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I got an early Christmas present this year when I opened my email to the best news ever!  Thanks to my clients, fantastic assistants, and everyone else that supports me through an insane schedule and some seriously gorgeous weddings in 2010, fab.you.lous event design has been named one of the picks for The Knot’s “Best of Weddings” 2011.

theknot.com

To say I’m thrilled to be named a second year in a row is an understatement!  Thanks to everyone for setting the high bar that I continue to strive for and for also being supportive enough to take the time to write reviews.  It means more than you know!  Congratulations to all the other vendors that received the award as well!

We’ve got a lot of great things going on right now so check back for the anniversary specials, watch for updates on the magazine that is coming out with the winning vendors, and other exciting announcements about fab.you.lous event design being featured!

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Yes, I just quoted LMFAO.  Because I love, LOVE running to “La La La” and my favorite parts of the song are the beginning when his voice kicks up a notch and says “It’s a LOVE thang, it’s got to be’ and he does it again when he says ‘Oooh, girl WATCH out now…”  Ok… to the point…

My brain is pretty full.  And I have stuff to share… So here we go… (another wordy post ahead!)

Thanks to twitter, I ran across Lara Casey Reps and started following her.  Very shortly after I started following her she wrote this blog entry and it blew my mind to have someone put something out there that was exactly what I needed to be doing for myself.  I chatted with my friend, Gina, and before we knew it, Lara announced she was going to be doing workshop intensives.  After more twitter banter and a little blog comment begging, myself and 10 other rather fantastic Minnesota artists got Lara Casey, Jeff Holt, and Sandi Sansom to come to Minneapolis to learn about how to make things happen.  I have to admit, much like Eliesa, the hype did get to be a bit much and I was really apprehensive about what it could do for me – the girl that thinks she has herself all figured out.  Afterall, it’s been a big year for me personally and I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching and after some recent decisions, have made some great moves to streamline my life and business (Is that really possible?!).  Regardless, I put my money down but I was getting more wary about what the experience was going to be like.   Would it be a business critique, a coaching session?  Could I handle either of those right now?  Gina, who was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to attend the very first “Making Things Happen” intensive in Florida nearly a month before, coached me a bit on what to expect but really, I was just worried about what I was going to wear… I didn’t want to look like a slouch nor that I was trying too hard.  Turns out shirt dresses with tights are a good go-to outfit.  I digress…

I went, I saw, I conquered.  A 6 hour intensive with 9 photographers, one stationer, and myself with Lara and Jeff in the driver’s seats… Or so we thought.  The exercises were the exact same as they were on the blog, but to put everything out there in front of these professionals was not only putting myself in a vulnerable spot, it was also letting them all know I meant business about business.  We shared our dreams, confessed what we were letting get in our way, and really just explored the personal side of our lives as professionals.

I kept hearing things about it being an emotional roller coaster or life-changing and I cannot say that it was those things for ME because I came ready to lay it out there so I was prepared to bawl like a baby if it came to it (and, it usually does for me) and life-changing is just a bold statement.  For me, it was the extra guided push in the direction I felt like I may have been blindly headed, clarification of some of my own muddy thoughts, and it must be said that it was nothing short of the validation that I have been needing from other event professionals.  The group session really opened my eyes to the fact that even though the art may be different, the passion that lies beneath the drive and the wicked smart and incredible minds that put that art out there, are all coming from similar personal journeys to get us here.  (Remember, I’m a girl that’s all about the journey?)  And while the group session was awesome and revealing, the one-on-one with Lara and Jeff left my head reeling.  Normally when I get pumped about something I am giddy and talking even faster than what I usually do, I’m rambling all over the place, but my one on one left me subdued and speechless (literally and honestly, maybe the 3rd time in my life that has happened).  It’s taken a couple days to be able to even write this post because my brain has been so full of everything I took in that day.  This wasn’t a roller coaster because I’ve had much larger dips and twists in my life in a single day, it wasn’t life-changing in that it set me off on an entirely new path or direction, it was… an education on self-awareness and accountability.  I no longer feel like I’m floating through this on my own in a sometimes cut-throat, competitive industry.  I truly feel like I have people I can look to for questions and that will support my passions just as I am willing to lend them any support they need.

Lara and Jeff, by the way, have some of the most caring and encouraging souls I’ve come across.  They have done this numerous times before coming to Minneapolis, and I can only imagine how much this has taken out of them as well as filled them with new lessons about themselves and how this world works. They would  listen to what we all had to say and, watching their faces, I felt like they were sincerely engaged in each person’s story and invested in us from the moment they walked in the door.  I don’t think “Making Things Happen” is for everyone.  I think it’s for people that strive to be better, that won’t settle for ‘ok’ or mediocrity.  I think it’s for people that are looking for more, looking for an outside point of view, and looking for new ways to gain and utilize that perspective.  You can’t walk into an experience like that thinking you know it all, you don’t need to get better, and you certainly can’t be selfish.  I feel like, for the most part, everyone in that room came ready to participate and the honesty that was shared is something that has me “fired up.”  I want to see those women (+ Jeff) succeed so bad.  Because – while we’re already doing crazy things in our lives by trying to live out creative passions that are either something we’ve sought and dreamed of since we were little, or if it was an epiphany later in life that led us to where we are now-  the struggles in business, the life hurdles, and after those the triumphs are all things I want to help see these people through if there is any way I can.  I’m sure this makes it sound like a very girly intensive, but the exercises know no limits to who could benefit from them.  If they come back or if it lands in a city near you, and you’re ready to grow, GO.

What “fires me up?”  PEOPLE.  LOVE. PASSION.  GIVING.  And I can’t wait to continue to use those things to fuel this life, not just this career.  It’s a LOVE thang, it’s GOT to be!

Thank you, Lara and Jeff, for doing this for all of us.  If I can ever figure out how to send my video, I will!

(figure out which one is me in Eliesa’s picture collage?  sorry that i’m not sorry for swearing.  i do it all the time.  and the whole day really was just that.)

fab.kirsten fab.friends, fab.inspiration, unspeakable gratitude

In late November I was involved in a mad game of phone tag with The Knot’s corporate offices in New York that ended with me completely speechless and giddy like a school girl (and almost breaking my phone…again).  They were calling to verify my company information as fab.you.lous event design has been chosen as a Knot Magazine Best of Weddings pick!  My awesome clients had taken the time to fill out The Knot’s survey and earn us the honor of “Best of Weddings” 2010!!!  What is it all about?  Check out this article about The Knot’s “Best of Weddings 2009″ to get a better idea of how it works.

www.theknot.com

I wrote this entry about what a crazy year it has been and I’m certain there isn’t anything that could have shocked me more or made it seem more worth the chaos.  I am so grateful to my clients for their support and for their willingness to take the time to give a nod to myself  (and their other great vendors).  There really are absolutely no words to describe what such an honor means to me at this point.  Not a single word.  So all I can say, again, is THANK YOU.

Watch for the “Best Of Weddings” section in the next Minnesota Knot Magazine, which is to be out on stands at the end of the month, as well as watch for the new site The Knot is launching showcasing many other “Best of” vendors including many fantastic Minnesota wedding vendors.  Congratulations to my friends that also received the honor!

While you’re scoping out the next issue, watch for an article about Meagan and Jeremy, my November 7, 2008 couple.  They’ve got a piece written on their beautiful wedding and fantastic budgeting skills (also the reason I’m stalling on posting about their wedding!).

fab.kirsten fab.clients, fab.news, fab.weddings, unspeakable gratitude

If there ever were a year that I wanted to express my gratitude it is this year.  I am, by nature, a take it all in and count your blessings kind of person.  As the client weddings have ended for the year and I’m settling into my new place while ramping up efforts for my little sister’s January wedding, I can’t help but reflect even more on my appreciation.   Not just because we’re getting closer to Thanksgiving or the whole family holiday season – but because I was pretty sure this year was going to kill me and yet, much to my satisfaction, I am still standing.  This is a very personal post, but I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it weren’t for my family, my friends, and my clients-turned-friends.  Queue the happy, personal journey music (a fave happy song right now is “Strawberry Swing” by Coldplay)… It’s a wordy post!

This year has been incredibly bittersweet for me as business has taken off for me, I have had a great sense of accomplishment but at the same time my personal life took a wild twist that I never in my life would have anticipated.  I’ve moved twice, I’ve pushed through an insane work schedule, trying to keep up with an ever changing industry, and have been working through the intense heartache of having someone walk out of my life after nearly a decade together and only a year and a half of marriage.

Some things will challenge you to the point of torture and you’re ready to curl up and let the world pass you by.  When the decision to end my marriage was made I was ready to do that and I was ready to end the business as well.  How could I possibly encourage other people to be successful in their marriages if mine didn’t even last?  How could I keep it together for other people and be their support for every avenue of planning their marriages when I was falling apart on the inside and hoping I didn’t crack and lose it over a discussion about how to set up escort cards at a details meeting.  Would it reflect poorly on me as a planner?  As a person?  I firmly believe that I am there to assist with preparing for the marriage and not just the wedding.  I love planning the event, but I love that I am able to assist couples so they can focus on marriage preparations and not just the small details of the day.  Almost every major hard part in the closing of my relationship, was followed by a major bright spot in my year of planning, and every low point of “that” process was marked with some sort of important moment with my clients.  It truly has been a year that can only be defined as bittersweet for me.

I have made it through 2009 because I have been able to rely on family to help me with little things from helping me work through a Chuppah emergency at a May wedding (Thanks Mom and Dad) or helping with tear down at numerous events (Thanks brother, sister, and soon to be brother-in-law), and endless phone calls just to hear me out (Thanks, Christine) or send me notes of encouragement that made my entire week (thanks cousins and aunts).  I have had friends step up to the plate both with assisting and moral support, and I have made some wonderful new friends in the vendors I’ve met this year.  And my clients… I know we all say we’ve got the best clients, but I will fight for this one!  The support I’ve gotten from my couples is something I will never be able to fully express my gratitude for.  The long, off the subject chats, the fun email exchanges, the hugs and laughs the day of the wedding, the letters I get after the weddings… I cherish all of it.  Their understanding and kind words of support for who I am and what I do have been fuel to push me forward.  I love the connection I have with each and every one of you.  As the summer went on and I witnessed so many other giddy couples take their vows and make their promises to each other, I realized I was right where I needed to be and that there was a purpose for each and every person in my life.  I have a sense of renewed understanding about myself and my life but also a renewed focus for what I do and why I do it.  Being involved in such an intimate way with the human connection of love and family is both a privilege and honor to witness each week.  I think everyone that does this should see it that way – we are being allowed into other people’s lives.  Invited in.  We should take a moment out of it all to be appreciative of the experience.

Sometimes you don’t have a choice about things, but what counts most is what you do with the choices you DO have and that you really focus on the things and people in your life that do matter.   I’m stubborn and determined, so I already knew I could handle anything life threw at me, I just didn’t know I had so much support immediately ready to let me lean on them if I needed it.  As the year has wound down, I am feeling a bit like my old self again and feeling more healthy every day.  I am blessed.  I already knew this.  I am lucky to be able to lean on people that sincerely want good things for me in my life, and I hope that I am able to return the same kind of support should it ever be needed.  If you can’t tell by now, I’m an ‘ it’s the journey, not the end goal ‘ kind of girl.  Thanks for listening.  Hopefully you’ll draw some sort of motivation to think about what it is that helped you succeed or survive this year… because we didn’t do it alone.

I call this year a win for Team Fischer.  Thanks, guys.  ”Thanks” will never be enough.

fab.kirsten fab.family, fab.friends, unspeakable gratitude