A couple of weekends ago was our inaugural Magical Media Retreat. Hosting this blogging conference was months in the making and was quite an experience! Kim, Jenny, and I have all attended conferences and planned events before, but planning this intimate retreat was a new experience for us. The other hosts and I had a blast and learned a lot and the feedback from attendees has been incredible! Some links in this post contain affiliates or partners, all opinions are my own.
the details of a mini blogging conference
The purpose of our Magical Media Retreat was to fellowship with and encourage other bloggers. We wanted the feel of a mini blogging conference where we could educate but also have a fun weekend away. It started at check-in on Saturday afternoon and ran through Sunday afternoon. The months of planning that Kim, Jenny, and I put in resulted in a packed overnight retreat with speakers, swag, food, and fun!
Saturday afternoon welcome hour
I could write a whole blog post just about all the months of emails and prep leading up to the retreat. Honestly though, that wouldn’t be very exciting. So I’ll just start with Saturday afternoon and our welcome hour on the rooftop at Radisson Blu Anaheim. The point of the welcome hour was to meet together, hand off swag bags, and get new headshots taken. Smart & Final was our title sponsor for the retreat and all the attendees loved their swag bags with plenty of snacks from their First Street brand.
| Radisson Blu Anaheim Review |
We had a little mingling during a welcome hour and it was during this time that Amanda from Captivating by Amanda took our headshots. Amanda did a wonderful job of capturing each of the attendees and was so fun to work with! Everything went very smoothly and the view from the rooftop pool and restaurant was absolutely incredible, it didn’t even seem like we were in Anaheim.
swag from our sponsors
Besides the snacks from Smart & Final we had lots more swag from our sponsors. The Be Brand not only provided outfits for the three hosts, but also headbands and gift cards for each attendee. I have been a fan of Posh Mommy Jewelry since the birth of my first born so I was thrilled they wanted to be part of our event. They generously sent along gift cards and tarnish cloths for everybody. Influencers love food and other than snacks in the swag bags, Rubios sent branded swag and meal vouchers.
No swag bag is complete without the bag and in addition to the reusable bags from our title sponsor, we were able to provide amazing bags from Buckle-Down for each attendee. Erin Condren sent along notebooks and pens which were perfect for taking notes during our blogging conference. ThinkBaby & ThinkSport brought plenty of sunscreen for everyone to stay safe in the southern California sunshine. Finally, Elise from Polka Dotted Blue Jay was not only an attendee but also gave everyone a free copy of her online accounting eBook. Oh, did I forget to mention she’s an accounting clerk by day and a blogger by night? There was also a fun surprise waiting for the ladies on Sunday from Nash & Mater Creations–a personalized coaster with the retreat logo on it!
Pool picture courtesy of Jenny Rose @princessturnedmom
Saturday evening dinner
Saturday evening our group met outside the lobby of Radisson Blu Anaheim to meet the Anaheim Regional Transportation. ART is part of the Anaheim Transportation Network. We were able to book ART transport for our entire group ahead of time. ART serves the Anaheim Region and beyond. You can easily purchase passes and schedule your rides through the A-Way WeGo app! We had so much fun riding over on our own transport together and our driver was very courteous.
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Our dinner Saturday evening was hosted by Naples Ristorante in Downtown Disney. When we arrived we were ushered to their newly renovated upstairs patio and had the whole area to ourselves. It was absolutely prefect for our group and I highly recommend it for private parties! We were treated to pizzas, salads, gluten-free pasta, drinks, and a special Valentines dessert. With each course the chef came out and told us all about what were eating and what makes Naples Ristorante so special. My favorites were the Della Casa Salad and the gluten free alfredo–you couldn’t even tell the pasta was gluten free!
Naples Ristorante photos from Justine @littledove.justine
Sunday conference sessions
The conference officially started Sunday morning at 9:45 AM. I met early with the other hosts and we put the finishing touches on the conference room at the Radisson Blu Anaheim. As attendees began to fill the room there was lots of excited chatter going on. There were also plenty of photo ops happening in front of our balloon arch and beautiful sign from Nash & Mater Creations.
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We enjoyed inspirational talks and practical tips from our Keynote Speakers, Angela Kim and Heather Brooker. The three of us hosts also shared some tips and advice from our combined over 20 years of blogging. We were also fortunate to have a representative from WordPress there who participated in a Q&A with us. He even brought a WordPress-branded travel charger for everyone there! During the conference sessions we enjoyed a delicious brunch by the Radisson Blu Anaheim and some of the ladies also opted to participate in a trending Reel challenge. All in all it was a conference day chock-full of of education and fun. Truthfully, it went by way too quickly and we’ve already talked about allowing more time for our next blogging conference!
Photo of me speaking courtesy of Jenny @fivebucksblog Photo of hosts and speakers courtesy of Jenny @princessturnedmom
Thank you to our generous partners & sponsors for the Magical Media Retreat!
Elise from Polka Dotted Blue Jay
Have you ever been to a conference or retreat like this for your business or hobby? What did you learn?
Unless otherwise indicated, all photos in this post were provided by Amanda of Captivating Photography by Amanda. She is located in the greater Anaheim area.
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