An Essex Wedding - Page number 51 - November/December 2021 (Issue 101)

UNITES Love After the difficulty of the last 18months for the industry, local suppliers collaborate on this gorgeous shoot to celebrate the return of our wonderful wedding sector Images courtesy of Happy Hippie Photography S hoot coordinator, florist Gillian Fautley of Courts of Rayleigh, was inspired by all the businesses that faced adversity due to the pandemic which heavily affected the wedding industry. “For many in the industry, it wasn’t just about the inability to open our shops, but the wider impact on the industry itself and especially for those independent speciality businesses such as make-up, hair, cake makers, DJs and entertainment companies that literally had nothing, no bookings and no income.” shares Gillian. Gillian was determined to find a way to work together with other affected businesses to promote their services and help to build confidence in the wedding industry again, particularly within Essex itself. Having exhibited at many wedding fayres, and armed with previous photo shoot experience, Gillian pooled together a number of local contacts, several of whom she had previously worked with, and booked a photo shoot at The Lawn, a beautiful Georgian wedding venue situated in Rochford. “All the businesses taking part agreed that the day had the feel of a proper wedding. More importantly, the shoot enabled us to reconnect with each other face-to-face, something we had all missed along with the opportunity to make new industry contacts and to share how we had each adapted to overcome the lockdown experience.’’ adds Gillian. LOCAL INSPIRATION 51