I've been shouting it from the rooftops, so I'm sure you know by now that this last weekend marked my one-year anniversary. Done with the sappy gratitude posts, I thought I'd put together this little infographic to share some of the fun facts about Glitter & Grit brides in the first year. Enjoy!!
 
 
i'm often asked how i came up with the name for my store. the short answer is: a long brainstorming session with my sister.  this session occurred on her facebook wall, so there's actually a record of this insane event (well, most of it).

want a very real peek into the minds of two loopy gals, drunk on possibility? keep reading.

{a few notes first: the beginning of this conversation is lost in space, but the full explanation on my about page can give you good enough background. also, i'm leaving all typos, swearing, and music, film, and book references as they are. oh - and? this is really long. sorry, kids.}
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photo by nicole jarock
click through to continue:

 
 
a milestone, the holidays, the end of the year... these three things have me thinking an awful lot about the past year; the last six months.

this coming weekend marks the six-month anniversary of glitter & grit, and i just cannot believe it's only been six itty-bitty months. i feel so at home, so right in what i'm doing, that it feels like so much longer - in the very best way. i have no way to appropriately thank everyone that has gotten us ("us," meaning me and the store because yeah, we're a couple) this far, but i will try my best. firstly by simply saying: thank you.

thank you to the customers who have supported my business (and for all of the hugs!!). thank you to the designers for creating amazing dresses that the world so needs. thank you to the friends and family who have supported and lifted me up from the early days of brainstorming.  thank you to the web ladies of propelle, for helping me take flight. without all that you have offered, i may not have had the courage to leap, arms spread wide with a huge grin on my face and peace in my heart. you kick ass.
and lastly, thank you to the local wedding vendors that have welcomed me in my stumbling eagerness to be a part of something so much bigger than each of us...

seven months ago, before glitter & grit was in any shape to open its doors, i had the honor of providing dresses for an amazing photo shoot with veronica varos photography, mt. lebanon floral, bliss events, ltd., and a handful of other creatives from around the city. what happened that day was pure magic. ladies: thank you for that entire experience, and for the friendships that followed. and a huge, inappropriately gushing thanks to lindee daniel for hustling to finish part of my opening sample order so that i actually had dresses to use for the shoot!

since that day, i have been honored to connect and work with a star-studded list of local vendors on various photo shoot and events, and i couldn't possible be more humbled and grateful for each and every connection.
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behind the scenes of my first styled shoot!
before opening my doors, i set my intention, here, for exactly what it was that i wanted glitter & grit to be, and i feel that i have upheld my promises to be real, to try to love myself as i am, and to empower other women to shine their damned brightest - every day, but especially on their wedding day.

as the months have passed, i have grown to love every inch of this business so much more than i ever imagined, and that's because of all of you... i wanted to make a difference, and even though, on the surface, trying to do so in the wedding industry seems like a shallow way to do it, it had been immensely rewarding to make women happy - and if i've turned anyone's prior - or anticipated - experience around to a positive one, then i AM making a difference, and one that matters.

i hope to continue on with my mission in 2014, and to help spread the *love* of self-love and truly personal weddings around pittsburgh. i hope to remain honest, inviting, and accepting in my life and in my business. i hope to keep dreaming and making those dreams come true, for you and for me... but most of all, i hope for a lot more hugs.

xoxo
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sweeping and dreaming, as captured by veronica varos - who was selflessly helping me prep the store for opening
 
 
so... here's the thing: i'm on a mission.

a mission to be as transparent with you, my friends and clients, as possible.
to be open and honest with you about who I am, and how glitter & grit does business.
to remain true to myself while i plunge into the world of fashion and the wedding industry; two places that can certainly make you question your integrity and self-worth.

i'm also - most importantly - on a mission to help YOU stay authentic as you go through the whirlwind of wedding planning, and to make sure you're shining as brightly as only you can on your wedding day.

i don't think that i can succeed in my mission if we, as women, aren't all holding each other accountable, being truthful with each other, and making conscious decisions to change the wedding industry "standards." so, let's make a pact, okay? let's promise to be real, to try as hard as we can to love ourselves - as we are - so that everyone else can have the chance to love the best of us. let's celebrate each other (i'm talking all ladies; not just the two of us!) and empower one another to be amazing, to love openly, to sparkle brightly.

pinky swear?
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here's MY glitter & grit: a fancy dress, and filthy feet. there is no better summation of who i am. photo by hot metal studio