It’s not January anymore, but we finally had our first (!) annual TNR retreat which did include: lots of talking, an amazing review of our last four years, milestones, marketing, operations and pain points. It did not include: any s’mores, hiking, or early morning waffles. The latter had been part of the plan, but due to a small detail called SXSW, any rentable house within a 2 hour vicinity of Austin was booked.

Next year: the beach! Or Marfa. Or somewhere that allows dogs, and has amazing food. And a firepit. Priorities!

That being said, one of our main goals was to distill our “WHY?” — also known as our mission statement. We’re exceptionally well-versed in explaining the What and the How of what we do, as that is often the bread and butter of our first client interactions, but the Why goes beyond that. It asks the questions of “why do we get up in the morning, every morning, and do what we do on a daily basis?” and “what motivates us beyond the usual suspects?” —- what are our core values that drive us to be better designers, planners, allies, confidantes and list-makers? This video of TED Talk by Simon Sinek is one that Matt, my patient husband and business-loving nerd has been talking about for months. It’s a good one for all your small-business owners out there:

And then we brainstormed. What was it that motivated us day, in day out? Separating the What (we create a process to help plan events that are enjoyable for everyone, while simplifying the number of vendors you interact with) and How (inspiration boards, secret pinterest boards, detailed timelines and budgets and google spreadsheets that never end) with the simplicity of our “Why?” was hard.

In the end, it was just two things:

We believe in personal events.
Every couple has a story to tell.

Both of these statements, together and separately, inform every single decision that we make. They guide our day-to-day interactions, design process, long-term planning and goals – and yes – are the reason that we get up every morning and look at those google spreadsheets.

Of course, it goes without saying, that without our pretty incredible roster of clients and their belief in us, that all of this magic wouldn’t get off the ground. We’re grateful for their support and are really looking forward to some amazing weddings in 2014 and 2015!