Where did 2017 go, right?  I’m sure you’re tired of hearing folks say, “I can’t believe it’s the end of the year!”  Me too, but I feel the same way 😛

And just like everyone else during this time of the year, I took some time to reflect on my year.  I reached so many milestones in 2017:

• March: I got married
• June: I bought my first house
• November: I launched this blog
• December: I turned 30

In today’s post, I’d like to talk more about why I launched this blog.  (Hint: I created this blog for YOU!)

I created this blog for the busy person who works full-time and doesn’t have time to scroll through TheKnot or WeddingWire all day to browse ideas or ridiculous, time-consuming DIY projects.  

I created this blog for the busy person who’s looking for more than just pretty wedding pictures.  You’re looking for actionable solutions to save time, money, and stress.  I know this because I was in your shoes.  

As I was wedding planning, I had SO much stuff going on in my life:

• Moved to a new city 400 miles away
• Working full-time at a brand new job
• I was also working a part-time job (in addition to my full-time job)
• Servied on the board of directors for a nonprofit
• Traveling back and forth between two cities 400 miles apart, monthly
• Going to weekly family therapy sessions
• House-hunting in a city that’s two hours away

Plus, I was busy with day-to-day stuff that takes up time, like shopping for groceries, cooking, cleaning, going to the gym, etc.  

I was insanely busy!  

And on top of all that, I had to figure out how to squeeze wedding planning into my jam-packed schedule.  Thankfully, I’m super awesome at researching and getting things done!  But I definitely ran into some challenges.  

When I started researching how to plan a wedding, I felt overwhelmed with ideas.  The internet is bursting with wedding pictures that are great for inspiration – so finding ideas was easy.  But when it comes to getting stuff done?  Now that was hard to find.  

Don’t get me wrong, there’s good information online, but I had to dig for it.  And I mean really dig for it.  I spent HOURS researching how to knock stuff off of my wedding planning checklist.

The more I researched, the more I noticed that there was something missing from the popular wedding planning sites like TheKnot and WeddingWire.  These sites are simply not built for people who are too busy to read, navigate, and decode them.  

I’d go to TheKnot and WeddingWire searching for something very specific, and I’d end up clicking around forever trying to find the information – I was getting nowhere.  Or worse, I’d end up clicking on totally unrelated topics that were completely irrelevant to me!  

And we couldn’t afford to pay $10,000+ to hire a wedding planner to make all the stress go away, so we had to research everything ourselves.  Bummer.  

I’m definitely a type-a planner, and I gotta be honest: I started to stress the fuck out.  But I found ways to save time, money and stress.  

That’s why I created Planning with Poise.  

I fight the noise, clutter, and predatory selling tactics of the wedding industry.  I will continue creating and sharing useful, actionable, and engaging content that is easy for you to implement – so that you can plan your wedding with poise. 

What’s behind the name, “Planning with Poise” anyway?

As I began wedding planning, I was feeling stressed, frantic, and overwhelmed.  I wanted to be the opposite; I wanted to be poised.  Someone who is poised is calm, composed, graceful, and balanced.  

That’s why I named this blog “Planning with Poise” – because you already have a busy, active lifestyle, you don’t need more chaos.  

You need a clear-cut, straightforward, no-BS wedding planning guide.  You’re in the right place and I’m so glad you’re here.  

I can’t wait to see you in 2018 – see you next Wednesday!  

Happy New Year!