If Elsa Rose were a bride (and why I've not labelled my niche)

I'm currently sat on the stairs while our little one is refusing to sleep. Grrr. Perfect opportunity to write a blog post, right? ;)

I've been bogged down recently with emails from mentors and coaches (- a little side note, I don't mean any offence here, it just feels that every woman running a business these days is running a business to tell other women how to run their businesses...I digress -) saying that to be successful you need to do X, Y and Z and I'll admit, just like I did in teaching, I've tried to implement too many things that have ultimately brought me down.

I've lost my way, not followed my heart and not trusted my instincts, but I'm back on track (or I will be come January!). Tonight I want to talk about one thing that I keep coming back to time and time again; defining my niche market.

I hate it. I hate having to put a label on something. To be honest, I know who my  potential brides are but putting that into words isn't easy. Defining a marketing strategy isn't easy. So I'm letting it go and breathing for once. Instead, I had a little fun looking back over all my past brides and seeing what Elsa Rose would be like as a bride today, based on the orders I've received over the last four years.

If Elsa Rose were a bride today, she'd be wearing a white, lacy, floor-length dress and her groom would be wearing charcoal grey. She'd either carry dusky pink flowers or a bright bouquet but if she shunned the traditional bouquet, she'd be carrying a gold brooch bouquet.

Her hair would be dark and styled in a messy up-do, really natural with a dainty hair accessory or a flower crown. There's a 20% chance she has children already and she owns a cat or a dog, or both!

She'd be a nurse or a police woman and her groom would either be a soldier or a superhero - Spider-Man is the favourite.

Reading that description surprises me; it all seems very "vanilla". But my brides are anything but.

My brides do have something in common and that's their uniqueness. They're not defined by traditions but equally don't completely break all the rules. There's a love of sentimental details, the personal touch to everything, the kindness and the humour that unites all my brides. I'm lucky to call so many of my past clients friends these days and to get the chance to work with them again after their weddings, which I would think is not that common in the work that I do.

So why do I need to put a label on it? My website says "vintage-modern brides"...I believe that's true as that's the style my brides embody but there's something much deeper in all of you.

It's the personality that defines this "niche" and that, for me, is too special to put a label on.

I want to thank you all for the kind words and support you've given this year; it's been a challenging year for us as we readjust to "normal" family life but your lovely comments have lifted me up and inspired me. You really do mean the world.

Wishing you all a lovely evening and a very merry festive season - I'm off to watch RuPaul's Drag Race on Netflix (#guiltypleasure) as we finally have a quiet child...must be the rythmic tapping of the computer keys ;)

More soon lovelies and thank you, once again for your support.