9 February 2012
wedding tweet-up
Last night I went to my second wedding tweet-up at the exquisite venue, The Manor, near Wellington, Somerset. 
It was hosted by the delightful, very welcoming, self-styled ‘Chimps’, Abi and Lisa of Marry Me Somerset, though a less chimp-like pair you’d be hard pushed to find.
I arrived a little early so that I could do a bit of drawing; at my first tweet-up a week earlier I felt a bit like I imagine speed-dating might be, as I had to rush for a train and try to meet as many people as possible in a short space of time. Not an easy task for the more reticent among us, but everyone I spoke to at both events was charming, interesting and passionate about their work. 
It was a little easier to hide behind my sketchbook, and it was a useful prop as no-one has heard of wedding and event illustration, and the best explanation of it is visual.
I arrived at the same time as Stephanie Maytham and her lovely mum, Glenise, who set about constructing a tower of pretty cupcakes before the ‘tweeps’ arrived.
From a niche in the hallway came the beautiful voices of Classical Songbirds, Jemma and Teresa whose pure, pretty singing gave me goose pimples!
After the speeches the celebratory cake made by Catherine Pope of Cake L’Amour was cut by the glamorous chimps, to mark a year of Marry Me Somerset.
Amongst the other ‘tweeps’ I spoke to AND managed to draw were Alexandra and Anna from Make Me A Dress, Jan Waters of JWBlooms and Lucy Wallace Photography.
The experience of both this week’s tweet-up at The Manor, and last week’s organised by Kirsten, The Little Wedding Helper at Goldbrick House in Bristol has confirmed in real life what I have been noticing online; that social media and tweeting seems to be all about sharing advice and experience, and even those claiming to be technophobes and luddites can come away from a ‘tweet-up’ with a warm glow.
