A MOTHER who launched a new business to help her cope with the pressure of looking after her severely disabled son has scooped a top accolade at a weddings awards ceremony.

Not Your Average I Do, based at Penland Road in Haywards Heath, has won Best Venue Stylist of the Year at the regional Wedding Industry Awards.

It was set up in March 2015 by mum-of-two Kelly Kearley, 34, and she is over the moon to have won.

She said: "Basically we go to any venue - not a hotel - and we turn it into a wonderful place to get married.

"It could be a barn, it could be on a farm, it could be a marquee - basically it could be anywhere where the happy couple want to tie the knot.

"We blitz the place and turn it into a lovely venue. There are about eight of us and it's a great team who make venues look simply amazing.

"The couple will normally have a vision and we transform that into reality. It's a great job."

In its first year the company was booked for around 20 weddings - in 2016 the figure has soared to 150.

And for Kelly, she had a very special reason for setting up the business in the first place.

She said: "I have a five-year-old son Austen, who has PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome.

"We have spent a lot of time in the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

"It means he has a mental age of two, he has to wear nappies, he is non-verbal and also has autism.

"Because of the condition there is an 85 per cent chance that he will get cancer after the age of 12.

"I had a lot going on and I think this gave me a good reason to throw myself into the business as a distraction.

"The award really is the icing on the cake after what has been a really hard year."

She said that most of the staff who work with her are people she has met through the special needs support groups she has been involved in.

"They are very hard working and very organised," she said.

Back to the award and Kelly said brides are as keen as even to want their venue to look the best on their big day.

"Sometimes they think they will do it themselves but when they get there, they may not even be able to reach the ceiling, for example, and that's where we come in.

"Social media also plays a key role these days as to what the happy couple want. There are so many different ideas and themes out there."

With the UK wedding industry being worth an estimated £10 billion annually, it’s no surprise that wedding suppliers are working hard to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

The eight regional awards events have been held during November with winners progressing to the national finals in early 2017.

The Wedding Industry Awards are the only client-voted regional and national awards in the wedding industry.