Today I want to share with you this side body cross over bag that me and the coordinators at Cue the Champagne Event Planning and Design use at every single wedding. Of course we have two big rolling emergency kits but when you are on the go there are common items that you need at a moments notice and these babies save us some major steps and time , so were fast to help our bridal party and guests. 

• Keys
• phone
• tablet
• half size clipboard with wedding day documents

​Totally hope you enjoy this resource,  Click here to order your own let me know what you think !

Shaun Cox of  www.TheShaunCox.com. Shaun Cox  is a Wedding Planner , Wedding Industry Mentor based in
 offering  training, consulting and education of Wedding Planners and wedding creatives nationwide. Shaun Cox is the owner of Cue the Champagne Event Planning + Design  Chattanooga and Cleveland Tennessee Premier
Wedding Planning and Event Studio Owned by Coordinator and  Senior Wedding and Event Planner Shaun Cox.
Cue the Champagne Event Planning + Design offers Wedding Day Event Management Services formerly known as Day of Wedding Coordination, Full Service Wedding Planning Services, Elopement Planning and Event Design Services for all your Social and Corporate Events.
Cue The Champagne Event Planning + Design caters to Weddings and Events
in Cleveland Tennessee, Chattanooga Tennessee, and surrounding Tennessee, North Georgia  Wedding locations and Worldwide. ​

Tell us about Crystal Marie Events and How it all got started ?

In 2008, I helped a friend with a fashion show. She was more aware of my talents than I was because I thought she was nuts when she urged me to start an event planning business. I made a bet with her—if the event was a success, then I would. If it wasn’t, well that’s a different story that I guess we’ll never know, because…the event was a huge success I secured national sponsors and the attendance was impeccable, the event was even in the Newspaper, which was a big deal to me... and that's how Crystal Marie Events LLC was started!

What is your Jam? What is that one powerhouse thing you are known for when it comes to planning weddings.

My JAM is stepping out of the box. Not doing your cookie cutter event. I love when clients come to me and say hey I need wedding transportation but I don't want a limo or horse and carriage..I say okay lets do a Trolley. Or my fiancé is part African and I want to surprise him with something special during the ceremony..I say okay lets open it up with African Dancers..clients like that keep me on my toes and keep my creative juices flowing. I love thinking beyond the norm and pushing events to the limit..that's how I stand apart from other companies in my area.

What made you apply to be apart of Listen Girl Mastermind and mentoring cycle 1?
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I knew in order for me to reach the next level in my business I needed a mentor who had been there and done that..someone who shined in her own right and was as real and as honest as me. I knew that she would tell me what I needed to hear not what I wanted...let's face it everyone's an event planner but I knew with the knowledge and tips that I gained from Shaun and the other Listen Girls that I would be unstoppable rolling into the new phase of my business.

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If you could give any one piece of advice to aspiring or seasoned wedding planners that are looking to be inspired in their journey what would it be?

Register Your Business (If you don't you are a hobby)
Find a Mentor Invest in Your Business (event conferences)
Come through Completely..don't half ASS anything!

How can other wedding planners in the community connect with you ? 

www.crystalmarieevents.com
https://www.facebook.com/crystalmarieevents https://www.instagram.com/crystalmarieevents
@cmystyleevents on Periscope
https://twitter.com/CMEventsllc
https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystalmarieevents http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the+girlfriends+guide+to+a+crystal+clear+bride

You are googling your competition like mad trying to see what they are up to and what they are doing. You have checked out their website and IG Pages and you are probably more familiar with what is on their landing page than your own. #epicfail . You can not level up in your own business when you are taking on the worries and stresses of someone else's business operations. 

It is good to know what is going on around you because the expectation is that you want to be nothing like your competition . Now if you are on the other end of the spectrum and you are like " I don't have competition " then you are crazy. I use to think that same thing to and then I woke the hell up. #Hello 

So now your like okay Shaun where are you going with this. The goal is not to compete . The goal is to dominate !

When you dominate your market there is no one around you to compare apples to oranges . When you dominate you aren't focus on what your peers are doing because you are too busy beasting out the next new thing . The goal is not to blend in with what is going on around you but do something and create something so different that you dominate the market. When you dominate , what your competition is doing is not relevant.  

Wedding Industry Domination is in the palm of your hands what are you going to create to dominate and claim your spot in your local industry .

Today I want to share something with you. I want to share my failures with you. I want to put them on the table and layout it all out, not for you to keep a running tally and point fingers and not for you to say to yourself " wow she really had no idea of what she was doing" , I didn't but so what , but I am sharing this with you for you to say the exact opposite and for you to cheer with me " SO WHAT" 

Failures: 

1. In 2011 I launched my business with no business license.

2. I worked for free my first year in business.

3. In 2013 , I hired my first employee with no guidelines no structure.

4. I poured so much into my business the first three years , I'm sure I sucked at being a wife.

5. I offered a tiered wedding coordination services , oh the stories I could tell about that.

6. In 2011, I launched a coffee + chat wedding planner networking event , no one showed up.

7. In 2012, I was so eager to have my own studio that I signed a lease in this old run down building , renovated the inside of the office, I am talking flooring walls, furniture the works. The truth...with all the work I did on the inside , it still didn't change the fact that the outside was old and ran down. I never actually had any client meetings in the space .

8. In 2012, I purchased a pro camera and started a photography business because I liked doing photos so much, In 2013 I closed that business. I hated photographing tired whiny  children and shooting one unorganized wedding was all I needed to know to know I never wanted to be paid again for shooting people. 

9. In 2012 I shared a really great business idea with a peer , she took the idea and implemented it herself. 

10.  In 2016, I Planned the beginning stages of an Educational retreat and Soiree and cancelled it 60 days out. 
​
11.  From 2011- 2015 I didn't think I was worth it. 

Successes: 

1. Since 2012 I have been a licensed business, proudly paying local and federal taxes.

2. In 2014 I begin to see my first profits .

3. 2015 -Present day I have the best team and I know how to set expectations and guidelines that makes it fun and rewarding for everyone to come to work .

4. Present day my spouse is my number one supporter and no amount of money can make me more proud or happy just to spend a day off laughing and hanging out together. 

5. Three Wedding Planning Services that fully encompass my strengths and talents are more than enough on the menu of services.

6. 2014 I launched a bridal show that leveraged me as a leader among peers and showcased my expertise to potential clients. Vendors still ask when the next show will be although I have now moved on to new ventures. 

7.Present day I have a studio in a beautiful executive plaza that is just as beautiful on the outside as it is on the inside and have called it CTC headquarters for the past four years.

​8. We work with the best of the best photographers in the greater Metro Chattanooga area and happily refer our couples to use these amazing teams for their photography coverage and I have hobbies that I keep totally separate and private from work. I learned that everything I have a love for doesn't have to turn a profit!

​9. I share openly with other still present day but one thing I do different is I act on my ideas. I don't hoard them, I put them into action. 

10. I developed a marketing plan for my mentoring program and spent the time that I would have spent on the educational retreat and soiree and devoted that time into my mentoring clients.

11. I am worth it! Even if it means weekend with no couples to serve but a weekend in the sun , working or not I am worth it !

I have so many more failures I could share and they have all happened through the span of my career , not just the beginning days. 

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” - Denis Waitley

The point is SO WHAT, your failures do not define who you are or where you are going, so whatever the let down is of today , reassess and get busy. You have no pride to loose in trying something, SO WHAT if it doesn't work. Failing only matters if you have no intention on picking up the pieces and then trying again otherwise SO WHAT! Stop letting your pride get in the way. You are worried about what will people think if it doesn't work out. Who cares what they think because whether you WIN, LOSE OR DRAW there will always be an opinion. So to all my people out there, who are feeling the spread I am putting down on this peanut butter and jelly, let me hear you loud and proud SO WHAT! 

Shaun Cox of  www.TheShaunCox.com. Shaun Cox  is a Wedding Planner , Wedding Industry Mentor based in
 offering  training, consulting and education of Wedding Planners and wedding creatives nationwide. Shaun Cox is the owner of Cue the Champagne Event Planning + Design  Chattanooga and Cleveland Tennessee Premier
Wedding Planning and Event Studio Owned by Coordinator and  Senior Wedding and Event Planner Shaun Cox.
Cue the Champagne Event Planning + Design offers Wedding Day Event Management Services formerly known as Day of Wedding Coordination, Full Service Wedding Planning Services, Elopement Planning and Event Design Services for all your Social and Corporate Events.
Cue The Champagne Event Planning + Design caters to Weddings and Events
in Cleveland Tennessee, Chattanooga Tennessee, and surrounding Tennessee, North Georgia  Wedding locations and Worldwide. ​

It's okay to dream and what is even better ? Dreaming big, You see your vision clear as day and you are fully committed to being the rockstar wedding planner or creative that you know you are destined to be . You are super charged with passion and drive and not even your day job will stand in your way, except for maybe one thing......that's right the F WORD, you guessed it family.

Why does it seem that of all people family are the last ones to support you on this journey that you are so madly in love with. Do they not see the blood, sweat, tears and sacrifices you are making day end and day out to pursue a life and career that you absolutley love????

I am going to be real with you here, that transparent moment that I am known for giving. Lovie they don't get it and for you to hope they will get it and understand is not fair. I know how you feel , if I had a dime for everytime in 2011,in 2012 that I hear Jay say, " you still over there playing on the computer" when I was researching getting a business license or looking into local classes at my small business bureau or working tirelessly doing my own website design because I didn't have the money to invest for a professional to do it for me, I tell you , if I collected only a dime for each time I would still be rich. We are raised in a world where you go to school, pay attention do well academically , continue to higher education, get in debt possibly trying to pay for it , get a good job with benefits and stability and if you do all those things well then you have made it ! Thats right made it big working for someone else for the rest of your life. This is rocket science this is American culture 101.

Wait a minute, what about us dreamers , us doers, us belivers, the faith seekers, the risk takers, what about us. Here we are, but guess what, while our world is trending towards a economy that is fueled by small businesses we are still the minority so how do you combat family that don't get it ? YOU DON'T. You don't argue, you don't cry ( at least not to them about it, cry in private) you ACT, you simply stay the path and show them , don't give up, you pursue your dreams , you hustle your butt off and you make it happen, not for the moment that you can say " I told you so " being filled with animosity towards your family but to watch them be so proud and to watch them become your biggest cheerleader, to watch them become your partner, guiding you on business decisions , looking out for your best decisions. You know what allows this shift to happen, seeing your determination helps but do not you know what helps more than that INCOME, just being honest here, when you are able to stop volunteering your time, doing probono work and really start to generate income that can pay for a family vacation , or the kids sporting uniforms oh honey get ready for your pat on the back encouragement.

GRACE give it for lack of understanding, give it for your sanity and share it when you come through to the otherside . Stay the course, dream and show GRACE, OUR JOURNEY IS NOT THE MOST COMMON ONE.