Yesterday The White Emporium turned a whole whooping 1! I am not sure where this year has flown to but it has been a whirlwind of emails, weddings, styled shoots and endless tidying!

I love The White Emporium and everything it is growing into but it has consumed my life, my nearly every waking thought is about weddings. My spare time is spent cleaning, writing emails and pestering people, would I change it for the world…. No! I am sure my feelings are shared by everyone struggling to start their own business, especially those working 2 jobs. That is enough of the negatives, here are all the positives and there are lots!

This year I have been lucky enough to meet so many amazing and talented suppliers, some I have already worked with on shoots and more I plan to work with in the next year. They have taught me a lot and have offered so many pearls of wisdom.

Next are the lovely couples I get to work with, all the hard work is rewarded when you see their beaming smiles, that feeling of accomplishment will never get boring.

I have also learnt so many lessons, a lot through trial and error but with every wedding I do I feel The White Emporium improves along with the service we offer. I don’t think in this job I will ever stop learning and that is one of the best things about it.

Unexpected success… our little hand drawn maps have gone from strength to strength, they were never intended to be part of our range and I am so glad I was convinced to offer them as part of the range. I love drawing and in the past year my maps have travelled from London to Italy with many Bedford destinations in between.

So what will happen in the next year… watch out for The White Emporium gracing the pages of some of the UKS biggest blogs! This is so super exciting but I don’t want to spoil the shoot reveals to much, so watch this space! We will be adding into the collection with some more rustic and unique props from our hit list. Keep an eye on our website, this will be evolving and growing and I promise I will get better at a regular blog post!

Of all the things I have learnt, the most important is ‘there are just not enough hours in the day!’ But there never will be, there always be to much to do and far to little time, I have many more late nights ahead of me! I need to try and stop beating myself up about the things I don’t have time to do and realise all I can do is my best.

Finally thank you to my friends, family, likes and followers for all your love and support. Especially the hubby whose life and home The White Emporium also consumes. I could not have survived this first year without you all!

So here is to the next part of the adventure and turning 2!

Love Gemma

The White Emporium xxx