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Welcome to my first guest blog! This is a series where I invite other musicians or wedding suppliers to talk about their work. First up is the lovely Vicky who started her business Inviting Writing in September. Safe to say business is booming!
We met in the pub, and had such a relaxed and hilarious chat that Vicky immediately made me want to book her! Vicky’s background is in hotel and event management, including weddings. A newlywed herself, she knows exactly the stresses and strains that can go into planning a wedding and this makes her strive even more to make the lead up as easy as possible for her clients.
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 Brooksby Hall - Wedding Photography by Bill Haddon Welcome to the first of my guest blogs. I am going to feature a mixture of suppliers, musicians and wedding venues, to help you navigate the craziness of planning a wedding! The first guest is a beautiful venue in Leicestershire, Brooksby Hall. I first heard of Brooksby Hall as a college; it’s also the site for Brooksby Melton College. However, the grounds hold this gem of a 16th Century Hall and a 14th Century Church, which are completely unconnected to the College. I first visited for a Wedding Fair in October 2017 and have been back fairs ever since.  All set up for the ceremony - Wedding Photography by Bill Haddon The first booking I took at Brooksby was for a wedding in August of this year, so I’ll have to wait a while to actually play for a couple there! But the venue and staff have made such an impression on me that I knew I had to feature them early on in my blogging journey. Brooksby Hall is the perfect choice if you are trying to keep your costs down; you can have all the elegance and history of a large stately home, without the price tag. Their options range from £1200 to £4000. This includes rooms to suit up to 170 guests in the day and up to 400 in the evening; all your table linen and support from their wonderful staff. Their options are also very flexible, from a Friday night ‘Twilight Package’ is a great option, with the festivities starting at 5pm and going into the night. They also have a self-catering package so you can bring in your own caterer to use their kitchen; they only ask that you provide them with the necessary documentation!  Villiers Hall set up for the Wedding Breakfast - Wedding Photography by Bill Haddon The staff at Brooksby are just fabulous with the team headed up by Dean, Sally and Grace. They are all incredibly welcoming (I was even treated to a glass of prosecco from Dean at my last event there!) and do their utmost to make their suppliers comfortable and happy at their fairs – this can only extend to their customers for weddings. I have seen them work with brides and grooms and they do everything they can to make the day easy and stress free – who doesn’t want that?! Brooksby Hall has an extensive list of supplies, including musicians (such as myself!), photographers and venue dressers. I must at this point give a shout out to Inviting Writing, Photography by Bill Haddon, Elegance Weddings and Events and Premier Events. I met representatives from all of these lovely companies at a recent Open Evening and was blown away by their work. In short, Brooksby is a great option for those with a smaller budget but who would like all the attention to detail, elegance and history of a higher budget venue. Book now! brooksbyhall.co.uk/weddings/  Welcome to the first official blog post of Harriet Flather Musician.
I thought I’d use this opportunity to chat to you a bit about what makes up my life and what I enjoy, other than music. It’s very easy to forget that playing and teaching music is my job. Music has always been a huge part of my life – I started piano aged 5 – and have taken on a new instrument every so often to keep things interesting! Now, I specialise in woodwind and harp. I studied clarinet at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, one of the most awesome places on the planet. It’s so alive with music and drama and bursting with creativity, I loved my time there. I also studied saxophone there for a while and this led me down the path of musical theatre and to meet some truly wonderful people. While traversing the course of in-ear monitors, mics, vamps and button notes, I discovered the flute. Mainly because I had to! I was playing in “Legally Blonde” and my part had lots of flute so there was no getting out of it. I basically learnt to play the part in a month and then set about actually learning how to play the flute… I started harp aged 9 or 10, I can’t actually remember! To my parents’ annoyance I took to it very quickly and loved it. However, fast forward 8 years later and I had to make the decision between harp or clarinet. I chose clarinet. Having left university, having had a pretty horrific experience on stage (which I will blog about!) I realised I needed to create music in any way I could. Re-enter the harp. Once I sat down and played for a few weeks, I realised I hadn’t lost much of my technique. Now, I spend my weeks teaching all my instruments, playing saxophone in a big band, playing harp at weddings and functions and generally trying to be as creative as I can! It is a struggle to be a freelance musician in a rural area like Rutland but I hope I’m making it work! I’m willing to travel! Outside of my work, I love reading. I don’t read fast but I love to read. I’m also a keen baker (who isn’t these days) and I’m getting into cycling. I like National Trust properties, old cars, history and being outside when I can. I’m also on a mission to raise £5000 for Dementia UK at the moment – you can read all about this on my Fundraising page! So that’s me, Harriet. Hopefully that’s given you a little insight into how I got where I am today, there will be more I promise…! |
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March 2022
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