The Girl with the Purple Shoes

**Trigger Warning**

Please note - while the overall message of this entry is positive, I do briefly touch on potentially triggering topics like anxiety, depression and mental health struggles.

Hi friends! My name is Katie and I’m the proud owner of Creedon Rose Events – a day-of wedding coordination business located in my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. I’m a sarcastic, sentimental old soul with a soft spot for yellow labs and great love stories – including my small Pride & Prejudice obsession.

For context, I walked down the aisle to “Liz on Top of the World”. You know the song… Kiera Knightley stands on the edge of the cliff, her dress billowing in the wind as the music swells and she gazes across the sprawling English countryside.

Yeah, that one. Ugh, I could cry just thinking about it.

Ok, the truth is… I lied. The Pride & Prejudice obsession isn’t small, and I think I’m finally ready to get this weight off my chest. Mr. Darcy…

Anywho…

This is a story about how my spunky, younger self got me through one of the most challenging, exhausting and rewarding years of my life.

I was a confident but sensitive kid who was never afraid to do the things that felt too big or too scary.

Before I even knew what being an entrepreneur meant, my then-undiagnosed ADHD was already producing a never-ending parade of creative ideas for me to explore. My first dreams of starting a business, and my first “business venture”, began the day I went door-knocking around my neighborhood selling homegrown tomatoes from a little tykes wagon.

Oh… did I mention I was wearing a black, pleather skirt?

It’s giving “redhead-Elle Woods” and I am so here for it.

However, like many other girls from that generation, my formative years were shaped by the incredibly, unhealthy beauty standards of the mid-2000’s – and unfortunately, thick-thighed gingers hadn’t yet found their niche.

Those insecurities were only heightened by powerhouses like Victoria’s Secret and popular shows like Americas Next Top Model or pretty much anything on MTV (I’m looking at you, “Next”).

No one should be surprised that the early aughts resulted in millions of depressed, anxiety-ridden women with incredibly low self-esteem.

Trauma from that time has deeply affected me for years, and my self-worth became attached to the opinions of damaging people. My zest for life was slowly replaced by a lifelong fear that being myself would never be good enough.

But before I go too Wednesday Addams on you – don’t forget, this is a happy story!

Fast-forward a decade or so to the summer of 2020.

I know… ew, David.

Anyone who knew me during that time can tell you my dream of starting a wedding business wasn’t a secret. My corporate job left me feeling uninspired, and if there’s anything my fellow ADHD-girlies know, it’s that passion for your career is mandatory. Without that driving force, our minds begin to drift before we even finish our morning coffee. So when a family friend graciously offered to let me put my skills to the test on her daughter’s big day, I jumped at the opportunity.

On August 8, 2020, I coordinated my first wedding at the iconic Chase Park Plaza – and immediately fell in love.

The following January, Creedon Rose Events was officially born, and I spent the following year and a half continuing to work my 9-5 while building my brand on the side. (I was also trying to do the impossible – find the perfect pair of wedding-appropriate and comfortable shoes.)

Amiright, ladies?

But something was still missing. So when I lost my corporate job in July 2022, my gut told me it was time to finally face that big, scary dream.

I decided that I wanted to give my business 100% of my attention for one year, and see how far I could take it. And after getting the green light from my incredibly supportive husband, I suddenly became a full-time, small business owner.

In case anyone was wondering, building a business from the ground up is really freaking hard… especially when you’re doing it by yourself. As our healthy nest egg began to dwindle, and with only one wedding on the books, the confidence I had for myself (and my business) went from looking like this…

to this…

When old insecurities began to surface, I slipped into depression, and eventually I realized it was time to begin the terrifying journey of working on my mental health.

But to no one’s surprise, self-improvement is also really freaking hard. I gained 20 pounds and nearly torched everything I’d built to the ground – several times.

But after months of self-reflection, journaling, morning-meditations with Qveen Herby (and a LOT of tears), my confidence finally reemerged, and I felt unstoppable.

Like many women in the industry, I wear generic, all-black “vendor” outfits to every wedding I coordinate. They’re flattering and hide sweat, and help you blend in to the crowd – but for a girl who loves color, they didn’t really feel like me.

I keep that wagon photo pinned above my computer as a daily reminder of how far I’ve come, and one day, I realized that little Katie knew something that I had simply forgotten…

No outfit is complete without a good statement piece.

That little girl felt nothing but confidence in her fabulous, black pleather skirt. She didn’t care about money or what other kids thought of her. She followed her dreams simply because they made her happy… and that made all the difference.

So now, every time I walk out the door to bring wedding dreams to life, I lace up my signature pair of sparkly, purple Betsy Johnson sneakers. With that one simple act, the world suddenly becomes my oyster.

Remember that single, solitary wedding I had on my calendar?

Well, after the most challenging year of my life (and at the time of writing), I am extremely proud to say that fifteen incredible couples will be celebrating their upcoming weddings with little old me – and I could float on air.

What started as a search for the perfect pair of work shoes turned into something far more beautiful than I could have ever expected.

With the help of that spunky, young girl, those purple sneakers became a comforting reminder that as long as this goofy, awkward redhead remains true to herself – who she is will always be good enough.

So in conclusion, to all the girls that were ever called, “bossy”… how’s your small business doing?

Xoxo,

The Girl in the Purple Shoes

Photo credits: The Marions Claire Forest Films