{Photo from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride website, taken by David McNeil}
Before I even begin to ramble on about the amazingness that was Thursday (is amazingness a word? I think not, but I’m using it anyway), let me first apologise for my three day abandonment. As regular readers know, I usually post daily, so to have three days of silence without so much as a single scheduled post has been a bit odd.
So, why did I abandon you? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most, if not all of you have heard of Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride, a fabulously unique wedding blog which avoids the ick factor and shows off those weddings which are just quirky, different and very cool. (If you haven’t heard of it, go and take a peek).
Being an avid fan of Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride myself, when I heard about the ‘School of Rock (‘n’ Roll Bride)’ series of blogging workshops Kat was running, I knew I needed to go to one, and soon. Lo and behold, as if by magic, the Queen of Wedding Blogs only went and chose Devon as a location for the next semester. I happened to be online when Kat posted about the Devon workshop (sheer luck of course, nothing to do with being online all.the.time. oh no.), and it took me all of a nanosecond to book onto it.
Thursday was THE day. As I approached Muddifords Court, I was excited and nervous in equal measure. I could have saved myself the pain and just gone for all-out excitement, because the whole thing was just as awesome as I’d hoped.
Kat comes across in real life as she does on her blog, which meant we immediately felt at ease in her company. For wedding industry royalty, her sparkly Jimmy Choo’d feet are firmly planted to the ground (though the tales of her famous friends – Jasmine Star?! and trips to Vegas did have us in awe somewhat).
The setting for the workshop was the stunning Muddifords Court Country House in Devon. Hosts Nicky and Pip (and the dogs, and the chickens) are just lovely, we all felt so welcome and the venue is beautiful. I said more than once that if I were to marry again (same groom!), and of course if I lived in Devon, I would choose Muddifords without hesitation as our venue. An impressive entrance, beautifully converted outbuildings, exposed beams, the cosiest bar you ever saw, and a very warm welcome. What more could you need?
As we settled in for the workshop, the initial shyness quickly ebbed away, soon overtaken with a sense of comfort, friendliness, support and sharing. We all piped up with comments or questions as Kat ran us through her slides (magnificently orchestrated by Gareth), and she was helpful, honest and patient as she talked us through a million and one things.
The workshop was super helpful, and of course it was awesome to meet the pink haired, tattoo’d lady herself.
Once the ‘formal’ bit was done, we headed over to the cosy bar and settled down with a glass of wine while we all eagerly awaited food o’clock. Dinner was a delicious Bollywood banquet, the room decorated by classmate Nat from Jolly Good Wedding.
The whole thing was a brilliant experience, not just because I got to meet Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride herself (which goes without saying), but the learning element was informative, helpful and inspiring, and the opportunity to meet like-minded people was the icing on the cake. *wave* to my classmates!
Now, I’ve retyped this last bit a couple of times because, well, nobody likes a suck-up. But d’you know what? I’m going to write what I think. Why dumb down my Rock n Roll ravings just so’s not to sound like some kind of crazy super fan? So, what I learned about Kat is: she’s lovely – a real person, just like you and me. She loves people reading her blog and taking the time to comment and feedback, in just the same way that I do. She’s thoughtful, considerate and human, as well as a smart business woman. She puts her readers first, all the time, every time. She’s conscientious, and despite being ridiculously busy and receiving a bajillion emails a day (slight exaggeration, but, it’s A LOT), she replies to everything. Everything! I already loved Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride the blog, but after meeting the lady behind the scenes, I’m definitely edging over into Super Fan territory.
So, here’s me (fourth from the left, wearing jeans), and the School of Rock class of April 2012…
Thanks to class mate Becky from My Fabulous Life for the ‘group hug’ photo!
And a few of my iPhone snaps…
Our classroom!
Enough biscuits and fruit to sink a ship!
Kat doing her thang
Dinner: a Bollywood themed curry night, decorated by lovely classmate Nat from Jolly Good Wedding.
Daisy Dog who hung out with us through the day!
thank you so much for coming and for your fab write up, it was so ace to meet you and i cant wait to see what you do with your blog!
This is such a great post, it was a really amazing day and your words sum it up perfectly!
Great write up Donna! Such a cool day and enjoyed hanging out with everyone and come away with some very useful tips from the fab Kat! Thanks for the mention - I hope everyone enjoyed my Bollywood theme x
Looks like a good day for all involved.. I bet your wedding blog minds were whizzing with ideas afterwards...
Fab as always! Really wanted to go to this too but was too busy! Next time hopefully!!! :0)
It was so great to meet you Donna, i think big things will come from this blog i can't wait. Great day way RocknRoll Workshop learned so much my head is still buzzing but i really enjoyed talking to everyone and hearing Kat's story.
SOOOOOO TRUE!!!!! Love your blog entry as you are spot on about everything, it really was a great day. It was lovely to meet you, Donna, and all of our classmates. Keep in touch. xxxx