Companies from Falmouth and Helston were among those who were recognised as the ‘best in the west’ at the recent South West Wedding Awards.

This year’s ceremony saw businesses and venues with premises in Cornwall, Bristol, Devon, Dorset, Gloucester, Somerset and Wiltshire competing for the titles. The competition was split into two stages - the first based on votes from former brides and grooms, and the second involving a panel of industry experts who judged the business' website, professionalism, feedback and social media.

Cornish winners include DJ in Cornwall, of Rame near Penryn; Sitting Pretty of Helston, The Bridal Studio in Helston; Stacey Cremin Make up of Falmouth; Khalile Siddiqui Photography of Truro; pianist Roger Miners, also of Truro; the Carbis Bay Hotel and Tregenna Castle Hotel.

The awards recognise those businesses which exceed the expectations for their customers, providing outstanding service and inspire their customers to want to actively and positively promote them.

For DJ in Cornwall this is their fourth award in two years. Managing director Jamie Reed said: “For us this represents the hard work and the dedication of our team, I am very proud of them all. The reason this award means so much is that it is voted for by brides and grooms and I would like to thank them all for taking the time to vote.”

Stacey, from Stacey Cremin Makeup Studio, said: “It’s such a privilege to be a part of the SWW awards, but to bring home an award is truly an honour. I can’t thank everyone enough for taking the time to vote."

Rebecca Gilbert from Sitting Pretty said: “I was so thrilled to find out that Sitting Pretty was a finalist for the SWW awards, that in itself was not expected. So to actually win the award for bridal beauty was just incredible.

"I’m immensely grateful to all of my gorgeous brides who took the time to vote for Sitting Pretty. Reading their lovely comments was quite overwhelming. "

Owner of the Bridal Studio, Tara Keenan Trethowan, added: “ Winning three awards in the last few months has made me feel immensely proud of my great team and the business we have created. We treat each and every bride like they’re the only bride, it’s their day and we want them to love their time with as as much as they love their gorgeous gown.

"To win the South West Weddings Awards has been a fantastic start to 2018 and I would like to thank everyone that took the time to vote for us."