Hey ya’ll! My name is Holly Coleman: Welcome to my first blog post on Something Blue! Hopefully I don’t look back on these first posts with too much cringe one day: but then again, a good glow up is worth a little cringe 😉. Thanks for being here to witness it all! I wanted to take this first post to introduce myself and my little baby dream child, Something Blue. Then we will spend some blogging weeks taking a trip through the many twists and turns of what inspired it all: planning my own wedding! Whew. Not a task for the faint of heart but WOW the payoff! Hands down so far one of the best days of my life. So many amazing memories were made, so much love was shared, and so much was inspired! I hope my experience can help you along your way, and if one little nugget of advice makes a bride’s day a little more perfect then I’m a happy camper. Let’s dive right into it, shall we??

I was born and raised here in Wilmington, NC.  I’ve left a few times, but family and the beach always called me back.  I went to nursing school here and allowed myself to establish some of my own roots here in the Port City.  In my 30’s I really found myself unhappy in my career field.  I felt a combination of stuck and lost: I had done the thing where you fully commit to something, pour your whole heart into it believing it is the best option/solution/answer, only to find out in hindsight that it really didn’t fit you after all, but what now?? I knew that I wanted to leave the beau acratic world of healthcare and find something that filled me up and contributed to the lifestyle of my household.  I wanted to be creative, surrounded by color palettes, textures, detailed lists and still manage to make someone’s day a little better.  Little did I know that I would find a fit to all those things in a place where I least expected it.  Something Blue was literally born from the absolute blast I had planning our wedding.  I found something that filled me up: showed me color, texture, lists, a place where all the tiny details that I tend to obsess over actually matter, and the incredible feeling of watching your vision become an actual reality: it didn’t feel like WORK.  I remember when I figured out that not everyone actually LIKES planning events: it never occurred to me that not everyone loves details, or lists.  Most people just want to ENJOY the party, but my love is in all the details coming together to CREATE the party! After our wedding, a sweet friend whose own wedding was a year out, reached out and asked if I would please help her with her planning.  One tiny little seed being planted, with the chance to bloom into something awesome. 

Enter, my amazing support system! Starting a new career pathway is scary. Starting a new business where it’s all on you? Terrifying. I needed and STILL need every single person along the way who believed in me. Every person who told me they loved my taste and my ideas, every person who asked me for help and input in their own weddings, wonderful vendors that I worked with for my own wedding that offered so much support and now, mentorship, AND that sweet friend who snapped me right up and ASKED for my help before I could even scare myself out of the possibility! It definitely rings true that the first step is always the hardest, but once you get some momentum, you find the flow. Nothing makes me happier than a well-laid plan coming together. Except for coffee…coffee usually makes me happier than anything! Of course, the biggest part of my support system needs a little highlight: my beautiful wife and our (kinda ridiculously) large fur baby tribe. My wife Ellie is the anchor that keeps my head a little more firmly attached to my shoulders. In another life, she would have been a gladiator. She’s also hilarious (she’s a stand-up comedian) and I’ve always been a sucker for someone who makes me laugh. She’s my best friend, still gives me butterflies when I see her and in a class all her own. Six years in, and I’m still head over heels! Our fur baby tribe consists of THREE dogs: Klyde, a 12 yo English Setter/Lab, Otis, a 5 yo Pittweiler, and Moose (Moosie, Moosianna, Moosilini, Moot Moot) a 4 yo mini Daschund. Klyde gets away with everything, Otis is a total worrywart with the biggest heart and Moose runs the show. Whew. And now, the cats: we have sweet Sir Theodore Kittlesworth (Jingles, Shi**y Kitty, who is a whopping 19 yo, our sweet little Bruce (who is not little at ALL) is just a year old, and our newest addition: well, she found us! Ms. Kitty was a stray who adopted us, and decided to call our porch her home, and now the inn is officially full. I have placed the no-vacancy sign for all pets to see! Besides, we’ve got to fit a little human in here one day soon 😉 So many wonderful things on the horizon! I hope that this blog can be of help and inspiration to you on your planning journey, or at least make you smile (and make me laugh one day, 5 years from now, when I re-read old posts).

Happy planning ya’ll!

                                Holly