Holy wow, it has been a crazy two months! How was your summer? I hope the ‘Rona didn’t cramp your style too much? (We can say things like “cramp your style” because it’s basically the 90s again, right?) So after I quit my job I went hard at work for the Des Moines Wedding Show, and then a week after that, I got an invite to Iowa’s Premier “I Do” Wedding Show. In addition, I second-shot two weddings for Aundrea Eilers and Kara Vorwald, as well as prepping for an October 10th wedding for my client.

DES MOINES WEDDING SHOW
This was the first wedding show I did and It went well. Well, after we got set up at the venue. Everything that could go wrong basically did. I had a second person to man the booth with me, and that person dropped out about four days before the show. In the end I asked Glenn, who made a tremendous sacrifice for me. He rearranged his flight lessons to help me out and for that I owe him BIG.

The same day my number 2 dropped out, I ordered the photos for my portfolio. While they would normally be delivered next day, I found out Saturday that they had been rerouted to Cedar Rapids, and the flight they were on wouldn’t get to Des Moines till later that night. On top of that the guy I talked to misinformed me that I would be able to pick up my package on Sunday, but the facility was closed on Sundays and exactly zero people were working. So I had no printed photos for the show.

What we did have was this super cool sign! Glenn and my uncle built it and sanded it and Glenn and I stenciled and stained it. It still needs some work, like the pencils aren’t centered and they are too small, but it worked! We also had candy! I will always give out candy to people at wedding shows/trade shows. You don’t even have to hire me, just take some to nosh on. It’s fine.

Thankfully, the show went really well. I got to talk to so many excited brides. I loved getting to share in the joy and excitement of people’s stories. It was a good learning experience, too. I was better prepared for the next show, and It was much easier this time around because I didn’t have a ton of stuff to do to get ready for it. All I had to do was mount my portfolio. Overall, this show was a success.

I DO WEDDING SHOW
This show went a lot better than the first. That’s kind of what round one is for, isn’t it? Working out the kinks. This time I had a printed portfolio, which worked much better than the digital one I had before. The sign was still an eye-catcher, and of course I had candy. This time i just had the caramel and milk chocolate Ghiradelli, and the candy went a lot faster. We went through like three bags of it and only had a few pieces left over. I promptly ate those the next morning.

Glenn was a bigger help yet by going around and pitching my business to people. I was able to get some really good contacts! I really appreciate his support and his help. I am confident in my work and in my business, but when I am successful, it’s going to be largely because of him and all the other people who have supported me. I acknowledge my efforts and all the work I have put into my company, but I really owe a lot to my community. I owe no more to anyone than I do to Glenn and my dad. (And maybe the cat who got his paws sticky from walking on the newspaper coated in spray adhesive.)

I met so many wonderful people. There was one woman who came by with her daughter and talked about how she has been teaching life skills and a love of exploration in remote schooling. If her daughter asks a question, they go explore it together. They play outside and get dirty. It’s not wedding related but it brought me joy! I had so much fun chatting with people and learning about their love stories and some of them, their life stories. Even in the few minutes that I had to chat with people, I found myself with a deep appreciation for humanity. A lot of things suck horribly right now, and I needed that. Love brings out the best in humanity. Love of all flavors is the best of humanity.

OUR STRESS FREE WEDDING
One of the people that Glenn talked to was Sean Morrissey. He is a DJ and one of the founders of Our Stress Free Wedding. Glenn chatted with him a bit, and then he came to talk to me. Our Stress Free Wedding is similar to The Knot, but it’s more local, and all of the vendors are vetted, so you know that the people you are getting to work on your wedding are qualified professionals. In addition, there is a feature of their service that allows all of your vendors to work together and communicate with one another, so couples don’t have to play the middleman. After chatting with Sean and talking it over with Glenn, I decided to join them. As of yesterday, I am a founding vendor with Our Stress Free Wedding!

DESIGN CAMP
Normally this is the day that I would be headed to Minnesota for Design Camp. Due to Covid, they have gone virtual for this years event. After two wedding shows and the cost of preparing for them, I will not be attending this year, even online. I’m a little sad about it because they have a killer lineup of speakers, but it just wasn’t in the budget for me this year. That’s fine. AdobeMax is free and online so I might be tuning into that. I also have a lot of time commitments this fall, so that may not happen either.

The last two months have been insane. Thank you for bearing with me, those of you who regularly read!

Cheers,

Emma