The Knaresborough flower shop on Market Place is set to change hands this month as one florist retires and another takes on the reins.
Tracey Bell has run Ruebery Flowers for four years, she said it was longer than planned but she felt the town needed a florist so said she wouldn’t retire until she found another person to take over her shop.
Ms Bell has worked in floristry for 15 years, for her having a florist in the town is “as important as a bakers and butchers”.
Over the years she’s had some interesting requests, the most memorable was from a Swiss priest who had travelled over to the bless the marriage of an Indonesian couple. Ms Bell said he asked for two colourful garlands to hang round the couple’s necks but was surprised when he said “could you do them whilst I go put a bet on?”
Ms Bell said:
“Being part of this business community is just really lovely, we’re all really supportive of each other.
“There’s almost too many stories to tell but being a part of lots of people’s wedding days or special occasions has been wonderful. A lot of people are willing to be guided and go down sustainable roots, sometimes people are very specific, other times they’re happy for me to arrange the design, either way I love it.”
The florist shop as it stands now
She said covid brought its own challenges, a lot of her customers passed away but there were also many who were unable to see family. She began to do small flower deliveries to around 20 homes each week all ordered from families living away from their Knaresborough relatives.
The florist said for her it was important to be as sustainable as possible, so she removes plastic packaging and foam and purchases her flowers from local growers. This is something the next shop owner, Kirsty Wilson, plans to continue.
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Ms Wilson has worked in floristry for 15 years and had her own business River & Rose for eight of them. She said having a shop in her hometown seemed like the next step.
She hopes to work with other local florists and businesses to continue what Ms Bell started. Ms Wilson said:
“I’m super excited to carry on what Tracey has started and be a lovely presence in the town. It’s just a lovely location and a really cute shop.
“It’s really important for me to continue supporting other local artists.”
Ms Wilson said her shop will be similar – offering flowers for weddings and events, as well as fresh flowers for people to choose from.
Ms Bell’s last day will be Friday, June 17. However she is finishing with a “full circle moment” with one final wedding on June 18 at Ripley Castle where she started her floristry career.
Ms Wilson is aiming to open River & Rose on July 1.
Bridal Week signs four-year contract worth £1.2m to Harrogate economyThe largest bridal trade show in the UK is set to return to Harrogate for the next four years, in a move that is estimated to be worth £1.2million to the local economy.
Bridal Week will take over Harrogate Convention Centre for three days in September every year, bringing more than 4,000 visitors to the town to browse 350 collections from designers across the world.
The show has been based in Harrogate for 35 years and has grown to be the biggest in the UK.
Wendy Adams, director of Bridal Week at Ocean Media, said:
“Harrogate truly is a market leader. The event combines business and pleasure, and each year the industry takes over the town presenting the largest collection of bridal gowns in northern Europe.
“I go to bridal shows all over the world in Chicago, New York, Milan, Barcelona, Dusseldorf – and they’ve all heard of Harrogate, because of the show.”
The announcement of the four-year contract is a huge boost for Harrogate bridal businesses still recouping losses from the pandemic. The event is estimated to bring an economic impact of around £1.2 million to the local economy over the next four years.
This year’s show will take place between September 11 and 13.
Ms Adams said the central town location set Harrogate apart from its competitors. She said clients could easily head into town in the evening whereas other venues were based on the fringes of cities.
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It’s set to be a bumper year for the wedding industry with many couples eager to tie the knot after delaying during the pandemic.
The convention centre redeployed as an NHS Nightingale Hospital for a year during the pandemic but didn’t treat a single covid patient.
Paula Lorimer, director of Harrogate Convention Centre, said:
Ripon’s Old Deanery to reopen after licence granted“It’s tremendous news that this stalwart exhibition is so firmly embedded with our venue for years to come, and that there’s such a strong bounce back for exhibitions and live events.
“The financial impact on our hotels, bars, restaurants and retail businesses is significant after the tourist season ends in summer.”
The new business owners of The Old Deanery in Ripon have been granted a licence to reopen the 16th century building as a hotel, restaurant and wedding venue this month.
Hoteliers Rebecca Hill and Chris Layton took over the historic building last year after it was forced to close following months of coronavirus lockdowns.
The pair – who also run York’s Galtres Lodge Hotel – plan to renovate the building and have now been granted a premises licence after a meeting of Harrogate Borough Council’s sub-licensing committee today.
Ms Hill told the committee that Ripon residents wanted to see The Old Deanery “thrive” as a new business and that support from locals had been “huge”.
She said:
“The Old Deanery is one of the most significant businesses in Ripon.
“It is a key part of the city, both for the business community and tourism economy, as well as the wider residential community.”
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Despite the support of residents, Ms Hill said the licence application had been hit by “unnecessary” conditions put forward by environmental protection officers at Harrogate Borough Council.
These included a ban on speakers and music being played outdoors.
Ms Hill said the rules were suggested with “little knowledge” of the area and would have been a “detriment” to the new business, which wants to ensure The Old Deanery’s gardens remain open to the public and music is permitted outdoors.
Council officers argued the rules were “fair and lenient” – but they were later dropped by members of the sub-licensing committee.
Ms Hill said:
“The representations from Harrogate Borough Council’s environmental protection team centre around noise disturbance – something that we hold in the highest importance.
“We do not believe our application will cause any issues in this respect.”
The Old Deanery neighbours and is owned by Ripon Cathedral.
It dates from 1625 and has 11 bedrooms, gardens, and several public areas which are being restored back to a country house that will be available for weddings and other events.
Hairdressers and brides-to-be in the Harrogate district will have their fingers tightly crossed this evening.
Social distancing restrictions were due to end on June 21 but now it seems the 30-person cap on wedding guests could be extended for another four weeks, throwing numerous wedding plans in jeopardy.
Some people have already put back their weddings as many as four times because of the coronavirus crisis.
Now they are relying on Prime Minister Boris Johnson, not to ruin their big days yet again.
Deborah Chalmers, of Love Hair & Beauty in Ripon, told the Stray Ferret:
“Three quarters of the bookings I have are for weddings with more than 100 guests.
“With the government’s roadmap to June 21 and the anticipated lifting of covid social distancing requirements, people were counting on finally getting married.
“They thought they were safe to book a post-June 21 date and everything that goes with it.
“Now there is another big question mark and we are all hoping and praying that a way can be found to allow weddings with more than 30 attendees to go ahead.”
Brides-to-be across the Harrogate district will be listening carefully to this evening’s announcement from Boris Johnson.
Later this year, Ms Chalmers celebrates her 10th anniversary of being in business in Ripon.
Over the decade she has prepared hundreds of brides and their bridesmaids for weddings.
She said:
“You can be in a restaurant with 100 people that you don’t know, or at a sporting event with thousands, so surely the Prime Minister can come up with something.
“I fully understand that there is a need to keep everybody safe, but perhaps we would be OK if there was covid testing available for all attending a wedding and those, like myself, providing services on the day.
“It will be desperate if weddings for some are put off for the fifth time, or if the limit on attendance remains at 30 and they have to un-invite family members and friends if they decide to go ahead with their ceremony.”
For Ms Chalmers and other businesses in the wedding sector, it has been a tough 16 months.
She has managed to keep ticking over by providing hair and beauty treatments for smaller weddings.
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Fortunately, customers forced to postpone have stayed loyal when rearranging for different dates.
She said:
Ripon hairdressers prepare for the long road back“For some, the wedding has been a long time coming, but we stay optimistic in the knowledge that the brides will eventually, have their big day.”
A long road back from lockdown and lost trade lies ahead for Ripon hairdressers Deborah Chalmers and Sharon Bielby.
The friends own and run hair and beauty businesses less than 100 yards apart on North Street, Ripon.
Deborah’s Love Hair & Beauty Boutique depends heavily on the wedding market.
Sharon, whose shop bears her name, is a barber who cuts men’s and boys’ hair.
For both, the priority following the stop-start year of 2020 and the closed-down first quarter of 2021, has been to keep their heads above water.
Now they are buoyant at the prospect of reopening in six weeks time on 12 April and finally earning some money again.
Their loyal and now long-haired customers have kept in touch and they are looking forward to a busy post-lockdown period.
Deborah, who ensures brides and their bridesmaids look beautiful for the big day, told the Stray Ferret:
“It has been a very difficult time.
“The shop was shut for long periods and just about every wedding booking I had for last summer was cancelled because of the pandemic.”
She used a government small business grant to pay for overheads while living off the crumbs that came from the dramatically scaled-down wedding table.
Sharon Bielby reflects on a difficult year, as she gets ready for the many customers in desperate need of a hair cut.
The same applies for Sharon, who said:
“It has been a case of surviving on the barest minimum, while staying positive and thinking about the many customers who just can’t wait to get their hair cut again.”
Her shop will have an appointment-only policy in place from reopening day. She joked:
“I will probably have to allow extra time for each customer, because they will have a lot more hair to cut!”
Deborah, who has created her own brand of lip balm as a reopening thank-you gift for her customers, is looking forward to a very busy summer.
She said:
“From mid-June, the government is easing the restrictions on the size of gatherings and that’s good news.
“Couples who postponed their plans, still want to get married and share their celebration with family and friends.”
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An additional factor gives Deborah hope that she can make up for some of the lost business she has experienced over the last year.
She said:
The Yorke Arms to host intimate weddings“With Saturdays like gold-dust in the wedding calendar, people are now arranging their weddings for other days of the week.
“That means I will be handling hair and beauty for up to four events a week, compared with a maximum of two Saturday weddings a week in a normal year.”
The Yorke Arms will host intimate weddings after it was given a licence to hold civil ceremonies on site.
It had previously been a restaurant which used to hold a Michelin star, but the managers no longer believe that side of the business is viable.
They changed the venue into a country house for hire a couple of months ago and pitched it as “the ultimate staycation”.
Now, the new licence means The Yorke Arms can host weddings. The bridal party and guests will have sole use of the 17 bedrooms and suites as well as the communal areas.
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Groups of up to 30 can enjoy the wedding breakfast together. The owners believe it is the perfect size for the current coronavirus regulations.
The team at The Yorke Arms said the venue will be flexible to meet couples’ needs and hopes, with no restrictions on timings, food or drink. As well as its own wedding licence, The Yorke Arms is within walking distance of Ramsgill village church, allowing couples and their guests to have a church ceremony before returning on foot for the reception.
Laura Shinkfield, hospitality sales manager, said:
The Old Deanery set to close in major blow for Ripon“Receiving the wedding licence is the final piece of the jigsaw in the reinvention of The Yorke Arms. We are now taking enquiries and looking forward to welcoming our first weddings.”
The Old Deanery in Ripon will close next year to become another financial victim of the coronavirus pandemic.
It has been a hotel, bar and wedding venue for the last 17 years just opposite Ripon Cathedral. The manager said it will close at the end of the lease on June 30 2021.
Any bookings before that point will not be affected by the closure. The Old Deanery made the announcement with “deep regret”.
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Chris Brown, general manager at The Old Deanery, said:
“Due to the extreme trading conditions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and continued restrictions indefinitely affecting our wedding and event trade, the directors have made the difficult decision to cease trading.”
The Ripon Cathedral Chapter will once again take on the 17th Century Grade II listed building when the lease ends next year.
Mr Brown added that his team “would like to thank you all for your support over the years and look forward to seeing you again in the next ten months”.
When The Old Deanery made the announcement lots of customers commented that it was sad news and shared memories of their time there.
Demand for humanist weddings in Harrogate risesHumanist celebrants across the district have given their support to the six couples who are challenging the government to change the law to legally recognise humanist marriages.
The current laws in England and Wales force couples who want a humanist wedding to have a separate civil ceremony for their marriage to be legally recognised.
The couples are going to the High Court July 7-8 and will argue that the current law discriminates against them because of their humanitarian belief.
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Rachael Meyer, a Harrogate based humanist celebrant, was fully booked for humanist weddings in 2020 and continues to be busy next year.
She said:
““It’s no surprise that the demand for humanist wedding ceremonies is rising rapidly. It is frustrating and completely unfair that non-religious couples in England and Wales who want a beautiful, bespoke, meaningful humanist ceremony that reflects their values have to go through a completely separate legal ceremony with a registrar, whereas religious couples do not.
Marriage laws need to be updated now so that we are in line with Scotland and Northern Ireland.”
Lisa and Matthew Taylor signing a certificate rather than a register.
In England and Wales, over 1,000 couples a year already have a humanist wedding without legal recognition. The government was given the power to give legal recognition to humanist marriages in 2013 but has failed to act on it.
Humanists UK Chief Executive, Andrew Copson said:
“Couples who have humanist weddings see that day as the epitome of their love and commitment to each other, and all they want is the same legal recognition for that as is given to every religious person in our country.
Government has dragged its heels and that’s why it’s been left to these couples to bring this case.”