My Fall Retreat Recap
I’m coming down from the high of the weekend. Having just hosted my second wellness retreat (my first was in July 2021), I am feeling both proud and excited about what just happened, but also taking away so many learning lessons that will hopefully shape future events to be even bigger and better.
Just eight weeks ago, I asked my followers if they would be interested in a fall retreat. The response was an overwhelming “yes!” It didn’t leave much time to get plans in order, but my love for fall, yoga, reflection and community drove me to make it happen. 😀 After thinking over the best venues to host it, I kept coming back to having it at my home. I feel lucky to have a place with lots of beautiful outdoor areas to enjoy. I figured it would be more than ideal to host here and keep the group intimate and small.
October will always mark the real beginning of fall to me (despite it being Sept. 22). It screams crisp air, foliage, seasonal baking and being cozy. I’ll always love everything about it. And truthfully, nothing beats fall in New England. IYKYK.
I got to brainstorming all the things I wanted to include. The list got long so I had to narrow things down and really set my ideas to a theme. “Fall Into You” kept jumping out to me, so I went with that. The name resonated with the idea of the season and getting to know yourself a little better. Of course, yoga will always be at the heart of any retreat I host. Then, some self-reflection. Good food, duh! Conversation, yes, too. It was slowly coming together. My nights, after a full work day and getting the kids to bed, became dedicated to retreat planing.
When I launched my online sign-up, I was pleasantly surprised that the number kept increasing day after day. Before I knew it, I was in inching close to 15 attendees, which was higher my initial goal! (I ended up extending the invite to 3 more but still wanted to keep it small.) What really touched me was that half of the people who signed up I had actually never met before. 😯 They had learned of my event through Facebook or word-of-mouth. It was the coolest.
As the retreat approached, I got busy writing my workbook (a staple for my events) and planning my seasonal fall-centric menu. Each week, I would go shopping to find the little things that would add special touches to the day. It was really a lot of fun!
I created a specific yoga class that tuned into the change of seasons and created a playlist not only for the class but for every different portion of the retreat (like the reflection and convo time). Music really does so much.
Then, it came time to make a killer menu. I went with all things apple, pumpkin, cinnamon and cloves. I made everything from scratch which made the week of the event super busy. I made sure to take Friday off. 😉
I was keeping my eyes locked on the weekend forecast. Rain was ahead. On Friday afternoon, I decided to move the retreat to Sunday instead of Saturday. Luckily, that was the original rain date. It all worked out! Only a couple people couldn’t make it but that was totally understandable.
The response to the day was really special and positive. Everyone seemed to love the offerings of the afternoon and felt a real sense of love, consideration and care. That was my goal. To make people happy and show them everything good that fall has to offer them.
I’m already planning my next two events! One will be for a private group of women at a local organization. And, the other will be in winter 2023 at a fun restaurant event space in a new (to me) area! Stay tuned. And definitely let me know if you’re interested in the winter one via email or comment here! ☺️
