I’m a big believer and supporter of dreams, business and crazy ideas. I just love them! But then on the other hand, the most exciting part comes when they become reality.

Yesterday I saw a great quote. I read somewhere on Facebook or the net (sorry I can’t remember who’s quote it was) “Don’t tell me the sky is the limit, there is footprints on the moon!” and that really made me think…What I saw in that quote was 1. Don’t be limited by other people’s thinking 2. You have to do something to prove that it’s possible.

Believing is key, but it doesn’t make the dream happen..you have to put in lots of hard work, research and figure out how to make your dreams come true! I think one of the flaws with the general perception of dreams are that they fall out of the sky and then with a little bit of magic, they mysteriously happen. The way I see it, dreams are there to encourage us to get our bums off the couch and make things happen! With my journey I’ve been VERY blessed, which makes it easier, but the fact of the matter is, things are not going to happen all by themselves :)

And that’s how I feel about The Pretty Blog. The Pretty Blog has been a dream for the past 2 years.  Since I started my photography business, I realized that there was a big need for online bridal inspiration in South Africa. A place that shared ideas and great quality visuals with brides, a place that made them feel at home, almost like a (online) coffee shop. Where you can take a break from the hectic demands of your job and just page through some beautiful pictures with a cup of coffee.

Nicola and I talked about this idea for months and little by little things came together and last week we were the proud mothers of a little blog called The Pretty Blog!

Apart from real weddings, we also share ideas from other bride’s perspectives. We share DIY ideas and also some stylish mood boards that can spark some ideas for your own day. But The Pretty Blog is not wedding from begin to end, it also strives to encourage you to make pretty things and be inspired whether for a tea party or decor for your own home.

The Pretty Blog is a place where not only the bride should feel comfortable, but also the AWESOME service providers. The Pretty Blog hand picks each of the service providers to fit the profile, look and feel of our blog.

One thing that gets me and Nicola most excited is the fact that there are so many new businesses and ideas starting every day. And with The Pretty Blog we want to encourage new businesses to strive for excellence. Be creative. Be innovative. Be AWESOME! So if you think you’re company fits this profile, make sure you fill in our advertise form.

The other opportunity that we offer is to feature your company/products on the blog. If you think you’re worth featuring, please fill in our feature me/my product form online.

We’re also very excited to share with you that we’ve already had 8056 page views in the past 5 days! These hits mainly came from South Africa, the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Argentina, Norway, Austria, France and even Portugal! :) *happy dance*

A big thank to the following people: Fresh01 for the awesome design! Iaan & Cindy from PlusPlusMinus for making the site work super fine! For Nicola for all the hard work! And also to all the photographers for their great photographs! Also a bit thank you to the other blogs that have already blogged about us, for all the people spreading the word online! You guys are precious!

(Tip for service providers: If you’d like to track your website stats and see how many visitors you receive, from which countries and from where most of your traffic is coming, make sure you have Google Analytics installed in your website. It’s for free and a MUST have!)