WHEN it comes to personalising your wedding, why would you not go for a business that was birthed out of creating their own special day.
Whitehaven’s Once upon a wedding began operating in 2016 after owner Cheryl Tinkler realised she had some extra time on her hands following her celebration.
"We got married in 2016, and it was very much a kind of DIY wedding, we did everything ourselves, every evening and every weekend was taken up with making stuff and once we got married, I was bored with the extra free time and I had so many people say they loved something I’d created and would you do me one,” she said.
The highly successful business which offers personalised gifts and wedding detailing currently operates from Cheryl’s spare room, but that hasn’t stopped her from selling 17,000 bespoke gifts across the world.
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"I do know I’ve only got one more state in America to go, so if you know anyone in North Dakota, that would be great,” she said.
With Covid-19 thwarting many wedding plans, Cheryl’s now having to play catch-up, which is keeping her ‘crazy busy’.
"I feel sorry for all the brides it’s been awful, but for my business it’s not been too bad as people now have longer to save some money aside for that extra special item for the day.
"A lot of brides have found the positive side of it though, from getting to plan their wedding again and change ideas of things they’ve maybe thought twice about,” she said.
Cheryl, who used to be a teacher at Frizington Primary, said the new job is ‘equally as busy and equally as stressful’.
"But, I love both jobs and I’ll never say no to teaching again but for the moment I’m enjoying this.
"I like it when I get to see photos from peoples weddings, when you get photos of the brides wearing my robes, that’s the best bit – when you can actually see where your item has gone.
"When they’ve chosen your products for their special day it’s absolutely mind-blowing," she said.
You can order from Once upon a wedding from either their Facebook page or you can find them on Etsy.
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