17th March 2013 - The Week That Was

And with the blink of an eye, another week has gone. The eye joke there is slightly relevant as I've spent most of the week squinting mistily at the world through my swollen shut eye (yukky eye infection - boo and hiss). However, despite the fact I look like a rather pathetic boxer, it's still been a flipping good week...

• A trip to London for the Man Ray exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery and walking around London in the cold sunshine.
• Going for a gorgeous Thai lunch and being told by the waitress that she's never seen a woman eat as much!
• A record breaking day on the blog for the first part of the 'Finding Your Voice' series (part two on Monday 18th March!)
• A visit to a really beautiful venue in Hampshire and a very interesting conversation with the owners.
• Arranging to meet more wonderful industry types over the coming weeks.
• An invitation to the Love Scarlett party. Outfit selection has already started!
• Baking lots - with my son for his school Red Nose Day bake-sale and for me, just for fun.
• Walking with my beautiful dog in the pouring rain, laughing at her leaping in huge puddles and both of us getting very muddy.
• Being told by several people I really respect that they like my writing.
• Having two features commissioned by national magazines - wooo-hooo!
• A rainy Saturday afternoon in front of the fire with a cup of tea and one of my all-time favourite books.
• Son being so inspired about photography and saying "Mummy, can we set up a shoot after dinner?".
• A beautiful anniversary card from Mr Apple - because every month is worth celebrating.

Finding Your Voice - Part 1

One of the things that's absolutely key to success in the wedding industry (and beyond!) is to have a really authentic 'voice'. With weddings particularly there are so many companies who offer essentially the same service as you that personality really comes into play when clients are making decisions about who to book.

To attract like-minded clients, it's so important that everything you put out there totally reflects who you are and what you stand for. When we look around the industry, some of the people we admire the most are those who are themselves and aren't afraid to be that person come-what-may.

But, that's all very well to say and sometimes much harder to do. It's easy to see what others are doing and be influenced by them and their approach, you might have an idea about what you think people want to see and try to give them that rather than giving them you or you might try a bit of everything and end up confusing your audience with a muddled and mixed message.

So, over the next month, we're going to be posting a step-by-step guide to finding your voice. There'll be tips, hints and maybe the odd worksheet to get you going. Today's little sheet is a good starting point and we hope you find it an interesting, illuminating and other things starting with 'i'...

You can download the Step 1 worksheet here. or e-mail thecandidapple@gmail.com and we'll send one straight over.

10th March 2013 - The Week That Was

How can it possibly be time for another 'The Week That Was'? The last  few days have just flown by in a haze of writing and working, baking and being with some fabulous people. So, whilst I'm typing this and shaking my head in disbelief that it can be Sunday morning again, here's the last week..

• Walking the new dog off the lead for the first time (yes, she came back!).
• Watching son's school inter-house rugby in the sunshine.
• My first piece going live on Love Scarlett and having some lovely chats with Penny of Tigerlily Weddings.
• Meeting a client and actually being able to sit outside and have coffee in the sun.
• Working in my garden for the first time this year with my beautiful dog at my feet.
• Picking up the phone and being greeted with the words "We were wondering if you could just write..."  (answer - yes of course!)
• Arranging to meet up with some fabulous people at some gorgeous venues over the coming weeks.
• Being so proud of son's glowing report at parent's evening and finding out I went to school with son's music teacher/choir master.
• Blogging about ambition and being complimented on my writing by the journalist who inspired my piece initially.
• Having some balance in my life and therefore having the time to do some baking in the week (my ultimate soul-soothing activity).
• Some lovely walks with the dog - come rain or shine.
• Mother's Day - with flowers, breakfast in bed, gifts and smiling people around me.

Happy Mother's Day xx

Something For The Weekend - Good Thoughts

This is just a little something for Saturday and these wise words are from one of my favourite authors, Roald Dahl...

Roald is a genius, responsible for one of the books that would always make it to my Top Five (Danny Champion of the World - I just love it). But Roald is also a real observer of people and he's absolutely spot on with the quote above.

So wedding people, if you're at wedding fairs, weddings  or meetings this weekend, think good thoughts and let those sunbeams shine. In fact, let's all just have good thoughts and put the positivity out there. 

And let's face it, we all love the warmth of a radiator.

Image via Pinterest

Real Wedding on Love Scarlett - In Praise of Love Stories

Just a very quick update to say that my 'real wedding' feature that inspired my earlier post on opportunity is now waiting for readers (yes, that means you!) on the glam new Love Scarlett site.

Do take a look and let me know what you think!

I've made a conscious decision to write more than some blogs do for their real weddings because as inspiring as the images can be, there is so much more meaning to them when you know the story behind the choices that the bride and groom have made. In my opinion, that in itself is so inspiring for other brides-to-be. It gives  them the confidence to take their own passions and hobbies and weave them into their weddings.

Weddings are about the couple, about their loves and likes and the very best weddings bounce these ideas back at guests like a magnifying mirror. Details become unforgettable when they're forever linked to the couple in question and that's why telling the back story behind the wedding is so important. The wedding day itself is a page in a book, it's not a standalone piece of work. Like a great book builds plot and characters, a wedding always has had chapters that have come before and, rather than just dipping in to the day itself, a longer report gives us a little precis of what's happened before so we can really appreciate the page we're reading. The writing around the images is the wedding equivalent of York Notes and without it, we'll never understand the intricacies of the detail. With it, we fall in love story we're seeing.

There'll be another real wedding coming soon and having already seen the images for that one, it's going to be gorgeously beautiful.

Happy reading and here's to love stories.

A Dirty Word? - Thoughts On Ambition

Earlier this week, I read a piece in the i newspaper that absolutely struck a cord with me. Rebecca Armstrong's excellent feature sung the praises of being amibitious, of wanting more and more importantly, believing that we're all worth more than settling simply for what we have. If you've not read 'Ambition is something we should all be proud of', then take a few minutes out of your day now and give your reading muscles a little exercise.

What I loved the most was Rebecca's rejection of the really rather idiotic idea that it's somehow unseemly to be ambitious or that we shouldn't want better either for ourselves and those we care about.

I'm ambitious. I like to achieve, I like to get things done, I like to improve things and I can't bear standing still. I want better for myself. And I want better for a lot of fabulous people I'm lucky enough to know.

What I don't like however is achieving at the expense of all else. You can still be polite, friendly, funny and human whilst being ambitious. Knowing what you want and what you're going for is so important but you don't need to knock others down and climb over them on the way. What's the point of getting to where you want to go but not having anyone to share it with you when you get there?

Another lesson in ambition this week came from my son's school choir. His choir are very good indeed, they enter competitions, they often do well but, most importantly, the boys enjoy their singing and they all want to do well - for themselves and for each other. They didn't win the latest festival they entered but when the results were announced, they turned around and applauded the winners. No-one told them to. They just did it and they're eleven-year old boys. That's pretty good in my book.

They didn't win but they weren't beaten either. Their ambition didn't stop them appreciating what others had achieved.

So, thoughts on ambition - for goodness sake, be ambitious. Keep striving and believe you're worth everything you dream of and more. Try hard, work hard, don't set limits and don't let anyone scoff at your ambitions. But don't stop being a person - help others achieve their dreams and you'll be surprised who reaches out to you to support you on the way to yours.

Thanks so much for your words Rebecca - I'll definitely be joining you in wearing the 'I AM VERY AMBITIOUS' t-shirt and buying them for my son, step-daughter, family, friends and colleagues too. I want us all to be the best we can be.

Ambition isn't a dirty word. Although if you only care about your own, it can be a very lonely one.

3rd March - The Week That Was

Well, it's been a busy busy week here - one of those weeks that was so full of good things, it flew by in the blink of an eye so here's a little round up of what Candid Apple have been up to this week and, in true work/life balance way, not all of it is 'industry' related...

• Son back to school after half term and in 'summer uniform of shorts - this makes me look forward to longer, warmer days.
• Mornings and evenings being noticeably lighter this week.
• Lovely shopping trip with my Mum and the purchase of a new baking book.
• Writing lots and lots of features and blogs for various weddingy people and loving it.
• The amazing and inspiring Ellie Simmonds opening the swimming pool at son's school and son being chosen to ask her a question.
• Collecting our gorgeous, beautiful and really rather wonderful new dog and bringing her home.
• Being contacted by a real hidden gem of a venue and arranging to meet them.
• Son's school choir taking part in a choral day and watching their performance in the stunning chapel at Wellington College.
• Being sent some truly gorgeous wedding photos to use for features.
• Son's birthday - complete with party tea, fancy cake, balloons and lots of gifts.
• Playing the garden with the dog.
• Meeting up with Julie Tooby for a good industry chat and laughing a lot.
• Enjoying a last minute request for some copy - all written, all on time and all on word-count!
• Son's choir competing in a festival, doing incredibly well and being so impressed with the teaching staff's dedication.
• Booking myself onto Emily Quinton's September photography workshop.
• Deciding which endurance walking challenge I'll be doing this year!
• Turning the page in my diary and seeing that I've got a great week coming next week.