Oh my… this time last month the biggest wedding festival to hit Wales took place at The Glanusk Estate and we organised it! #Cwtchfest2016 was a huge success! I’m so happy the day itself went without a hitch.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

The sun shone, over a thousand attended, Cwtch Workshops were full, couples found & booked many of their wedding suppliers, live music by The iGency played throughout, lots of food and drink was consumed but most of all… a good time was had by all! That alone, makes it all worth while ~ Maria Farrelly (founder of Cwtch The Bride & Cwtchfest)

All photographs in this post are by the fabulous Owen Mathias Photography

Its fair to say, after months of planning we accomplished what was a truly magnificent day for engaged couples and Welsh Wedding businesses. My team and I are over the moon with the feedback we’ve received and cannot wait to get started on our next one… which is coming sooner than you may think :)

As you can imagine, putting on an event like this is impossible to do alone and I have a lot of people & businesses to thank.

My Cwtch Girls

(Myself and Lindsey grabbing a quick moment together during Cwtchfest)

A special shout out goes to Lindsey . I was only ever going to do another Cwtchfest if Lindsey did it with me. She’s my wing girl and when we get together, stuff happens :) She project managed the event which freed me up to push my ideas further and develop this event. She is a complete warrior, professional, all round superb human being and one of my good friends.

Now these ladies… are my cwtch girls. They are very special to me and I love them all dearly. Most of them were originally clients of mine (yes, I’ve photographed their weddings!) but we just couldn’t say goodbye afterwards. We’ve become such good friends over the years. They give up a lot of their personal time to work with me on Cwtch The Bride and collectively we are an awesome team. ALWAYS so much fun working together. If I was to ever get married again, I think i’ve found my bridesmaids!

Oh… and this year, we have an honorary Cwtch boy, Owen Mathias . Owen stepped in to photograph the whole event for us after we were let down at the last moment. I’d never worked with Owen before but what a man! not only was he professional but he was awesome throughout the day. His images are great, he fitted in with my team perfectly and oh how we all laughed so much! He joins the secret ‘Cwtch Boy’ team which is made up of all the awesome men that volunteered their time to cwtchfest. You’d have seen these guys mainly as parking attendants, security and stewarding. They are also mainly the husbands of The Cwtch Girls! My boys were also there (always eternally grateful for their help). My son Joe in particular, insisted on being part of the security team.

The Glanusk Estate

WOW. Working with The team at Glanusk has been nothing but a pleasure. I’ve loved every moment. I literally cannot fault this venue in any way. Not only is the Estate breathtaking from sunrise to sunset but the staff were just as excited as us in the lead up to the event. True professionals! Its also worth bearing in mind that it is also home to a lot of the staff and Family of Glanusk and I cannot thank them enough for their warm hospitality. I’m just trying to think up ways to go back! haha

These two images were taken by me the morning of Cwtchfest and then at sunset, after the event had finished. Such a beautiful place.

And this fabulous piece of drone footage was taken by Bears and Butterflies. It really does give you an incredible view of this beautiful Estate.

http://wordpress.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/CwtchFest_Drone.mp4

County Marquees

I’ve worked with County Marquees on a number of occasions now and each time it solidifies my opinion that they are quite simply THE BEST marquee company I have ever had the pleasure of working with. The speed in which the team erected the marquees amazed us, the size and quality of the tents themselves wowed everyone. But not only that, they were incredibly supportive throughout the whole planning of Cwtchfest and provided us with the magnificent huge marquee which allowed us to fill it with all the wonderful exhibitors. Take a look…

They also showcased a spectacular clearspan marquee. As the sunset, it just made it even more beautiful.

Tipi Events, Stretch Events, Herf Yurts, Bears & Butterflies and Goodyhoo Glamping

To all those brides that have things go wrong… seriously we know how you feel. when you are planning a big outdoor event thats very important to you, and the structures you’re depending on disappear… its not pleasant.

None of you will know that eight days before our event one of our major partners that were providing the Tipi, Stretch Tent and Bell Tents pulled out for personal reasons. ARGHH!! 8 DAYS BEFORE! I kid you not. Our stress levels hit a new high and panic well and truly set in. The three days that followed were nothing short of a world of stress that my team and I never want to revisit.

BUT WE DID IT! We pulled it off without you all knowing. After numerous phone calls and waiting patiently to see if anyone could help, the most incredible businesses we’d never worked with stepped in and saved the day. We cannot thank you Tipi Events , Stretch Event , Herf Yurts , Bears and Butterflies , Goodyhoo Glamping enough! You literally all saved the day!

An event such as Cwtchfest is only possible when great businesses collaborate and invest in a crazy idea.

There are many more thank you’s still to come but for now, take a look at the wonderful images captured throughout #Cwtchfest2016 by Owen Mathias Photography and I think you’ll agree, it was a flipping awesome day!