Dear wedding industry mamas,
Let me start by saying you all inspire me. I’m in awe of you and above all, I’m thankful for this wonderful community of like-minded mamas.
Maybe you are an invitation designer, a floral designer, planner, caterer, photographer or in another wedding niche. Whatever your title, I know mama is the most important and I know you are heading full force into wedding season and I’m right there with you with all the feelings of excitement as months if not years of work are about to come into fruition. I’m also right with you feeling those feelings of guilt as there will be many weekends ahead where you’ll kiss those sweet kiddo faces goodbye and hop in your car and drive away to magical venues to serve your clients so well. I see you as well as you go over and over the list you left your husband or caretaker for your babies. Worrying if you left something out. Worrying about all the things while simultaneously looking forward to diving into a day of work and being someone other than Mommy for the day. It’s a weird feeling isn’t it?
I see you on all the late work nights. Like you, I’m thankful to be building a business that allows me to stay home during the week. I’m thankful that I have the drive and ambition to build something I’m proud of and be working towards my very own vision of having it all-id that even exists. Doesn’t mean this season isn’t hard. To be honest, it’s my hardest yet. Some people will call it “the best of both worlds” and some days it is! Those people don’t know that you’ve had to turn down multiple play dates that week because of deadlines for brides and a to-do list as long as a CVS receipt. I see you on those nights when you’re exhausted from chasing toddlers, laundry, and failed naps when instead of crawling into bed you have another few hours of your day to go. The late nights are when you can finally edit that wedding or send over contracts and invoices. Return those vendor emails or finish your blog for the following day. Those people don’t know that you are/were stressed about stepping away from work for a bit because maternity leave isn’t a thing when you own your own business and the bills don’t stop. I see you during every late night and every stressful moment. Bags under my eyes and all. I know that your life, like mine has to run on routines and schedules and systems. There is no other choice.
I see you in the moments where you feel you are failing at everything in your life. If there were only more hours in a day. If only you had listened and outsourced more but like me, you keep thinking you can do it all and do it all well. Aren’t we the silliest? I see you when the feelings of failure are amplified by the endless scrolling through Instagram and the comparison bug strikes. You used to be doing all the shoots, attending all the conferences, and had content galore to post and talk about. Can we laugh about how we are planning our couple’s most beautiful of days covered in drool, snot, and other bodily fluids we don’t need to mention? How ironic, huh? And can we talk about how somehow society has told us that we need to appear put together and perfect? I’m there with you when you just want to scream from the social media rooftops about how this whole mama-hood and business owning thing is HARD. Let’s scream together shall we? And can we actually be more real on Instagram instead of just talking about being more real…yes?
At the end of the day, our business is another baby of ours and we would choose over and over again to work until the wee hours of the morning, creating an unparalleled experience for our clients and bringing to life what can only be described as magic. We would chose to sacrifice over and over again for this life we are creating. To show our babies that you can create something that you love. It’s a very powerful tool that we posses.
So know this fellow wedding industry mamas, you are a badass. Yes, even on the days you think you are failing (by the way, you’re not) and the days where you have completed exactly 0 items on your list. Not many people can juggle thoughts of client albums, stem counts, rental orders with thoughts of diaper changes, car seats, pumping, and the other one million things us moms think about in a 24 hour period.
Again, you are a badass. Don’t forget it. Write it on 100 post-it’s and stick all around your house. Remember that when that pang of guilt hits when you kiss those sweet faces goodbye on a Saturday morning to take part in the special days of other families, you are amazing.
It’s wedding season mamas. Let’s do this.
Warmly,
Michelle