“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”

The wedding industry and blogging world has changed so much since I started out 9 years ago, I fell out of touch for the first few years that my little girl was born and now I’m trying to find my feet in a world that I don’t quite recognise. It is easy to get disheartened working by yourself. It is easy to get lost in why you’re doing what you’re doing.

It is emails and comments like the one I recently received (and shared below) that are rare but so incredibly valuable to someone like me, working most of their time behind a screen wondering if the work they’re doing really has a tangible impact on others.

I know how time poor we can all feel, taking the time the tell others that what they’re doing is great, worthwhile or appreciated is something I’m not particularly good at either. I don’t make the time to do this enough.

This comment I recently received on this blog post brought me to tears on a tough day when I was wondering what I’m doing.

It reminded me of all the lovely women who I have connected with through my work, those who I am still friends with via social media, those I have watched get married around the same time as me and then go on to become mothers at a similar time, and those who I have become real life friends with. It reminded me of all the wonderful people behind the businesses that I work with whom I deeply value for supporting The Natural Wedding Company and who I have come to call friends.

To anyone that has found a few moments to write me an email, leave me a comment, or even send me a note in the post, thank you. Thank you so very much, I really and truly appreciate your kind words more than you can ever imagine.

This is to thank anyone who reads the blog, has/is using the directory to help plan their wedding, or who follows us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and is thinking about reaching out, I would love to connect with you, so if you feel inclined to do so please do say hi – you are the reason that I do all this.

Much Love,

Charlie xXx

Just some of the women I have to thank are featured here in the photos, they are…

(1) The group of sweet girls who came to my house and celebrated 5 years of running my business, photo Mark Tattersall.

(2) My lovely friend Caroline who was the first true friend I made through my blog and who I have met and become friends with in ‘real life’, photo Allister Freeman Photography.

(3) My sweet colleague Samantha who you can read a bit more about here and how we met here, photo Amie Herriott.

(4) The lovely Nik who runs Little House in Town who I first met when she won a competition I ran, I featured her wedding, and since then our little families have met up a couple of times, photo Pete Cranston Photography.

(5) Emily and I have become ‘Instafriends’ since I featured her beautiful winter wedding, and although we’ve never met in person I have loved becoming mothers at the same time and watching our little girls grow, one day I hope we will get together with our girls, photo Entity Photographic.

(6) Finally, one of my best friends Jen, who I first met at that 5th birthday party (pictured at the top) which was just two days after her own wedding! Turns out we live really close and then had babies at the same time, truly I don’t know where I’d have been without her that first year of my little girl’s life, photo Emma Case.

Thank you

“Hey Charlie, I realize this is an older post, but my husband and I just got married this spring—and now that the wedding + moving craziness has settled down, I’m reaching out to thank the amazing bloggers who helped us make it through the process. You were totally one of them!

This post, especially, resonated with me. Ever since reading “One Perfect Day: the Selling of the American Wedding” a few years ago, I knew I could never spend thousands of dollars on a dress that had come essentially from slave labor. It was incredibly frustrating trying to find something in my (low) budget that wasn’t made in a factory across the globe.

I eventually got very lucky and, shortly before you posted this, was connected with a local woman who custom-makes wedding apparel—but finding someone like that was a huge challenge. I wish I had known beforehand about some of the options you mention here!

Anyway, please keep doing what you’re doing: spreading the word about amazing, purpose-driven vendors. It’s so badly needed!

Thanks again x”