Hey APW,
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we decided to plan a ten-year anniversary party/vow renewal for this August. I’ve written a little about the headaches (people have gotten worse at RSVPing) along with the joys (building a wedding website has gotten 5,000% better and easier). But this week, we finally started to line up the actual details, and things started to get fun. We’re signing a contract with The Ace Hotel Palm Springs to have a small but fancy dinner party there (after which I very much hope we’re all going to jump into the pool with our clothes on). Other than the photo above, where I’m sitting on The Ace sign with my then-18-month-old, I’ve never been able to take my family to The Ace, which is one of my favorite places on earth. It’s an hour away from our hometown, so for me it’s a mix of desert hometown vibes… with hip shit I just love.
Contract signing means I get to move on to the truly fun stuff, like plotting with my friend Jess of Sentimental Fools, who’s flying out to decorate the whole thing… as well as be a partner in the #DeadDadsClub, as David and I both go through this without our fathers, who were very much at our wedding. But sorrow aside, this next part is the really fun part, and I’m hoping I get to enjoy it more the second time around.
The interesting thing about going through a mini-planning process again is how it’s reminded me of a lot of the bedrock values that I founded APW on. And one of those values was that we all should get to work with vendors who are not just talented, but also really good people. People committed to diversity and inclusion, and people that you want to be around on your wedding day. In the past 11 years of running APW, I’ve been lucky enough to surround myself with wedding vendors who are DAMN good people. And in the past month, we’ve been working to revamp our vendor directory to be more community-focused (vendors had their first group biz coaching call this week!). And we are continuing to offer $75 off all listings through Saturday, June 15th (so you get a whole year of the program for $350). Send your fave vendors here to read our advertising mission, and apply for a listing right here, and use the code APWSALE2019 to save those dollars.
Next up in the world of making good vendors easier to find: We are going to be launching a mastermind program (maybe the tech boom is getting to us, but think an incubator for wedding vendors) called The L.O.V.E. Club (The League of Vendors Extraordinaire, ahem). You all are always looking for talented, kind vendors who are poised to be the next big thing—but not yet charging $5,000, and that’s exactly why APW has a long history of helping launch businesses from zero clients to thriving. So, let’s hook you up with some rising stars while helping those small (likely womxn/LGBTQ+/POC-owned because you know how we roll) businesses take off. This program will be invite/application-only, so if it sounds like something you or a vendor in your life wants in on, have them shoot us a quick email and we’ll send over all the info.
And with that, I’m off with a heavy heart to my first Father’s Day weekend without a father. This weekend marks one year since the last time I saw him before his fall, so I’m planning on piling on the self care for both David and I, as we miss our dads… and at the same time try to celebrate the amazing father that he is to our kids.
xo
Meg
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