I am proud to announce that I have updated my blog finally and have a new and improved website for you all to view. Please head over to www.styleyourevent.uk.com to catch up with the latest news from Style Your Event. I really hope you like my new page.
http://www.styleyourevent.uk.com

Back from a year of writers block!

For those of you still reading my blog I am back from a year of finding myself and have come back as a much more positive, confident and determined person. Life is always going to throw difficult and heart breaking situations your way but it is the way you deal with these situations that makes you a stronger person. I have to say without the support of my family and friends I would not be in such a good place, so thank you to those who read this post. 

It is always said that time fly's by and although its been a tough year it has been an extremely hard working one to. 

I thrive on challenges and nearly a year ago today I was given the opportunity to become a Director for AJW Distribution. I completely appreciate that this is an opportunity that I am extremely lucky to be given; as this is my Dad's business which he has built up from nothing over the past 20 years. This role is one where I could develop new skills and also use my organisational skills to develop new procedures for the company, organise the offices and also develop new areas of the business. The past year has been totally non-stop and one I have loved every minute off. It has helped me grow my confidence within my work life and for the first time ever I have had the confidence to stand my ground on my ideas as I knew that my family would listen.

Although I have given up my career choice of being an Event Manager for this role I feel it is the best decision I have ever made. I have developed skills I never knew I had and am continually developing as a person. With the best part of my working day being able to work with my Dad and brothers on a daily basis. 

My next personal challenge is to grow and develop this blog which I thoroughly love writing for myself and for those who are looking for inspiration for their event. 

Watch this space for weekly updates and I promise this time I will keep this blog updated. 

Charlotte xxx

Style Your Event takes on the challenge of Mudderella

On Saturday 30th August I achieved something I would never have thought I could have done, I took part in my first ever Obstacle Course Mudderella and I loved it. I think I may have caught the bug for these challenges and am already thinking about which one to do next. 


It was back in February that we decided to sign up for Mudderella as a challenge for the girls at work. Although some thought we were slightly mad I took it as a chance to get fitter and to push myself to achieve something I would never have thought I could do. So the training began and I joined a local bootcamp the amazing Fortitude Fitness as they have the first and only obstacle course in Cambridge. Although I found the sessions hard they are a great challenge and one which I will continue to work at to improve my fitness each week. If you are local to Cambridge and love fitness then book yourself in for a session, check out there website below. 

http://www.fortitudefitnesscentre.co.uk

Back to Mudderella we arrived about an hour before our 12 o'clock start time so we signed in and got ready for this challenge. This was the first ever Mudderella in the UK so we expected it to be an awesome event and they didn't disappoint. The facilities were impressive with even a make-up tent so we could decorate our faces before we became covered in MUD! 

We kicked off our Mudderella experience with a 15 minute warm up, which psyched us all up for the start of this event. Although we had spent time studying the website we were not quite sure what to expect as none of us had taken part in an arranged obstacle course event like this. As with any race the first part is always the hardest getting used to running especially up hill (you don’t get many hills in Cambridge) and getting into a pace which works for each of us. The first obstacle I have to admit was one I found the hardest the ‘wheelbarrow’. Debbie stormed this but I just couldn’t get the hang of it, I certainly need to work on my upper body strength after such a failed attempt at such a simple exercise which as a kid I would have found easy!

The rest of the obstacles were just great fun, we ended up coated in mud and rather wet. The funniest one was the‘50 shades of Mud’, this consisted of around 10 mounds of mud with each one followed by a ditch of muddy and stinky water. The only way to do this because of how slippery they each were was to slide into the water then climb out and onto the next mound. The end result was hilarious we were coated in mud from waist to foot and we didn’t smell too pleasant either. The rest of the obstacles included a selection from this link. http://mudderella.com/obstacles/

The final obstacle which I must admit we all found hard was the ‘Hat trick’. This consisted of us climbing up a cargo net then up a ladder, the only way down was down a steep slide and into a pool of dirty muddy water. The reason we found this so hard I think was due to the amount of time you were under water and also the coldness of the water. I must say I was glad this was the last obstacle as otherwise I would have found it hard to continue.

  

At the end of the race we were presented with our Mudderella headbands which we all wore with pride!

http://mudderella.com/obstacles/

Style Your Wedding

Over the past 16 months I have had the pleasure of realising one of my ambitions of becoming an Event Manager for a well known Wedding venue 'South Farm' in Cambridge. I have learnt some invaluable skills and also seen some amazing Wedding ideas. Although I had to give up running Weddings when I took on a full time role last October I did however continue to work at 'South Farm' showing further Bride & Grooms around the venue. This was only ever a couple of shifts a months and was always great fun it never felt like work as everyone I met was so excited to be visiting the venue. I have decided to give up this casual work though and so I wanted to say thank you to South Farm for giving me the chance to realise an ambition of mine and it was a huge pleasure to learn these skills at such a well respected and relaxed venue.

South Farm have been running Weddings for a number of years now and have perfected the planning and running of every Wedding. When I was the Event Manager for Weddings last year many people would comment that they would hate to do such a job and say it must be such a stressful role. Yes it was stressful to ensure that the day runs perfect for the Bride & Groom, anyone who says it isn't would be lying however South Farm is such a relaxed venue and the staff who support you during the running of the Wedding made this job an absolute pleasure to have experienced. The organisation behind ensuring each Wedding goes perfectly can not be faulted, the use of the Wedding planner which I referred to as the 'Bible' for the day is created to ensure there is no room for errors on the Bride & Grooms special day.

As a creative individual I loved to see what themes and ideas each bride would use for on their special day and I have to say I have seen some amazing ideas over the past nine months, with the most popular theme being 'Vintage'. A lot of bunting has been put up and taken down, with one Bride using fabrics from her life as the flags these were taken from old bedding, clothing and other personal items (what a lovely personal touch) The most popular flowers I have seen are wild looking flowers in jam jars some Brides adding candles to the tables whilst some painted jam jars and others wrapping them in tea stained paper. Even though this has been a constant theme I have seen through-out the last sixteen months everyone puts their own individual twist on the idea, which is lovely to see.

One Wedding which sticks in my mind and one idea which I use when I am talking the potential Bride and Grooms around the venue is an actual 'Fete' which guests could use after the Wedding Breakfast and before the evening party. So much effort was put into this idea the games included hook a duck, Coconut shy and Splat a rat. I wish I had photos to show you but I have found some great ideas on the internet below.

Although I will be sad not to be able to visit this venue every month I am pleased to be getting my weekend back to myself, hopefully it will mean I can spend more time on my blog which is being rather neglected at the moment. I will ensure I stay in touch with how the venue is developing by reading their blog and following them on Facebook as is it great way to see how one venue can be tailored to suit each Brides and Grooms personal style.

http://www.south-farm.co.uk/weddings/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/South-Farm
http://www.southfarming.co.uk

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to the most amazing Dad a daughter could ask for. So kind and thoughtful so generous and so caring I have definitely been blessed with one in a million I could not ask for a better Dad (or Mum for that matter) My parents are both truly amazing xxxx 

World Cup Fever 2014!

As the World Cub begins in true brit style I am sure we are all optimistic that this year could be the year! I love the way the whole country gets behind such an amazing sporting event; and this comes from someone who is not interested in football at all.  I will however be watching every England match where possible and have even entered the draw at work so am also behind Italy, Holland and Bosnia Herzegovina. Although having said this I am behind England all the way on Saturday night. 

As a proud nation I a sure there are a lot of you out there who will be planning a World Cup party over the next few weeks. So here are a few ideas to create an over the top 'World Cup Party'! I am sure there are ways to make it classy however thinking about it I am not sure that many blokes out there would care for a classy world cup party. 

As you can imagine there are hundreds of pages on the web where you can buy flags, bunting and various other World Cup goodies from. Here are just a few ideas which I have found, follow the links below to buy your goodies for your very own 'World Cup Party'.

http://www.peeks.co.uk/football-world-cup-2014/football-decorations
http://www.partypacks.co.uk/international-event-bunting-cid16455.html
http://www.partydelights.co.uk/themes/pinata-standard-pinata.aspx
http://www.partydelights.co.uk/football/england-party-supplies.aspx?pmo=pafootballparty

A 'Style your Event' party would not be complete without cupcakes. So why not purchase some of the below goodies and make your own World Cup cupcakes. These are a great way to keep the kids occupied and also a way for you all to get involved in World Cup Fever. Click on the link below to purchase any of these ideas. https://www.cakecraftshop.co.uk/shop/777/692/

For further inspiration take a look at this amazing World Cup party page on Pinterest it is full of many individual and exciting ideas. 

http://uk.pinterest.com/whittakerfamily/world-cup-party/

Good luck England your Country is behind you and to everyone else enjoy the many celebrations over the next month! #Worldcup2014

Style your Flower Clubs 50th Anniversary

My Mum is an amazing lady and an extremely creative one which I am sure is where I get my love for being creative from. As part of the local flower arranging club she has asked me to help plan their 50th Anniversary. I was honoured to be asked as I love to help my Mum out where possible and like to make her proud.


The theme has already been picked by the 'Eversden & District Flower Club' committee so I have been given the theme 'Afternoon Tea' to work with. They have a demonstration by Christopher White planned for the evening called 'The Beauty of Nature' so I will look at combining these two themes together in the decorations, invites and extras which I suggest for the celebration.
I have found these amazing decoration ideas on Pinterest below and so proceeded to put together a mood board for my Mum to present to the flower club committee. 

Alongside my 'mood board' I also created a poster. I went for a basic design by using the stunning image of these beautiful flowers hanging in jam jars from Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/pin/153544668517069129/

The day came for my ideas to be shown to the committee and I am happy to say they loved my ideas and so the joy of decorating their event is mine. Further details about developing and creating my decoration ideas will follow with a write about how the event goes after the 5th July.