My #BML16 experience

I, like many other bloggers, headed to #BML16 last weekend (thanks to my sponsor BioEden). I was really excited and had been looking forward to this event for most of the year. If you haven’t been before BritMums it is the largest conference in the UK for parenting bloggers and is such a great opportunity to meet up with your fellow bloggers.

 

 

This year, like last, I was lucky to be a finalist in the Brilliance in Blogging awards, but more on that later. I travelled up with the gorgeous Laura and Stevie, collecting a few people en-route including my bestie’s Amy and Katy; plus Sian, Lizzie, Kate and Kay.

 

 

Once at the venue, Katy and I got some shots of us together for Live. Love. Blog. Amy and I did the same for the multiple projects we are working on together.

 

My new BritMums outfit from Monsoon

 

I was so happy to spend time with these gorgeous ladies, I am seriously lucky to have them in my life.

 

 

After a bit of socialising and mingling we headed to the introduction and ice breaker, which was pass the parcel. Amy won the prize of a fabulous necklace!

 

Doesn’t she look like a film star!

 

Our lovely friend Charly was taking a session on Photography, so we popped off there and it was at this point I changed my shoes! Gone where the heels and I said hello to my flats!

 

 

After listening to Charly, we went to a session about collaborating on YouTube in order to grow your audience, which gave Amy and I some ideas.

 

 

As always it is so wonderful to catch up with friends and meet some lovely people for the first time. Lots of people came up to say hi, which was so nice. BritMums can be a bit of a whirlwind, so it was nice that people came over to introduce themselves.

 

The roundtable sessions provided the opportunity to learn in a more intimate group.  Amy and I went to a session on Snapchat, which I swore I would never go on. The App is now on my phone, but I still don’t really know whether it’s for me, I am dubious!

 

Among the bloggers I met for the first time were Becky, Angela, Claire, Katie, and Emma who I was so looking forward to meeting.

 

 

I can’t believe how quickly the day went and before long it was time for the keynote speaker, who was the hilarious Cherry Healy, I laughed so much, she is such a funny lady and she seems so down to earth. After Cherry entertained us all, it was on with the Bloggers Keynotes. Despite being sad that my nomination for Amy to read this amazingly brave post had fallen on deaf ears, lots of my lovely friends did an awesome job of reading their posts, which were all incredible.

 

 

The lovely Victoria.

 

 

O.k, so they didn’t all read their posts, Tim sang his instead! (see more on the video at the bottom of the post).

 

 

The fabulous Alison.

 

 

Al set the scene for his post, which was actually a video of his awesome son Ted interviewing him for the post of stay at home dad. Seriously, this is such a funny video, I loved it.

 

 

Amy highlighting that although I knew I would be a loser, my name was almost up in lights!

 

 

It was so great to have Carol Smillie back hosting the Brilliance in Blogging awards. She seems like such a lovely lady, with a genuine warmth. I had a hunch that she would, but the wonderful Emma won the Fresh Voice award and I was so happy for her.

 

 

You could see how much it meant to her, which was so lovely.

 

 

Also the lovely Michelle from the Joy Chaser came away a winner!

 

 

After dinner with friends, Amy and I headed off to the Travel Lodge where we chatted the night away! Unfortunately the hotel fire alarm went off at 5am, leaving us all standing in the street in central London in our PJs! Not quite the end to the experience that we had in mind!

 

As always, thanks BritMums, it was an awesome event.