A New Chapter

A year ago, I began having the feeling that a change needed to happen to my site and, ultimately, to my brand. There were blog posts I wanted to write and a series I wanted to begin, yet the nagging feeling that both were acting as a mask for a larger change wouldn’t go away. I tried changing my copy and adding new photos. But, toward the end of last year, I knew I needed to dive in headfirst; I needed to rebrand Carly is Inspired.

When I started my business, having a website created and designed for me felt like a dream come true. I had assisted at a wedding with my friend, Katherine, and I fell in love with the placemats created by Sarah from Dodeline Design. Those placemats changed from grey to pink, and they became my beloved backdrop on Carly is Inspired. Sarah also created my bow logo – a piece I love and will forever keep hung on my bulletin board – and she pieced together a site that served me well as a new business owner. There was never a moment I didn’t love it.

Since my site launched years ago, I have grown and changed, and my business has done the same. I have become a wedding planner who specializes in styling and month of planning because they’re both what I enjoy post about planning. They allow me to be creative, and they also allow me to focus on the two tasks where I feel I can serve couples best – building relationships and logistics. As a writer, I have become a social media manager, website copywriter, and blogger for wedding and lifestyle companies. I’m also an editorial writer, and I specialize in writing for and about the wedding industry. These are all important elements of my business, yet I didn’t have a proper home to welcome current and potential clients. That desperately needed to change.

April of April Lynn Designs started as a client, and she has become a close friend since we started working together two years ago. She’s a skilled stationery designer who creates incredible suites for her clients, and she’s also a graphic designer who is equally as fantastic at creating brands and logos. I couldn’t have asked for a better designer or a better friend to transform Carly is Inspired from what it was into what is has grown into today.

April listened to my critiques and endless questions that always began with “what do you think about this?” One of those questions resulted in the monogram logo of my dreams. Another is the website layout I encourage you to explore, and a third is a second website just for my wedding planning that will launch soon. I could talk for days about April, but I’ll leave you with this: social media may kick start an online friendship that becomes an in person friendship you’re grateful for every day.

Once my site was underway, I knew I needed to take new photos. I had changed a few here and there, but they had all largely remained in place since the day I launched my site years ago. I needed a photographer, and I knew it needed to be Kelly of Kelly Pullman Photography. Kelly is another Bucks County gal, just like me (and April!), and I wasn’t afraid to ask if she would capture me in my home.

I considered doing a photo shoot offsite or even one in Philadelphia, but I knew the truest way to represent myself online was to have photos captured of me at my desk sitting in my bow chair – the exact place I work every day. The only difference was I called on Tina from Make Me Glam to do my makeup, so I would look like I had some actual color. : ) To say Kelly went above and beyond is an understatement. She stayed longer than I expected, styled more photos with me than I dreamed of having, and continuously asked me questions to make sure the photos she was capturing represented my brand the way I had envisioned. And then she sent me photos a week later. The photos you see on my site are some of my favorites…ever. If you don’t yet know Kelly, please change that.

Carly is Inspired now represents who I am as a business owner, particularly as a writer. An internship at Brides.com started my journey as a writer, yet it was never a journey I thought I would embark on. It’s one I can say, without a shadow of doubt, I’m constantly grateful to be experiencing. I analyze and reminisce in many areas of my life, but my business has never been something I look back on. Momentum and forward motion have always been so important to me that it wasn’t until I was creating my new Featured page that I truly paused, looked at the logos and links I had gathered, (cried), and thought, “You’ve done THIS.”

Carly is Inspired has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever experienced in my life, and I cannot wait to see what else is in store. Launching a new brand and creating copy to reach this point has been humbling. Whether you’re a new follower or a longtime fan, client, and friend, thank you for taking a chance on me, and thank you for cheering me on. It all means the world to me, and I hope that’s evident here and through the words I have crafted throughout my site.

Welcome to the new chapter of the continued story of Carly is Inspired.

P.S: Why isn’t the bouquet credited, you ask? Because I designed it. I cried (shocker) when it was done because, until that moment, I had designed anything for myself.

*Unless marked, all photos are by Kelly Pullman Photography.