Samantha Gilchrist, co-founder and CEO of The Gilchrist Collection, shares her life as an entrepreneur.

Tell me about the story behind the inception of The Gilchrist Collection.

I was a successful photographer specialising in weddings and newborns and one day, while showcasing my photography at the National Wedding Show, I met a couple looking to book their wedding in Sussex, where I’m from. As they were having an intimate wedding they were having trouble finding a venue so I offered to send them some suggestions and gave them my details.

A few weeks later I was working from my “Starbucks office” when I received their email asking for suggestions. I was putting together a list of venues and adding the links to the email. The Ravenswood was one of the venues I wanted to put on the list but when I went to their website I found it was down. In good faith – one small business to another – I phoned them to let them know. The owner answered the phone and when I told him he said he had intentionally taken it down as he was “going fishing” and that the venue was for sale. I immediately contacted a good friend of mine, Stuart who is now my business partner, and we set about figuring out how to buy the venue. Four weeks later we took the keys to The Ravenswood, although the previous owner had cancelled all wedding bookings so we were starting from nothing.

You got started with one venue and expanded to 11 across the UK and US, which is highly impressive. What were some of the key challenges you were faced with during expansion, and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was going from one venue to two. I had been hands-on at The Ravenswood, running the day-to-day and being the point of contact for the team I had built as well as some of the couples. The hardest thing for me was the transition from being in the venue full-time, to creating a head office and running a general manager instead. 

Crowcombe Court was our second venue and it took me a minute to figure things out. However, we got there and then rolling onto number three was much easier, despite having to figure out how to navigate Covid! Not only did we add our third venue, Rushpool Hall, the day of the first lockdown, we also went on to add Hackness Grange and Highley Manor while moving all of our sales online in 2020.

We now have 11 venues, two of which are in the US, and we’re excited to see what comes next.

How did you fund the purchase of your first venue?

We leased the venue for the first three months while creating some revenue to be able to do forecasts and we booked 50 weddings in this time. The previous owner agreed to do some seller finance too, and we got a mortgage and an investor. In year three we paid back the seller finance and bought out the investors.

You have a unique perspective on weddings from your experience as a photographer. How has this insight shaped your approach to creating exceptional wedding experiences for couples at your venues? 

First and foremost I look at every area of the venue from a photographic point of view – what's in the way that would look bad in the back of the photos for example. As a result, I have removed large amounts of clutter from each venue in the Collection and tried to make certain aspects such as the function room and ceremony room as neutral as possible to be the perfect background for each couple's décor whilst still being beautiful on their own.

Each venue in the Collection also has another thing in common, and that is a beautiful getting ready room. It’s a must-have for me, as my biggest hate as a photographer was trying to capture those gorgeous getting ready moments in a home or room that didn’t have the space or lighting to do them justice. 

I am also very focused on having both indoor and outdoor ceremony area options in each venue, as well as dedicated photo spots in the grounds for those first couple photos that are close to the building and inside photo spots should the weather be bad on the day.

What’s the most common problem your clients approach you with?

Not knowing where to start or what the timeline should be, for example when to send invites out etc. It’s the expectation that because you are now engaged you are automatically a wedding planner! 

Also close second is people buying their dresses too early. People understandably get swept up in the moment and get a dress first thing then spend two years planning their wedding and realise the dress is not what they want anymore and they have to get another one. It’s a costly and stressful mistake for any Bride, and it’s way more common than you would think.

If you could be in a room with four entrepreneurs, who would they be and why?

In no particular order:

Rebecca Minkoff – I like her bags and her book ‘Fearless’ is a great story of adapting to influencer marketing and evolving a business that could have failed if she didn’t adapt with the times, and she did all this while navigating being a working mum.

Joanna Vargas – I love her brand and she is in a growth period right now which I always find relatable and interesting.

Stephen Barlett – I like his podcast!

Kris Jenner – You have to admire her and what she’s done for the Kardashian/Jenner brand even if you don’t like them.

Tell me about your favourite venue and why?

I'm definitely not allowed to have favourites, but I got married at The Ravenswood and as it is my first venue it will always have a special place in my heart.

What core values and principles do you instil within The Gilchrist Collection, and how do you ensure that they are reflected in your team’s actions and decisions?

I want every couple and guest to feel like they had an incredible experience and for them to tell everyone about it afterwards. To achieve that, we need to ensure that everyone they encounter throughout the whole process, not just the day itself, is helpful and positive and goes out of their way to make it the very best experience. I survey everyone that tours our venues, has their wedding with us, and stays with us, and use their feedback to work on how to improve each venue and continue to train the staff to be the best they can be.

I also value training and progression and want everyone to be able to either grow within the company or move on having learnt something that helps forward their personal progression.

Your commitment to fostering career progression is commendable. Could you share a success story of one of your team members who started in a different role and has now grown into a significant position within the company?

Yes, we have a number of success stories that started with us in housekeeping, reception or on the bar that have moved up to become Operations Managers or Wedding Coordinators etc. and that’s a great source of pride for me.

When we first took over The Ravenswood we had a meet and greet with the local community and one family bought their daughter with them. She was 15 at the time and shortly after she started with us in housekeeping on Saturdays. She moved from there to waiting staff, then bar staff, then assistant wedding coordinator and is now currently the lead coordinator at The Ravenswood, overseeing almost 300 weddings a year.

With 11 venues already under your belt, what are your plans for future expansion?

Continue to grow and expand, and build on our structure so we can take on more venues both in the UK and US – we are just getting started!