Today we celebrate our 10th birthday! On this day, Valentine’s day, back in 2010 we launched as The Vintage Wedding Fair in Harrogate. Then owned by Keeley Harris (we bought the company from her in 2014), the fair was the first of its kind, in fact one of the first, if not the first non traditional wedding fair in the UK. It was a super successful day, got lots of press and helped many vintage loving brides built their dream wedding. We’ve come along way since then, rebranded twice (first to The National Vintage Wedding Fair and then to Magpie Wedding, with The Ethical Wedding Show too), launched many off shoot projects and have stood the test of time. But it has not always been easy!
Vintage in 2010 was huge! It was niche and cool, with so many brides wanting a 1950s style or original dress, bird cage veil, bunting and jam jars! What can seem a little out dated today was totally alternative then, with all the cool brides as well as the vintage die hards wanting this look.
But some where along the way, vintage became mainstream. You could buy bunting anywhere and our fair lost its niche-ness. There also were hundreds of vintage fairs springing across the country making it harder to attract our ideal couple. When once we had people flying in from Europe just to visit our fair, our shows started to quieten. A re-brand was needed.
Magpie Wedding was born! We wanted a name that didn’t align to any genre or theme meaning we could adapt as trends changed.
As the landscape changed.
And here we are, 10 years on launching the Ethical Wedding Show aimed at couples who want a sustainable wedding day. We have a digital magazine called BOND Bride. We champion UK designers, inclusivity and your wellbeing. And most importantly, we still love it!
To celebrate we are offering you 2 things.
- For wedding businesses, from today until the end of the month we are offering lifetime standard directory listings in as many categories as you want. That is one fee, forever! JOIN HERE.
- For couples in the Manchester area, we are offering 20% off all tickets for The Ethical Wedding Show for this weekend only! Offer ends Monday 17th 2020 – code is HappyBirthday
And now let’s look back at where we have come from and how Magpie Wedding has changed over the last 10 years!
