GO BLOG SOCIAL BLOGGING CONFERENCE

I went to my first blogging conference this weekend.  I was a big ball of nervous excitement and had no idea what to expect.  I had my business cards ready to go as well as my big new tote bag from Target to lug around everything I could possibly need.

Walking into an event like this when you don't know many people is intimidating.  I quickly realized, though, that everyone was there to build the relationships that I was also seeking and completely open to me when I walked up to them with a smile.  It didn't matter how big of a following your blog had or if you were a fashion vs. lifestyle blogger, everyone was so nice and sweet.   

The next thing that caught my attention was the event space.  We met at the Berg in the Crossroads area of Kansas City.  If you're getting married in KC, I would definitely check out this place.  It has such a cool urban vibe, big beautiful windows, and the courtyard is absolutely stunning for photos. 

The GBS team did an incredible job of bringing together some fabulous speakers.  All of them were very inspiring and spoke about topics near and dear to our blogger hearts.  You should check out all these wonderful ladies.  They are up to some pretty impressive and exciting things.

There was also a slew of wonderful sponsors.  I learned about a really cool site called Divine Caroline that is an online community where you can contribute articles.  I'm excited to check it out more.  I even won a gift card to Warby Parker through them that I can't wait to use.

The lovely Jennifer from Hello Cheeseburger was also there.  All her jewelry is so pretty and so affordable. 

 A temporary tattoo that says "Awesome"?  Yes, please!

One of the vendors I was most excited to see, though, was The Photobus!  Have you heard of them?  They bring an actual VW van wherever you are and the back is a photo booth!  It's the best idea, and I definitely wasn't shy about grabbing people to take pictures with me.

Thanks to Elle from The Clean Project, Heather and Allie from Twenty Something, La'Shonda from FashionPlateKC, and Holly from Style From the Sticks for taking these fun photos with me!

Stila also had a room at one of our night events and glammed up everyone's looks for the night.

One of the big takeaways I took from the conference is that everyone has their own unique voice and there is enough room for everybody in the blogger world.  It's easy to feel jealous or competitive with other bloggers.  I know I do sometimes.  Something that Nicole spoke about from Cedar and Rush, though, was that you should help people when you can, because when we help others, we are helping ourselves, too.  There is such a thing as blog karma.  I love this idea and want to keep carrying it on.  (I have a fun story about how Nicole helped me that I'll share later this week.)

I'm so glad I went to this conference (even though my allergies were acting up, and I bet I sounded weird with such a stuffed up nose).  I have a lot more to share, so I apologize in advance.  This weekend felt like one of those defining moments for me, though, so one post just isn't going to cut it:)  Next I want to delve in a bit deeper into some of the amazing ladies I met. 

Have you been to a blogger conference before?  What were some of the key takeaways you had? 


I hope everyone else had a great weekend.  Do anything fun?