Getting to know... Charlotte Melia, Founder and MD of Dazzle and Fizz Party Planners

We at Bespoke Family have been lucky enough to experience some Dazzle and Fizz children’s parties first hand and they are nothing short of incredible. We spoke to Charlotte to find out more about everything she has achieved after setting the business up when she was just 24, where the inspiration comes from for all of these amazing themed parties and how she manages to always exceed the brief!

When did you first have the idea to set up a party planning business?

I was 8 months pregnant with my son and didn’t want to go back to my sales career, where the hours were long & inflexible. As a trained actor, I had also been performing at children’s parties on the weekends and identified a gap in the market for a more premium offering.

You were very young when you set the company up - what were the challenges you faced?

Oh my goodness, so many! Firstly, I had no capital to start the business and no contacts or investors to support me. I started the company by emptying my bank account, which at the time was the sum of £47.50! My sister Christie (who is now my business partner) and I used this money to host a party for her eldest daughter, in the hope that her classmates would then go on to use us. Unfortunately, on the day of the party it snowed heavily, so only 3 x guests turned up! By some miracle, all 3 went on to book us and Dazzle & Fizz was born! After this I faced so many challenges from hiring staff, to managing cash flow and made many mistakes along the way, but I believe these all helped to make me a more robust business owner.

You are a real advocate for women in business (something close to our own hearts!) – what has driven this passion and do you have any top tips for women who are thinking of setting up on their own?

Supporting women in business is my number 1 passion and something that I hope to continue and develop alongside my career. As a woman from a working class background in a rural location (I’m from the Isle of Wight originally), who has also been a single-mother to a severely Autistic child, I have faced many hurdles in business and understand how hard it can be for women to set up, maintain and grow their businesses without going completely bonkers! I am now also a military wife and have a lifelong auto-immune disease, so I feel like I have a broad range of experience to relate to. I think that, like it or not, women still experience a great deal of inequality in business and we need to support and help each other to change that. My main pieces of advice to anyone wanting to start a business would be A) Just do it! Stop talking about it, much like having a baby, there’s never going to be a ‘perfect’ time, so take the leap. B) Be flexible and adaptable to change. Even if you think that you have the best idea in the world, if no one is buying it, you might need to pivot and that’s not a bad thing. Listen to your market and your business will benefit. C) Get a support network and reach out to likeminded individuals. You can’t do this thing alone and the more diverse your network, the richer your business knowledge will become.

What’s it like working so closely with your sister? (Christie-Lee co founder of Dazzle and Fizz pictured above with Charlotte)

Not to be cheesy, but it really is the best thing in the world. We’re sisters, best friends, soul mates and one another’s biggest supporters. I also think that we compliment one another really well at work as we have such different skills. There is no one else I’d rather be on this crazy rollercoaster with!

How many people are there in your team and what do they all do?

Currently we have 8 people in the office. There’s myself (CEO) & Christie (COO). We then have Iwona & Georgie in Event Planning, Effy & Callie in Styling & Design and Katie & Bethany in Administration. We also work with a wider team of trusted freelancers and suppliers.

How do you come up with all of the ideas for the parties you put on?

It’s a real collaborative effort. Everyone is creative in each department, so we have regular team meetings to share ideas and brainstorm events.

Some of the parties have been very elaborate – how do you pull them off (and how do you manage to persuade 5 star London hotels to allow live animals in their best rooms?!)

I think that this all comes down to building solid relationships, both with our suppliers and partner venues. People are far more likely to help you out at the last minute, or with a unique request if you’re honest, polite and genuine. We also have a very dedicated in-house team, who all share our vision of excellence in our field. In business, your team is everything.

Those cakes are incredible – who makes them?

Thank you! We work with a carefully curated selection of cake makers, depending upon the client’s needs. Some of our favourites include Tuck Box, Odiham Cake Company, Georgia’s Cakes and Crème Velvet.

We imagine that you are extremely busy? How far in advance do you have to book for a Dazzle and Fizz party?

We always advise in booking with at least 12 weeks notice where possible. However, the nature of our market means that we have had to become very proficient at delivering perfect parties with little to no notice, so we welcome last minute bookings too.

Do you do parties for adults too?

Yes, we do. In January this year we launched ‘Yaverland’, which is our sister company for adult and corporate events. Since then we have delivered many exciting events and installations and in June we hosted a sell-out Event Masterclass at The Berkeley Hotel which was such an amazing experience. We will be announcing our next public event soon, so watch this space…

What is the most unusual request you have ever had for a party? Did you manage to pull it off?

Hmmm… there’s certainly been a few! Of the ones I can talk abut (many of our parties are subject to NDAs), a memorable challenge was flying a 9ft round Pokeball (inspired by Pokemon) on a commercial flight to Monaco with less than 24 hours notice. It took some explaining to airport security…

What do you do for your own children’s birthday parties?!

My son has Autism Spectrum Disorder with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) and attends a special school for young people with Autism. Parties can be hard for Autistic people, so we deliver specially designed events to suit my son and his guest’s needs. This can include a quiet/ sensory room, tactile entertainment, preparatory information for parents and carers and music played at a reduced level.

What are the 3 golden rules when planning a children’s birthday party?

1) Choose a theme that the birthday child will love first and foremost. A good event planner will ensure that even the most obscure theme is accessible to all guests.

2) Choose the right venue. The party setting can make a huge impact on the overall event and different party venues have different rules to consider, so do your research.

3) Enjoy it! Your children are only small once, so enjoy the planning process, but more importantly, enjoy the party itself. It will be over in a flash, so make sure you have fun too!

Don’t forget that we offer parent consultations should you need support with anything from sleep to behaviour and so much more! Details of the packages we offer can be found here.

We also have a podcast - ‘Newborn to Teen and Everything in Between’ - listen here.