Giddy Girl's World: Friday the 13th : Terrifying & Terrific at The Wedding Ideas Awards 2012

Friday 13th January 2012 The Jury's Inn Bar Islington.
There we were ice cold beer in hand, child-free for the day, having a relaxed chat. We had travelled down to London the day before but now the Wedding Ideas Awards were only hours away and the discussion turned to 'our chances'
According to Steve we only had a 1% chance of winning so I shouldn't get my hopes up. 'I know' I said 'But what if we actually WON!?' We laughed a lot that afternoon and although winning an award would be spectacular I knew it was a long shot...we found it quite amazing that we had once again reached the final of our category. Little old Giddy kipper...surely there had been some mistake??

Back in November after a stressful and upsetting morning at hospital with baby Charlie, I received a phonecall from Lucinda at Wedding Ideas magazine. It was lovely to hear from her but surprised as I was still on maternity leave. She absolutely made my day when she announced that we were finalists in the Best Special Touches category! I couldn't believe it...
So like I said there we were only hours away from the awards, posh dress and sparkly shoes at the ready - I was going to enjoy the party whatever happened!
6.45pm came around quickly and once we had collected the lovely Charlie from Cherry Pie Lane (who had travelled down with her husband and gorgeous little girl) we hopped in a taxi to The Brewery. My stomach was in knots as we entered the building - the magazine staff were waiting to greet everyone and then there were photos...it was all very overwhelming, I needed a cocktail!

The reception was over in a flash and we made our way to Table 16 to join the Toastmaster Richard, Laura from Lobster Love, Photographer Adele and her mum and Colin from Wedding Ideas Magazine. It's such an exciting atmosphere at the awards and I was able to let my hair down a little this year as last year I had been 20 weeks pregnant! The wine flowed, the meal was delicious and then suddenly it was time for the main event.

Comedian Rob Deering was our host and he was just brilliant! He did a hilarious routine before the award ceremony began and the atmosphere was fantastic.

me looking like a lunatic with Rob Deering

The lovely Rachel with Toastmaster Richard

Then it happened....

The first few categories went past in a bit of a blur (was delighted to see the fabulous Emma Case win Best Photographer) but my heart was pounding as they reached Best Special Touches category. Just seeing 'Giddy kipper' up there on the big screen made us so proud. Myself and Steve sat facing the stage with our hands poised ready to applaud the winners..."And the winner is....GIDDY KIPPER"....I almost fell off my chair!! It is the most shocked I have ever been and it took me a minute to actually stand up. Steve said he felt like someone had punched him in the stomach...he was as shocked as I was!

I cannot describe that moment...it was so surreal but we were ecstatic! Having to walk up those stairs and give a speech in front of 350+ people from the wedding industry was terrifying!! In my panic I forgot to mention Catherine & Charlotte back at GK HQ! Thankfully I did remember to thank Wedding Ideas (they have been amazingly supportive)..I even included my Mum & Dad but they were definitely worth a mention too!

As you can see from this clip, I was a little under-prepared....

The rest of the night was amazing - so many wonderful people congratulated us and we smiled our faces off and tried to take it all in. We chatted to Mrs Giraffe aka Rachel Southwood who is one of the loveliest people ever!

We partied with Ellie (from Ellie Sanderson Boutique) and Kirsten (The Little Wedding Helper) We drank and partied with Charlie (Cherry Pie Lane) Laura (Lobster Love) Adele (Blue Lights Photography) and Alison (Plans & Presents). We met the gorgeous boys from Creatiques and the fabulous wedding planner Julie Tooby (love her!!) Big hugs for the super lovely Lucy Ledger (Lucy Ledger Design) and Rebecca (Chez Bec) who both won their categories too.