.
.
.Brides Up North was always meant to be.
.
Julia – that’s me! – Brides Up North’s creator, curator, editor-in-chief and brand manager – was born ‘Up North in the winter of 1982, daughter to a pair of young hoteliers. My first home, a hotel on the outskirts of Durham City, had a hundred bedrooms, vast function suites, a resident grand marquee and a fabulous ballroom with crystal chandeliers, where I would whizz about the dance floor in my baby walker whilst my mother "set up the Saturday weddings”. Over the next 30 years, I saw over 4,000 gorgeous weddings.
.
There really was no escape!
.’
.
.
I graduated with a BA 2:1 hons degree in Communications Studies and Management from the University of Leeds, during which time I interned at Heat, J17, New Woman online and Closer magazines. Following my dreams to London, I worked in advertising for Emap’s baby titles, Mother & Baby and Pregnancy & Birth and afterwards as a fashion assistant at Glamour. When it turned out that the Devil does sometimes indeed wear Prada, I did “an Elle Woods” and retrained for a career in law. Finding myself a qualified solicitor and craving a creative outlet, I sat down at the computer one evening and started a blog to chronicle the events leading up to my own wedding day. I soon became hooked, as did my readers.
.
Whilst tinkering with my first attempt at blogging, it became apparent to me that whilst the United States is home to many gorgeous wedding blogs, I was aware of only a handful of great wedding blogs in the UK and of those none were area specific. Just as during my time working on the glossies, there was a heavy focus on London and the fantastic regional suppliers that I knew and loved were being side-lined. I decided to draw on my hospitality roots and fashion and journalism background, creating a truly engaging wedding blog and hand-picked directory of the regions’ finest vendors, specifically for the North of the UK but useful to readers from all over the World seeking inspiration for their own nuptials. The Northern Revolution was born!
..
In August 2011, following the rapid growth of Brides Up North as an online resource and brand, I handed in my notice and became a full time professional wedding blogger. That was just the beginning. Over the last year, the profile of the Brides Up North brand has skyrocketed and I am now a full time editor, figurehead, brand manager, event organiser, employer and chief operating officer. It’s been a crazy ride, and I have a feeling that we are just getting started…
.
Hectic schedules aside, I am still a romantic at heart. There is nothing better than a good wedding!Alongside managing our branded Brides Up North wedding exhibitions, wedding industry networking events, freelance projects, speaking engagements and our business operations, I spend every day trawling the web for delightful details and flipping through my ever growing stack of bridal magazines to discover, curate and produce quality wedding blog content for my discerning readers.
.
I hope that my new husband won’t get bored and leave me, but he currently seems glad of the peace and quiet!
.
Enjoy the site. Explore. Be inspired! Any questions? Contact me by email julia@bridesupnorth.co.uk ..
.
.
Photograph of Julia by Blue Lights Photography
..
.
.
