In 2010 Harlequin were shortlisted for the Band of the Year Awards, in 2011 we won it. Usually dubious about ‘battle of the bands competitions’ we weren’t really excited. We were wrong. Being shortlisted was brilliant for generating awareness of Harlequin and what we think is our special offering and winning the award was an massive boost. The WOL awards are a very credible industry quality analysis and we are proud to be seated alongside all the top Irish wedding businesses and venues, winners and short-listers alike. Since the short-lists were published we witnessed a very positive kick-on in business and immediately after winning the award the response was nothing short of incredible. We’ll be entering again, trying to get short-listed at least. For Harlequin though, ‘actively’ being a part of the Weddings-Online community is just as important as winning the Band of the Year award as we know we are always just a click away from our customers. Harlequin love entertaining more than anything but we especially value being invited to act as such an important part of peoples private celebrations.

Being a member of the WOL network allows us to meet our clients directly, quickly and efficiently. Likewise, the community forums help Harlequin to keep our finger on the pulse of the ever-changing wedding industry and keeps us in tune (pardon the pun) with the bride’s perception of that which is deemed ordinary, expected, quality and (most importantly) that which is deemed ‘special’. This knowledge allows us to react, change, develop and improve each and every day, month, week and year.

Shane McGrath – Harlequin Band

We were the proud winners of the 2010 Munster wedding venue of the year award. We were shortlisted again last year for the same award and our wedding co-ordinator, Tom Meagher, was the only finalist from a Kerry wedding venue for the coveted wedding co-ordinator of the year prize. The fact that the Weddings on Line awards are decided by a panel of respected judges and are based on various criteria such as brides’ testimonials, the quality of the venue’s advertising and promotional material and, most importantly, the feedback from ‘mystery shoppers’, lends them a certain amount of kudos. Winning the award in 2010 gave us an advantage in our advertising and in securing editorial and PR in local and national publications. Having the title also keeps us on our toes; we have a reputation and level of delivery to live up to. I would say that our wedding bookings have definitely increased as a result of the award, and because we’ve hopefully proved that we’re worthy of the award.

Sue Ryan, Sales Manager, Kenmare Bay Hotel & Resort

Having entered the awards and been shortlisted I was absolutely delighted to get this title. Winning created great awareness and enabled me to branch out to areas I’d not served before and it’s also from a marketing point of view taken me forward quicker than planned

There are a lot of awards by various on line wedding websites but the nice thing about weddings on line is that you are judged on what you do it’s not just a voting game. It’s about what people say and the service you provide from that first point of contact.

David Baker Wedding DJ of the Year 2011 – DavidBaker.ie