BML 2016 – My Thoughts

Hola chicos, here we are with another post about BML16. I’m sure you must be tired of reading about it all week but I cannot leave it and not write about my experience. So for all of you that are not bloggers and don’t know much about blogging conferences, BML is BritMums Live which as the name says organised by BritMums. It is the UK’s buzziest social media conference and blogger event where lifestyle bloggers, social influencers and brands meet and create. It is massive and everybody wants to go and be part of it.

I did a video of my day at BritMums Live so you can have a feel of what is like to be at a blogging conference as big as this one:

Last year I didn’t go because I had only been blogging for a few weeks when it happened so I didn’t feel brave enough to go. I knew I was going to feel lost and probably wouldn’t know what to do or which sessions to take so I decided to take a step back and just read all about it via social media. I’m not going to lie. I felt completely left out for not attending and I was also upset after reading everybody else’s posts but it was the right decision. I think it is better to wait as you will enjoy it more and will get the most out of it.

One year on and this time I was first in line. I knew that I wanted to go so I bought my tickets as soon as they were available. It was not my first blogging conference. I have actually been to 3 already (FunFest, BlogCamp & BlogFest) so I had an idea of what to expect but none of these are as big as the BritMums conference.

I was also worried about how I was going to feel for the BIBs (Brilliance in Blogging) awards ceremony that was going to be held in the night at the end of the day. I was originally shortlisted in the video category at the BIBs and was over the moon when I found out about it. The happiness didn’t last for ever as I didn’t make the final list of finalists so I always knew that this would be a little bit strange for me once I knew that. So I have both things in my mind: being at a much bigger conference and reliving again those feelings during the award ceremony so I was a little bit nervous prior the conference.

With Clare (Sons, Sand and Sauvignon) & Nadia (Scandi Mummy)

Thank goodness the organisers of BML hosted a small party (The Fringe Party) at the Holiday Inn in Camden Lock on the day before the actual event. I was so happy about that because it isn’t far from where I live so it was very convenient to get to. I was lucky to find out that my gorgeous friend Nadia from Scandi Mummy was also going to the party so we immediately organised to meet up there. That was really nice because I knew from previous conferences that it is always better if you arrive with other people you know.

With Sarah (Mumzilla) & Emma (Island Living 365)

With Bridget (Bridie by the Sea)

With Zena (Zena’s Suitcase)

The party was great and the view of Camden Lock was just stunning. I met with bloggers that I have been chatting with for months for the first time and that was just so lovely. There were also some of my lovely KCACOLS linkers and I was so happy to meet and chat with them for the first time. There were Sarah from Mumzilla, Emma from Island Living 365 (now winner of BIBs Fresh Voice category) and Bridget from Bridie by the Sea. We have such a beautiful community and we chat through our facebook group too so it was just super exciting to see their faces at last! I was also so happy to catch up with Zena from Zena’s Suitcase. I love Zena, she is just so easy to talk and I always love to have a chat with her.  I also met Becky (Cuddle Fairy) and of course the lovely Clare (Sons, Sand and Sauvignon) which I spent a lot of time with too. We have been chatting for so long that it was really nice to finally meet her. 

With Fiona (Coombe Mill) & Claire (Tin Box Traveller)

I was also so excited to meet Claire from Tin Box Traveller for the first time too. We had planned to meet previously but it never worked out so this was really lovely. She was exactly how I thought she would be. I also met Fiona from Coombe Mill. She is just so lovely. I really enjoyed talking with her. After the party I stayed for another drink with Claire and some lovely travel bloggers which was very nice. It was then time to go back home and to sleep ready for the next day. 

With Maria (Suburban Mum). Photo Credit: Nadia (Scandi Mummy)

The next day I woke up super early. Well, actually my little alarm (lovely Sienna) woke me up at about 6 am so I had enough time to get ready. Again, I was happy that I was not going to arrive on my own. This time I coordinated with my super amazing friend Maria from Suburban Mum and Nadia to meet at Waterloo Station at about 8:30 am. As soon as I met them we went straight to get a cab to take us to the venue, The Brewery. What a beautiful hotel. It is a place that I would love to stay for the night one day!

With Rebecca (AAU Blog)

I was really looking forward to meeting lots of people and to be able to attend some of the sessions. As soon as we arrived we saw lots of familiar faces. The first person I gave a big hug and kiss to was Rebecca from All About U Blog. I have met her before so it was nice to see her again. We spent a lot of time together which was lovely. It is amazing how many people you can actually recognise because you read their blogs. With a lot of them I felt as if I have known them my whole life. I have been reading a chapter of their lives every week and meeting them was just the final part of the adventure.

With Lucy (Occupation M(o)ther)

I also met Natalie from Mum in Brum (now winner of the BIBs Family Category), Lucy from Occupation M(other) that had the cutest bump ever and Sarah from Twins Make Five so we all headed inside together to pick up our badges and find a place to sit.

There was a big hall where the welcome speeches, keynotes and also the most popular sessions were held. They had some coffee and pastry for breakfast too so I went to get some as I was dying of hunger (I’d left the house in a rush without eating so I needed to get something for sure). I read the agenda and saw a lot of interesting sessions which I wanted to attend but this time my main purpose was to meet people, especially my beautiful KCACOLS linkers.

I sat at a table with Maria, Nadia, Fiona, Natalie and Rebecca. We did a fun pass the parcel session first which Rebecca was lucky enough to win – a beautiful necklace appropriately engraved with ‘love what you do’. How lucky was she, LOL? After this we had a little break where we were able to catch up and meet bloggers and network with people. I can’t believe I had left my business cards in my other bag. This sounds like something that could happen to a newbie but I guess it happens to everybody, LOL! This meant I only had a handful of cards with me which I had to save just for the brands I really wanted to work with. Having said that there is no real need to hand your business cards as you can always approach the brands via email. I guess that made me feel less silly for forgetting them, LOL!

With Abi (You Baby Me Mummy)

With Amy (Mr and Mrs T Plus Three)

I met more people during this break and had the chance to catch up with Abi (You Baby Me Mummy) and Amy (Mr and Mrs T plus three) which included doing some vlogging too. You can see this in my video shared above.

I then went to another session about travelling which I thought was very interesting as I would like to learn more about it. It was nice to spend more time with Claire (Tin Box Traveller) here too. There was then also another session about How to Take your Blog to the Next level where Vicki (Honest Mum) spoke along with 2 other people. This was followed with the lunch break.

With Emma (Island Living), Claire (The Pramshed) & Rebecca (AAU Blog)

With some of my lovely KCACOLS crowd

During this break I asked all my KCACOLS linkers to gather together outside for a group photo. I managed to get a lot of them but of course there were lots missing. We wanted to take another photo later but not it wasn’t possible at all. I was so happy to meet for the first time Claire (The Pramshed), Fran (Whinge Whinge Wine), Beth (The Adventures of Beta Mummy), Mim (Single Mum Speaks), Lynne (New Mummy Blog), Claudia (Dr Mummykins), Megs (The Mum Project) and Helen (Justsayingmum).

With Vicki (Honest Mum)

The following session was all about how to deal with PRs. I thought this session was really helpful. It is really important to have a good relationship with PRs. They are the ones who help us to connect with desired brands so we should always be polite and grateful. This session was very popular as the room was full. The next session I went was all about Facebook Live and Periscope. This was a really helpful session as I didn’t know anything about Facebook live so it was really good to learn more about it. It was lovely to catch up with Vicki (Honest Mum) during this session.

With Helen (Justsayingmum)

With Jane (Maflingo)

With Mrs Tubbs (Someplace Strange)

After this I was super thirsty and I needed some well deserved bubbles so I had a few glasses. I caught up again with more people at this stage and then we all went to the final speeches and keynotes which were fun. We had our last break before the awards ceremony where I met more lovely kcacols linkers like Jane (Maflingo), Helen (Gumdrops and the Bear) and Mrs Tubbs (Someplace Strange).

The award ceremony then began with a lot of well deserved winners. It was a lovely night. I met a lot of people that day that I might have forget to mention here but I was really happy to meet them all. I found some sessions to be helpful and some not as much. This doesn’t bother me as much as I really knew that coming here was all about meeting people. I didn’t get advantage of the networking at all this time. I don’t know why. I think my head was somewhere else. I just wanted to be able to say hi to as many people as possible more than anything else.

So ,being my first time at BML did I get the most of the sessions? No. Did I get the most of the Brands/networking? No. Did I have a good time? Yes. Will I go back again? Yes. Will I recommend you to go? Yes. Highlight of the day: meeting lovely people. What would be my last word of the day? FANTASTIC!

Did you also go to BML? Did you like it? Did you have a good time? What was the highlight of your day? Will you go back next year? Please leave me a comment below as I would to read what you think.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love you all ❤️

Franca  💋