Creative at Heart Conference Charleston, SC | Recap

I realize I’m WAY behind on sharing this recap! If you follow me on social media, then you know that last month I had the unbelievable honor of traveling down to lowcountry, the beautiful Charleston, South Carolina, to speak at the Creative at Heart Conference (C@H) round 3! I absolutely LOVE traveling and I LOVE getting the chance to share my heart with other bloggers and creatives – and to combine a trip to Charleston with a speaking engagement like this was… dare I say, THE BEST.

I have been following the C@H team since they got started last year and wanted to attend the previous rounds, but wasn’t able to due to my schedule at the time. SO when it worked out that I could go this time AND get to speak, I was PUMPED. I was MOST looking forward to getting to meet so many of my internet friends in real life for the first time (way less creepy than it sounds, I promise!), hearing from so many other inspiring speakers, and also getting a weekend away with my husband! YEP! John came with me! I was SO glad to have him there!

Anyway, I wanted to share some images from the conference with y’all and share some of the highlights!

All images taken by Annmarie Swift Photography, Alicia Lacey Photography, and We Are The Mitchells.

The swag was AMAZING! So many amazing sponsors provided beautiful items for us to take home.

The Francis Marion Hotel in downtown Charleston was the PERFECT location. It was just stunning!

The unbelievably talented Blakely Made did the backdrop for the photobooth. It was STUNNING.

Seriously. The pictures don’t do it justice!

They kept us WELL FED all conference. 🙂

The BEAUTIFUL Jess from Jess Creates and Laura from Paper and Honey!

C@H founder, Kat Schmoyer, of Dear Sweetheart Events kicking things off!

Bonnie of B is for Bonnie design was the first speaker of the day talking all about creating an authentic brand.

Michael Alsop gave an awesome talk all about getting your finances in order! You know I loved that one! 🙂

And then it was my turn! Y’ALL. I WAS SO NERVOUS. I have spoken at conferences tons of times and performed for lots of people, but something about this was different. I was SUPER nervous. It really helped to have my husband there to cheer me on, pray for me, and just be all around awesome. I was also coming down with bronchitis at this point and so I was PRAYING that I wouldn’t cough through my presentation… and I didn’t!!

To start, I had everyone get up and introduce themselves to someone they DIDN’T know and give that person a compliment based on something OTHER than what they were wearing. It was a fun way to get people moving and get them engaged!

I make weird faces when I speak, apparently.

My topic was “Blogging with Passion and Purpose for a Profit.”

Taking questions!

Then the UNBELIEVABLY amazing Mary Marantz gave her presentation on “Making Your Work Worth More.” She had us laughing. She had us SOBBING. She was amazing.

On day two, the amazing Shay Cochrane spoke about “Finding Your Niche.”

Ashlee Profitt talked about “Winning the Hearts of Your Clients.”

The adorable Krista Jones gave us a super helpful presentation on Google.

And Annamarie Akins talked all about how we CAN do this… we can be successful. SHE IS ADORABLE and I love her.

Natalie Franke gave a SUPER interesting talk about the BRAINS behind the business… all about the psychology of the way we interact. It was so cool!

Amy & Jordan, SO CUTE, talked all about social media.

And last, but certainly not least, Katelyn James gave such an amazing presentation on community. I just adore her. She made us laugh. She REALLY made us cry. She was just phenomenal.

Closing out the conference…

All the speakers and attendees!

And the super amazing Alicia Lacey photography snapped some new headshots for me! Funny how I barely look pregnant in any of these pics… I guess I hide it well?? Haha!

Overall it was an AMAZING experience! I learned SO much, walked away with a notebook FULL of notes, felt rejuvenated and reignited my passion for what I get to do for a living, made so many new friends, had a great weekend with my husband, ate delicious food, and so much more. I really hope to be able to attend another C@H in 2016!

What about you? Have you attended any conferences recently that you loved? Do you attend conferences regularly? Any I should check out? 

Thanks for reading! <3