Author / Abby Larson

by Abby Larson

SMP’s Little Black Book is Launching…Just in Time for Engagement Season!

We are getting SO close (as in days!!) to launching our completely refreshed Little Black Book program and I could NOT be more excited about it! Just in the knick of time for Engagement Season to boot!

So here’s what. We’ve spent the last 6 months talking to high end vendors and creative partners, like yourselves, about what worked, what didn’t work, what they wished for in a program like the Little Black Book and what they would do without. We’ve challenged our assumptions on what a Vendor Directory could and should be in today’s incredibly fast-paced and saturated industry.

We’ve pushed ourselves to build smarter, to dig deeper and to create something that celebrates what the Little Black Book has always been but with a fresh, modern view of our online culture. And now, we are putting the finishing touches on a robust new LBB that we know you are going to love!

Okay, so let’s dive in. We’ll keep this short…Riiiight.

When I founded Style Me Pretty, I did so with the strong belief that couples deserved a place on the internet for beautiful, highly curated and meaningful inspiration right alongside the tools to which they needed to plan something of their own that matched that very beauty. Thus, the Little Black Book was born. As time has passed – and our sweet industry has become overly saturated – I only feel more strongly about the need for an exquisitely curated LBB and I truly feel honored to be given a chance to bring the brand back to our roots…back HOME.

Now to the good stuff! After months of boots-on-the-ground research with many of you, we’re ready to unveil our refreshed Little Black Book program – one that will put you in front of our audience of engaged couples, work hand-in-hand with your business goals and one that fosters an exclusive membership community of like-minded professionals. In just a few short days you will be given the opportunity to reserve your spot!

Here are some of the perks that you can look forward to:

  • Personalized Packages. Since when are wedding businesses one size fits all? We will be offering several plans, a la carte options, and opportunities to create a bespoke package that works for you and your very unique business needs.
  • Streamlined Pre-Approvals. Because we believe that your time should be spent on your business, not marketing your business, pre-approvals will not only be included but will also be super seamless and simple.
  • Instagram Features. 1 million… yep, that’s our Instagram reach. #HumbleBrag. There will be opportunities to add on instagram features to your program. Later in the year, we’ll be rolling out opportunities to leverage our social media which has a combined reach of over 14 million – the largest in the bridal space.
  • Community. An exclusive SMP community space for you to connect directly with other LBB members as well as myself, Tait, and the rest of the SMP team. Keep in touch, ask questions, find business support, share your news or just hang out.
  • Curation. Due to your fervent feedback, we have ensured that our highest priority is the curation and selection of members that are the best fit for our couples.

In a few days, we’ll be sending out an email with a private, by invitation only link to you. Woot, woot! The link will connect you to an automated checkout system where we will identify the package most comparable to your previous membership and will outline our newer, smarter Add-Ons.

As a thank you for your incredible support of SMP, the beautiful content that you have provided to us and our deep gratitude for sticking with us, we’d love to offer all Legacy Members a 15% discount upon signing back up.
The offer will expire Jan. 14th.

*Important Note: Beginning on January 14th, 2019, you will no longer show up in our vendor directory if you do not sign up for a new listing. We hate to put the pressure on, but…(lol) engagement season is knocking at our door and we are anxious to build out a book that, well, kicks ass!

So,stay tuned for more info very soon! I really hope you will join us as we re-launch, refresh and revitalize SMP’s Little Black Book of preferred wedding vendors. We just know that the LBB 2.0 is going to be a game changer and we so want you to be a part of it!

xoxo, Abby & The Entire SMP Team

by Abby Larson

Values and Code of Conduct

Before we really get going, I wanted to share the makings of our code of conduct. It is ever evolving and we will be honing and tweaking and adding to it over the weeks to come. But for now, here are the foundational ideals that we are committed to.

photo by Jose Villa

Inclusion. We have heard you. We are still listening. We WILL create a space that feels innately inclusive. We believe in SMP’s reach and we believe in the power of kindness to create real change.

Beauty. Our focus will always be beautiful ideas. Weddings, homes, moments and so much more. Beauty comes in so many shapes and sizes and we hope to celebrate each and every one – the pretty details and the emotion and meaning behind those very details that gave them such life.

Transparency. We will be transparent with you to the best of our abilities. We are in the process of setting up a behind the scenes blog so that we have a direct link to our readers. We are also finishing up discussion boards for vendors. We want you to be a real part of this journey.

We feel lucky that we have the opportunity to reboot Style Me Pretty, give it a fresh face and really embrace technology, culture, inclusion, and change. We will never deviate from the pretty but we will prove that pretty doesn’t have any boundaries. We are so grateful for all of your feedback – good and bad – and we hope that you will join us on this new adventure. As a sweet friend, @justineungaro said to me … “if you listen to what is going on in the world & evolve with it & try to do good, you’ll be great.”

This photo was taken by @josevilla for a digital magazine that we did a few years back. It will forever be one of our favorites. Beauty and hair by @teamhairandmakeup

 

by Abby Larson

Welcome to Style Me Pretty’s REBOOT!

Way back in 2007, we had this blog called Backstage. If you’re really curious, you can actually see some of it here using the Way Back Machine. It was basically our own special place on the internet where we could talk directly to vendors and anyone that cared about the thought processes that went into the decisions that we were making at SMP and for all intents and purposes, it was pretty freaking great. But alas, we didn’t have enough hands on deck and it slowly faded into quiet.

photo by Judy Pak

But guess what. We’re back! Mainly as a way to communicate with you guys prior to re-launching but also as a place where we can be honest, we can start a conversation in a way that actually feels productive rather than just promising, we can share our insights and learn from yours so that this new reboot of SMP is more than just simply picking up where we left off. It’s thoughtful and deliberate and built around more than just intuition.

If you need a quick and dirty look at what has happened over the last 10+ years, click here. If you want to email us with questions or concerns, click here. If you want to talk shop and really get this party started, leave a comment with ideas below and we’ll make it a priority to respond quickly.

Now that we’ve drunk (drank?) far too much champagne, lay awake far too many nights with stress, fear, joy, thrill running through our brains, spent far too much time staring at each other with the shock and awe that comes from getting back a company that you thought you’d had to say goodbye to…it’s time for business, people. Let’s get to it.

xoxo, Tait and Abby