We Won Best Newcomer in the Vuelio Online Influence Awards 2019!

Well, what can we say?! To be honest, we’re still in shock. Even when you dream of winning, you don’t really quite ‘get’ that it could be a possibility, you just continue to dream. Read on to find out what happens when these dreams come true…

We Won Best Newcomer in the Vuelio Online Influence Awards 2019!

When we received the email to say were were in the awards we were beyond excited. We immediately started researching hotels and transport, because no matter the result, we wanted to celebrate being in the finals.

We arrived in London with butterflies in our tummies, and headed to the hotel, excited to have some girly getting ready time! We chilled some prosecco in the sink (haha!) and when we were ready to go we met Ian from Dad’s Delicious Dinners and headed to the Hilton for a pre-event drink! Ian was in our finalist category, and we loved hanging out with him on the awards night.

At the Hilton we met Cerys from Rainy Day Mum, Tim from Slouching Towards Thatcham, John from Dad Blog UK, Jamie and Tom from Daddy and Dad, and of course, our lovely friends, Kate and Sharon from Les Be Mums.

It was amazing to put so many faces to their Instagram handles haha! We had a drink and then headed over to the Bloomsbury Ballroom where a small queue of elengantly dressed folk waited patiently to hand their coats in. THIS WAS IT! IT WAS HAPPENING! WE WERE PART OF IT!

We stood inline with Ian and everything just felt so incredibly magical. It felt so amazing to be recognised as equals amongst all the fabulous people, to be accepted as we are, a normal but diverse family. It just felt beautiful.

We mingled with the bloggers and drank lovely fruity cocktails, and soon enough it was time for food. We found our seats and spent some time chatting to people and friends (Les Be Mums of course!). Soon it was time for the awards, and this part of the night is a massive blur!

Names were called out, people were applauded, it all felt very surreal and very emotional. When it came to our category (Best Newcomer), I felt my heart sink. I looked at Zoey as they read through their names, and deep down I was rooting for Ian (he’s so lovely and his blog is ace!), but when they said, ‘Our Transitional Life’, we both looked at each other in shock. We sat there for a moment and then suddenly we were on the stage. How the heck did that happen?! We were shaking and I will never forget Jen Brister’s face as she shook our hands and congratulated us. Her face was full of pride and kindness, and in that moment I realised just how important our win was.

Diversity is at the heart of our win. Vuelio have acknowledged our blog and its worth, they’ve acknowledged our story and the work we put in, and they’ve championed our normal (but not so normal) life as a transgender family. I could honestly kiss the judges, not only have they recognised our aims with the work we do, but they’re also paving the way for more diverse awards.

To have two LGBTQ+ wins on that night felt like history in the making. They’ve raised their voices and in doing so, our story can be heard by even more people. Times are changing, and it’s amazing to see Vuelio miles ahead of the crowd.

Thank you, Vuelio. Thank you for believing in us.

Winning this award is unbelievable, and it’s not all about us either. This award is for the transgender community, transgender allies,and transgenders families and couples everywhere.

This award is for YOU.

You can see the rest of the winners here.