The
Judging Panel

Damian Bailey
Founder of The Wedding Industry Awards
Wedding Photographer (www.damianbailey.com)

Damian is an Award winning wedding photographer. He shoots weddings all over the country, every weekend. No one sees more of a wedding than the photographer. From when everyone is getting ready right through until when everyone goes home, Damian’s job is to see everything. Damian not only has an intimate knowledge of how weddings work, he also sees a wide range of wedding suppliers week in, week out.

Annabel Beeforth
www.lovemydress.net

Love My Dress was established in 2009 by newlywed and blogger, Annabel Beeforth. In just 20 months, Love My Dress has established itself as one of the UK’s leading influential Wedding Blogs, offering daily inspiration to Brides to be and industry professionals. Love My Dress now gets over 150,000 unique visitors each month and Annabel regularly writes in many industry publications.

Miranda Easson
Editor, You & Your Wedding Magazine
www.youandyourwedding.co.uk

Miranda became Editor of Cosmopolitan Bride in December 2007. She then became Editor of The Wedding Group (both Cosmopolitan Bride and You & Your Wedding) on 1st December 2009. She remains Editor of You & Your Wedding Magazine and is a highly respected expert in the wedding industry.

Sarah Haywood
www.sarahhaywood.com

Sarah Haywood is internationally acknowledged as one of the world’s premier wedding planners and designers; sought by celebrities, leading public figures, and nobility. She is the UK’s top-selling Bridal author, making her ‘Wedding Bible’ an indispensable source for couples since its publication in 2006. Sarah was established as the go-to International commentator for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton; She was CNN’s expert on the day of the wedding, and appeared on every continent and television network in the days preceding the royal nuptials. Sarah recently launched The Ultimate Wedding App for BlackBerry, Android, Nokia, and iPhone. Now every bride and groom can have at their fingertips the luxury of this world-class professional to help them plan their perfect day.

Sarah Hewson
Sky News Presenter

Sarah Hewson presents Boulton & Co on Sky News every weekday lunchtime and is also the channel’s Royal Correspondent.

2011 was a year dominated by weddings for Sarah with Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s marriage, followed a few weeks later by her own.

When the royal couple’s engagement was announced, Sarah joined them for a cup of tea at St James’ Palace, where Prince William teased her about a possible date clash.

Fortunately there was no such clash and on April 29th, Sarah was at Buckingham Palace anchoring Sky’s coverage of the royal wedding alongside Eamonn Holmes.

Sassi Holford
www.sassiholford.com

Leading English designer, Sassi Holford, creates classic wedding gowns with a contemporary edge. Exquisite lines and sumptuous fabrics echo the bride’s own style, and nothing is spared in the structure and the detail to provide the renowned Sassi Holford cut and fit – all the gowns are handmade by her first class team in her studios in Somerset. Sassi Holford is widely regarded as one of the world’s best wedding dress designers and is stocked by the most exclusive dress boutiques across Britain and overseas

Sandy Moretta
UK Alliance of Wedding Planners
www.ukawp.com

The UK Alliance of Wedding Planners was founded for one purpose: to promote professionalism in wedding planning. The company believes that by investing in training and development and helping to grow the wedding planning industry in a professional manner that we can together provide an outstanding and unparalleled service for today’s brides and grooms.

Sandy Moretta launched Tern Events (previously known as TIPTOP Weddings & Parties), based in Tring, Hertfordshire 8 years ago, following a 12 year career in marketing, which provided an excellent background in project management and creative thinking. She has been planning and managing weddings since. Sandy has a reputation for excellent organisation, creativity and attention to detail. Sandy is well known within the industry and writes for various websites, speaks frequently on the radio and in 2010 appeared on the TV series ‘Three Grand Weddings’ on Wedding TV.

Peggy Porschen
www.peggyporschen.com

Peggy is one of the best known Cake designers in the UK. Renowned for irresistibly pretty and elegant designs that are not only visually stunning but also taste delicious, Peggy has acquired an enviable client list including many celebrities, Royals and members of high society. Peggy is widely known to have redefined the art of modern sugar craft. She opened the Peggy Porschen Parlour in London’s Belgravia in 2010 followed by Peggy’s Cake Accademy, London’s first cookery school entirely dedicated to baking, cake decorating and sugar craft, in 2011.

CONSULTANT JUDGES

Due to the wide ranging nature of the wedding industry, the main judging panel will consult with the following industry-specific experts to ensure that every angle is taken into account.

Caroline Marshall–Foster
Publisher of Florist & Wholesale Buyer
www.fandwb.com

Caroline Marshall–Foster is Publisher of Florist & Wholesale Buyer (www.fandwb.com), the only independent trade magazine for the UK retail flower industry, and Acting Chairman and Spokesperson for the Flowers and Plants Association (www.flowersandplants.org.uk), the flower industry’s public communications service.

Natalie Donovan
www.natalieodonovan.com
www.twobytwoweddings.com

Natalie O’Donovan launched Two by Two Weddings in 2002. Heralded as “The ultimate in stationery” Natalie’s collections have dominated the wedding stationery market for almost a decade. Her work has been featured in Brides, You and Your Wedding, Wedding Day, London Weddings, Vogue, Tatler, Wedding Venues & Cosmo Bride.

Julie Askew
Editor, Cake Craft & Decoration Magazine
www.cake-craft.com

In 1982 former chef Julie Askew started her own bespoke cake decoration business from home after the birth of her first son, and shortly afterwards began teaching cake decoration for local colleges. After winning awards for her designs at British Sugarcraft Guild and Salon Culinaire competitions, she was approached to become a regular contributor for Cake Craft and Decoration magazine. In 2006 Julie was invited to become editor of the magazine, and is now also a regular judge at national and international cake shows.

Clare Gould
www.english-wedding.com

The English Wedding Blog was born in November 2009 to showcase what makes weddings in this country so great. The site is updated daily and is full of inspiration and advice for brides in the UK and for anglophile brides overseas. With a unique perspective from inside the UK wedding industry, English Wedding also focuses on the brightest and best new talents in all aspects of wedding design, with a special focus on real weddings by the UK’s finest wedding photographers.

Julia Braime
www.bridesupnorth.co.uk

Professional wedding blogger Julia Braime knows weddings, having grown up as daughter of a wedding planner and hotelier at one of the North’s most prestigious wedding venues. In it’s first year, Brides Up North has skyrocketed in popularity and profile to become one of the most visited wedding blogs in the UK - and is the only top bridal blog especially for Northern Brides - offering a double daily dose of real and celebrity wedding inspiration, bridal fashion, supplier showcases, discounts, giveaways and more.

For more details on the judging process click here