Southern Weddings

Welcome back to our “Day in the Life” series! Today you’ll get a glimpse into my day as we finish up our shoot season for V7. I am so excited for the new magazine to debut in just a few months!

9:03am I arrive at the office. I am reliably 3-5 minutes late, no matter how I adjust my morning routine.

9:07am I greet the other ladies and sit down at my desk. My to do list from the day before, half crossed out, is in front of me, and I use it to create my new to do list for the day. My to do list generally has between 15-25 items on it on any given day, and I add to it throughout the day so I don’t forget anything. I know this might stress some people out, but it works for me!

9:10am I open up my email and scan through everything that’s come through overnight. I delete emails I don’t need, respond to anything quick and easy or unusually urgent, and drop things into folders as appropriate. I’ll then respond to submissions that came in the day before. People always seem surprised by how quickly I respond, but I try to work on a “one touch” email system as much as possible, which means that if I look at the submission, I need to make a decision on it. Emails are just decisions waiting to be made :)

9:47am I take a mini break to try on nine shirt samples we’ve ordered and perform an impromtu runway show for the other ladies. Heads up – really comfortable and cute tees coming to the Southern Weddings and Lara Casey shops soon!!

10am Back in my own clothes, I sit down for a call with Easton Events. We are working on a REALLY, REALLY exciting and really big project with them (to be announced soon!), and today Lara and I are hashing out some details with the lovely ladies.

10:32am We hang up, and I have about an hour before I’m scheduled for my second call of the day. I figure this is about enough time to work on the text for the V7 bouquet feature. I am tickled pink about the concept we developed this time around, and the photos that Katie Stoops created. Hint: It involves some of my favorite quotes! :)

11:30am I finish a rough draft of the bouquet text but am not 100% satisfied with it, so I send it over to Lisa to take a peek. Lara and I get back on the phone for a call with with The Umstead, a luxury hotel near our office. Again, we were hashing out details for a very exciting collaboration coming this fall – anyone have any guesses?

Noon We have a few new Blue Ribbon Vendors waiting who have been accepted to the Directory and have sent in their materials, so I begin setting up their portfolios. It’s truly a delight to work with such talented, kind, and creative folks! We adore getting submissions or emails from readers who found their beloved vendors through BRV; happily, it happens quite often!

12:57pm I need to confirm rentals for an upcoming shoot, so I spend a few minutes browsing through sites and catalogs, making note of my favorite options.

1:15pm I hop back into my email to sort and respond to anything that’s come in since the morning. I send out inquiries to some of the rental companies I’m interested in. I also like to spend a good chunk of time in the middle of the day responding to or writing more lengthy or complicated emails. They’re often about shoot or V7 projects this time of year, which is fun!

2:30pm My last call of the day is with Ali and Krista. Lisa and I will be heading down to Atlanta in a few weeks to produce one of the shoots I’m most excited about for the next issue. We chat through fashion, food, and favor options, and discuss some of the items we’ve pinned to our joint (secret!) Pinterest board. We also confirm two of Ali’s little neighbors to be flower girls!

2:53pm A sizable chunk of my afternoon is spent choosing and uploading photos for upcoming blog features. Though Marissa and Lisa write most of our online real wedding stories, I love reading through the couples’ interviews as I work – it’s really neat to see what they describe come to life.

4:15pm Lisa, Lara, and I scoot our chairs together to go over the shot list for another upcoming V7 shoot. Lara is hearing most of this for the first time and has some suggestions, so we discuss, and then I finish the day with a lengthy email to Stefanie, the amazing stylist we’re working with.

5:15pm Pinning to our boards can sometimes fall to the wayside in our busiest season, but I try to add at least a few every day. And yes, it is delightful that my job responsibilities include pinning :)

5:33pm Our normal day ends at 5pm, but again, in our busy season, we’re all usually here until at least 5:30. I head out to make a few shoot prop returns (from last week’s editorial with Tec Petaja!) before heading home.

All photos by Blue Ribbon Vendor Faith Teasley. See more from our office tour here!

Catch up with all our Days:
Morgan: Shop Manager

Written with love by Emily