One Bite At A Time...

I have a background in Marketing and yet I completely overlooked creating a Mission Statement for Embellish.  There is no excuse; we've been around for a little over 3 1/2 years!  So, for the past few days I've been attempting to create a mission statement. And it is completely overwhelming!

I had no idea it would be this big of an undertaking.  I mean, it's just a few sentences, right?  WRONG.  It's the opportunity to introduce ourselves and garner an intimate connection with each potential customer who reads it.  

As the stress over a mission statement continues to build, I am reminded of my husband's favorite piece of advice:

How do you eat an elephant?  ...One bite at a time.  

Okay, okay, one bite at a time.  I can do this!  I think I'll start by, in a stream-of-conscious writing style, writing down phrases and words that come to mind when I think about who Embellish is today and who I want Embellish to become.  And that's it.  That will be my first bite!  

I do not easily give up.  Ergo, a mission statement will be had... so stay tuned!

Not that I plan to actually eat any real elephants, but because elephants are pretty awesome in general, here's a pic for your enjoyment! ;)

Photo found on textually.org

Congratulations to our very own Mr. and Mrs. Colyar!

To my Dearest Readers, 

I am tickled pink to announce that I got married this past April!  So for those of you wondering where this blogger has been, that should about explain it.  I've been wrapped up in wedding planning and now married life!  I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it!

My husband and I had a very short engagement, though I did not want to cut any corners.  So it was a busy, busy, busy, stressful four (yes, you heard me, 4!) months.  In fact, I'm actually pretty impressed that I got a blog out at all this year.  For those of you counting, there were 2 prior to this one ;P

It was only natural for my mom, and fellow Embellisher, to make my wedding veil!  She's seen in the first image below.  My dress was solid lace, so I wanted a simple veil that would complement the dress, as I was already pretty embellished.  Our "Grace" veil was the perfect fit!  It's a hip length veil with what we call a pencil edging.  It's a soft look, yet still has a little detail for definition.  See for yourself...

With love & appreciation, 
Carolyn Gregory Colyar

Photos by Inga Finch Photography

Haaaaaaaaaaappy 3rd Anniversary, Embellish!!

Holy sa-mok-iesssssssssssss, Embellish is threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee years old as of March 6th {and, yes, I'm about a week late}!!  But, Oh Happy Day!!  We have adored being a part of so many wonderful wedding days.  And we look forward to many more!! 

We would not be here without so many precious brides entrusting us to embellish their wedding day with the wedding veil of their choice.  Such an honor to have been picked by so many.  With nothing more than a glimmer in our eyes, we embarked on this intimidating journey just three short years ago.  With you by our side, we were destined for success.  And now, we have accomplished more than I every dreamed...

We've shipped a veil to Ireland, shipped a veil across the US, had veils in two different shops, made many a new friends, had veils go down fashion show runways, had veils re-worn by sisters, attended Vow {Atlanta Mart's wedding show}, were a part of Southern Weddings 12 Days of Christmas giveaway promotion, have seen our veils on Pinterest, and now have a {healthy?} fear of scissors.  I can only wonder what's next?!

And it's all thanks to you...  So, a very hearty thaaaaaaaaaaank you, dear friends, for making our dreams come true!  I still can't believe... we're 3!!!

Photo by Inga Finch Photography

Wait a minute, is it an Anniversary or a Birthday?!

Reminiscing the 12 Days of Southern Weddings Christmas 2012 Giveaway

Today I'm reminiscing the 12 Days of Southern Weddings Christmas 2012 Giveaway we were a part of last December.  I realized I never blogged about the experience which is a total shame.  It was such a fun and busy time and we adored every second...  

I cannot say enough nice things about Southern Weddings Magazine!!  They emailed out of the blue saying they had tracked us down from a pin on Pinterest and wanted to know if we would be interested in participating in their giveaway.  I looked at the previous year's giveaways and saw Lilli Pulitzer.  Whaaaaaaaat, you have Lilli and you want US?!  

Yes, yes, YES!!

The Southern Weddings' girls were such a pleasure to work with and it was quite the honor to be chosen - the whole experience was sweet as honey.  We made new friends, celebrated the honor with old friends, received inquiries, got orders, and got to bless a bride on her big day with the wedding veil of her choice.  What a fantastic holiday season!!

A humongo thaaaaaaaaaaaaaank you to Southern Weddings Magazine for tracking us down and a larger than life congraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatulations to the winner of the Embellish Veil. 

For those of you curious as to the fine print, here's the skinny:

     Win: The Embellish Veils & Accessories veil of your choice, 
     excluding styles with lace.
      Number of winners: One
      Ways to enter:*      1. Visit the Embellish site and comment here 
     with which veil style you’d choose if you won.      2. Like 
     Embellish on Facebook then come back here and tell us you
     did so.      3. Post a link to this giveaway on  Facebook. Be sure to 
     tag both @iloveswmag and @Embellish! Then come back 
     here and tell us you did so with a link to your post in 
     your comment.      4. Pin a photo from the Embellish site to your 
     personal account, then come back here and leave a comment 
     telling us you did so with a link to your pin in your comment.
      *You can enter as many or as few ways as you’d like, but you 
     MUST leave a separate comment for each entry! We use a 
     random number generator to choose a number and then match 
     it to the corresponding comment, so it’s definitely in your favor 
     to do so! :)
      Giveaway closes: December 25

     And the winner is: Jessi McCormick!! 

Click the image below to see the full post on Southern Wedding's website...