A MOTHER and daughter business which helps to make people's special days all the more special has been going strength to strength - depite only being in their first year of their event planning operation.
Grace and Annie's Event Hire, ran by Hayley Tinnion and Ann Carr, started this time last year, and since their inception, they have had to lay out their wedding diaries until 2025 to deal with their ever-growing popularity.
"We were supposed to launch in February 2020 but we took the year to practice balloon art and research into what the area was missing following with a launch in April 2021.
"Lockdown taught everyone what's important - being with family and making memories, so when restrictions ended we've been so busy ever since.
"We really couldn't be happier with how it's gone so far, it's been incredible," Hayley said.
Whilst the business is based from their family home, their skills and artistic flair has been sought after all throughout Cumbria and the Lake District.
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"My mum is a perfectionist with everything she does, it's not the case of just turning up with a client's basic wants, we do quite extensive research into what exactly the customer wants whether that be styles and themes.
"We always show the client a mock-up and if they don't like it we start again, but we haven't had anyone say they don't like the mock-up as of yet," she said.
But it's not just making people's special occasions memorable that fuels the business; it's also supporting a charity that is close to home.
"We do quite a lot of donations for the Bee Unique autism charity, as my child is autistic and my mother has a few grandkids who also have autism, so that's a business we try and support as much as we can."
Within their first year, the business donated around £1,500 for BEE Unique charity, through tea and coffee mornings, prize bingo and donations from online gift sales whilst voluntarily setting up any backdrops for any of the charities events.
"At the minute it's just me and my mum but we're hoping maybe in five years' time, there'll be a team of us and we would like to be in that position to have our own premise," she said.
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