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Alison Hargreaves Finalist in Prestigious National Business Awards for Covid Pivot

Alison Hargreaves Finalist in Prestigious National Business Awards


Nikita Thorne
Nikita Thorne Updated:
11th of October 2023

Guides for Brides' Owner and Managing Director, Alison Hargreaves, has been recognised for exceptional entrepreneurship as a finalist in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2021. Alison has been selected as a South West finalist for the Pivot Entrepreneur of the Year.

After many months of the weddings sector having no or low season business, Alison looked for solutions that would not only support our industry colleagues to hold safe, Covid-secure events, but also give peace of mind to their clients and the Government. Within months of the national lockdown being in place back in March 2020, specially designed track and trace software for weddings, Trusted Trace, was created and soon followed by the new industry standard, Wedding Safe. 

Alison Hargreave, South West Pivot Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist 2021

As Guides for Brides is an online wedding portal that connects couples planning weddings and related events with venues and suppliers across the UK and globally, this new direction of creating track and trace software and an industry standard is a significant pivot that helped wedding businesses trade during difficult times and allows the Guides for Brides team, and their clients, to return to normality faster.

The Great British Entrepreneur Awards had a record 4,800 entries this year across their eight regions. So, it has never been tougher to make it to the shortlist and Alison is delighted that our collective efforts have been recognised in such a competitive field.

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From the experts

“The last 16 months have been incredibly challenging for all businesses, especially those within highly-restricted industries such as weddings and events. We created Trusted Trace and Wedding Safe to support couples and our industry colleagues through these difficult times. It was a significant adjustment to the way our business works and our team have jumped at the opportunity to create something that will truly support our sector, prove to the government our industry’s commitment to covid safety and boost consumer confidence.”

Alison’s role in helping make weddings as safe as possible and boosting consumer confidence has been pivotal in helping get the wedding and events sector ready for reopening. With the lifting of restrictions now around the corner, a commitment to safety will continue to be imperative as the industry gets back on its feet.

The national winners of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards 2021 will be announced in November 2021.

Find out more about the Great British Entrepreneur Awards here.

Nikita Thorne

About the author


Nikita Thorne

With a first-class degree under her belt and a thirst for knowledge, Nikita is a passionate writer and marketer. As the Head of Strategy at Guides for Brides, Nikita leads our specialist team of marketers and actively connects wedding industry suppliers with prospective couples through effective marketing and advertising campaigns. She is also in charge of forming meaningful partnerships with brands that can support both our couples and businesses.

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