First National Wedding Industry Awards at Claridge’s

Over 300 people from the wedding industry gathered together yesterday at the first National Wrapit Wedding Industry Awards, sponsored by Condé Nast Brides and Wedgwood, in association with the National Wedding Show.

The glamorous Awards ceremony final took place at Claridge’s in London’s Mayfair on Wednesday, 20th February, and was organised by wedding planners Smith & Niemierko. Set in the mirror ballroom at Claridge’s with Laurent Perrier champagne flowing until the early hours of the morning, the crème de la crème of the wedding industry celebrated their success.

It followed three regional ceremonies in Birmingham, Manchester and London in January where the finalists had been announced. The winners have been voted for by brides and grooms who have used their service, so excellent customer service was essential for anyone getting through to the final.

Pepita Diamand, Wrapit’s founder and retail director, says: “I am thrilled that the Wrapit Wedding Industry Awards have been such a success nationwide. We have had a fabulous response - the quality of the entries was extremely high and customers voted in the thousands. I am so pleased that the awards have proved that there is great customer service all around the country.”

The WINNERS in each category are:

BRIDAL DRESS RETAILER
Maria Modes Bridalwear Ltd. (Staffordshire)

BRIDAL DRESS DESIGNER
Ritva Westenius (London)

BRIDAL ACCESSORIES
By Harriet (East Yorkshire)

WEDDING VENUE
Burghley House (Lincolnshire)

WEDDING PLANNER
Tania-Tapel Ltd (Leicestershire)

FLORIST
Cindy Kirkland at Creative Works (Surrey)

PHOTOGRAPHER
Keith Appleby Photography (London)

WEDDING CAKE
Little Venice Cake Co (London)

WEDDING STATIONERY
With Love….Wedding Stationery (Derbyshire)

WEDDING CATERER
Indulgence (Oxfordshire)

ENTERTAINMENT
5 Consultants and their Fish (Leicestershire)

HAIR & BEAUTY
Sarah Brock for Daniel Sandler (Wiltshire)

WEDDING CARRIAGES
Mechgem Luxury Wedding Cars Ltd (Kent)

MENSWEAR
Hugh Harris (Surrey)

SPECIAL TOUCHES
Artful Splodgers (Essex)

Details of the 2009 Awards will be available from early summer and those wishing to receive information should email wrapitawards@wrapit.co.uk with their name, email address and address.

To find out more about the winners, visit: www.wrapitawards.co.uk..

-end-

Wedding Industry Awards - The 15 categories are: Bridal Dress Retailer, Bridal Dress Designer, Bridal Accessories, Wedding Venue, Wedding Planner, Florist, Photographer, Wedding Cake, Wedding Stationery, Wedding Caterer, Entertainment, Hair and Beauty, Wedding Carriages, Menswear and Special Touches.

Size and number of clients are not key factors and the focus is on great customer service, so all suppliers – big or small, new or well established – have a chance of winning.

All wedding suppliers had to enter the Awards before their customers could vote for them. They had to demonstrate that they provide ‘outstanding service’, ‘excellent product quality’, ‘great value for money’ and that they have ‘the willingness to go that extra mile’.

Wrapit plc has 15 showrooms nationwide - in London’s West End and Wandsworth, Beaconsfield, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Canterbury, Darlington, Glasgow, Harrogate, Manchester, Newbury, Newcastle, Northampton and Norwich. It launched the most advanced wedding list website in the world in May 2001. This can be found at www.wrapit.co.uk

Through its ‘virtual department store’ Wrapit offers a wide product range. Couples can choose from over 400 brands and over 40,000 products, including all the leading brands as well as more unusual gifts. Wrapit prides itself on providing exceptional service. Each couple gets a personal consultant who provides help and advice from the beginning to end of the process.

This is supported by the online facility, which allows the couple to create and manage their list online although many prefer to create their wedding list with the help of their personal consultant over a glass of wine in the relaxed atmosphere of a Wrapit showroom.

The website also makes life easier for the guests, who can view, choose and purchase a gift online at any time and from anywhere in the world. Wrapit also caters for those guests who do not wish to buy online and copies of the list can be sent out and gifts bought over the phone or in person.

Pepita Diamand is happy to give tips & advice and talk about style trends. For a regular copy of Pepita’s Top 5 monthly gift selections see contact details below.

For further information and images, please contact Silke Lohmann, Wrapit PR department on 020 8877 6385 or 07932 618754 or slohmann@wrapit.co.uk.