When did we learn it was stupid to dream? To believe in a different reality? To start something new? To try to change the world? 

These questions have been on my mind this week as I’ve been navigating the inevitable discomfort of change.
… I am in the process of re-branding 😱 and it’s been quite the emotional roller coaster. Most of me is excited. But part of me is so sad to let my sweet, lovable Woula go. I know it is time for me to evolve and expand my business but as with any growth, there is a grief and loss that comes with it. With anything new, there is a shedding of the old. It’s beautiful. But it’s also sad.

Part of what makes me the most sad is I really and truly believed in my Woula mission. To bring the soul back into weddings. To celebrate the true meaning of love. To come together in community and hold space for healing. To be fully present for everything this sacred ritual has to offer. 🌷

But as much as I wannnted people to care about it, the problem just wasn’t big enough for most people to want a solution. At least not yet. And that’s ok! But it became too draining for me to try to convince them otherwise. Every rejection chipped away at my heart a little bit more and the magic of my own wedding day was washing away. 💔

For a while, I felt a lot of guilt and shame for wanting to let go of The Woula™. It felt like I was abandoning her. It felt like I was turning my back on my soul’s purpose. It felt like I wouldn’t be able to reach the people I wanted to help. It felt like I was giving up too quickly. It felt like the whole idea was stupid to begin with. #allthefeels

Teary-eyed, I said to one of my mentors: “I feel like I failed. I thought I could make a difference and help people experience the same magical, healing powers of love and ritual that I felt with my own wedding but it didn’t work. I feel stupid for even trying.”

And she said: “Elizabeth, we need dreamers like you. How else is the world going to change?” 🌎

More tears. More feels. ✨

It’s amazing how quickly we shame ourselves for “dreaming too big”

Like somehow if we tell ourselves something was unrealistic to begin with, it protects us from the sadness of reality. But it doesn’t work like that. Sadness is sadness. And the more we try to push the emotion away, the more powerful it becomes. 💪

So today I am surrendering to the sadness of moving on from The Woula™. I am allowing myself to feel all the feels so that I can fully step into what I’m meant to do next. I know I’m meant to serve more people. Teach more things. Have a greater impact. 🦋

My sweet Woula will always be a part of me. I will always stand for creating a sacred wedding experience. I will always stand for deep, meaningful relationships. I will always stand for the magic of community, ritual, and ceremony. I will always stand for the power of love. It will just take shape in a slightly different way. 💕

I am so grateful for Woula. She did an amazing job serving her purpose. She taught me more about myself and what I’m meant to do in this lifetime than I ever could have imagined. I could never have made the leap into entrepreneurship without her. 🌻

So this not goodbye but a thank you. A thank you for serving as a gateway to get me to where I am today. A thank you for teaching me that work can be fun. A thank you for inspiring me to create something out of nothing. A thank you for showing me how strong and brave and creative and determined I am. A thank you for reconnecting me back to myself and my core truth. 🐣

And a thank you to her, and all of the amazing, soulful entrepreneurs I have met through her, for reminding me to never stop dreaming. So much love and gratitude to you all. 🦄