So I may be a little late sharing this post but I figured I’d share all of my #SBSCon looks {see here, here, here, and here} + a Guide to Charleston {from a blogger’s perspective} before telling you all about my experience at the conference. First I’ll start off by saying I was pretty freaking nervous!! Why you ask? Because this was my first blogger conference, I was meeting my blogger girl crush {Cathy from Poor Little It Girl, she is the reason I started my blog and meeting her was honestly like meeting a celebrity in my world}, and I had no idea what to really expect from the whole experience. I was really freaking excited too, for all of the same reasons plus getting to meet so many bloggers I had connected with on social media with for months but hadn’t yet met in person. Putting a real life face/voice with an instagram handle was fabulous!
Preparing for the conference was definitely a little stressful! I mean I was headed to Charleston with 74 fashion bloggers, I needed to bring my A-game and have my outfits planned out perfectly {not an easy task for someone who typically waits till the day of an event to pick an outfit}. Once that was complete it was all about preparing my business cards, media kit, and what other items I needed to survive the conference, networking event, and wearing high heels three days in a row.
The weekend kicked off with a cocktail hour hosted by Swoozies were we received the cutest personalized stationary and had the chance to mingle with many of the 74 other bloggers. It was a fabulous way to ease into the weekend and take some of the nerves away {for me at least}. After sipping a few beverages and takings about 100 photos a group of us headed to dinner. Where the champagne flew and the snapchat stories grew! Definitely a night to remember {minus the walk home where we became seriously lost, whoops!}.
Saturday was the main event. We arrived to breakfast bright an early {8am} at the Charleston Grill. Once we ate a little breakfast {and took a few instagram photos of our food + baubles #bloggerlife} we were ready for a day of full speakers, networking, and some serious note taking! I had my bag prepped with business cards, media kits, a pen, notebook, gum, a nude lip pencil, and my absolute favorite lipstick {plus wallet, of course}.
We heard from five different speakers and than had a panel session with three representatives from a variety of companies. Once we’d soaked in as much information from these fabulous ladies the curtains behind them opened {slowly} and revealed all of the brands + goodies waiting for us! It was an amazing way to kick of the networking portion of the event and no joke everyone in the room thought it was just about the coolest scene they’d ever seen.
Once we walked down the stairs and into the networking room {where there were 20+ brands} we received a Vera Bradley tote to place all our goodies, business cards, and more into while walking around. It was basically like trick-or-treat at each table and I eating it right up š
Sunday closed out the event with a breakfast hosted by Hallmark Signature Style and it was just about the cutest thing ever. They had an adorable photo booth where the photos could be instantly emailed or texted to you! We had so much fun getting goofy early in the am and ignoring the fact that it was time to say goodbye.
The conference in my opinion was absolutely amazing and I can honestly say I’m counting down until next year’s. I am so ready to be back with my blogger babes, be inspired even more, and continue to learn about the blogging world. The conference definitely taught me a lot and encouraged me to continue to follow my passion, work hard, and enjoy all that blogging has to offer {like amazing friendships!}.
If you’re thinking about joining Southern Blog Society, I highly recommend it! I joined just over a year ago and it’s become one of my favorite things about the blogging world. I’ve connected with so many gals through it, had posts featured on their site, and the opportunity to work some wonderful brands. Do yourself a favor and apply here.
All photos by Kim Graham
