Wow, I can’t believe another year has passed and that we completed over 40 weddings in 2012! It’s been an amazing, stressful, wonderful, overwhelming, incredible year. We have grown so much this past year, as a business and personally.

Today I met up with one of my favorite photographers and friends, Sara France, for coffee and we discussed what we want to do more of in 2013 and how we are going to make it different than 2012. Updating our websites, changing our blogs, alternative marketing, making how to’s & behind the scenes videos, all things that we think will be beneficial to us and clients. We also talked about what makes a small business like ours successful and we believe a major part of that is getting personal. Getting personal with our clients, with other vendors, and while it’s hard because you have to make yourself vulnerable, in the end the greatest risks also reap the greatest rewards.

So on this day before 2013, I begin to get personal- I want all of you to get real and personal with me as well, tell us what you really think, how you feel, and what you want.

This past year has had it’s highs and lows- I finally feel like we are accepted into the wedding industry in San Diego. It’s been almost 5 years now and finally I feel like I am respected, it may seem easy, it’s just weddings – right? WRONG, It takes time and a lot of hard work to prove yourself in the industry with people who have been doing this for years, they have seen many wedding planners and other vendors come and go, they have to know that you are going to STICK AROUND and that you will produce good quality work time after time. And oh boy have we, we have done everything we can to show who we are and what we can do, don’t worry there is more to come, but we also know that we gave it our all this year.

We have had some crazy brides, some amazing brides, some we loved, and some who have become friends- all of which we adore and have created GORGEOUS & COUTURE weddings for. We have found vendors that we really enjoy working with and some that maybe aren’t our style. We have jumped for joy after the perfect wedding and we have been the girl in the bathroom stall when one of the other vendors walks in and speaks unkindly of us, not knowing we are in the stall (it was seriously like something out of a movie). Haven’t we all been that girl? It was like something out of Mean Girls…it took me back to high School. At that moment I wished I could have come up with something witty and smart to say right back but instead I pulled my feet up so they couldn’t see me, waited for them to leave, and them came out, composed myself, put a smile on, and made it my prerogative to prove to them that they were wrong and show them only kindness in return.

Kindness, love, beauty, and hope has been my focus this past year and will continue to be in this new year but I am also going to add ACCEPTANCE & RESTORATION, these are going to be my theme this year. To not speak an unkind word about any vendor, to only uplift others with my words and actions, and to accept others- accept those who are new to the industry, accept those who who may not be as “cool” or “trendy” as me. (I always try to keep up on the latest trends and styles but I have found that most of the time there is someone who is trendier and cooler :) and I have learned that I AM OK WITH THAT, it’s given me a chance to BE ME and show the style and design that I really love: Parisian, classy, elegant, whimsical, woodsy, and PRETTY. I hope you will all join with me this year in accepting others, accepting yourself and your niche, and being OK with that EXCITED about our strengths and working together on our weaknesses. Redeeming those who may be different, I no longer want to be in the closed off COOL group ( I strived for this for the first 4 1/2 years in the wedding industry)… I now want to be ME and with people, vendors, and clients who want to thrive on their uniqueness, their strengths, and work together to create something BEYOND BEAUTIFUL, something ELITE but not completely exclusive, something COUTURE- custom & hand made, something that will last a lifetime, I want TIMELESS to be the new “cool”.

A very close friend once said to me, “What if you remembered who you were before people broke you down?” The more I think about this, the more it sinks in.  What would I be able to create if I hadn’t been broken down by others, if my feelings hadn’t been hurt by others harsh words, if my ideas hadn’t been shot down… I want to be THAT PERSON. I WANT TO LIVE THAT WAY! Completely FREE.

One of my dear friends, Kaitlyn, is becoming a life coach and tonight we discussed finding your purpose. And how finding your purpose is about your BEING not your DOING. She described it this way, “If you feel that your purpose is empowering others, you can do this through teaching but you don’t have to be a teacher to empower others, even if that was taken away from you, you could find another way to empower others- by being a nurse, coach, instructor, etc.” This got me thinking about my life purpose. I believe and know that MAKING LIFE BEAUTIFUL AND MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE is my purpose.

It’s true, I don’t have to live out my life purpose by being a wedding stylist & coordinator. I could also do that by being a dress designer, makeup artist, or working at Disneyland :) but I CHOOSE to be a wedding planner, it doesn’t define me, I define it- I choose to MAKE LIFE BEAUTIFUL and MAKE DREAMS COME TRUE by creating WEDDINGS.

So on this day before 2013, I ask you:

1. Will you be accepting with me, will you be kind this year, will you try something different, give someone new a chance?

2. Will you be restored this year? What if you remembered who you were before people broke you down?

3. What is your life purpose and how are you fulfilling it?

…Ok, was that too personal? Don’t worry my personal posts won’t always be so serious.

2013 is going to be FUN. I can feel it, FABULOUS & FUN!

XO, Krystel

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