Blog - aimee dunne
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Today I have been mostly distracted by Pinterest. I knew this would happen, pretty pictures, easy to use, feels as though I've done lots of work... I am slightly addicted I have to admit and my efforts to date are only the beginning. It's a great way to show everyone ideas in a pretty visual way, which is useful for clients and suppliers, and its so easy to use which is really refreshing with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Blogs etc taking up an ever increasing amount of our valuable time. If you're not already a member, come and join the Pinterest party!
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Dear Blog, I have neglected you somewhat lately and I'm sorry. I have so much to say but wedding season is fast approaching and I have lots of lovely clients to make happy, so I've not been to see you quite as much as I'd like...
As well as preparing for wedding season and a number of parties we're planning, we had the pleasure of attending the UKAWP 2012 Wedding Planning Excellence seminar earlier this month. The seminar was a great opportunity for us wedding planners to spend two days with our colleagues, increasing our knowledge of the industry with a number of talks from industry colleagues, and to network and learn from each other. We had some great inspirational talks from speakers including Keren Lerner from Top Left Design, Marketing guru Tamsin Fox-Davies, and Business Coach Ray Hutchin from Cloud 9. We also learnt more on bridal trends from the lovely Ellie Sanderson (including a very interesting X Factor bridal show), had some lessons on etiquette from Jo Byrant of Debrett's, and a low down on mobile bars and marquees from Debbie Baisden of iBarco and Anthony Wickham of TT Tents.
After all that continued education we were treated to a fabulous dinner and reception drinks at the very lovely 30 Pavilion Road. Rumour has it that some planners carried on the evening with some roller-skating and further sampling of drinks but I'm admitting nothing (and I'm sure there's no photographic evidence)! Many thanks to Lloyd Dobbie for all of the images below and who also provided us with some insights into what photographers do behind the scenes.
WPE held at 51 Buckingham Gate. Venue styling by Wedding Creative. All flowers supplied by Euphoric Flowers and stationery from Cutture.
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Happy Valentine's Day from all at Aimee Dunne. Here's to lot's of Valentine's proposals and more and more 'I Do's'!
Tuesday, 07 February 2012
When I started this business, I started it out of my love for organising events. A love for being creative, a creative side that had been lost in a career in banking. I have a great business background, through years studying business and working in the corporate world, but I never quite thought about how this creative side and business side of me would merge to form what is now my new career. It is such an exciting path starting a new business, especially when it is driven out of passion for something you love, but sometimes you need to sit back and remember it is a business. This is often easier said than done.
On this journey I have come across the rather fantastic blog of Sean Low. Aptly titled '''The Business of Being Creative'. I quite often read this and feel like a big light has just been switched on above my head; it's quite scary how well Sean understands creative businesses and the challenges they bring.
One post I was reading recently is worth giving particular mention to - A Different Perspective. Without repeating what the post say's, I'm simply going to take advice from Sean and write a few honest words below. Deep breath, here goes...
After a few years of hard graft, harder than I imagined when I was dreaming of doing a job I love, I have weddings and events in my portfolio which I'm extremely proud of; because I worked damn hard on them, thoroughly enjoyed the time spent working with my clients, and I know I gave 110%. My business is what it is because I love what I do and I know I'm good at it. I work hard to understand the market and my clients; not because I have to but because I want to. I actually don't understand when I talk to people about events and wedding planning and they don't get as excited as me?! This excitement and passion mixed with my business background and acumen, which I am always grateful for, is why I think prospective clients should hire me. I would hire me. The time I spend fussing over the most ridiculously small details is incredible, but I am one of the few crazy people that love it and I know I can't stop myself going to these lengths for my clients because that's the person I am, and why I know I can't help but be good at what I do; it's just who I am. It's nothing but exciting, and incredibly fulfilling, to see the weddings and events I'm working on, to know that this is my business, I am very good at what I do and most importantly that I love what I do.
So there we go; not edited quite as much as I'd like and I could possibly work on this more, but Sean that's my attempt at some heart felt honesty!
Tuesday, 03 January 2012
Well what a welcome back to the office it was this morning, being blown here in gale force winds. Ok, ok, my office is at the end of my garden but still... A cup of tea and a wedding magazine later and I've recovered.
We did manage to have a lovely Christmas and New Year here at Dunne HQ, taking some much needed down time with the family, enjoying quite a few glasses of pink bubbles and more Quality Street than I wish to admit. I am very excited to be back in the office today, and to get going with all of our lovely 2012 weddings. Christmas and the New Year are always a popular time to pop the question, and why not say 'I Do' in 2012!
Saturday, 06 August 2011
Ok I'll admit I'm a little late on the blog post but I've been recovering from the celebrations and working on weddings for my lovely clients all week! Anyhow, this time last week I was getting ready for a special day for my husband Alan. Alan and I have had the pleasure of celebrating his Testimonial year at Millwall after proudly being at the club since he was just 10 years old. The year has been celebrated with a Golf Day, Poker Night, Dinner, and culminated with a Testimonial match against Charlton Athletic last Saturday at The Den and a well deserved 4 - 3 result. It was a very proud and humbling moment to see Alan walk onto the pitch with our two children, Lola and Shay, supported by all of the fans. Many thanks to all those at Millwall, Red Card Events, and anyone and everyone else including of course all of the fans, for your support throughout the year. Thanks also to The Bickley for the wonderful hog roast and champagne on the roof terrace following the match! Good luck to Millwall today at Reading, and for the rest of the season. To read more about the game click here.
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
I've just picked up a copy of Your Kent Wedding magazine and lovely to see my own comments in there on wedding transport. Lovely to be involved in the great local wedding magazine that showcases all of the gorgeous wedding venues and suppliers, and more, right on our doorstep!
Friday, 06 May 2011
We've received lots of kind words from the Irish Press recently and we were really pleased to read even more in The Irish World this week. With a nice little play on words from the recent and much talked about Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, this article touch's on our close links with the professional football industry and makes for quite an interesting read if we do say so ourselves. And what beautiful images and double page spread..one page is never enough for us! Many thanks to David Hennessy at the Irish World for putting the article together.
Saturday, 02 April 2011
We're always pleased to pick up our gorgeous copy of Brides magazine, but a little bit more so this month as we're delighted to be included in it. This months copy has a special Receptions CD-ROM included with lots of great information on how to create your perfect wedding reception; and if you have a look for suggested wedding planners you'll find us proudly included. Very pleased to be part of the UK's number one best selling bridal magazine!
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Happy St Patrick's Day! We're very proud of our Irish roots here at Aimee Dunne and we were absolutely thrilled to flick through the Irish Post today and see a wonderful article about the business. It's a real pleasure to be a part of the Irish Post, especially on St Patrick's Day. Many thanks to Fiona Audley who put the article together. Now I'm off to eat some soda bread and have a Guinness...
Monday, 14 February 2011
Just a very quick blog to wish all of our clients, colleagues, friends, followers and anyone else an extremely happy Valentine's Day. Hoping you all have a very relaxed and romantic day. And for all those getting engaged today (as we know what a busy day it can be for engagements), congratulations! Now I'm off to look for all my Valentine's surprises which I've yet to find...!? x
Friday, 11 February 2011
This time last week we were busy preparing for the UK Wedding Shows at the London Excel. To be more accurate we were tying our logos onto some rather cute tubes of love hearts with the help of red wine, although we did have a 1000 to prepare. All the hard work was well worth it and we met some fantastic couples needing help with planning their special day, and also some wonderful suppliers. The wedding industry is a wonderful one to work in and once again we were reminded of this by such a fantastic and enjoyable two days (although my feet were not agreeing by 5pm last Sunday)! Many thanks to More Production for the wonderful drapes they provided for our stand.
Sunday, 02 January 2011
We're very pleased to say we're currently one of the Exhibitors in Focus on The UK Wedding Show's Blog - The Glamorous Life of a Wedding Planner. Aimee Dunne will be at the UK Wedding Shows, Excel London, on the 5th-6th February..come and see us!
Monday, 18 October 2010
Delighted, again, to see Aimee Dunne in the September edition of the PFA Players Club. Players Club is the official publication of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA); circulated to all Professional Footballers in England, aswell as Chairman, Managers and former players. The high-profile, sport and lifestyle publication features interviews with those in the football industry, aswell as focusing on fashion, holiday destinations, cars, and everything associated with the glamorous lifestyle of the Professional Footballer. And for the lady readers it's not just all balls and egos, there's a great feature on London Fashion Week aswell as some rather glam bits on travel and lifestyle.
Thursday, 14 October 2010
We mentioned a few weeks back that we were proudly sponsoring one of the holes at Alan Dunne's Testimonial Golf Day. Well the day went without a hitch on 6th October, if you don't include Alan's teeing off! The sun even made an appearence at the wonderful London Golf Club in Ash, Kent. The Golf Day was the first of a number of events to kick off Alan's Testimonial year, in recognition of his 10 years spent at Millwall Football Club. The next event planned is a Poker Night on 14th December. Some photos of the Golf Day are below, and more are available to buy from Joanne Collins who was the official photographer on the day. Please contact us if you require more information regarding purchasing photos or for Poker Night tickets.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Ok, so I won't lie; I wouldn't know one end of a golf club from the other. Nevertheless, we're proud here at Aimee Dunne to be sponsoring one of the holes for the upcoming Testimonial Golf Day for Alan Dunne, at the London Golf Club. The Golf Day will be held on 6th October to kick off Alan Dunne's Testimonial year, in recognition of his 10 years spent at Millwall Football Club. The London Golf Club, in Ash, Kent offers a striking golf course aswell as a wonderful venue for weddings and other various events in the sumptuous Kent countryside. Good luck to all those playing, especially Mr Dunne himself...
Monday, 07 June 2010
Today we are delighted to be featured as the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners (UKAWP) Member in Focus. We are fortunate here at Aimee Dunne to be an associate member of the UKAWP and are aware of the benefits this offers to us and our clients. The UKAWP was founded in order to promote professionalism in wedding planning. They aim to do this through training, mentoring, membership, business tools and their Code of Ethics to which all members adhere. To find out a bit more about Aimee Dunne as the Member in Focus have look at the UKAWP blog.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Today we were delighted to see Aimee Dunne in the PFA Players Club magazine. Players Club is the official publication of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA); circulated to all Professional Footballers in England, aswell as Chairman, Managers and former players. The high-profile, sport and lifestyle publication features interviews with those in the football industry, aswell as focusing on fashion, holiday destinations, cars, and everything associated with the glamorous lifestyle of the Professional Footballer. Look out for Wayne Rooney featured as the PFA's Players' Player of the Year as featured in this months issue. On the subject of football...not one to miss a plug here at Aimee Dunne, we hope you'll all be watching Sky Sports 1 tonight at 7.30pm and hoping for a nice result for Millwall which will keep quite a few people in the Dunne household happy!
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Hello, and welcome to our new blog! Thanks for popping by. We are very excited that all our planning and hard work has paid off and our blog is now live. Here at Aimee Dunne we specialise in creating stylish and sophisticated weddings and events and we pride ourselves on being perfectionists and obsessed with detail. We provide various wedding services from venue searching to full wedding design and management, aswell as corporate events and any type of celebration you can think of. Based in Beckenham, Kent, we cover Central London, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and further afield.
Bad design is not something we really have time for! We like the pretty things in life, those little details that make you smile, and I must confess to spending much of my time looking for these pretty things. It all helps to create ridiculously beautiful events though; those events that have guests talking for a long time after. We love the opportunity to meet new clients, understand what type of people they are and exactly what they want from their event and put into practice all of this knowledge, experience and our professionalism to help create truly magical events. We love our job!
We wanted to create this blog to help keep you updated with all that’s happening here, from recent weddings and events, design boards, creative ideas, wedding tips, new suppliers and any pretty things that catch our eye that we can’t help but share with you!
We hope you enjoy it and please contact us if you have anything you’d like to share.