On Turning 28
For some reason, when I turned 27, I just felt like it was going to be a good year. Maybe because I like the number 7, or maybe because it felt like a turning point. I had been working on establishing my wedding planning business in the months prior to 27, and I just had this good feeling that all the hard work would pay off in the new birthday year ahead. Spoiler alert: it did.
I have an incredible amount of things to be thankful for over the last year. You'll notice I'm especially thankful for the growth of my business and the travels I've experienced. Let's just start from the top.
September 2018
To kick off 27, I had my first two weddings last September - one being my first month-of coordination client, and the other being a wedding planned by my local wedding planning idol Sara O'Shea, owner of So Chic Events and So Chic Boutique. I was thrilled when she asked me to be her assistant for the day, and I actually got to help her again in July! I'm eternally grateful for these learning opportunities and the community over competition mentality.
October 2018
Then, in October I successfully completed another Illinois Wesleyan Homecoming weekend, which always feels equal parts amazing and exhausting. In general, October is always a crazy month for us, with IWU Homecoming, ISU Homecoming, Erik's birthday, and Halloween (which has become a little less important since our college days, but still). Last year Erik turned 30, so while I was checking off wedding and Homecoming to-do lists, I was also planning a surprise birthday party for him! I know, I'm crazy. But it was so so worth it! He literally had no idea - this party deserves a blog post of its own!
December 2018
In December, Erik and I went to Mexico to visit his extended family. This trip had been on our list for awhile, since I hadn't traveled there with him yet. We had planned to go in December 2017, but his grandma passed away earlier that year, so he ended up going in October and we postponed our trip. I'm so grateful we got to go this past year. It was important to me to meet the people and see the places that are important to him, and truly shaped who he is. We also got to explore Mexico City and San Miguel de Allende, where we celebrated New Years Eve and saw fireworks that made me cry. It was magical.
January 2019
Here's where the business stuff gets really good. In January, I was planning the annual Council for Women Summit at IWU, one of my very favorite events. I decided to reach out to II Sisters Event Design and Rentals to inquire about using some of their pieces at the event. While on the phone, it came up that I also coordinate weddings and I had seen some of their posts about the Diamond Club.
Well, turns out they didn't have a wedding planner in the group and they were looking to add someone. Cue the heavens opening. After meeting everyone in the group, I was officially a member of the Diamond Club! Since January, so many doors have opened. In March, our group did a TV interview and hosted the Fiance Soiree for our engaged clients. Since then, we have been working closely together on upcoming weddings and events - can't wait to share more!
Spring 2019
2019 has been great in terms of travel opportunities as well. In February, I got to take a last minute trip to visit my best friend in Nashville! (And I just got back from visiting again to celebrate our birthdays together!) In March, Erik and I celebrated St. Patrick's Day in Chicago and did a bar crawl with friends. We'd never celebrated in the city, so that was a fun, crazy experience. They are serious about their St. Patty's day.
In May, I traveled to Chapel Hill, NC for a work event, and I really loved exploring that area. It's a charming college town with lots of great food and drink in walking distance. I also got to see my good friend and previous co-worker Amy who lives there. It was so nice to catch up with her and hangout with her kiddos.
At the end of May, Erik and I traveled to the Chicago suburbs for our college friend Bart's wedding. It was crazy because we've known Bart since we started dating, so it was awesome to see his own love story unfold and catch up with old college friends.
I love that travel is consistently a priority and possible for me throughout the year, even if it's just short weekend trips.
Summer 2019
In June, my mom and I traveled to Orlando and stayed at a resort on the Universal Studios property. I would highly recommend Sapphire Falls - it's a beautiful resort with comfortable rooms and a great pool for lounging. We enjoyed taking the water taxi from the resort to Universal CityWalk, where you can find lots of places to eat and drink. We really enjoyed our trip, but we learned quickly why there were less people out and about during the day - that heat is no joke! lol
More Notable Moments
So there you go - a partial glimpse into the highlight reel of 27, but there's plenty more where that came from. Here are several other 27 year old milestones. They might be summed up in quick dot points, but truthfully these are some pretty significant things that happened and some of the very best!
- Designed my new logo with Courtney Kamm Design
- Booked a trip to Belgium in the fall (which has now been completed!)
- Chopped my hair
- Bought a car
- Planned a launch party for an online boutique
- Finally saw Jennifer Lopez live
Wow, 27 really was quite the year, and this post doesn't even cover the little moments (or all the people!!) that made it even better. I'm grateful for my friends and family that have been by my side for all of it. I want to go into year 28 with the same positivity that my 26 year old self had. Maybe I can channel some of her healthy habits again too. Oh and that wedding planner status I mentioned back in 2017? I have 7 weddings booked this year and 2 next year, and I'm assisting with setup for 4 others this year. Like I said, spoiler alert: the hard work did pay off.
xo,
Sara