Julie and Trent!

                  

Julie and Trent’s wedding was so special! Not only was their wedding absolutely beautiful but I had the perfect first bride to do a wedding under Hannah Marie Events. Julie was my very first bride to book and my first wedding under my own business. She could not have been a better bride to work with and I couldn’t be more pleased with how the wedding went. Her wedding was at Seven Springs which is a gorgeous venue! The (semi) new covered pavilion was a perfect addition for this June wedding. It allowed for a great sound from the awesome band and was a perfect place for guests to cool off! Julie and Trent were such a fun couple to work with and their guests were awesome! They definitely knew how to have a good time!! Seven Springs allows you to book the venue for the whole weekend which can include renting out rooms on the property for the bride and groom and their guests and family to stay over night. Is that not the most convenient and amazing thing?!

Julie’s primary color was purple and I loved it. Everything went together so beautifully with all of her pops of gold and flower arrangements that she and her friends made, yes you read that right she made them!! If those details didn’t already have you swooning, she also had a donut tower for dessert!! Donuts have been the new thing this summer and I don’t hate it. All of my brides that used donuts as their dessert have displayed them different which is so cool to me! I have one more donut wedding this fall and I can’t wait to see their display in real life (I’ve seen an inspiration picture). 

I can’t write about this wedding and not mention their photographer. Don Mears and his wife were amazing to work with!! I was so nervous for this wedding since it was my first but they were so great to work with and eased my nerves without even realizing it. Not only are they helpful and friendly but they are also amazing at what they do! I was so impressed with their work but not the least bit surprised. I love watching photographers do their work. I watched Don steal Julie and Trent away when it was getting dark and I couldn’t wait to see the final product! Needless to say, this wedding was a dream! Every vendor I worked with, I would work with again and recommend to any bride!

Thank you, Julie and Trent, for trusting me and for giving me the opportunity to start this little business of mine. Your wedding will always be special to me!

Look at his face!! 

Their love was so evident all day!

   

Perfection!

I love the family pictures!

All the details!!

                                                                         

Stunning!

 

First looks might be my favorite thing!

Did I mention there were animals?!

 Photography: Don Mears Photography

Flowers: Vogue

Décor: Paisley and Jade

Donuts: Duck Donuts

Caterer: Capt Rob’s Pigalicious BBQ

Band: Another Level

Venue: Seven Springs

C@H round 7

This beautiful welcome sign was created by
Caitlin Baumberger of Happy Tines!

I’m not sure how to do a recap of Creative at Heart in just a few paragraphs so instead I will write about a few of the best things I learned while in Raleigh for 4 days. To give a little background first, Creative at Heart, best known as C@H is a conference for creative small business owners founded by the one and only Kat Schmoyer! The conference is typically mostly women but there are a few awesome husbands in these small businesses that come to learn as well! For 3 days, we listen to amazing business owners share what they know about running a business. The topics range from money management, friendships, working with your spouse, using Instagram to the best of its abilities and so much more! This conference was focused on being brave and I thought it was absolutely perfect. You can find out more about C@H here!

The three best things I learned during my 4 days in Raleigh is that the people you meet will become your biggest supporters in a matter of seconds. I’m not kidding. You could introduce yourself to someone, tell them what your business is and they’re already cheering you on before you can give them any more details! They will ask what your biggest business accomplishments are and be genuinely happy for you when you tell them. They will cry with you when you share your hardships and what you're struggling with because chances are they were in the same place as you at one time or another. For me, I came in knowing less than 10 people personally and got in my car Wednesday night being friends with 3 times as many. C@H is truly a place where you embrace the creative community and lean on each other.

The next biggest thing I learned is that standing on your feet for hours, being one of the volunteers and answering questions is always worth it. Never turn down a volunteer position. I learned more than just what the panelist had to say. I learned more than just what happened in breakout sessions (for me it was Calligraphy with Alex from the Prairie Letter Shop and cupcake decorating with Randi from Sugar Euphoria). I learned what goes on behind the scenes. I saw the hard work Kat continued to pour into the conference, the constant drink restocking, snack refilling, coffee brewing and so much more from Kat’s momma and another volunteer. I saw Kat’s husband, Matt and some other strong men move the furniture from Paisley and Jade and a lot of other heavy stuff every single day. I and another volunteer stuffed swag bags for all the attendees and Emily, Kat’right-hand woman did a bit of everything to help keep everything flowing. I LOVED being a volunteer. It gave me the confidence knowing that Kat trusted me with this dream of hers that became reality.

The final best thing I learned is that when these amazing women (and men) tell you they are going to push you, motivate you, encourage you and check up on you, they really mean it. They WANT you to succeed. They don’t just tell you that “you can do it” or “don’t worry, it’ll get better”. Instead they tell you HOW you can do it, HOW to make it better and HOW to give yourself grace. The women in my panel group encouraged me to have confidence in this little business I’m building. They motivated me to purchase my domain and get started on creating a website for hannahmarieevents.com. There is nothing like being surrounded by dozens of small business owners who have been where you are, want the best for you and who can become some of your greatest friends.

I encourage YOU to go to the next Creative at Heart conference!

Here are some of my favorite pictures taken by Holly Felts of Holly Felts Photography

The conference started off with a band by having Lara Casey as our big surprise!!

                            

Coffee was essential, and look at these cute cups plus the best espresso bar by The Green Cupboard!

Holly beautifully captured all of the goodies inside the swag bags that each attendee received!

How cute is this bag by the Caroline Doll?!

 

The Prairie Letter Shop breakout session was amazing!

Randi did a lesson on cupcake decorating for one of the breakout sessions and not only did the cupcakes smell good but they tasted good too!!

The light in this carriage house made all the beautiful white even whiter! Look at those details!

All of my new friends. The best 4 days spent with amazing women (and men)!

The woman behind it all, Kat Schmoyer!