Recap: The Hope Taylor Alumni Retreat

On Monday, we arrived at the 3400 square foot mansion residing on 78 Spring Street. The Hope Taylor Alumni Retreat in Charleston was a highly anticipated event, and everyone was buzzing with excitement. With that excitement also came a little bit of nervousness. Most of us didn’t know each other, and the idea of spending 4 days with 21 women was a little daunting. That is a lot of time for a that many people to be stuck together in one big house!

Nevertheless, within the first 30 minutes, everyone’s fears melted away as ladies started bonding over snacks and refreshments. The sound of laughter filled the living room where we were all gathered. Stacked on the kitchen table were 21 teal boxes wrapped with white bows from Along Came a Box. Inside were goodies from Evelyn Henson, Spa Thyme, Taylor Elliott Designs, and Salt & Shore Co. — it was a wonderful surprise! An hour later, we headed out to dinner at Poogan’s Porch in downtown for some amazing southern food!

Tuesday

On Tuesday, we met in the morning for some education. We talked about breaking into education in the industry before heading off to lunch at the Lost Dog Cafe. After that, we spent the afternoon soaking up the sun and relaxing at Folly Beach. Tuesday night, we stayed up until 2 am talking about life: our dreams, our fears, and our struggles. It was so amazing to see this group come together and show so much love and support to one another. There was seriously not a dry eye in the room!

Wednesday

We spent Wednesday morning discussing email marketing, which is a topic I have been dying to know more about! Afterwards, I spent a good hour walking around Rainbow Row and sitting down by the waterfront. The weather was perfect, and I was just enjoying being outside in such a beautiful city. I met up with some other ladies at the Market before heading into the Oyster Bar for a drink. After lunch, we headed to Magnolia Plantation for headshots. It was such a beautiful area, I can’t believe I’ve never been there before! There were peacocks roaming the grounds, and the way the sun was glowing through the Spanish moss was just perfection!

That evening, Hope had planned an event that featured a special guest. We had waited all week to find out who was coming, and to our surprise, it was Blakely from Blakely Made! They planned a painting party for us, and it was so much fun! My painting was not very good (despite Destinee being super sweet and insisting it was), but I enjoyed it anyway (I *love* painting parties :D). I went to bed not too long after the party was over.

Thursday

The next morning was full of sad goodbyes. It was an amazing week spent with some really incredible and talented women. I will never forget the friends I made during my time in Charleston.

I want to give a huge thanks to Hope Taylor for hosting this event! The way that she is able to bring a group of ladies together like this is just incredible. Scroll down to see some images from the trip!

Photo by: Marla Thach Photography

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