Susan shall go to the ball....

We (Cuffe & Taylor) kindly received a Black Tie invite to the The Mayoress of Wigans annual Charity Ball, as guests of Wigan and Leisure Culture Trust last week.



Delicious Daniel Craig sporting Black Tie



 After the initial feeling of appreciation faded, I was faced with every woman’s nightmare….”Oh my Lord; what shall I wear?”

So as I worked out the amount of time I had to spend on my outfit, it dawned on me that I had hours, as opposed to days – weeks being my preferred option!!!

I had a few emergency options to fall back on – but I knew I was going to have to be creative with what was in my existing wardrobe, as I did not have the luxury of time to do an emergency shop or what is realistically known as an ‘impulse buy’!!!

So just to be sure that my emergency options were in with a chance of being suitable, I checked with Debrett.



The Infamous Debrett logo



Debrett's is the modern authority on all matters etiquette, taste and achievement, and have led the way for the past two centuries.

According to Debrett – “The dress code for an evening occasion will usually be specified as white tie, black tie or, less frequently, lounge suits.

White tie is the most glamorous and formal of eveningwear, and is usually reserved for official functions such as state banquets and ambassadorial functions. Ladies would usually be expected to wear a ball gown.

Black tie can be used to describe formal evening dress generally, but it requires a black dinner suit with a white dress shirt and black bow tie. For ladies, a cocktail dress - long or short is appropriate.

For ladies, a smart dress - such as a cocktail dress - is appropriate. It can be long or short, as long as it's not too short. It need not be black.” (Phew!! – this was exactly what I wanted to read!)

Thankfully my creativity, lack of time, and reference to Debrett all paid off, and I didn’t stick out like a sore thumb, the ladies were all dressed in an even mix of ball gown and cocktail attire. Result!!

I do think it is so much easier for men when it comes to adhereing to Dress code - but despite Black trouser suits / tuxedos being pretty much the same, it is the bow tie that sets them apart. True to form - Mr Peter Taylor - aka @upnorthpromoter is never willing to be outdone, and proudly wore a hot fuscia pink and purple number.

Note to self – always be on the lookout for an emergency dress, just in case this happens again!!

It is that wonderful time of year  - Award Ceremony Season - when industries come together to recognise and celebrate that years contributions, and we are very proud to have been nominated for Best Small Festival for Lytham Proms Festival Weekend.

The reason why I like these awards is because the public vote for the winner rather than industry experts, who are generally looking at the entry from a different angle.



"Can't find Lytham Proms Festival Weekend"

 But how do you encourage people to vote??

When asking a question like that, I always put myself in those shoes and wonder how I would respond?!

My first reaction is - how much time is this going to take me? because if it is too long winded, it would not matter if it was the best event I had attended to date, I aint doing it.

Luckily the UK Festival Awards voting system is quite simple though it does have a few steps to go through to get to the final submission page - but by breaking down the steps and adding a screen shot here and there, it makes it easier for people to vote for you.

The next thing is...
How do we get the thousands of people that came and enjoyed Lytham Proms Festival Weekend to vote for us?

Obviously we are only ever going to be able to reach a certain percentage of those who attended, but website and social media certainly help.

So here are my 4 quick steps to vote for Lytham Proms Festival Weekend to win Best Small Festival

STEP 1 - Click on the link below:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ukfa2012

STEP 2 – Click the drop down box for BEST SMALL FESTIVAL

STEP 3 – Choose LYTHAM PROMS FESTIVAL WEEKEND

STEP 4 – Scroll down and enter your details and click DONE

All done

Decisions, decisions...

It is that time of year when all the tickets for winter tours and 2013 dates go on sale, and having an avid interest in concerts in general I struggle deciding who I will go and see and who I won’t!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I would go to them all if I could, but there are the obvious constraints, like location, travel, and not forgetting the main one cost!!



Delicious Rick - Lytham Proms 2012



So how do I decide which artist / band to see and who will I go with?

Again the latter is laced with issues – I consider myself very blessed to have a plethora of different groups of friends and some are just couples and some form a larger group – so who do I ask?

Ultimately, if I make the suggestion – and given my occupation as Head of Operations for an Event Management organisation – I am assumed to take on the arranging of the whole thing, from purchasing the tickets to arranging travel to and from etc, and to be honest it can sometimes be easier to organise an outdoor concert myself; rather than organise attending one with my group of friends. Sometimes, I just want someone to organise it for me….so I just have to turn up

I see concert tickets as the perfect gift whether it be Christmas, birthday or even just a surprise but seeing as I also want to share the experience, I am met with the age old issue of who to ask!

 

Firework Finale - Lytham Proms 2012



So once I have got through all of the above dilemmas, I now have to purchase the tickets – the nervous anticipation of not getting a good seat – or worse still, none at all as it sold out in 0.000009 seconds!!! How does this happen???!

But it is  worth all the hassle when you are there, engulfed in the electric atmosphere of a live music event, with the thousands of people all sharing the same interest….such an addictive hobby.

And so the circle continues when you learn of the next tour or performance that you want to attend.. how do I decide amongst them and who will I go with?...

Decisions…decisions