What a weekend!!!
After a fantastic night's sleep in the largest bed possible I woke up feeling great and very much looking forward to my breakfast. I was excited and apprehensive for the days events because I knew it was going to be very busy... and very long. Not being able to get into the venue until midday to set up for the evenings' awards, I had the morning to myself. After a short walk to the shopping centre at Fulham Broadway Station, and grabbing a few last-minute must-haves from Boots, I bumped into Jeanne and Dan carrying a load of bottled water so I offered a hand before heading to Paddington to pick up my date whom I was hoping was on the train since I hadn't had a text?! .
During the last hour Paddington had become flooded with people and the shutters had to be closed to stop over-congestion on the platforms. Once we were allowed through it was a nice simple journey back… oh! and the reason I didn’t get a text? He fell asleep the second he got on the train and woke up just before getting into Paddington! Sounds like a nice excuse, but believe me with him it's the truth This guy can sleep anywhere!!
Once we got back and settled at the hotel, it was time to head to ‘Under The Bridge’ to help set up! The team had already made incredible progress on making the venue look fabulous (!) and so there wasn't too much left to do. Magi and I put up the BCMA letters and lights and
helped string the stars around the tops of the booths. Once I picked up our VIP bands, I headed back to the room. After a lovely trip to Nando's, we sat to watch a bit of the Rugby (we are Welsh after all...) and started getting ready for the evening! My date looked very dashing in his suit and I suitably left him speechless with my dress (WIN!!). Once ready we went down to meet Rachel and Tyler and walk to the venue together. Both looked stunning as always!
We were one of the first ones there so it was a little quiet but the perfect opportunity for me to take a few before pictures for the BCMA Instagram stories. I was tasked with updating the stories as the evening went ahead, saying congrats to the winners and videoing performances etc. And why are drinks free when you get tasked with jobs...
The awards started with our fantastic host and Absolute Country DJ Matt Spracklen, and a performance from Father-Son duo, Jack and Tim. A perfect start in showcasing the immense talent that the UK Country Music scene has to offer...
The event consisted of announcing a few awards, followed by a performance, and so on! I have so many great videos and image memories of the evening, but I thought I'd add a few of my favourites here! Make sure to head to the BCMA social media platforms for all the professional photography & list of winners!
It was clear the night was just getting started but, after the auction had finished, it was clear my feet had had enough and it was time to head back to the hotel... and within 10 minutes I had collapsed on the bed after what was an amazing but, exhausting day!
I intended on missing the writers round the following morning to allow for a bit of recovery time so we got up, had breakfast and decided to walk to Kensington. Simon is a huge history buff so I took him to the Natural History Museum. We had a great time strolling around reading everything (well Simon did, my feet were bloody killing me so I sat down at every opportunity!!). We grabbed a pub lunch which was out of this world (Hunters chicken toastie on sourdough bread) and after that, heading back to our room to get ready to see the rest of the showcase! However, that wasn't quite what happened... having fallen asleep and waking up at 6pm, it was clear I was 'weekend-ed out' and being a single mum, sometimes you just need a rest! At this point we decided to eat the sweets we had bought and cuddle up watching movies for the rest of the evening.
All in all it was an incredible weekend and I arrived home on Monday incredibly tired but very very happy. I then started my brand new job on Tuesday. So technically I don’t think I have fully recovered just yet!