In 2019, we celebrated our 5th birthday. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that just over five years ago, we launched Aisle Planner with just a few simple tools and a dream to help wedding pros build better businesses through technology. To realize how far we’ve come since our launch is mind blowing. But to see how we’ve impacted this industry for the better is truly humbling. With 2019 getting wrapped up with a pretty little bow and a brand new year in 2020 already on fire, we're excited for what's to come in the new decade and beyond. Here’s a look at our favorite moments and milestones from 2019.
Refine, Refine, Refine
For the team here at APHQ, this year has been all about refinement. Refining our team, refining our processes, refining our brand, or refining our tools. Most importantly, we concentrated on refining our vision for the future. What started out as a year of great change became a year of refinement. And, all for the better, setting the foundation for even more success and bigger, better things for our company, our community, and our tools in 2020.
A Fresh New Look
Earlier in the year we started working on a brand refresh. After months of working with some amazing creative partners, we introduced a new logo and a new look for a refined brand. We completely overhauled our pro site with new messaging about what we do, how we do it, who we do it for, and why. We added a slew of testimonials from subscribers new and old, all proclaiming the positive impact Aisle Planner has had on their business. And, this is just the beginning. In 2020, we’ll be rolling out this fresh, new look across the board—even your favorite tools will be getting a makeover—and we can't wait to share it with you!
A Fresh New Vision
Last June we made the decision to discontinue our free and paid consumer tools. We knew we needed to focus our limited resources on better supporting our pro community, which had always been our passion from the start. In retrospect, it was the best thing we could've done. It gave us better clarity on our mission and helped us reimagine a better future for both our members and for Aisle Planner.
Fresh New Faces
Throughout the past year, we’ve welcomed so many fresh new faces to the team here at Aisle Planner. We still consider ourselves small but mighty and, with a bigger and better team standing behind our mission, we’re ready to make 2020 one for the books.
We also welcomed so many new members to our community of pros from every corner of the industry and the globe! Near and far, this community continues to support the work we do on a daily basis and has rallied behind our vision and our platform. Their loyalty and advocacy is truly humbling.
Frequent Fliers
We hit the road and racked up the miles as we partnered with so many members of our community to be a part of and support their own events throughout the country. Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Las Vegas, Boston, St. Louis, and Washington DC were just some of the places we visited in 2019 for events like The Jam Event, The Confetti Conference, Wed Boston, the ABC Heartland Region Conference,DC Wedding Week and, of course, Wedding MBA. The best frequent flier reward? Getting to meet and work alongside so many Aisle Planners and hear about the impact Aisle Planner has had on their businesses.
The Experience
In October, we launched our very first educational event—The Aisle Planner Experience Las Vegas (aka AP|EX). Education and networking are two of the most critical elements to success in this industry, and even though we were maxed out on bandwidth and budget, we knew we had to strike while the iron was hot. Inspired by some of the pros we build for, we collaborated with Renee Dalo, Ashley Stork, and Amber Anderson. We pulled together an intimate workshop with sage advice and practical tips for using Aisle Planner to create new, more efficient processes and deliver mind-blowing client experiences throughout the booking and planning processes.
In addition, attendees got a sneak peek into the bright future of Aisle Planner's suite of features, not to mention a fantastic swag bag full of gear and special promotions from our partners and sponsors including Generation Tux and FiftyFlowers. Getting to meet our members face to face, and have those one on one conversations with them was priceless.
The response was so overwhelmingly positive that we committed right then and there to producing an entire Aisle Planner Experience series across the country in 2020—we're taking AP|EX on the road! We'll be sharing more detail on these events in the coming weeks so be sure to stay tuned for locations and dates!
Thank You for a Fantastic Year!
We're thrilled to be heading into a new year with a growing community of wedding pros from around the world. We have so many exciting projects already under way and are continually listening to you, the pros, for the things you need. This is not only true for the tools we build for you and your individual businesses, but also in how we work right alongside you to lift up our entire industry. We're so grateful for all of you and the support you’ve shown us throughout the year.
Cheers to a happy new year! We can’t wait to share with you what we’ve dreamed up for 2020.
Xo,
Christina, Rob, and the Aisle Planner Team
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