Welcome to episode 12 of Season 2 of the Sugar Plum Bakes Wedding Business Podcast. This is the final episode of this season and for the finale, I am chatting to the very lovely Beth of Beth Haxby Cakes. Beth is a hugely talented cake designer and creates beautiful cakes and dessert tables for weddings in the UK. Beth has built up a business from scratch and her cakes are highly sought after for their elegant, delicate buttercream designs and for the care and attention she gives to her clients. I can always spot a Beth Haxby cake as she most definitely has a signature style which helps to attract her ideal client.

On this episode, Beth and I chat about the challenges of running a cake business, especially in the years following the pandemic. She also talks about how her business has evolved and rules she has in place to bring a form of work life balance to her life, to ensure that she has time to be a Mum to her young son. And since recording the podcast episode, Beth is now expecting her second child. Running your own business is very unique to each business owner and their wants and needs and that is the beauty of it as you can shape it to fit around you and your commitments. Beth is a great example of someone who is running her business on her terms and thriving. Success can mean so many different things to people, but clearly to Beth, a successful business for her is one that is profitable but one that also fits around her family commitments.

Beth shares her tips for how she’s grown her business, how she’s built connections within the wedding industry and how she’s become a preferred supplier in some wonderful British venues. If you’re a budding cake designer, and have an interest in branching into weddings, this episode will be really helpful to you.

Thank you to all of my guests that have taken part this season. And as always, my guests are open to being contacted so if you’d like to connect with Beth and see all her beautiful cakes, you can find her on Instagram @beth_haxby_cakes or on her website: https://bethhaxbycakes.com/.  As always, if you’d like to get in touch with me, my DM’s are always open on Instagram and if you have time, I’d be so grateful if you could rate and review the show.  And do subscribe if you would like to be kept posted on the next season going live!

Thank you so much, 

Vaani x

Sugar Plum Bakes Wedding Business Podcast
www.vaaniwadman.com
@vaani_wadman
@sugarplumbakeskingston

Welcome to episode 11 of Season 2 of the Sugar Plum Bakes Wedding Business Podcast, this is the penultimate episode of the season! And on this episode, my guest is the powerhouse that is the fabulous Faye Cornhill. If you are in the UK wedding industry, you will probably know of her already as she is such a well known figure and inspiration to the wedding creative community. But for those who aren’t familiar with her, Faye is a wedding photographer, a business coach, she is the founder of the Wedding Business Club and the author of ‘I Do’. This podcast episode was recorded earlier on in 2022 and on the recording Faye mentions an upcoming exciting project, which happens to be her charity: Lives in Focus which she co-founded with her  husband and launched this year.

Faye started The Wedding Business Club a few years ago to offer an educational hub and a community, where like-minded wedding creatives could come together to support each other and  learn from each other. During 2020 when the UK went through many lockdowns and spells of isolation, the Wedding Business Club was an invaluable virtual space to find comfort and advice. Faye herself was a huge support and a voice of reason and she recommended strategies that people could focus on to help keep their businesses strong and ride out the storm. Following on from those unprecedented times, The Club continues to grow in numbers and Faye continues to develop her offering to help support people new to business as well as those who are established. And she continues to inspire through how she lives her own life!

So yes, as you can tell from this introduction, Faye is very much a go-getter. She’s energetic, courageous, an unstoppable force and a much trusted and valued individual within the wedding industry. During the episode, Faye shares her knowledge and experience of running a wedding photography business and we talk about some of her strategies that she uses to keep her businesses organised and productive. We also talk about dealing with comparisonitis, imposter syndrome, how to work on your mindset to become stronger and believe in yourself, as well as facing your fears so that you can do the things that scare you. It's a jam-packed episode which I very much hope is of value to you.

I’m so grateful to Faye for coming on the podcast, I know her time is precious and it means a lot that she gave up her time to  to chat with me and generously share advice and talk openly about her experiences. If you would like to connect with Faye, you can find her on her website https://www.fayecornhillcoaching.co.uk/ and if you’re not following her already on Instagram, you can find her on @fayecornhill and do take a look at her charity too: Lives in Focus As always, if you’d like to get in touch with me, my DM’s are always open on Instagram and if you have time, I’d be so grateful if you could rate and review the show. 

Thank you so much! 

Vaani x

Sugar Plum Bakes Wedding Business Podcast
www.vaaniwadman.com
@vaani_wadman
@sugarplumbakeskingston

Welcome to episode 10 of Season 2 of the Sugar Plum Bakes Wedding Business Podcast. On this episode, I am chatting to the incredibly talented Elspeth Tull, the owner and founder of London-based Blume Studio. I feel like Elspeth exploded onto the scene with her floral heavy designs and signature style and not surprisingly has been named one of the UK’s best floral designers by both The Wed and Sheerluxe. I love her fresh and modern creations, her talent and skill are immense  and I can always spot her work as it’s so distinctive in colour and texture. 

Standing out in a very busy marketplace is no small achievement either and if you listen in to this episode, you’ll get an insight into Elspeth and understand how she steers clear of being influenced by social media content and stays true to herself and her creative process. For someone so new to business, Elspeth has certainly grown rapidly and has made savvy decisions that has enabled her to keep being visible and keep growing despite the pandemic. Through her work aligning with highly reputable brands, she in turn has boosted the credibility of her business and become a highly sought after floral designer. 

As I’ve worked on a few weddings with Elspeth, I’ve been able to see her florals first-hand and have experienced the beauty of her creations for myself. And those weddings have definitely been some of my favourites this year!

Elspeth is also recently engaged and is in the midst of planning her own wedding. So during the episode we also talk about the joys and challenges of planning your own wedding when you’re a when you’re a wedding creative yourself. It was really lovely to be able to hear her perspective as a supplier and a bride-to-be.

Honestly, Elspeth and I could have chatted all day and I feel like there were so many nuggets of great advice so I genuinely hope that you find this episode to be beneficial. Elspeth is full of energy and drive that I feel is infectious, and there are lots of takeaways for you to feel inspired by and things that you can also do for your own business. Do check out Elspeth’s amazing work on her website https://www.blumestudio.co.uk/ and if you’re not following her already on Instagram, you can find her on @theblumestudio. As always, if you’d like to get in touch with me, my DM’s are always open on Instagram and if you have time, I’d be so grateful if you could rate and review the show. 

Thank you so much! 

Vaani x

Sugar Plum Bakes Wedding Business Podcast
www.vaaniwadman.com
@vaani_wadman
@sugarplumbakeskingston