If you’re anything like me and work within the wedding industry, a good chunk of your job is done through email. I’d actually say that 90% of my day to day work and duties involve using my email in some sort of way, so you can imagine staying on top of things can be difficult especially when you throw in out of the office and day of wedding work. If you follow along over on Instagram you’ll know that last week I finally got back down to the highly coveted inbox zero (the best feeling ever) and I wanted to share a few of the ways I’m try my very best to keep things streamlined nicely.

Don’t Bury Yourself. Does this sound at all familiar? You get an email, read it, know the follow up action needed but for some reason, click back to your inbox and tell yourself you’ll deal with it later. And later usually means days or even weeks later when said message is buried below 20 to 30 other new and equally as important emails. Then you get annoyed and overwhelmed. This used to be my weakness when it came to controlling the messages in my email. So now when I get something in my inbox I have to really make a decision on what action I need to take. I can RESPOND right away with a necessary response (sometimes a call needs to be made on my behalf), I can FILE the message into a necessary folder (if it’s a shipping notification for something like linens or something about a client’s event) or I can DELETE the message if it’s not important or relevant. I think it was Lara who said emails are just a bunch of decisions. Some decisions are easier than others but ultimately you have control over everything that pops into your inbox.

Keep Things Organized. Is your physical desk space cluttered and messy? Can you find what you need? Do you feel inspired looking at stuff all day? I know I don’t when my physical space is cluttered, and the same holds true for my email inbox. Just like you have desk drawers, filing cabinets, folders in your cabinets and storage cubes to keep your office things organized you have access to email folders which is a tool you should be taking full advantage of. I have three primary folder types in my account: the folders given to my clients (each couple gets their own), a Business folder with specific sub folders underneath and a Personal folder, also with more specific sub folders underneath. When I respond to an email or know I need to keep an email for future reference it goes into a folder. Here’s a little peek!

Create a System. It may seem complicated to others but I’ve really created a system here that makes sense for me and allows me to not only feel but be productive. Together with my Martha Stewart planner, colored labels, trusty pencils (I never use pens) and color coded email folders, I have a system that allows me to keep track of client related emails, important information like receipts, vendor communications, and digital files, all while remaining clutter free and simplified (I also have a big binder with dividers and colored tabls for my events by year which holds floor plans, floral recipes, timelines and sketches but that’s another story). If I get an email about an appointment, I track it in my planner, respond to the email with my RSVP and then I DELETE it. The colored tabs on my planner are similar to the color folders in my email and visually keep me in line by reminding me everything has a pretty little place to go!

A few other things that help keep me on track?

If I can’t see negative space below my bottom most message, I get antsy so as a general rule of thumb I usually try to fluctuate around 10 to 15 messages on any day where I can’t give all of my time to managing my emails. If something is in my inbox, it means I have to still make a decision on it. Nothing gets filed, or deleted until I have done an ACTION to get the email anywhere but in my main inbox. I try to keep things as specific as possible with my folder names so that I can keep track of all threads within my business. In the middle screen shot above you’ll see there’s 13 sub folders within my Business branch. Seems like a lot huh? Well let me tell you when I need to find an email that has to do with an upcoming editorial, a former wedding of mine, a business that advertises here on the blog or a receipt my bookkeeper needs, I know exactly where to go. Oh and last year I unsubscribed from every single website I’ve ever registered with, with the exception of Kate Spade, Staples, and BHLDN. If I need something from J. Crew, I’ll go get it at my leisure.

A clean inbox is like a clean house. A consistent effort yields impressive results. And deserve a glass of wine :)

Over the summer mentioned in Part II I had to decide what to do next. After only three months in Chicago with Andrew who was my fiance at this point, and unable to find a job in my field, I found myself back in my parent’s basement. I hadn’t been there since high school and had to get used to a new lifestyle and routine. Frustrated, lonely and feeling like I had taken five steps backwards, I needed to focus on moving forward instead. For a few weeks my Dad and I sat on the couch in the basement and together we drafted up a preliminary business plan for my bakery. Seriously though. Guys, I wanted to open a sweet little bakery and make delicious and gorgeous cupcakes and cakes for weddings and events. We ran numbers, checked out potential locations, I started branding myself through my blog and then I realized, crap I have a fiance 14 hours away waiting for me to come back sometime soon. Making an investment like opening a bakery seemed like a sure fire way to distance myself even further from ending up with Andrew so I decided to head back to school. Talk about two complete opposite directions right? But I just felt like I owed it to myself to give the journalism thing one more go, especially after four and a half years of school and at this point, around five internships.

I applied to a technology college 20 minutes from my parents house, starting coaching recreational gymnastics again (at the same place I worked at in high school five years prior) and felt inspired and hopeful that this would be the way to finally get what I was after; except looking back now I wasn’t even sure I knew what that it really was. I bought a few back to school clothes (well I bought a new pair of flats if that counts), a new back pack and found out on the first day of school that the fast track new media program I enrolled in required a Mac Book laptop. Oy. Looks like the laptop that had gotten me through college wasn’t going to cut it anymore. And neither was my long hair which proceeded to make me look much younger than I already looked (no good for someone who was hoping to land a reputable on air reporting gig). By October I had chopped 13 inches off of my hair (I cried). And I was hardly getting used to only being able to chat with Andrew every night on the phone (I cried much more getting used to the reality of our relationship).

Guys, I was a miserable you know what here. I would have never admitted this to anyone but Andrew during it all but I was just angry at anyone I could blame. Everyone around me seemed to have more good in their lives. Friends who had just gotten engaged were living with their fiances, planning their weddings, going to their 9 to 5′s and having fun on the weekends. I was after more than a year of being engaged wondering if I’d ever be a bride, barely getting to talk on the phone with my fiance, going to my classes 9 to 9 so I could head to my part time job on the weekend. I felt cheated out of the plan I had envisioned for so long. I started to even get envious of Andrew who had seemingly desirable things happening over in his world like bills, the freedom to do whatever he wanted in the apartment and the silly list goes on.

There was one point over my year at school in the spring semester where I think Andrew and I hit our lowest point as a couple. We went nearly three months without seeing one another, school got incredibly busy for me, work got busy for him and we just sort of stopped trying when it came to our relationship. Thankfully we regrouped, carried on, spring came to Chicago, I graduated with honors from my program, won the Best Reporter award, landed a dream internship at a magazine in the heart of Toronto and spent that summer working my tail off between an unpaid internship and a part time job that barely paid for the expenses of our upcoming fall wedding. I was tired tired tired. Did I mention I was tired? The only light I could see at the end of the tunnel was our wedding and finally getting to marry Andrew.

Our wedding day came on September 24th, 2010. It rained twenty minutes before our ceremony. And stopped 10 minutes after. I wrote a lot about planning here on this blog. And had so many of you cheering us on. Your love was felt! And appreciated. You can see more of our wedding here. Our wedding day was mad chaos, to put it lightly. I took on so much myself. After helping plan friend’s weddings and my sister in law’s wedding prior to my own, plus years of experience in heading events and organizations in college I knew I could pull off an amazing party. But I was too stubborn to let anyone else help execute things on the day of. Hey you live and learn right? Let’s just say my own experiences as a hard headed bride are absolutely a benefit to the clients that hire me as their planner and designer.

Andrew and I set off to the Bahamas for a heavenly five day honeymoon on September 26th. And I thought everything would finally fall into place. Everyday we’d head down to the beach to relax and in between some serious sea shell hunting, I’d open my notebook and sprawl out new business plans and packages and ideas and pricing and the list goes on. I finally knew what I had to do and it was learn to be in charge of my life and my decisions. That always sounds easier than it is though right? More coming next in Part IV! Photo above taken by Amanda Wilcher.

If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.

I went through and cleaned up my Pinterest boards a little over the weekend. I came across the above quote that I had pinned months ago and it really hit a nerve with me. I’ve taken so many risks in business and life over the past year and as a result really feel like I’m starting to settle into a sense of being and a lifestyle that feels good on the inside. But here’s the catch. My life, while wonderful is so so far from perfect. There’s things I’m working on consistently, things that I get worked up over, bad habits I could afford to break, good habits I could stand to keep, and the list goes on. Living with purpose and meaning takes work, and making decisions to get to where we want to be is uncomfortable.

But that’s exactly what makes the above so lovely, right? That little quote taunts us a little and makes us wonder if we’re really wasting time just waiting for that perfect moment to do whatever it is we want to do. For me, at one point, it was starting my business (thankfully I didn’t dwell on this for too long). Then at another point it was choosing to rebrand my business. Then shortly there after it was adding floral deisgn to my offerings. That move took a lot of guts to make for a lot of reasons. For some of you maybe it’s getting to the gym to lose the weight you gained during your pregnancy. Maybe it’s going back to school to get your masters. Or maybe it’s something as simple as cleaning out the garage in anticipation of spring. We all have things we put off or hold back from because we don’t feel ready.

So get ready. And do it. Read this post here too. Around this time last year I took a blogging, social media and all around life break because I wasn’t ready to live the life I wanted. For a good two weeks I cried big girl tears and felt sorry for myself every single day. Poor Andrew probably dreaded coming home to my misery. I felt like I had to make decisions based on how they would make others feel and I absolutely felt the negative effects of thinking this way. Fixing this mind set wasn’t an overnight fix but where I am now 365 days later is truly and absolutely 110% an amazing blessing.

Go on with yo badselves today, blogettes. You’re ready! xoxo

Phew! This is an exciting/nerve-racking/timely/exciting – oops I said that already, didn’t I? This is an exciting post.

The time has come and I need an intern, guys. Things are growing here at HGE and picking up faster than I could have imagined (in a good way of course and let me make it clear that I am so so grateful) but it’s finally time to start looking to take on one intern for my 2013 wedding season. I’m hoping to get one groovy chick in here over the next few weeks to start learning the ropes and getting caught up to speed on the Hey Gorgeous approach and it could very well be you!

Just as a heads up, this position is unpaid but can absolutely be used for college credit in a related field of study. The ideal candidate will be responsible for being in the Hey Gorgeous office at least once a week with the opportunity to assist along on editorial shoots, vendor appointments, floral prep and design days. I’ll also be expecting my intern to be able to assist with day of duties for spring and summer events with the potential to get paid half way through the season; and don’t worry those 6:00 am wedding day start times always come hand in hand with Venti Starbucks lattes.

So if running a small business sounds like it’s your thing and you’re looking to learn more about event planning and design, please inquire with a resume, general introductory email and a statement of why you feel like you’re the best fit for the Hey Gorgeous brand. You can email your goods to me, Rhi, at hello@heygorg.com and please know the deadline for applicants will end next Friday, March 22nd. I will be sending out more detailed responsibilities and job description lists to qualified candidates as they come in. Please note you must live in the surrounding Grand Rapids area to be considered for this position. And you must love Starbucks. And hyper puppies and snuggly Siamese cats. For real though.

Much love! xoxo

Hello Friday! Sunshine-and-productivity-filled Friday.

I’m just about to step out of the office until Monday here and I’m so excited to shut it all down for the weekend! Kelly and I are going location hunting for an exciting upcoming project this afternoon and it’s a super sunny spring day here in Michigan. On a Friday. With the potential of a Starbucks in hand. Nothing makes me more excited than that kind of combination! I’ve been working long days and long hours the past few weeks designing boutonniere mocks up, building ceiling instals and securing awesome vendors for my sweet clients; I finally feel like I’ve made headway with the big piles of to-dos around here. So while I’m off disconnecting and spring cleaning around the Bosse home here, I hope you’ll take some time to do the same for yourself! See you back on Monday, blogettes xoxo