A little bit about us....

We are a creative family-run wedding and event venue styling company based in Kendal, Cumbria, serving the beautiful Lake District, Lancashire and the North West.

Purple Swan is a family business run by Carla, Catherine, Luisa and Francis and founded in 2009. We use our creative flair to decorate weddings of the many people fortunate enough to get married in this beautiful part of the country, with the occasional help from our mini-apprentices ?

Carla

Trained in BA(Hons) ‘Set Design for Film, TV and Theatre’, I had worked in the theatre and film industry for over 10 years. Having spent time in London working long hours on film sets, including ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Nine’, my partner Francis and I moved to the Lake District in search of a more relaxed and nature-filled life. We now have two children and with two businesses life isn’t that relaxed (ha ha!) but we love what we do and where we live, and try to get out in the fells and on the water as much as we can.

Francis

Runs his own web design agency and is the brains behind our website. He also helps out with bookings some evenings and weekends!

Catherine

(aka Granny) moved to Kendal in 2013 to be closer to family. Having been a school teacher in East Sussex, ready for a change she joined Purple Swan when she moved up and is a fantastic organiser, experienced seamstress, brilliant baker and all round creative. In her spare time she continues her life-long passion for protesting for a greener future, and we are all immensely grateful to her for this.

Luisa

(Carla’s sister) moved to Kendal with her two children in 2021, having been long tempted by the idyllic scenery and pace of life of Cumbria.

Luisa brings a diverse range of talents having worked in non-profit organisations for years, including UNESCO, The Prison Phoenix Trust, Oxfam and The Wellcome Trust, as well as various teaching roles (language and school teacher in Thailand, yoga teacher). She excels in the client focused parts of our business, and with a background in publishing, is (together with strong support from Granny) our resident wordsmith.