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Meet Liz & Doug

Meet Liz. Image shows Liz Sexton who is the founder and managing director of Stressfree - the Venue Transformers
Meet Doug. Doug Showell is the creative director of Stressfree - the Venue Transformers

Meet Liz and Doug, founders of the Venue Styling Academy.

Meet Liz ...

Liz Sexton is the founder and managing director of Stressfree – The Venue Transformers

Starting her career as a “big four” chartered accountant she specialised as a business consultant to help large organisations streamline their business processes and systems and run a tight ship. 

Liz soon identified a niche in the UK wedding market for wedding planning services in 1995.  Her business quickly became a big fish in a small pond, planning high profile weddings across the UK and overseas for couples who needed “a professional’s professional” to help them achieve the day of their dreams.

Under Liz’s directorship, the business became the “go to” company for celebrities and couples with big plans for both weddings and parties.   Subsequently moving her business to focus on venue styling, Stressfree still attracts the same calibre of clients.

Liz is very much a “details” person and for her, every job is personal.  She does not believe in short-cuts.  As with everything she does, in both her business and private life, she is meticulous in making sure a plan works first time!  This detailed planning philosophy underpins the “Stressfree” aim of making events look stunning and feel effortless.

When Liz is not focused on her business interests, she can be found channelling her energy into gardening.  As well as growing countless fruit and vegetables, she also plays saxophone in a big band.

Meet Doug ...

Doug Showell is the creative director of Stressfree – The Venue Transformers.

Doug comes from a family of artists and studied design and technology at University.  He is a qualified teacher and worked for many years in sales, selling IT services to large corporations.

As a true creative, he relishes the challenges that each and every event brings.  With a love of engineering he is renowned for being able to find a practical solution to most problems!

His technical knowledge is second to none and the reason why so many venues recommend Stressfree to their clients for their event design and production.  They know that each and every scheme installed will be innovative in its design, fully thought through, compliant with Health & Safety and installed to protect the fabric of the venue.

Doug’s hobbies reflect his creative streak and include cooking, cartooning and making things!