It's that time of year again, for the annual conference of the Association of Bridal Consultants. I take great pride in my membership of the Association. I joined three years ago this October and went to that very first conference a month later in Atlanta. I didn't even have a business name yet, but I learned so much from new and seasoned consultants, the special guest speakers, and staff. As one former ABC consultant said, "you can't afford NOT to attend the annual conference." I look forward to each conference because if I had a busy summer and am feeling burned out, this conference helps reboot my drive and reminds why I love this business so much.
This year's conference features David Tutera, a celebrity wedding designer who has a new daily morning show on Lifetime about weddings. We're also hearing from Mary Dann, a California based celebrity wedding planner. The market in Madison and the Midwest in general is far behind those on the east and west coasts. Over there, clients come to the wedding planner, give them ideas of what they want, and the planner pulls it all together on their own to present the dream wedding to the bride. The planner already has a team of vendors in place, so there's no question about which florist to use, where the linens are coming from, who is doing lighting - they are all already contracted by the planner.
Back to ABC - did I mention the conference is in Orlando this year? It's in the upper 70s, lower 80s - heaven! I could go on about how great the conference will be, but you can check out the website for yourself: www.businessofbrides.com. I'm sure I'll have plenty to say when I return!
As a small business owner, the work never ends. Even at the conference, where access to email was not as easy (no wi-fi in the hotel, who doesn't have wi-fi these days?), I was answering questions, scheduling vendor appointments for my brides, and finding dates to meet and network with other vendors. It's easy to see why wedding consultants, and other small business owners, can easily put in 60+ hours a week! I suppose it's a good thing that I love this business and enjoy working with all of my fabulous clients.
