Carl House On YouTube

Thanks to PrettyGirl Wedding Media Co., there are three different videos of Carl House on YouTube from an October 2007 wedding and reception. To take a peek at what a Carl House wedding would be like, click on the links below and enjoy!

(Bride/Groom Prep at Carl House)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hTuWRlSsink

(Jaki & Leo: 3-minute Day)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=yskTGUV7Cmg&feature=related

(Bridal Party Credits)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wHpG-5rnjis

BB Webb Featured in Gwinnett Magazine

BB Webb chosen as one of Gwinnett Magazine's 'People to Know in 2008'

THE STORY: BB Webb's next step after creating award winning Carl House is the creation of Arriving with BB Webb, her new media and speaking company scheduled to launch this summer. The venture will be introduced through BB's upcoming presentation entitled, 'It's Just Weather,' a new book entitled, 'The People You Hire! The People You Fire!' and her new television show, 'Right to the Heart with BB Webb'**. The lid's off for this lady; she has the world in the palm of her hand!

HOW SHE DID IT: I don't know yet if I have?

HER BEST ADVICE: Keep coming back to the basics - this breath, then the next. Get a good night's sleep, eat good food, move your body, be loving at all costs (to yourself too), and always, ALWAYS surround yourself with 'possibility' thinkers!

HER IDEA OF FUN: Right now, at this moment, building my new company, finding the right people to 'play' with and honing my vision for global growth. I'm done with thinking small!

WHAT SHE DREAMS OF: The ability to be simple, complex and fulfilled in every moment. WOW!

WHAT'S NEXT FOR BB: Every year, I'm asked this. And, every year, I haven't a clue. There are no trailers to my life, just moments which keep appearing! How fortunate as I LOVE surprises!

**For more information on booking BB Webb and her keynote presentation, 'It's Just Weather! Embracing Possibility Thinking and Finding Your Twirl', contact Jeanna Thomas, Business Development Director, at 770-846-5241 or jeanna@bbwebb.tv

Power of the Positive

At today's staff meeting, BB was nothing less than passionate about a renewed direction both for Carl House and her new company, Arriving with BB Webb.

The direction--embracing the power of positive thinking. The inspiration--Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting: The Astonishing Power of Feelings by Lynn Grabhorn.

BB genuinely wanted the entire Carl House staff to adapt a renewed, positive mentality about their business and about the circumstances of life in general. She reiterated to the staff to "cancel" negative thoughts and stake a claim over them, lest the negative thoughts get the upper hand.

The key is to envision success. I learned the validity of this statement this past semester in my Intro to Public Speaking class. Contrary to popular belief, the coping mechanism of imagining the audience in their underwear was NOT the solution to speech anxiety. Rather, it would only serve to distract me as a speaker. The secret lied with me imagining myself confidently delivering a terrific speech and imagining a positive response from the audience. After only 4 speeches and using this technique every time, I became a more confident public speaker. I guess BB was right on the money.

Another key to positive thinking is not only doing but FEELING positively. There is power in our emotions and how we mentally process things. An example pertaining to Carl House would be if we believe something bad will happen while finalizing a big sale, and we keep envisioning the worst will happen, then most likely it WILL happen. Every human could stand to combat this atmosphere of worry, doubt, fear, and anxiety that we give in to everyday. According to BB, here are 4 ways in which you can begin to fight it today:

1. Identify what you DON'T want
2. Identify what you DO want
3. Reach the feeling place of what you want
4. Expect outcomes, listen, and LET IT HAPPEN!

So don't be afraid to go out there and look at the glass half full, gosh darn it! ;)

Props to UGA

Today I wanted to have a little fun and place a photo in the blog for the first time and tie it back in with Carl House.

Pictured above is my older sister, Ashley; her fiance Alan; my Mom and Dad; and of course, me! This was taken right after my sister's UGA College of Education convocation. The next day, my sister graduated summa cum laude from UGA and I am so proud of her accomplishment!

While on the subject of UGA, I just want to express that I am so proud not only to be a part of the UGA community, but I am so proud to be a part of UGA's Grady College of Journalism! Becoming an official public relations major is not an easy thing at UGA, and the only way I know I pulled it off is with the Lord's help. Increasingly, public relations and it's related fields of marketing and event planning have become a true passion for me. This year I was able to get my first PR experience through Creative Consultants, UGA's student-run PR firm. I had the honor of working with Women to the World, a non-profit organization based in Athens. Among other things, our Creative Consultants team planned and hosted a benefit event for our client, creating awareness of Women to the World in the Athens community.

Which leads me to why I was attracted to the Carl House internship (see, I told you I could bring it back around!) Carl House has such a passion for genuine hospitality and is equipped with a staff knowledgeable about how to make an event as close to perfect as it can be. They have great relations with their publics, which surprisingly does not only include brides. Their publics also include corporate professionals, photographers, videographers, landscape professionals, non-profit organizations, members of the media, and the list goes on and on. Because of their combined respectable reputation among all these publics, Carl House earns accolades like "Best Reception Site" in Atlanta from The Knot Best Of Weddings. I wanted to be able to do my part to maintain the respectable reputation of Carl House as the summer intern, and I am beyond grateful that I have been given that opportunity.

First Staff Meeting

I do believe that the words "Wednesday" and "busy" are synonymous here at Carl House.

On Wednesday mornings the entire Carl House staff gets together for a staff meeting with BB Webb, the owner. BB likes to think of these meetings more as "staff parties", however. I like her philosophy of creating a relaxed environment. I already came to this realization before today, but now more than ever I know I have so much to learn from BB.

Of course as intern the phone was attached to me at the hip, so I was not able to participate for the entire duration of the meeting as I had to answer any incoming calls. From the bits and pieces that I was able to attend, I gleaned that BB truly cares about her staff and their lives, and from her example the staff is able to handle any crisis that may come their way smoothly and promptly. Just from listening I was able to learn about how to professionally handle an unforeseen problem and maintain the reputation of your business.

Another exciting occurrence was that a girl interested in the summer internship suddenly showed up at our door, resume in hand. I gave her an impromptu tour of the home and talked with her for a little bit about the internship, then directed her to call Heather (director of operations) to set up an interview. I'm very excited about the possibility of not being the lone intern for the summer!

I was also busy compiling a list of Carl House's entire library resources, to help out the staff with BB's new education initiative. She wants everyone to pick an area where they feel they need improvement or an area they simply want to know more about and find out as much as they can before the end of May. My personal goal, obviously, is to learn as much about event planning and hospitality as I can throughout the entire summer. For this month, I might try to find a really good marketing podcast to listen to on the way to work. I'll be sure to post what podcast I choose (even though I know I am really just talking to myself here).

Side note: In case you were ever doubtful about this, the food at Carl House is REALLY good. I mean REALLY good. I would only speak from experience, you know.

Cinco de Mayo

Nerves. Mistakes. Awkward moments. All things that characterize my first day on the job at Carl House.

Thankfully I was able to catch my first mistake of the day before someone else did, where I absentmindedly forgot to zip up the side of my dress! I had already driven away from my house before I noticed it. How awful/funny would that be for me to walk in on the first day, proudly showing everyone what color my "unmentionables" were. Talk about first impressions. This did serve an important purpose, though, as it enabled me to laugh at myself and not take the day so seriously.

Once I got there, I was expecting one of the spring interns to already be there, ready to guide me through my first day as we had previously talked about. Just as I also expected in the back of my mind, neither one was there. So at first I thought I had to face the day alone and bother the poor soul that was around with my questions. But eventually Jessica came to save the day!

Of course, on my first day Carl House received an unusual amount of calls for a Monday, and I was not very confident about handling the phones. I dreaded being that girl who answered the phone and didn't know what I was talking about. Everyone knows how frustrating that can be if you're on the other line. It's not good for customer relations. But you gotta learn somehow, so they just let me jump right in. At first, I would accidentally send people to voicemail when I shouldn't have, or completely forget that someone was on hold, or actually transfer them to the right number and then realize I didn't ask the Carl House person if they were able to take the call. And when I would greet walk-in guests and direct them to the right place, I wasn't aware that I had to ask the Carl House staff-person if it was alright for them to go there.

But that's why you make mistakes. So you can learn from them. Cliche, I know. But so true. And by the end of the day, when it was just Faye and me in the office, I finally felt like I was getting it. I hold myself to a high standard, to learn things fast and start being efficient. And I actually felt like that happened today. There's never a better feeling.

We'll see what tomorrow holds, as Faye and I brave the office alone once more... :)