Wednesday 1 July 2015

My First Britmums Live 2015

Last year I had only just started blogging when I seen so many people mention Britmums live, being a new blogger and being heavily pregnant at the time I did not attend, but vowed to go this year as it looked like such fun. When the tickets went on sale last summer I snapped up an early bird ticket and managed to secure a wonderful sponsor MAM UK who helped me to attend the event. As the event drew nearer I was full of nerves as I had never been to anything like this before and I knew no-one, I was also feeling a bit anxious about leaving my girls and my baby too as I have never been apart from him since he was born 10 months ago. 

On the morning of the event my nerves disappeared as I made my way to the station to catch my train to London, I was looking forward to the three hour train journey as it meant I could read a magazine in peace for the first time in a long time. I arrived into London's kings cross at 11 am where I met up with the lovely Nikki and her husband from Keeping Strong And Moving Forward and the super friendly Becky from 3 Princess 1 Dude which instantly put me at ease.

I arrived at my hotel for the night, the Travelodge Central city road at noon and checked in for a quick freshen up and to face time home as I was missing my children already. I then made my way to the Brewery which was the venue for Britmums live and just a short walk from the hotel, where we met up with fellow Geordie Lauren from Blogger Mummy Lauren . We sat in a beautifully decorated gazebo outside waiting for the event to start feeling rather nervous at the sheer amount of people in attendance. 

britmums live 2015 london venue

Once the doors opened we quickly collected our name badges and made our way into the hub where all the brands were situated and I was given a lovely bracelet from Merci Maman gifts. I spoke to the Muchkin team and got some beakers and bottles for my children, I visited the Parragon stand and was given some lovely books and spent some time talking to the SuperSavvyMe team. The room was getting so busy so we decided to have a little wander around the venue to see where things were and made our way to the main room ready for the start of the event.

Britmums Live

There was a welcome talk then a keynote by Deliciously Ella, and I must have been the only person who did not even know who she was. This was followed by an inspiring talk by Victoria Wright.  Then it was time to see if we could break an official Guinness world record for the most mummies wrapped in toilet roll in three minutes. I am pretty certain that we were one of the 18 mummies disqualified as my mummy wrapping skills were rather rubbish. Even with 18 mummies disqualified we still managed to break a record and we now all have a medal to prove it. 

most mummies dressed as mummys

Then it was time for the sessions to begin. I attended two sessions on Friday - Google + as I know nothing about this and if I am honest even after the talk it still confuses me, but I did learn some useful tips. I then attended a photo session which I found a bit disappointing and like a sales pitch. I think I will be choosing my sessions more wisely next year. 

me with Lauren and Ria Britmums Live

It was then time for a drinks reception outside in the lovely seating area with free wine thanks to Lindeman's. I spent a lovely hour or so sitting chatting to so many bloggers whose blogs I read on a regular basis and it was so lovely to meet them all in real life. It was then time for the Bibs with more free wine available on the tables, I was amazed at myself that I only drank two glasses of wine as I normally end up getting drunk and making a fool of myself. The awards were presented by Carol Smiley and they seemed to go by in a flash and then that was it day one was over. I saw so many bloggers that I wanted to chat to but we were ushered out of the building by security as soon as the awards ended.

coral smiley at Britmums 2015

I ended up going to a bar along the road from the venue with Nikki, Lauren, Becky and Beth from Twinderelmo and I seen Hannah who I have actually met before as she is from the north east too. I ended the night with a takeaway pizza in my hotel room face timing my partner before having my first full night of uninterrupted sleep in over two years! 

myself and blogging friend blogging mummy lauren

Saturday was another early start as I was up, dressed and packed ready to check out of the hotel and make my way to the Brewery for day two of the event which started at 8.30 am. We made our way to the hub for breakfast of fresh fruit juices and little overnight oat pots which were delicious. I skipped the Saturday morning keynote and instead spent time talking to the rest of the brands in the hub. 

me dressing up at britmums

I really enjoyed the sessions I attended on Saturday which were Social media optimisation which will full of tips on keeping on top of social media. Bloggers and Brands which had tips on how to get the most from working with brands and beginning SEO which was super useful as I know nothing at all about SEO. It was then lunch time which I skipped as I did not like the look of the food so I decided to grab something to eat at the station on the way home. I spent the lunch break chatting to people outside and it was so lovely and relaxing. I then attended my final session which was photo styling for your blog pictures and Instagram, this was a really great session and something I needed as my photo skills are not the best. 

I then decided to leave the event early so I could get my train home as I had a long journey ahead of me. I picked up my goody bag and jumped in a taxi with Rachel and Lucy and headed to Kings Cross exhausted to get my train home to a Chinese takeaway and a nice hot bubble bath. I had such a great time at Britmums and I learnt so many useful tips not only from the sessions but also from other bloggers I spoke to. 

Britmums name tag

The best part for me was defiantly meeting other bloggers some of whom I talk to regularly online and some who I did not know. I only wish I had gotten to spend more time talking to people as there were so many people I wanted to meet but was too scared to say hello to, or who I just did not get the chance to say hi, or people I wish I had of spoken to for longer than a quick chat on the stairs. I also wish I had taken more photos, but I was just so busy I kept forgetting.

view of Tyne from Train

Being my first Britmums it was very different from how I thought it would be as I did not learn as much as I thought I would and did not speak to many brands. I was not keen on the craft area and avoided that as it is not really my thing - I suck at crafts. But I found everyone so lovely and friendly and there was a lovely atmosphere. I will defiantly be going again next year as I had such a great time and I would just like to say a huge thank you to my sponsor MAM UK for helping me to attend and also to all the lovely ladies I met at the event - thank you for a great weekend.




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21 comments

  1. It sounds like you had a fab time! I am so jealous even though I was too much of a worrier to go myself x

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    1. It was such a great weekend Kim, you really should go next year and we could travel together xx

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  2. I'm so so glad you came and I got to meet you. Friday night was so much fun even with Mrs sicky!! Same time next year / just for the booze?! xx

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    1. Likewise i loved meeting you in real life, Friday night was hilarious . Hell yeah i'm in for next year just for the free wine and the laughs xx

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  3. It was so lovely to meet you - even if I didn't put two and two together! x

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    1. It was so nice to meet you in real life , really hope we get to see each other again for a proper chat xx

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  4. Love the photo of us! Had a class weekend, and it was great to share it with another Geordie, we really are the best like. Same time next year, and we have to find a greggs next time ;)

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    1. Haha me too , i had a great weekend too and we deffo have to find a greggs next time and stock up on spikey mikeys xx

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    2. I went in to the only greggs in Northern Ireland last week, first greggs in years.... and they didn't have any bloody spike mikeys! Raging haha x

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  5. Oh this is a great post! I've read so many posts about how great it is but yours is the most honest one I've read. It does sound fab and I do want to go one day, but it's great to hear the pro's and cons rather than just a glossy brochure style review ;)

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    1. Thank you Natalie, it really is a wonderful weekend and i really hope i can go again next year as it was fun. I hope that you can make it one day as i am sure you would have an amazing time and like it as much as i did. xx

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  6. It was great meeting you and I can't wait to meet you all again next year.

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  7. Was lovely to meet you even if it was just our journey to the station lol!! Hope to meet you again xx

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    1. It was so lovely to meet you too Lucie, i know i hope next year we can have a proper chat xx

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  8. Looks like you had a great time. Will have to think about going one year

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    1. It was such a great event and i had such a great time. You really should go one year, i think a group of ne bloggers are planning on going next year so you should come xx

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  9. I loved it this year, I think it's because the first year I went there were so many brands and it was a bit too overwhelming. It was useful but it had a much scarier vibe. This year it was much more chilled out and relaxing, I got the chance to talk to the brands and attend the talks that interested me some of which weren't useful but still interesting if that makes sense. Do you think you'll go next year? x

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    1. I found it really relaxing and i loved just sitting outdoors in the lovely seating area talking to people. yes that total makes sense, i think that i will be going again next year and will enjoy it even more as i will know more of what to expect and will know more people next year and be less shy xx

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  10. I can't believe it was so long ago now! It was a lovely event wasn't it but there were parts of it that weren't what I expected either. Your photo's are great, especially the one of Carol Smillie, love your carnival cruises one too. Maybe next year we will get to speak a little more x

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    1. I know the whole event went over so quick and time has flown over since it ended. Yes hopefully next year we can manage a proper chat xx

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