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The Business of Word of Mouth

Private backyard wedding in Woodside, CA

A referral is the greatest form of a compliment. I’m not sure who originally quoted that but it couldn’t ring more true.

This month Vitaily and I embarked on our sixth year owning our own business. I couldn’t be happier or more thankful to be doing something I truly love. Growing up, I always pictured myself as a business woman, but I never imagined owning my own business. I definitely have the heart of an entrepreneur, but it’s my husband’s adventurous spirit that brought it out of me.

Starting and then running your own business is truly a journey. As I reflect on the past 5 years, I’m amazed at all the lessons we’ve learned and ways we’ve changed. But the lesson I’m thankful to be learning right now is that there really is no such thing as an overnight success. I used to want that for myself. But I now see the need for the journey. I see God’s grace in giving us bit by bit. I see the beauty in the dedication, hard work and perseverance required for the journey. You all remember The Tortoise And The Hare, right? The tortoise always wins! That’s our new visual reminder.

Though it does require tenacity to run your own business, it also requires community. And we have the best! We wouldn’t be where we are today without all of you – our friends, family, amazing clients, and fellow wedding professionals. Our friends and family sharing their love and support by sending weddings our way. And our sweet clients and fellow wedding professionals voicing their compliments in the form of a referral. I repeat, we could not do this without you.

While our business grows predominantly from word of mouth referrals, I’m always excited to see who the internet will bring knocking on my digital door. Style Me Pretty has introduced us to some incredible clients and vendors I’m so happy to know. Our relationship with SMP has been a huge blessing in 2013! I’m excited to add a new vendor relationship with Once Wed this year and see who they send our way. SMP and Once Wed are two brands I admire and I’m thankful to be working with them both to help add value to the Pictilio brand.

2014 is a new year and a new chapter on this journey for us. And it’s our most ambitious year yet! We are praying (key word “praying”, because all that we have is from Him) for 25 weddings this year. I’m afraid to put that in writing, but Lara Casey has taught me the power of writing things down and sharing it with others. If you would like to join us in this journey by praying for this goal or referring a couple our way, we would be most thankful. But most of all, thank you for everything you’ve already done. It always feels good to know that we have a crowd of supporters both near and far.

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I Just Don’t Love You Anymore

Make things happen!

We just grew apart. We woke up one day and realized we weren’t in love anymore.

You’ve heard this before, right? Or perhaps, you are currently having these thoughts yourself. People can grow apart and people can stop loving each other. But you don’t just wake up one day and come to that realization. There is a slow and steady progression for that to happen. And guess what – you can take steps to prevent both from happening. And even if you do find yourself there, you always have the option to grow back in love with each other. It’s never too late! Love never fails. Don’t give up. Do the hard work.

After going to the Making Things Happen conference last October, Vitaliy and I started doing the MTH Powersheets together. A lot of people attend the MTH conference for business reasons, which we did as well. But there were also a lot of things in our personal lives that we were hoping to address too. There were are things we need to change in order to protect our marriage and continue laying a strong foundation for the future. These powersheets are helping us do that and more!

I think a lot of marriages get into trouble because the couple starts out on the same road, but then at some point they hit a fork in the road. Without consistent and honest communication, it’s easy to get separated at the fork. You’re both still moving and progressing forward, but then one day you look over and see that your spouse is no longer on the same road, the same life path as you. It’s important to share your goals and dreams with each other. To make sure they’re headed in the same direction. To work through the spots that aren’t. And come up with a plan together. The key word there being “together”.

These powersheets were created to help individuals accomplish their dreams and goals and do the things that matter most to them in life. However, if you are married, your goals and dreams no longer affect only you. It’s important that your goals and dreams are complimentary to your spouse’s. They must work in harmony or you will likely find yourselves drifting apart.

Vitaliy and I just started using these sheets so we are no experts. But they have helped us already in tremendous ways – both personally and as a couple. There is nothing magical about them. But they can help you make small changes in your life that can develop into the big changes you’ve both been wanting – personally, professionally, and in your marriage.

Remember, if you want a marriage that works, one that is full of life, then you have to plan for it. You have to build a strong foundation. These worksheets are a tool that we use to invest in ourselves and as a result in our marriage. They help us to live with intentionality. At the very least, read Lara Casey’s blog to find some encouragement of any kind today. She’s the creator of the powersheets and definitely someone worth following.

Does this resonate with you? Click “Like” on the post or leave me a comment. We are focusing on being intentional in our marriages this month. I hope you find this tool helpful or I hope it sparks an idea on how you can be more intentional in your own relationship. Let’s make marriage happen this year! Please share this with a friend because, always remember, you are not alone.

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Be Intentional
Make Marriage Happen

I love the start of a new year. But to be honest, I’m not really a big fan of resolutions.

This year I decided to have a motto instead of multiple resolutions. “LESS IS MORE.” I hope to keep that in the forefront of my mind and remember that it’s all about progress not perfection.

With my motto in hand, I decided to use it to simplify blogging. I already decided last year to only blog 2 – 3 times per week, which worked brilliantly, but I could still improve on my consistency. To help me narrow down my focus in the “relationships” section of our blog, I’ve chosen to pick a theme for each month. I read a wonderful quote yesterday by Kamal Farah that has stuck with me.

There is no solution but to live together, not to survive together, but to live.

Vitaliy and I decided when we were married that we would never get a divorce. We won’t even bring up the word. But we also agreed that we wouldn’t live in a lifeless marriage. That leaves us with only one option – to make it work! We all enter marriage with our own expectations and dreams, but the reality rarely matches up. Cultivating a good marriage takes work. As unromantic as that sounds, the sooner you accept it as truth, the sooner you can get to making your marriage everything you want it to be.

One thing that hasn’t changed in the new year is my passion for marriage. Mine and yours. Let’s make marriage happen this year! Regardless of how things are going in your marriage, whether good or bad, we need to be intentional. That’s our January theme – be intentional! If you want a marriage that works, you’ve got to plan for it.

I hope you’ll join us! You can find us on Instagram or Facebook. We’d love to hear from you. We’ll be using #beintentional and #makemarriagehappen when sharing our ideas. Before you do anything, share this with a friend who may need some encouragement too because you’re not alone.

#beintentional
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