A few weeks ago, I attended an amazing retreat called Bliss and Bespoke in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. I stumbled upon this retreat after seeing a post on Instagram. The power of social media, y'all. I clicked to find more information and was sold immediately! I knew this was just the kind of thing I needed to push my business to the next level. I jumped at the opportunity to learn from amazing women that I've long admired and looked up to (like Joy Thigpen, Jacin Fitzgerald, Tara Guerard, Leila Lewis), and to have the chance to surround myself with a community of wedding planners from all over the country. Bliss and Bespoke was more than I could have ever imagined - and just what I needed! Though there were many takeaways from the entire week and all the incredible speakers, a biggie that resonated loudly with me was the challenge to identifying your core. Why do you do this job? What do you love about it? What are you passionate about? What do you value? Honestly, you don't have to be a wedding planner to use your core values to drive you toward success. Even brides and grooms could use this way of thinking when starting to plan for their wedding day! I realized (or, should say, have started to realize) what core values are within my business, and what gives me so much excitement about weddings. And, I'm a little shocked at how simple it is - I want to see others happy. Everything I was exploring kept coming back to happiness and joy. I truly do love this job. Sure, it's fun to go to tastings with couples, to pick out centerpieces and design floor plans. But, there are a lot (like a lot, a lot, a lot) of things that go on behind the scenes - and, truth be told, most of these tasks are not so glamorous and not so fun. But, to see a bride get excited about her design plan, or a groom melt over the perfect cake flavor, or a couple laughing and dancing so carefree on their wedding day…. it all comes back to joy, and everything leading up to that point was 1,000,000% (x's infinity!) worth it. My "why" is my clients. And, that is exactly why attending a retreat like Bliss and Bespoke was important to me - so that I can truly give my couples the best experience possible, and to keep my passion for this industry burning brighter than ever.

I want to share just a few photos (from my trusty iPhone, of course) from this incredible experience. I'm going to call this Part One of my recap because these photos just don't do Bliss and Bespoke justice! Everything was executed perfectly by an amazing little power duo - Katie and Betsy. I cannot even begin to thanks these two ladies enough for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime! Words really cannot even begin to express my gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to reignite a passion within me to focus on what matters most and bring that passion to my brides and grooms. I've come back and jumped into work energized, inspired and ready to create beautiful weddings. And, now, I also have a whole new network of friends that truly amaze me.