Retreat Testimonials: Orillia retreat - By katie marie, nov 1 2024
There’s something magical about the connection, healing, and transformation that happens at a retreat. It’s like stepping into a safe bubble of love and empowerment, where women come as strangers but leave as sisters. While we did have a photoshoot day, this weekend was SO much more than just photos. It was all about rediscovering who you are and falling in love with yourself again.
This past fall I hosted my first EVER Women’s Healing & Boudoir Retreat, and that weekend truly changed my life.
I’m not sure how to put this entire experience into the right words, but I’ll try my best.
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined how quickly this group of women would connect, bond, open their hearts and hold space for each other like this group did.
When I envisioned my first retreat, I really didn’t know what to expect.
Would the women get along?
Would there be drama?
Would personalities clash?
Would anyone open up?
… a few of the thoughts that would occasionally pop into my mind as I’d be planning.
But then I remembered - I am a master at manifesting and I WILL manifest the most incredible, heart lead, supportive and empowered group of women that I can, to join me on this journey. Instead of letting my negative beliefs overshadow the positive, I poured my energy into attracting the right group of humans to make our first retreat a magical one.
And BOY, did the universe deliver. 💫
These women have blown me away, inside AND outside of the house. They continue to talk every day, and when one of our girls had an important appointment - they rallied and blew up her phone with endless love and support all day, something so beautiful and powerful to witness.
On the first day of the retreat, we had a chair dance instructor come in to teach the girls a routine. This was SUCH a fun experience. At the end of the class the instructor said “wow I love this group of women and how supportive they are!” .. I looked at her with a big ol’ grin and said “would you believe me if I told you they only met 2 hours ago?” .. her face said it all, and she truly thought they’ve known each other forever.
These women opened up their hearts and even shared stories from their own personal journeys that they have never said out loud or to anyone before.
I even had an attendee approach me at the end of the weekend and said, “I didn’t even cry this much at my mom’s funeral”.
What an incredible & powerful statement.
The tears were a good sign, it meant they were healing. Facing emotions they’ve buried deep for years, and letting go of what’s no longer serving them.
I know this sounds a little counter-intuitive, but I actually wanted to hear that my guests were crying like this.
Yes, you’re probably wondering what the hell is wrong with me saying that — but I’ll explain.
I didn’t want this to only be a fun girls weekend with a photoshoot.
When I dreamt up the idea of my first retreat, I wanted it to hit home. I wanted to go DEEP.
I’m a super emotional person (thankfully learning how to regulate ‘em now, haha) and I feel very comfortable leading group circles where humans are breaking down their barriers, releasing, expressing, opening up & sharing.
I go into the retreat with the intention of being an open book all weekend. Sharing my own experiences, thoughts and fears. How can you expect a group of strangers to open up in your presence if you can’t even open up to them?
So, when I saw that the activities I planned and the energy was resonating with everyone - I knew I had just walked into something that, quite possibly, has changed the trajectory of my life and my career, for the better.
What went right, and what went wrong:
Honestly, there’s not a whole lot that went wrong - and the things that didn’t go to plan were completely out of my control.
I had just gotten back from Mexico a few days before the retreat and caught some horrible bug on the way home that truly took me OUT. I don’t know if it was just a travel bug or being stuck in a stuffy airplane at the beginning of flu season — but it really f*cking took me OUT.
I tried my best to rest before the retreat and nurse the sickness to no avail, so I had to suck it up, pack up my stuff, bring all my sick girl essentials and try to be “on” to host the most emotional/physical/mental weekend of my entire year - running on absolutely zero energy and looking like I’ve just risen from the dead.
I had NO VOICE the entire first day. I was welcoming everyone with crackling whispers and could barely make out a full word. I also felt horrible about this because I was supposed to set the tone for them as they arrived - but instead, I couldn’t even say hello.
But the group was incredibly understanding. It says a lot about the women I manifested to attend the retreat, too. They were constantly helping out and offering to bring me lemon tea, cold meds & kleenex when my team members were busy running around the house helping others.
I somehow managed to muster up enough energy and push through the entire weekend. On the photoshoot day alone, I took photos for 18 hours STRAIGHT. Half way through I remember sitting on the couch and looking up at Danika, flagging her over to tell her I needed to tap out and I truly couldn’t do this. I was borderline ready to check myself into Emerg, because I’ve never had a sickness destroy me like that in my life.
But then I thought about my attendees. These beautiful women that signed up to my first ever retreat, not knowing what to expect, and I wanted to give them the experience that they deserved.
I burned myself out to push through and show up for the rest of the sessions, and the rest of the weekend. I wasn’t even coherent and honestly — the 18 hour shoot day was a blur. But I made it. And it was absolutely magical, even despite my withered state.
So, with that said, we have learnt the hard way NOT to do 15 photoshoots in one day, ever again. Haha. Even if I wasn’t sick, that was wayyyyy too much work to begin with. Next time we’ll be adding an extra day and breaking the photo portion up into two halves, so it’s not as overwhelming for me AND my clients can get a well rested & creative photographer on both days.
When you fall ill before hosting an event like this, you can’t just take a sick day and stay in bed - even though I knew in my heart that’s what I needed to be doing. My body was screaming at me to rest.
So, the following week I cancelled off all of my sessions, cleared my calendar, went off the grid and RESTED. This is also something we will be changing next time - making sure the calendar stays clear the week after the retreat to just decompress and relax. Because the weekends are heavy and it’s a lot to be “on” and hosting.
So, aside from a few other small tweaks to make, the weekend went off without a hitch. And I’m already dreaming up the next one, and the next one, and the next one.
To the attendees of our first retreat, you brought my vision to life and exceeded any expectations I had set.
Thank you all for making this such a powerful experience. ❤️
If you’d like to sign up to our waitlist to be alerted when the next retreat goes live, sign up here!
But don’t just take my word for it, these testimonials from our incredible guests say it all.
If a retreat isn’t in the cards for you this year, that’s okay!
This year I want to try to bring as much healing energy & guidance to as many women as I can out there. So, that’s why I’ve created my New Year’s Evolution Course launching January 7, 2025.
If you’re reading this past January, that’s ok too! The course is designed to kick start your healing and self-discovery journey no matter what time of year it is. Even though it’s worded as a New Year’s Course, think of it as more of a “New You” course. You can enrol now and work through the content at your own pace - whenever you want.
The course has a little tiny taste of what a retreat with me would look like.
So, if you’re ready to dive in, and dive deep - I’ll see you there!
Or, if you’d like to be alerted when our next retreat goes live - sign up to our email list below!
Forever in your corner,
