New things

A week and a half ago I moved into a new place. This new home has enough currently going for it that its lovable, but yet has enough potential for me to make it exactly what I want it. It's your standard two bedroom, two bath which means that in about three months I will have an office! Why three months? 

Hubby-to-be and I will be hitched in three months at which time my roommate will move out and Hubby will move in. Voila! A spare room! There will be a bed so it can double as a guest room, but most importantly, it will hold my desk, files, organized containers, cork board, calendar, etc. Will there be anything on that calendar? Maybe not. But I will be one small step closer.

Now just because you have an office doesn't make you a professional. And what good is a heavenly organized office, if you don't have any events lined up? However, I feel that sometimes it's important to productivity to be able to set aside a designated space for it. And that excites me.

I have to admit (As I am always honest here) that my business venture has taken a back burner these past several months. Lots of things have been going on! I would list them out, but that would be just as superfluous as using the word superfluous on this blog. See, it doesn't fit, does it? 

I do strongly believe, however, that God is stirring something up in my life. He's been transitioning me and preparing me for something new and better. And how could you not be excited about that? If you believe in God, and know that He has a shiny, fun, exciting surprise around the next corner for you, how could you not be excited? 

That's how I'm feeling today. Excited!

Calligraphy to swoon over!

One of the coolest chicks in the wedding world has launched a new venture, and I think everyone should check it out! 

Amanda Young, A.K.A The Blissful Bride, has a beautiful talent in calligraphy, so please see her blog! 

I think my favorite style is the "London." What do you think?

Perturbed about my Portfolio

Being organized is an obsession for me. However, I wait for everything to get so completely out of hand that it's almost like therapy for me to go in and wipe the slate clean. I throw things away, organize what's left, and make sure everything has a place. Not really good. I should probably just stay organized instead of doing my own version of the show "Clean House" every couple of weeks. But really, who has the time for that?

I have a problem with photographers. Not my wedding photographers; they're awesome. But other photographers that I've worked with. My next project is to get my portfolio looking awesome. OK so, more truthfully...my next project is to create my portfolio. I'm just not into dropping my business cards off at random vendors who don't even know who I am. They'll probably get trashed, and I paid too much money for them for that.

I would really like to have tangible examples of the work I have done since I have ventured out on my own. In order to do that...I'd really like to have pictures. One photographer sent me what had to have been the worst 5 shots out of her selection (Two being of myself...why would I want those?), and three have ignored me after the day of. What does a girl have to do to get a little respect around here?

Talk about being married to your work!

My love and I are reading a really great book called Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts by Drs. Les and Leslie Parrot. (Yes, they are a married couple with the same first name.) I love it so far! I am only in the second chapter, but I would definitely recommend it to all of those engaged. It's like premarital counseling in a book.

Anyway, the point is, today I read a portion that sounded a lot like my post from yesterday and I just had to share!

Speaking on marriage it says, "We have put a lot of miles on this marriage. It has been exasperating, elating, horrible, wonderful, shackling, freeing. It has been our single most intimate source of conflict and joy. Still, it has so much to offer."

The next page offers a quote from Erich Fromm's book The Art of Loving. It says, "There is hardly any enterprise which is started with such tremendous hopes and expectations, and yet, which fails so regularly, as love."

How interesting that we can compare starting a business to love and marriage. Talk about being married to your work! If your job can even come close to blessing you as much as love and marriage do, then by golly it deserves the blood, sweat, and tears you put into it!

Entrepreneurship

I subscribed to a new blog today and read something I liked. Sean Low has a brand new blog called The Business of Being Creative. Yesterday he wrote about one of his former Professors:

"He told us that starting a business is HARD. You won't have a life, you will risk everything and you will experience the extreme of every human emotion possible. And, in the end, 80% of us would fail."

I love this statement because it affirms me. It tells me I'm normal. It tells me that it's OK for me to be stressed, agitated, excited, unsatisfied, eager, and elated all at the same time! It also tells me I'm not crazy for wanting this so badly. 

If I were to be honest with myself and all of you reading, which I have promised to do, I would have to say that some days I don't feel like doing this. "Life shouldn't be this hard," I tell myself. I shouldn't have to work a full day of waiting tables and then spend the rest of my day trying to convince people I'm awesome at what I do. (Not waiting tables) But reading this quote reminds me that I'm not alone. There are other crazy fools out there that want this just as badly and some more badly than I do! And that's OK.

Everyone has an opinion

Planning my own wedding has opened up a whole new world of insight for me. I didn't fully understand the pressure until now that I've experienced it first hand. I always tell my brides and my friends, "It's not their wedding, it's yours. Do what makes you happy." 

I've discovered that it's much easier to plan someone else's wedding than to plan your own. You don't have the emotional tie that those directly involved have. Now that my betrothed and I have decided to do things a little out of the ordinary, everyone has an opinion. And a lot of them are not positive. Experiencing this first hand, I can finally tell my clients and friends, "It's not easy, but you can do it." You can take your grandmother by the hand and tell her gently, "I don't want a formal invitation. I like spunky. I want you to love my invitation, but I would also like to be happy with it." 

The same goes for vendors. Take their expert advice, but don't let them talk you out of something that means a lot to you. Explain to them your reasoning, and they may have a better way of achieving the look you truly want.

Obviously, this does not mean that you can go disrespectfully bossing around your mother or demanding impossibilities from your vendors. Just remember that those who give an opinion usually have your best interest at heart. And those who don't......well, we should save that for a whole other day shouldn't we? : )

Millie Holloman Photography

I don't recall ever posting about Millie Holloman, but I have been wanting to for quite some time now. 

She and her staff are the most rockin' photographers you have ever met! They are fresh, romantic, and spunky. Unfortunately, a lot of photographers have lost their creativity these days, choosing, instead to rely on what has always worked in the past. You don't get that with Millie and her crew. My love and I have been following her work since we moved to Wilmington, which has been about two years now. We love reading her blog like a little candy addiction!

Although I have never met Millie, she is an inspiration to me as a christian, female business owner. She's obviously worked very hard to get to where she is, and I admire all that she's accomplished.

Not to mention, her associates, Amanda and Brent, are shooting our wedding this fall! They are awesome and super sweet. We are excited beyond words and can't wait to share the results with everyone!