HI There friends! I thought I would catch up a little on a recent launch and event we had here for our new business Vintage Keepers! I’ve shared in the past about our new website for vintage lovers and as of September 6th, we are officially open! We decided to host a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening and celebrate with friends, family, vendors, and industry professionals.

Last Friday was an exciting morning and we were all ready to get our event pulled together and started. We had quite the day of setting up…when I called the barn we were having our event at and they declared, they did not have us on their schedule. Panic came upon me as I knew we had booked months before and included a deposit. They day’s chaos continued to pile on as the insurance became an issue and the joy and excitement I felt leading up to that day, was starting to feel more like frustration. We had already put so much into planning this event because we really wanted to make it a special day to honor those that had helped in building our website. Along with celebrating our vendors who were driving or flying in to be here. So many of them were meeting for the first time and I was getting the chance to finally hug them all! We had already had a few cancel prior due to people being sick and so I was already missing their presence of not being there, but was happy to still have so many of the other ladies still be able to be together.

Well, we fought through, paid more money for insurance…and thanks to my amazing caterer staff at F.I.G caterings they were on top of putting everything together and taking so much of my worry away.

I went home to get ready for the night and drove up to the barn to see so many of the beautiful touches that our catering team pulled together for the evening.

I of course forgot a few more things…but fortunately having a hubby who kept his cool that day and my assistant Kelly being able to rely on for making a few more stops before making her way over…we were feeling good.

I showed up in a blue dress from Abercrombie (currently sold in holiday colors only) which felt like the perfect September dress for the event. I wanted to match our colors a bit from our branding and I even picked up some statement earrings from Zara.

Guests started to arrive in the beautiful evening at around 6:00 and I was so excited for the support and presence of all of them. Of course as the night went on I started to realize we were short quite a few people and it was quite disappointing to say the least. Some had reached out and so many unpredictable circumstances.

We carried on with a “ribbon cutting” traditional ceremony, a speech (you can see over on our Vintage Keepers Instagram page) and a fun evening of talking with so many with delicious food, drinks, and a beautiful sunset.

So, why might I be saying all this to you? Well, for a few reasons…you might have watched our ceremony and thought “wow must be nice” or you might have had your own moment where you thought you wouldn’t be missed from a party you were invited to and decided to stay home (and the guest noticed), you might be wondering why I did a ceremony to begin with, and most importantly that everything in life will always have its highs and lows. I remember when I would work in the bridal industry I would tell my brides to not have high expectations on their wedding day. To embrace every moment and know there will be “things” that still go wrong, but it will be a perfect day anyway. Most importantly its not about the wedding but the marriage. So make the most of it all, but remember if you have a good marriage then no matter how your wedding looked that is truly what is most important.

So our day looked a little rocky and I’d say writing it all out it doesn’t even seem too bad, but our business is what matters. Pouring into our small shops, being able to bend with change, and knowing how to make a come back and enjoy whatever that day in business looks like. There will be good months, days, weeks, and years but to expect it all to be perfect is truly a false outlook on life or business.

We made the most of this evening and it certainly flew by in a flash, but it was beautiful, lovely, and certainly memorable.

If you came out that night a week ago, I hope you felt that your presence was so appreciated. You made the event special and it wouldn’t have been the same without you. If you watched from behind the phone or this is the first you’re hearing about it, know that even with all the smiles there is still pain and that no life or business is ever truly perfect. People will always disappoint you but remember those that showed up. Love on them and appreciate them. I’ve learned this a lot over the years in friendships, blog readers who come and go, opportunities, and moments.

Now we look forward to the marriage of our business! : ) We hope you find this inspiring, real, and a good look inside to what might seem so perfect, but came along with struggle. There are too many people looking through the highlight reel of others lives. No one truly sees inside an event, building a business, or maybe even a family photo next to a beautiful sunset. So know its not all perfect for anyone!

Hope you all get a chance to check out our new shop Vintage Keepers and find a place to truly fall for unique items with history for your homes.