Wedding and party venue in Somerset
Description: A new wedding and party venue in Somerset set up by an established catering business
Service: Asset finance
Supplier: Bluestar Leasing
Telephone: 01420 481500
Website: www.bluestarleasing.com
Details: Bluestar Leasing recently helped a company with its new business venture of hosting corporate parties and weddings. The Somerset based business had many years’ experience providing catering for functions across the UK. After a very successful quarter the customer decided to expand by having their own venue to host from.
Bluestar secured the finance for a wide range of items including a marquee, catering equipment, heating and furniture from multiple suppliers. The cost totalled £30,000 + VAT and was placed on a three year term with no deposit required from the customer.
The finance was approved within 24 hours with a simple process and e-sign documents. No director’s guarantee was required and suppliers were paid in full on delivery.
Protecting working capital was key for the customer and by spreading the cost over 36 monthly payments of £980 the business achieved its goal. Since the launch in August the business has received a high level of bookings and the new venture looks to have a very successful future ahead.
Feedback: “Excellent service from start to finish – friendly and professional”.
Brinsop Court, Herefordshire
Description: Brinsop Court is a Grade 1 listed 12th Century moated manor house just outside Hereford City. It nestles within its own 800 acre estate and hosts multi day weddings and celebrations on an exclusive-use basis
Service: Wedding venue consultancy to increase bookings
Consultant: Kelly Chandler Wedding Consulting
Telephone: 01483 282858 / 07721 093566
Website: www.kellychandlerconsulting.co.uk/consulting-services
Details: The team at Brinsop got in touch and booked Kelly’s ‘Refine and Shine’ consulting service for established wedding venues. They were generally performing well as a business, still receiving a high volume of enquiries and taking a good number of wedding bookings. However, they knew that there was still room for improvement to increase sales.
Kelly spent time analysing Brinsop Court’s presence remotely (website, marketing and social media) then spent a day with the full team getting under the skin of the wedding business, reviewing physical features of the venue, logistics, the wedding showround process and the enquiry and sales process. Via open discussions on the day and the post-session report, Kelly identified key areas for the team to focus on and develop. Via monthly follow up phone sessions, she supported the team to prioritise their actions, keep moving forward and make the changes and updates needed. They did all of this during their busiest wedding time of the year (no easy task) and are now consistently seeing a huge uplift in quantity and quality of bookings.
Feedback: “Working with Kelly has restored confidence here at Brinsop Court. She provided us with clear and useful information that we’ve been able to implement and are already experiencing great results in just a few short months.
“At the end of August 2018, we had already exceeded our sales figures for the whole of 2017. With over four months to go to add to those figures we were beyond delighted with our results since working with Kelly. We are fully booked every weekend for private hire from the end of March to the end of September 2019. We are thrilled with this.
“Kelly has such a great understanding and so much knowledge from all her experience in the weddings and events industry. She has very kindly passed on all her tips, tricks and industry secrets which we have been so grateful for. She is always on hand to ask any questions, big or small, and provides honest feedback.”
Polhawn Fort
Description: Set above the secluded beach of Polhawn Cove in Cornwall, Polhawn Fort has outstanding sea and coastal views. Couples can choose to tie the knot inside the fort or go for a more bohemian vibe out in the venue’s summerhouse
Service: Wedding insurance
Supplier: Event Insurance Services
Telephone: 01425 470 360
Website: www.events-insurance.co.uk
Details: Polhawn Fort is a venue that caters for some stunning weddings on its grounds. The events team recommends to all wedding couples looking to book their venue that they take out wedding insurance. This is to safeguard against a variety of things; from failed photos, damage to wedding gifts, flowers and attire, to the worst case of cancellation or rearrangement of the wedding, as well as essential public liability cover.
A newly engaged couple had their hearts set on the beautiful location to celebrate their big day. However, in the run up to the wedding, the couple had to make the decision to cancel the wedding on the booked date due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances.
Fortunately, they had decided to take Polhawn Fort’s advice and took out insurance with Event Insurance Services. The pair contacted the claims teams and explained the situation stating that the wedding could no longer go ahead on the original date.
Event Insurance Services, along with the events team at Polhawn Fort, were able to help move the wedding to a later date, rather than cancel the wedding totally. Having the insurance in place meant that the bride and groom were able to rearrange the wedding without any financial impact to either themselves or the venue.
Feedback: Polhawn Fort said :“We recommend to all our wedding couples that they take out insurance for their wedding. Unfortunately wedding cancellations are not uncommon and things that are unforeseen do happen. Not only can insurance offer couples some protection should anything go wrong, but it can also save a lot of heartache and stress when things do. It also provides us as a venue some peace of mind knowing that the wedding couples have some extra financial security.”
