Get to Know Me: Kelly Shares Fun Facts and Personal Insights

“Just listen to your gut, okay? On the way down to your gut, check in with your heart, between those two things they'll let you know what's, what." - Ted Lesso

Hello There.

Huge warm welcome to all you lovely people. What a pleasure it is to have you here.

This week I released my trailer for my podcast The Guest Book, its going to be a work in progress but it has so much potential, click the link below to give it a listen and make sure to give me a follow.

For those of you who may have just stumbled across my page whilst looking for guidance on planning your own wedding let me introduce myself...

I'm Kelly Gill the Founder and Creator of The Wedding Planning Collective and Host of The Guest Book Podcast ✨

Here are 10 somewhat interesting facts about me...

1. I have swam with Sharks

That's right! I have an irrational fear of sharks, Great Whites in particular, although I must point out I swam with sharks in the very exotic place of Blackpool Sea Life Center. It was a huge thing for me to do and in 2016 I did the swim in honour of my amazing friend Matt Kell Campbell who took his own life in 2012 when we were both in our second year of university, I raised over £350.00 for Papyrus charity. A very proud moment indeed, the video of it is knocking around on vimeo somewhere if you want to watch it.

2. I have a degree in Media (film) Production

As mentioned above I went to university and I must say they were some of the best and worst years of my life (so many stories I can share over on the podcast) I had high hopes and aspirations to be either a TV Producer or AD (Assistant Direction) and honestly I had every opportunity to reach that goal, however my imposter syndrome got in the way and my life took a drastic turn. However my studies haven't gone to waste, I use my creative skills everyday, from filming, editing, time management, reaching out to guests and writing its all ingrained into my being.

3. I have a slight addiction to TEA!

What can I say... Make mine a builders brew, with 1 sugar, Tar! I maybe a bit of a snob though, because I have to have Yorkshire tea, don't @ me, honestly its the best tea!

4. I had a popular Home Bakery

I have journals spanning 15+ years and the topic I most go on about it finding a calling and "one day" creating my own business. In 2020 the world shut down and everyone went banana bread mad! Not me, I hate banana bread.

Anyway my passion of baking came flooding back, one random day I sent my best pals a lockdown care package of baked goodies and I couldn't believe their feedback. They loved everything and supported me to take the leap in setting up my on home bakery.

That's when The Cooling Rack was born, it was very popular and I was in my element being creative, I even went to niche down and moved into wedding cakes, The Cooling Rack then changed to Tiers & Crumbs, however whilst in the mist of a rebrand my life was turned upside-down and I made the decision to leave baking as a hobby, at that moment I knew I had to dream BIG and stop wasting time as life is too short!

5. I'm a Bride to Be...

Yes! I'm on this crazing journey of wedding planning too. I got engaged in March 2018, it was three short months before my daughter was born, on the sea front on a bitterly cold day in... Skegvegas, yes Skegness.

I'd love to say somewhere more tropical, but Jacob just wanted to be by the sea, so he shoot his shot and asked then. What a crazy adventure it is, it's through my own planning that I realise that wedding planning is stressful and overwhelming.

Even the most organised couples have moments of stress and frustration. It then dawned on me that once the wedding is over most couples, especially Brides, suffer from post Wedding Planning blues, yes it's a real thing! So I'm armed with lots of things to help myself through that transition and I know if it helps me it can help others too.

6. Did someone mention Taron Egerton?

Okay okay! Hear me out here, give me a few minutes of your time, yes Taron is very easy on the eye, extremely talented and has an infectious sense of humour but lets look passed all that!

Eddie the Eagle is one of my favourite feel good films of all time! Honestly whenever I feel like packing everything in, or whenever I feel like I'm not good enough, or I feel like complete and utter crap I pop Eddie on and it lifts my spirits, instantly changes my mood.

Eddie didn't give up, he only ever competed with himself and regardless of any ridicule, belittlement or lack of faith from other he believed in himself and that belief was infectious. There's a thing or two to learn from Eddie.

From Eddie the Eagle to Rocketman and the incredible Black Bird Taron Egerton makes every role his own, he is a pure joy to watch and his ability to morph into any character he chooses is insane! I watch an interview Taron did for GQ magazine way back when promoting Rocketman and it has stuck with me. He was talking through he's thoughts and feeling when watching back the famous Troubadour scene, it was the first day on set, first scene to do and Taron was dressed to the nines in Elton get up sat in a tiny toilet cubical, in the film Elton is freaking out and doesn't feel he can go on stage to perform so he locks himself in the toilet, in the interview Taron opens up on the fact at the end of the first shoot day he felt he was the wrong man for the job, he was stuck in his head, imposter syndrome some would say, but if he didn't push passed his neurotic thoughts Rocketman wouldn't be what it is today, he wouldn't have got the opportunties he now has.

I then realised famous people get imposter syndrome too, I just had to find a way to push passed my own fears, doubts, limiting beliefs and imposter syndrome, its a process and one that doesn't come easy. But changing my mindset and believing in myself has been everything.

7. I HATE Football but LOVE Ted Lasso

Hate is a very strong word I know, but I have little to no interest in football, none whatsoever, but let me tell you something Ted Lasso is an incredible show!

Jason Sudeikis has some kind of magical powers, how someone can get me to care about a football team is beyond me (fictional or not), his writing and character development is something really special, from episode one I was hooked! I even mark off every wednesday at 7pm in my diary as TED LASSO, I would happily watch this series over and over again.

There's passion, purpose, care, humour, positivity, wisdom, a lot of "F*ck You!" moments and of course the room the "Believe". It's going to be a sad day when the show ends, I have my own theories on the finale and I believe its going to be a really heartbreaking and shocking end, get the tissues at the ready!

8. Devon is one of my favourite places in the world

If I were to ask you where your favourite place in the whole world is what would you say? Mine is Devon, in the UK.

Why? because it holds some many fond and core memories for me. South West of England was the closet thing to going abroad on holiday for us as kids, you know what the UK has some of the most stunning places in the world, we are totally underrated, anyway every summer we would travel down to Devon from Stafforshire a good 3+ hour drive, my Dad knew the journey off the back of his hand as he had gone to the same place year after year as a kid himself.

No fancy lodges or hotels in the 90's for us, nope! Camping all the way. The nostalgia of rain hitting the tent, freezing your butt off to go for a wee in the middle of the night and the smell of bacon wafting across the campsite every morning was amazing.

In 2018 the whole family went to Dawlish in Devon for the first time since the late 90's, but this time I got to set a family tradition by taking Gabriella, she was 11 weeks old and we all had the best time, the place had hardly changed, the calm and pure joy I felt was amazing. It almost felt like home.

9. I have a controversial favourite cake

What's your favourite slice of cake?

Mine I could happily eat all year round, there's something about the warm autumnal spices, mixed with the sweetness of the carrots and sultanas, earthy walnuts and morerish cream cheese frosting that has me transport to a happy place.

Yes! My favourite cake is Carrot Cake... Mmm yummmmmy!

10. Did I mention Brendon Urie?

Okay! I hear you rolling your eyes from here, but hear me out once again. Yes Brendon is another man who is easy on the eye, talented and has a wicked sense of humour but the thing is his music has been apart of the soundtrack to my life.

18 years ago I remember this catchy tune playing and seeing a very strange emo circus wedding music video on Kerrang! TV, it was bizarre but I was instantly drawn in, it was a strange compusion and I vividly remember thinking this would be right up my sisters street, It was. I knew this was not the genre of music I was used to, in fact it felt far from any boyband or typical pop I had in my CD collection, that made me feel old!

Panic! at the Disco was the band that opened me up to exploring more genres of music, it was actually good to have different tastes in music, as such I have been a huge fan ever since. Now there has been some drama, I mean what's a band without drama? But that didn't matter to me as the music was the important part, some people may argue that their best days ended when Ryan Ross left the band, but I disagree. I believe the band just evolved, yes Brendon was the only orginial member left at the end but again it didn't matter, all albums, songs, videos had played a big and important part in my life.

In fact whilst setting up my website, writing on my journal and blogs, creating course workbooks etc Panic! is always played, Brendon's vocal range is INSANE and his ability to create songs with multiple meaning is amazing. Viva Las Vengeance got a bad wrap, but I think its a great album, it has an aire of something already been mixed with something new and exciting, it sounds like Bowie, Queen & Elton all mixed into one, like huge Rock Opera, with a beginning, middle and end, I just love it! Only regret I have is that I never got to see him live on tour :'(

Even to this day Gabriella asks to listen to Brendon, its quite sweet actually, obviously it has to be clean versions of songs but still. Was I sad when Brendon announce he was disbanding Panic!? Yes. But I completed understood and respected his decision as he started a new chapter in his life, he announced he and Sarah were having a baby. I do know that music runs in his veins and he wont be gone forever, I'm not sure he'll ever bring Panic! back but I do know he'll come back in some way in the next 5 years or so.

So thats me in a kinda rough and ready nutshell, you can get an insight into who I am, what makes me tick, what inspires me and what I do. I'm so ready to go on this journey and I hope you are ready too!

Until next time,