Thursday, May 16, 2013

THE NOTWEDDING COMING TO NYC - 5/22

I am so incredibly excited to announce that the next NotWedding will be taking place in NYC next week! And we are a featured vendor - yippee!

For those of you who don't know, "The NotWedding is a bridal show alternative in the form of a big, fake wedding." I mean, how could you not LOVE that concept? You get to witness a ceremony, eat some amazing food, and dance your tush off, all in the name of wedding planning research!

I've been following The NotWedding since it's 2008 inception in Atlanta, so when they contacted me to participate in the first NYC show, I was beyond thrilled. It's such a great resource for engaged couples - because you are the "wedding guests", you get to actually experience the services provided by the vendors and witness how it all comes together at a wedding, rather than just look at pictures and take our word for it. Plus, you get face time with all of the vendors after the party is over.

Check out all the loveliness below from Atlanta's 6th NotWedding that just happened this past February:


So come out and see what all the hype is about - I assure you that you will not be disappointed. And we're designing 6 of the tables you'll be eating at, so come back here and let us know what you thought:

When: Wednesday May 22, 2013 | ceremony at 7pm
Where: Bathhouse Studios | 540 E 11th St NY, NY 10009
Why: Because it's awesome, you need to continue your wedding research anyway, and you don't have any other plans for Wednesday night
How: Purchase your ticket online for $40 and show up: http://www.thenotwedding.com/events/new-york-city/

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

TODAY IS THE DAY

Today is the day.

Today is the day that I put all fears aside. The day that I forge ahead in the direction of my dreams. The day that I become the person I was always meant to be. The day that marks the beginning of the rest of my life.

I struggled with whether or not to write this post because in a sense, I've been living somewhat of a lie up until today and I wasn't sure if people would feel duped or not. I never meant to deceive anyone. I just did what I had to do, for as long as I had to do it, in order to do what I'm doing now. Let me back up. 

Today, I am a full time Wedding Planner.

Yesterday, I was a full time Advertising Executive (and full time Wedding Planner "on the side"). And not everyone in my life knew this. I tried to keep them separate. Tried to live 2 different lives, not wanting my couples to think that I didn't have time for them, or that I wasn't serious about my business and their weddings. Not wanting my boss to think that I didn't have time for work, or that I wasn't serious about my job. Which led to much exhaustion, stress, and helplessness.

You see, I've been working I worked in an Advertising Agency for the past 12 years. Ever since I graduated from college. Ever since I entered the workforce as a young, eager professional. It was fine for a while. I enjoyed working hard and learning new things.
I enjoyed what I did.

And then one day I didn't. I tried different agencies, different clients, different projects. Nothing felt right anymore and I knew I needed a change. I gained incredible knowledge and made lifelong friendships, but I had lost the passion for the work, which I so desperately craved. And then I entered the wedding and event industry and everything seemed good again. That was 5 years ago and I've been working my butt off ever since trying to juggle the full time job and the start of a wedding industry career, which led to Ruffles & Tweed. 

Deep down I knew I couldn't juggle forever, but there's something very scary about walking away from a life, and a career, and a paycheck you've known for a third of your life. So I stayed. And I struggled. And I pretended that it was normal. Normal to work 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16 hours a day in an office doing something that paid the bills but didn't feed my soul. Normal to then go home only to work another 4, 5, 6 hours on a business and work that I loved, but that wasn't getting the time and attention it deserved. Normal to sleep 3-4 hours a night. Normal to not ever go on vacation because all of my vacation days were used for weddings and meetings. I literally took off work to work. It sounds crazy now, but it was my normal for a long time.
 
Until now. Until today. The stars finally aligned. The hard work finally paid off. And I finally feel that I can start enjoying life again. Enjoy my husband, my baby, my family and friends. Enjoy the gym - oh the gym, how I've missed you. Enjoy the business that I started and enjoy working hard to push it further than I ever could've dreamed. Enjoy my couples who make it possible for me to live my dream. Enjoy the freedom of having 1 job and living 1 life.

No more fear. 

My new normal starts now. Today is the day. I am a full time Wedding Planner.

WEDNESDAY'S WORDS TO LIVE BY

Quote by Steve Jobs, image found via Preppy Chic


AND.....we're back! It's been a while since we've posted anything here, but that is all about to change! We're back in full effect here at Ruffles & Tweed and are working on a bit of a revealing post to come later today - stay tuned!