Business sees boom in demand for ‘scented weddings’
COMPANY WORKS WITH COUPLES TO CREATE A ‘SIGNATURE SCENT’ FOR THEIR BIG DAY
A DERBYSHIRE business that offers “scented weddings” says demand for its services has boomed during the pandemic.
The Scent Styling Company, based in Chesterfield, was first launched in 2016 and mainly produces fragrance products such as diffusers and candles.
But a couple of years ago owner Jane Helliwell, 52, decided to adapt the business towards scented weddings and has since seen interest take off.
She said: “I decided to kind of niche down part of the business to offer scented weddings for couples.
“I work with the couples to pair them to a signature scent, which is done through an initial consultation where I get to know the couple, their likes and dislikes, how they met and a whole range of questions, for me to be able to then pair them to the ideal scent that’s going to work for the wedding.
“I take into consideration the venue, the season, the colours – there’s a lot that goes into the initial part of it.
“The type of products we end up using, which are all made and poured in-house by myself, is dependent on the venue, so we might use diffusers, candles or scented stationary to spread the particular scent around the day.”
Jane added that the demand for these scented weddings has greatly increased over the course of the pandemic as couples have tried to make their day special regardless of the number of people in attendance.
She added: “With many couples having had to delay their weddings or reduce guest numbers, lots more people have been looking for ways to make the day even more special and scented wedding bookings have surged in popularity since the pandemic began.”
Jane revealed that she first came across the idea of scented weddings after seeing its success in London.
A friend, who worked in the wedding industry as an event planner, urged her to adapt her business to offer this new service.
Since then, Jane has worked with hundreds of couples to make their day special.
“It’s something that is growing in popularity to be honest, but I’ve also done a lot of legwork to get it out there,” Jane said.
“It’s not just weddings as well, I can also offer it to businesses so they can have a scent.
“It does have an impact on our mood and emotion, it’s used a lot more than you realise. When you go into shops it’s used a lot but you don’t quite notice it because it’s done very subtly.
“For weddings, it’s about giving them something else that is memorable for the couple, so every time they smell their scent it’ll take them back to that day, so it’s a conscious and subconscious thing.”
Jane recently put together a package for a couple’s wedding who wanted to be reminded of their holiday to St Lucia and to have a fragrance that fitted with their venue.
Jane prepared an “English garden” and floral scent for their wedding.
She added: “Some people thought that it would be a process of me bottling pheromones and creating some strange scent out of the day but it’s nothing like that.
“It’s about extracting information from the couple and using it to pair them to their signature scent.
“We have to guide them and introduce scents to them which are seasonal but representative of all the information that they’ve given me.”
It’s about extracting information from the couple and using it to pair them to their signature scent. Jane Helliwell