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 💋
Pen says
Hi Franca,
It looks like a fantastic event and really nice to meet so many bloggers in person. Thanks for telling us about it. Pen x
Fran @ Whinge Whinge Wine says
I’m not looking at the photos and seeing loads of people that I saw there but didn’t meet, I need to do it all over again! Was a brilliant day and it was fantastic to meet you. See you in September!
Fran @ Whinge Whinge Wine says
Argh #KCACOLS dammit! 😉
Jenni - Odd Socks and Lollipops says
I went to BML and it was great, a bit of a long day to travel there and back in the one day for me, I wish I had been brave enough to speak to more people though! You took so many wonderful photos! =) #KCACOLS
Donna says
So glad you had such a lovely day and it was so good to meet you although briefly! x
Rachel Bustin says
It looks like you all had fun! Lovely to see lots of the #tribalchat ladies in the pictures!
#KCACOLS
the frenchie mummy says
It looks amazing and you met up with so many great people!
#KCACOLS
Fran Back With A Bump says
It looks a great conference and I’d love to attend next year to finally meet all these lovely bloggers in real life. I feel like I’m small fry at the moment so guess it all depends how it goes! Thanks for hosting as ever! #kcacols
Nadia - ScandiMummy says
This is a lovely post, hun! Like you I got the most from meeting other bloggers. Love the picture of you and Rebecca. So funny! Thanks for the mention. Yes, maybe next year we stay at that lush hotel 😀
Nadia – ScandiMummy x
Nadia - ScandiMummy says
Agghh…forgot the #KCACOLS tag! Sorry xxxx
Helen says
Great round up. It was lovely to meet you! (even if you did steal my drink, ha ha!!). I went alone but quickly got talking to people – such a lovely friendly event. Great to put so many faces to names xx #KCACOLS
Beccjy at pinkscharming says
Ah it looks like you had such a great time! I jealous, I wish I could have gone – maybe next year! Xx #KCACOLS.
Lydia C. Lee says
They’re always so much fun! #KCACOLS
Coombe Mill says
so lovely to finally meet you and you are every bit as wonderful in real life. I did love that Fringe party, I felt i had the chance to talk to more people there than at the main event. I totally missed all the branded things favouring meeting friends old and new instead. It’s a yes for me next year too so see you there! #KCACOLS
Coombe Mill says
Forgot to say I LOVE your video, it brought back so many happy memories and is so well created.
Jules pondering parenthood says
Oh, I am so jealous that you went! I really wanted to go but it just wasn’t the right time for me, as Little M was not even quite five weeks old last weekend. Hopefully I’ll be able to go next year! #KCACOLS
Kim says
This makes me wish I was a Brit Mum! I think it’s such a great thing to be able to meet some of the ladies face to face and you all must learn so much from each other! Maybe one of these days when my kiddos are older I can book a trip and attend!! If you know of any similar conferences in the States or Canada let me know! 🙂 #KCACOLS
Nicole @ The Professional Mom Project says
Looks like so much fun! I’ve never been to a blogging conference. I’ll have to what types of conferences they have in my area #KCACOLS
Shelly Sangrey says
That looked like so much fun. I would love to go to a blogging conference but will probably have to wait until my kids are older. #KCACOLS
charlotte says
I did not go to BML as I was in the same boat as you were yourself last year. However I have read everyone’s posts on the event and really want to go next year, so hopefully will see you there in 2017 #KCACOLS
Leanne says
Thanks for sharing. I have been to BML before when I was pregnant with my youngest (who is now 2!) but i would love to go back again – hopefully next year. looks like you had a fantastic time!!
Lucy at occupation: (m)other says
Your final paragraph completely sums it up for me…next time I’ll make sure I go to the Friday social…or they’ll change it back to two days, who knows!? Fabby to see you…I LOVE how many people you got pictures with, it’s a wonderful social reflection of a happy day #KCACOLS xx
Rebecca | AAUBlog says
love your blog of the day! Such fun memories to look back on. I had a great time! #KCACOLS
The Tale of Mummyhood says
BML looks like such an amazing event. I love your video, it really captures how much fun everyone was having, not a person without a big smile on their face! So glad you had a good time!
#KCACOLS
wendy says
Wow Franca, you managed to meet soo many people!Love all the photos. Sounds like a great social event even though you didn’t get much from the sessions. Hopefully I can be there next year when I feel like I know more bloggers and wouldn’t be wondering around on my own haha xx #KCACOLS
justsayingmum says
wonderful to have met you #KCACOLS
emma says
ah it sounds like you had so much fun and I loved looking through all your pics and seeing all the other bloggers that I’ve become familiar with through the linkies and on twitter! really hope to get there next year 🙂 #KCACOLS
Sarah- Arthurwears says
Sounds like a wonderful day Franca!!! Hopefully I will be able to attend one day, but it is just too tricky with having no one to help with Arthur and him being so attached at night time still – as of course, London would require an overnight stay where I am travelling from! I wish they had remote access to the sessions I’d have loved to have listened in!! -#KCACOLS