Being a graphic designer, its a given that the computer is my best friend. Ask me what I can't live without? I would say the Computer/Internet... hey, its a combo, one can't live without the other... ;) Call it an addiction or just plain curiosity but I'm always online searching the net, sharing cool sites all of that. Little did I know about blogging though.
I had heard about it from another designer friend and was really interested by this whole concept. He had a really cool personal blog sharing some personal stuff... and it got me thinking, "
hmm I wonder if people would read my blog" intrigued and of course willing to spend a couple more hours on a computer a day... I decided to start my own blog.
I was debating at first if I would go the personal or more general route... and decided to give the personal approach a try. So I blogged about me, (still hesitate on who would actually read my blog) but I did it, shared personal and professional experiences. I did it for a couple of months but felt something was lacking. I decided to take the plunge and abandon my old blog (about me) to start a new one. One about weddings in general. Since I had been engaged for over a year, I was right in the planning and what better way to share my knowledge with others. Hence
that's when
Glamour This! was born.
How I found the Hive of awesomeness:Since I was blogging about weddings, posting about inspiration boards, themes, dresses... I became an avid reader of many wedding blogs
DIY Bride,
Style Me Pretty,
Something Old Something New,
Perfect Bound,
Eco-Chic Weddings (that I would literally type in their URL in 5 times a day
cuz Google Reader wasn't introduced yet... could you even believe that!!!) So when I saw several of my fave
bloggers posted about being
featured on
Weddingbee... I clicked on the link... and that's when my life was over, and the obsession began.
Applying to Weddingbee (September 2007)
I couldn't believe I hadn't found this site before... all the time I spent online and never came across this goldmine. I was impressed about all the different brides blogging about their planning,
DIY projects and more. It was a whole new world for me... and like many of yous, I would refresh my page a good 15 times a day (no joke)
Blogging was my way of talking about wedding stuff without having my family and friends sigh every two minutes because they were fed-up hearing about the dresses, the colors, the theme... you get the point. Since majority of the brides (at the time I started reading
WB )were from the States (with the exception of
Pumpkin) I thought I would send in my application and hope I'd be accepted and become another Canadian Bee.
Obviously I didn't have a personal wedding blog... but submitted my Glamour This! blog in my application. Ya, not the best idea. I received an email from Mrs.Bee saying that she really liked my current blog, but since
WB was about blogging on a personal level, she wanted me to write up a few posts to see if I would be
WB material ;) So I created a new blog just for
Weddingbee. I was dedicated and wanted this so bad.
After a week of personal wedding posts... I received the email that changed my life. (I know it sounds cheesy - but I swear its true) I got accepted to become a BEE. I couldn't really share the news with my family and friends... because no one had a clue what I was talking about... but that didn't matter. I GOT ACCEPTED TO BE A BEE... was introduced on October 26
th and started blogging officially on October 27
th 2007.
Why the pink bird?When I was given the choice to choose an icon only a few birds were left in the pile, amongst them was the Flamingo. Mrs.Bee had told me I could wait for the next generation of icons (desserts) but that would mean I would only start blogging after the new year. Um... there was no way I could wait that long, are you kidding me. I was more excited than a kid in a candy store. Plus... looking at the flamingo put a smile on my face. It reminded me of 2 things: Pink being by far my favorite color and just the whole story behind
searching for Flamingos in Cuba when they were in our hotel all along. So it was perfect for me, um I mean us :)
Bee Blogging advice:Blogging is like anything in life, represent yourself, blog about the "real you "and not someone you think people will like. Don't loose yourself in what you see out there in the blog-o-sphere. Of course there will be prettier DIY projects, cooler invitation designs... but that doesn't mean yours aren't awesome. Respect your wedding, your budget and stop comparing apple with pears.
Also when writing posts... know that people are visual and love pictures. Now that doesn't mean you need to put in as many pictures as you can (relevant or not) but know that breaking long posts with imagery helps the flow of the post more (obviously ... do not use this post as an example)
Lastly, never give up. Some applications are accepted first time around, others after 3 tries... there's really no winning recipe. You simply need to find your blogging voice and speak it loud and clear :)
Why I heart WB more than I do chocolate: Weddingbee has held my sanity together throughout the wedding planning. Fellow Bees and readers have given the best advice and ongoing support when I needed it the most. Plus this has become my second family and even though I've only met 3 bees, I feel like I have a connection with many of them. I've even extended this connection and made awesome friendships and talk to these bees on a regular basis.
What I love the most about being an old bee, is that I have seen
Weddingbee grow. So many changes in the last 2 years. Addition of boards,
WB pro,
WB TV, the new
WB look... all these little features that seem
indispensable... weren't always there. Way to go
WB!!! Keep the awesomeness coming.
Life after Weddingbee:Obviously I'll stick around as long as I can, heck I've been married 15 months, haven't completed my recaps, plus I find reasons to blog,
lurk the boards and comment. I heart
Weddingbee and to be honest thinking about my goodbye post or what will be the official reason for the separation scares me. So I stick around... and hope you don't mind. Lets just say I'm not ready to say goodbye just yet ;)
If you want to know about what's going on in my crazy life... you can follow me on
Twitter, or read my blog:
www.glamourthis.com (soon to be revamped) with all my adventures of being a new home owner.
Thank you for reading my posts, commenting, giving your advice and just being there.
