I know I have been talking about the MAD (Mums and Dads) Blog Awards Gala for ages and it has taken me a little bit of time to get my post done. As most of you know, as finalists in the “Best Use of Video” category, we were looking forward to this Gala for months – since May in fact! The Gala was held at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London. It’s a 5-star hotel so we were very excited to go there. The Gala was on Friday 16th September which also happened to be Nick’s 40th birthday! We were very lucky that Nick was able to come, so we could celebrate his 4oth in style! 😉
It is not every day that we get to go to a Gala and also it is not very common for us to have a date night so we decided to stay overnight at a nearby hotel, the Copthorne Tara Hotel in Kensington. We knew other bloggers were staying there so we decided to stay there too. It was my main birthday present for Nick! He absolutely loved the idea! 🙂
I left our girls at home with Nick’s parents before setting off on my way to this fantastic night. I went to the hotel ahead of Nick who was going to meet me there a little later after he finished work. The organisers of the event were so kind to give to all the bloggers attending, complimentary hair styling and makeup. I booked my appointment in advance so I arrived around 4pm which was when my first appointment was booked for.
The hair and makeup were being done in the basement where I was directed upon arrival. It was great to be greeted with a choice of either prosecco or a soft drink whilst we waited – a really nice touch by the organisers. We were going to be pampered by the Powderpuff girls. I had my makeup done first followed by my hair.
(making my nice curls! 😉 )
It was also nice to meet some of the other bloggers at this stage and to also see how we were all being transformed. I was very impressed with my makeup and my hair. I felt AMAZING. It’s a shame that after having it done I then had to walk back to the other hotel where we were staying to get changed. I felt that my hair was getting wild by the winds as I walked back! As soon as I arrived at my room I managed to get it all back to how it was, phew!
I was incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to wear an amazing Ted Baker dress that was perfect for this Gala thanks to the lovely people at Love the Sales. This website is fantastic. You can get lots of products from luxury brands for a fraction of the normal price. I was asked to browse their website and choose something that I like.
I’m a Ted Baker fan, so when I saw that they had a section just for them, I went straight there and started looking for a nice dress. To be honest with you, at first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to find something suitable for this Gala as I know how expensive Ted Baker’s dresses can be. I was completely surprised when I found this dress, though. It was an amazing sale offer reduced from £298.99 (so almost £300) to £44.99 (so about £254.00 on discount)! How amazing is that?
I couldn’t believe my luck! It was a dream come true to be able to wear such a beautiful dress for that amount. If you are looking for quality brands of clothes to wear I can highly recommend you to browse Love The Sales website. Like me, you will be surprised at the luxury brands available to buy at affordable prices. It’s a win-win scenario! Yay!
Anyway, back to the awards. After changing into to my beautiful dress, I felt like I was a princess and my prince was there waiting for me to take me to the castle, LOL! Well, back to reality, my prince (let’s say the hubby) decided to call a taxi to take us back to the Royal Garden Hotel as otherwise, we were going to be late, so that was a good move for him! 😉
When we arrived and saw the red carpet I decided to take more photos of my dress! It was such a beautiful dress that I wanted to make the most of it! We were greeted with a glass of champagne and some canapes. They also gave us a $100 note to play blackjack and roulette, which was also part of the entertainment for the evening. The funny part was that I was so distracted with everything I didn’t even notice the tables at the back for us to play. I’m so silly for missing all of that!
(With Claire from Tin Box Traveller)
In the meantime, I was having so much fun mingling and saying hello to a lot of the bloggers that I have met previously or that I have chatted to online but not met in person before! This is the part that I love the most about blogger events. I love spending some time with other bloggers as we understand each other very well.
(Photo credits: Tom Arber)
It is funny because you would expect Nick to feel uncomfortable or a bit lost, but he knows quite a lot about the blogging world, LOL! It was hilarious when people were introducing themselves to him and he knew exactly who they were! He is not just my husband, he is indeed my partner in this adventure as the blog is our family project, so I was delighted to have him with me and also to celebrate his 40th there. It was so nice how people were saying happy birthday to him. They were all so nice and welcoming – I felt so happy for him.
(With Clare, Jenny and Vicki)
We then were asked to move to the awards room where the ceremony was going to take place. It was all really nicely decorated. The tables were lovely and with the lights down it felt very cosy. We were also offered more drinks! Yay! We were allocated to table 7 along with Jenny from Midwife And Life, Vicki from Being Tilly’s Mummy, Clare from Mumsy Midwife and Niki from Play and Learn Everyday.
(Photo credits: Tom Arber)
(Photo credits: Tom Arber)
There were 2 screens where they were showing people’s tweets with the #madblogawards hashtag. Nick decided to tweet saying that we needed more bread on table 7 and they actually brought us more bread, LOL! This was very funny. We enjoyed a delicious 3-course meal during which we made a short video call to the house to find out how the girls were. We were relieved to know that they were fine and very happy. After this, we decided that it was time to enjoy the night even more so we got more drinks to keep celebrating the night!
(With Vicki, Jenny, Helen, Niki and Clare)
Before the actual award presentations started we had a nice photo with Helen Lederer who was the host for the evening. After this, I started to feel incredibly nervous. I really don’t know why as I was not even remotely expecting to win but I think just the idea of being a finalist and having your blog called when mentioning the finalist in my category was an amazing feeling on its own.
(Sally welcoming all of us)
I felt it took ages for my category to be announced – it was one of the last ones. But, then it finally was the time and I was very nervous but at the same time, I just wanted it to be done so I could continue enjoying the night. As I genuinely expected, the lovely Emma from Brummy Mummy of 2 won the category. It was a well-deserved win as she is amazing. I was very happy for her! She is doing amazingly well and she is an inspiration to me. She also won the Blog of the Year, so it was a fantastic night for her!
(With Jaime from The Oliver’s Madhouse, Kirsty from My Two Mums and Jenny)
We then decided to go and buy some drinks as we wanted to dance a little bit and have lots of fun. I ended up dancing with a few bloggers on the dance floor. Not everybody wanted to dance but it was so much fun. I love dancing so I was there for sure and ended up staying until about midnight I think. We were one of the last ones to leave so we can say that we really enjoyed every single minute of it!
I didn’t realise I had about 2 more gin and tonics before the end of the night on top of the several glasses of champagne and prosecco I’d had. I don’t normally drink so I must admit that I felt the pain the next morning! It was not nice. I’m definitely getting old now, LOL, but I had such an amazing time that it was all worth it. Nick had a fabulous 40th birthday and we got to have a night out without the girls so it was really a special night for us! 🙂
I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Sally from Tots100 and the MADs team for doing such a fantastic job. It was a night that I will never forget!
Have you been to the MAD Blog Awards before? What do you think of the night? What do you think of my dress? Do you like Ted Baker? Have you bought from Love the Sales before? Please leave a comment below as I would love to read what you think.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
crummy mummy says
Lovely dress! Looked like you had a fab time – not sure Misery Guts would have been happy spending his 40th at a blogging event, you’re very lucky!! #KCACOLS
Sarah (Mum x3x) says
Haha, how funny that they brought more bread to your table because of the tweet, that’s awesome! It looks like you had a wonderful time. Your dress is gorgeous! xx #KCACOLs
(I can’t leave my URL in the comment box because my comment will disappear)
Sharon Parry says
Sounds like a fantastic night and it was so great to be able to take Nick with you. Red carpet and everything – wow!! #KCACOLS
AlanA - burnished chaos says
Looks like everyone had a great time. How great that you all got hair and make up done too! Great pictures and love that dress x
#KCACOLS
Kat says
I just had to pop over and read about your night! You looked absolutely beautiful, the dress is stunning and what a bargain! What a lovely event to attend! #Kcacols
Rainbowsaretoobeautiful says
Sorry I never got to say hi, I was working the reception desk and tweeting for Sally – looks like you enjoyed it though! Xxx #kcacols
Angela Watling says
Sounds like an amazing night and you looked fantastic! Hope you recovered from the after-effects quickly 🙂 #KCACOLS
mainy - myrealfairy says
Oh well done and what a brilliant night to top off all the hard work you put into your blog. Amazing dress!! I am going to visit the website and have a little look for me:)
Mainy
#KCACOLS
Topfivemum says
What an amazing night you seem to have had! How amazing to be part of such an inspiring event surrounded by amazing bloggers. You’ve done so well to achieve what you have – talent and hard work go a long way! Love your frock xx #KCACOLS
Ali Duke says
Your dress was amazing! You looked fabulous. I would love to go to an event like that, especially if they were doing my hair and make up lol.
#KCACOLS
Twicemicrowaved tea says
It sounds like it was a great night and you looked lovely! How nice that they did your hair and make up too! I’ll definitely be having a look at the Love the Sales website, if there’s a bargain to be had 😉 #KCACOLS
Cathryn - Little Paper Swans says
It looks like you had a great night! And that dress is beautiful, I can’t believe that it’s such a bargain!
#KCACOLS
Amie says
What a lovely dress! And it looked like a lovely night, glad you had fun 🙂 #KCACOL
Ky says
Oh I love your dress, you look fab in it. I do love Ted Baker. Sounds like a wonderful evening and way to celebrate a 40th. x #kcacols
Brandi Puga says
What an exciting event! congratulations on just being nominated, that is a huge success! Can’t wait to see all the places you go with your fabulous blog!
five little doves says
Wow what an amazing event! You looked absolutely stunning and that dress was an absolute bargain! Such a shame you didn’t win but what an achievement having your name read out amongst the finalist, totally deserved too. Nick sounds like he had a blast, and what a memorable way to spend his birthday too! Thank you for hosting #KCACOLS
kristin mccarthy says
Isn’t it amazing to be able to get away for an evening and get dolled up! You looked Fab- glad you and the hubs had a great night out 🙂
#KCACOLS
Tracey says
Looked like an amazing night and I love the dress, it really suited you! 🙂 #kcacols
ERFmama says
How amazing!! I LOVE your dress!! And I can’t imagine how fun it was to be pampered like that! I mean having hair and make up done?! lol wow!
The food looks amazing – so so yum and well presented. 😀
I’m glad you had a wonderful time and also huuuge congrats for making it that far omg!
Sadly I never seem to know much about these blog awards types and always miss them lol so I tend to never have the opportunity to join in on such things. 🙂
#KCACOLS
Samsam says
Amazing dress Franca #KCACOLS
The Hippy Christian Mum says
Looks like an amazing night and you look stunning in your dress. I was reading it thinking there was a lot of mentions of drinks then you said ‘I didn’t realise but I had another 2 gin & tonics…’ haha Looks like a fab evening. How fun getting your hair and make-up done and meeting lots of other bloggers 🙂 #KCACOLS
Tooting Mama says
I love that dress on you! Sounds like you had an amazing time, and well done for being a finalist, that’s awesome! #KCACOLS
Coombe Mill says
I’m rather envious of your lovely evening, I remember just how much fun it is. You looked wonderful and clearly made the most of your time there. so many congratulations on being a finalist Franca, I had no doubt you would be . #KCACOLS
Jules Pondering Parenthood says
Congratulations on being a finalist! What a treat having your hair and make up done, and a gorgeous dress, too! I bet you felt like a million dollars. #KCACOLS
Suzanne says
Beautiful dress and the food looks amazing. Looks like a great way to celebrate a birthday, #KCACOLS