Marketing Awards up against companies like McDonalds.”


Friday 15 July 2011

Simply Hitched: A Simply Bows Real Bride: Our own Kristy Giblin!

Did you know that not only does Kristy, Area Director of Simply Bows and Chair Covers West Northumberland and Cumbria run one of our busiest offices but she was also originally a Simply Bows and Chair Covers' Real Bride before she joined the company! 



We adored Kristy's classical style and thought we would share some photo's with you as she tied the knot with the lovely Rob at Lumley Castle.

The Bride and Groom at Lumley Castle

Kristy (then Small) left her family home in Stocksfield in a Horse Drawn Carriage to her parish Church in Bywell with her father. 

Horse and carriage at St Peters

Kristy and her father

The Bride wore a Sophia Tolli wedding dress from Rosina Brown Bridal in Stocksfield and Dune Bridal Shoes with a lucky silver sixpence fixed to the bottom of the right shoe!

The Bride's Dune Shoes

Sophia Tolli Bridal Gown

St Peter's Church gates were covered in beautiful flower displays, inside of the church was adorned with cream Roses and Hydrangeas from the Brides family garden for a wonderful service conducted by Rev. Bill Rigby.

St Peters Gates

St Peters


The wedding reception was held in the Barons Hall at Lumley Castle in Durham. The room was decorated by Simply Bows and Chair Covers with side bows of Bronze organza and matching gold charger plates. The table centre's were created by Wedding Flowers For You and the By Wendy designed the table stationary, table plan and wedding invitations.

Lumley Castle- Bronze side Bows

Barons Hall, Lumley Castle
Gold Charger Plates and By Wendy Staionary

 The Bride and Groom had a wonderful day before jetting off on Honeymoon to Dubai followed by a tour of China!


Kristy and Rob

On honeymoon in China! Lol!

Would you like Simply Bows and Chair Covers to make your wedding extra special? Contact us now for more information via our website contact page.

Thursday 14 July 2011

Simply Historic: Durham Miners Gala

The Durham Miners' Gala is a large annual gathering held on the second Saturday in July in the city of Durham. It is associated with the coal mining heritage of the Durham Coalfield, which stretched throughout the traditional County of Durham. Its highlights consist of banners, each typically accompanied by a brass band, which are marched to the old Racecourse where political speeches are delivered. In the afternoon a Miners' service is held in Durham Cathedral followed by the Miners Gala Dinner.

1965 Durham Miners Gala
 
Simply Bows and Chair Covers were delighted to dress this years Gala Dinner at Durham Marriott and I'm sure you will agree the photos look fabulous!

Miners Gala Dinner 2011

Miners Gala Dinner 2011

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Simply Racing Splendour: Northumberland Plate Day

This year between the 23rd and 25th June Simply Bows and Chair Covers were delighted to dress the prestigious Northumberland Plate Day at Newcastle Racecourse.



Newcastle Racecourse is located within the 812 acre estate of High Gosforth Park and only 5 miles from the City Centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne. Northumberland Plate Day is always a fabulous event but this year it was even bigger and better! Each marquee was themed by each of the Sponsors and dressed in either their corporate colours or theme of their choice.

Hadrian Healthcare Box- Royal Blue and Gold

CMP Marquee- Black and Gold Side Bows

Black and Gold Side Bows close up

Cornel Porter Suite- Royal Blue

John Smiths Marquee- Hunter Green and Ruby Red alternate tables

Diamond Marquee- Black and Gold theme

Tarmac Marquee- Emerald Green and Yellow side bows


Monday 11 July 2011

Simply Northern: Photoshoot with some of the leading wedding suppliers in the North of England

Well... you have now seen the behind the scenes video and at last I bring you the photos of the Brides up North photoshoot where some of the North's leading wedding suppliers got together for an fun and quirky film noir inspired vintage shoot.



















These fabulous photographs were taken by the very talented Mandy Charlton Photography and Emerson Photography and please find more information on the suppliers involved below.






Photography
.
Videography
.
Beauty
Make Up: Leeanne Bennett
.
Wedding gowns, shoes and accessories
.
Accessories
.
Models
Julia – Brides Up North
.