When two childhood friends from Arbroath reconnected over lockdown pregnancies the idea of a business was born.
Charlene Wilkie and Becky Phillip became friends as teenagers, but the pandemic led the pair to become closer than ever.
Mum of four Becky worked part-time in a call centre as well as making wedding flower displays and bouquets.
Charlene, a mum of two, worked for Sky while also selling handmade crafts and personalised gifts.
After she was made redundant, she met up with her school friend Becky as they were both expecting lockdown babies.
The third unexpected lockdown baby ended up being their business The Special Occasions Planning and Hire.
Crisp walls and prosecco carts
In January 2021 the pair completed their wedding planning diplomas and the business grew quickly.
As well as weddings, The Special Occasions can plan and decorate birthday parties, baby showers, Christenings, hen and stag dos.
“You name it, we do it,” laughs Becky.
“We wanted to do something different that Arbroath didn’t have.
“Our first big event was in May last year, and it’s been crazy since then.”
The pair’s decor and props have quickly become big party hits.
Crisp walls, Champagne carts, shot walls and photo booths are just some of the party props they supply.
The Special Occasions largest creation to date is a six foot tall flower wall made from scratch.
Charlene says: “We’ve got a unique offer and we always put our own spin on things.
“Often we’ll see things online and send it to each other at two in the morning so we don’t forget.
“We’ll also do a personalised gift to go with our shot wall or prosecco cart.”
The Special Occasions keeping busy
For each event, the pair head out to get all the decorations set up and tidy up after.
Despite having six children and four dogs between them, they say “it just works”.
“Since a lot of if is weekends, our husbands are available to watch the kids while we go out and do what we need to do,” says Charlene.
“But there are days we work from nine in the morning until nine or ten at night.”
As The Special Occasions travel all over Scotland for events, Becky and Charlene hope to take on their first member of staff soon.
With up to four events on in one weekend, getting everything done in time can be hard with only two pairs of hands.
And there are no signs of business slowing down as they already have bookings for 2024.
Becky says: “There’s a lot of competition out there, but we will keep doing what we’re doing.
“But one of our main goals is to be affordable, because as soon as you mention wedding, prices triple.
“We know how expensive it is, so we want to give brides and grooms the chance to have everything they want within their budget.”
Conversation