Candice (00:01.966)

Hey, it's your coach Candice. Have you ever wondered what actually happens at our WPI mastermind retreat? Like what are we really doing in Barbados when women from my mastermind fly here to hang out with me for a couple of days in my home? Well, I asked you on Instagram if you wanted to hear more behind the scenes about what goes into planning this incredible mastermind retreat and what it's all about and you resoundingly voted.

Spill the tea, share the deets. And that's exactly what I'm sharing with you today. And I'm recording this episode as I'm putting the finishing touches on this retreat. just really a week and a half out from everybody arriving in Barbados and getting started. And so by the time you're listening to this, it's already happening. You can probably go to my Instagram right now and see a little bit of what we did yesterday on Monday and maybe the start of what's happening today on Tuesday.

In this episode, I want you to come inside the retreat with me, what we're doing, why I've designed the experience the way I have, what we're actually working on while we're together here in my home, and what this experience gives you as an attendee beyond just a trip to beautiful Barbados. So this episode is for anyone who's listening, who's thinking, I would love to attend something like that.

Or maybe you're even considering creating something like this. So let's get into it.

Hey there friends, welcome back to the Power and Purpose podcast. If you are a regular listener, I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for returning for another week of shanks and cuddles and all the things we do here on the podcast. And if you're new, hi, welcome. You will understand what all that means in a future episode because this episode is light, bright and fun, but I'm so glad that you're here. Make sure that you hit the follow button so you don't miss any episodes coming up. And listen, if you...

Candice (02:07.22)

love this episode and you're very curious about how you can experience our in-person retreat for my mastermind, please go to weddingproinsiders.com and apply to come and join us inside the mastermind. I'll explain more details about that towards the end of today's episode. So to kick us off, I thought I would share what this experience is. So before I walk you through what we're doing,

what I'll be talking about, the itinerary for the next couple of days. I wanted to just zoom out for a second and talk about what Wedding Pro Insiders is and how this retreat became a part of the experience. WPI started as a space for real support in your business. I launched this mastermind at the end of 2019, right before COVID. I had just sold my business like a week and a half before I launched this program. And this program has evolved since its original.

Formation and it has gotten more supportive more intimate more high level I offer a lot of coaching in here I get emails pretty much every single week from people like hey Candice Can I hire you as my coach do you offer one-to-one coaching? Can I book you for a coaching call and I love receiving those messages I wish that I could offer my calendar up to everyone who needs it But I made an intentional decision about two years ago

to only offer one-to-one coaching inside WPI. So Wedding Pro Insiders is where I coach women one-on-one, but we also have an amazing mastermind space. So we do this in community. I also do it privately with the women. And it's so beautiful how this evolved because it's not surface level advice. It's not me giving you a template and saying, okay, girl, here you go, good luck. But it's coaching, it's real conversations.

It's a place where you can say, here's what's going on my business. Can you help me figure this out, Candice? Or even pitch it to the broader group of incredible women. Wedding Pro Insiders is made up of 40 women across the world in all different facets of the wedding industry. It's not just planners. It's not just photographers who are all running unique businesses. We have rental companies. We have planners. We have photographers. We have invitation designers. We have florists. We have people from all different

Candice (04:32.494)

corners of the wedding industry at all different business levels. Most people are positioning towards a more luxury client, but not everybody is. And I think that's an important distinction. All these women, though, are growing really robust, strong brands. And that is, I think, the common thread amongst all of the women is they're really trying to carve out

not just a profitable business, but a brand that people recognize. I say, you come to WPI when you want to build something bold, when you want a bold brand. Now, of course, I think people join the mastermind because they want coaching from me, but something really beautiful happened inside WPI, and it's the relationships the women formed together.

through Zoom calls and workshops and group coaching calls that we do, women really formed beautiful relationships. They got to know each other's businesses. They've watched each other grow. They've moved through things with one another, babies being born, life changes, and they've supported each other through exciting times, hard times. And at a certain point, it just felt really obvious to me that we needed to take this beyond Zoom. And so our retreat was born.

And our first retreat actually happened in 2023. It took place in San Diego of all places. And we basically converged on San Diego, checked into a hotel and like, just decompressed and trauma dumped and cried and laughed and drank wine and talked for three days. There was really no major schedule to it.

wasn't really sure how to put this together. And to be honest, it was very beautiful. We had an amazing time. It was so great to meet all the women in person. And we had been talking online for like two or three years. So to get together, it just felt so nice. And I'm so glad that we had that experience. After COVID, we finally just wanted to meet and get together. And it was absolutely beautiful. That retreat evolved into something

Candice (06:56.814)

special, which is here in Barbados. Now I hesitated bringing the women here previously because Barbados can be expensive. I wasn't sure where we were going to host it. And I don't know, I felt a little intimidated by the logistics until, and that's kind of strange because like I'm a planner, but anyway, it's the truth. I just felt a little intimidated and nervous about the logistics and the cost for the women. wanted it to be accessible.

but obviously bougie, right? Because I've got some bougie baddies on my roster, obviously, because I'm one of them. And so I hesitated with Barbados, which is I chose San Diego. I thought we could get a little more bang for our buck out there until Jason and I bought this beautiful home and our dream home. Oh my gosh, we're so fortunate to have this house. I mean, listen, our home is built for entertaining. We have a gorgeous outdoor entertaining space. We have an amazing veranda. We have

gorgeous pool, a beautiful deck, indoor-outdoor vibe overlooks the Caribbean Sea. have 180 degree view of the ocean. We just have the most amazing little tree house nestled up on a hill with beautiful gardens. It's just fantastic. And it occurred to me that this would be the most perfect setting to host my mastermind retreat. And it was in fact my BFF, Carla Tenayk, who came for a fun little visit.

In January of 2025, we had the most amazing week together. She had some credit on JetBlue, and she's like, I'm booking a ticket to come visit you. And we had the best week together. And it inspired the retreat along with a book that I have given all the women who attended this year's retreat called Meditations for Mortals. And in the book, you've heard me talk about this book before, by the way. The author talks about scruffy hospitality.

and how important it is for us to invite people into our homes and let them see the imperfect side of us and how we don't often invite people over because we have to paint, we wanna make it perfect, everything has to be put away, we've gotta clean, we've gotta do all these things. And we limit who comes into our home because we think it has to be kind of like a show home or something. It has to be Pinterest worthy or it's gotta be perfect. And he talks about how...

Candice (09:20.256)

Intimate it is to invite somebody into your home and further to be bills on the counter You know your vitamins and your little pill boxes further to be some things just hanging around for life to be happening and how we When we're invited into somebody's home and life is happening. We feel closer to them. So anyhow The retreat came here last year and I had 11 incredible women join me. We had the most fabulous time

and many of them are returning for this year. So that's a little bit of a backstory about how the retreat was born. And I love that this is hosted in my home. That's so very intimate. My home is beautiful, but it's certainly not perfect. You know, there is a black smudge on the wall. I have dogs, you know. They like to pee on the curtains, which I will wash before ladies come. But my house isn't perfect. I'm not perfect.

And I love the idea of welcoming this women that I coach so imperfectly with imperfect businesses and imperfect lives of their own and welcoming them into mine. And I think there's something so special about going to your business coach's house and sitting on her freaking couch and talking to her. And I also think there's something so special just about being in the same room with the people who have held your hand, supported you, advised you, encouraged you for...

the last year and for many of these women, they've been in my mastermind for multiple years. So the retreat is very different from some of the other in-person experiences that I encourage you to go to. And I'm going to share something a little vulnerable. I really, really doubted whether the experience I was creating was good enough. And I don't mean like,

Were the topics we're gonna talk about good enough? Were we gonna have fun doing the excursions that we're doing? Is my home good enough? Not that, but more so, I mean, we're in an industry where, you know, million dollar parties are being thrown. And it's very hard to compete with some of these really gorgeous luxury events where the flowers and the drinks and the decor and the paper and the gifting is so like next level that I really doubted.

Candice (11:37.962)

whether I was capable of putting together this experience in a simplified version where there weren't tablescapes. There wasn't a, you know.

T-Pain wasn't coming out for the Gala and performing on stage. Speaking of engage, which always has performers, mean, like Salt and Pepper have performed at engage. Like it's pretty incredible, right? And so I really doubted myself. And I had to go to my coach many times to have her assure me that what I was creating was good enough for the industry that I'm in. And what I found last year when I invited these women into my home and what our very intimate retreat was that what I have created here,

is so very special and it doesn't compete with the incredible experiences that are available to you that you can also invest in, that it is unique in and of itself and that so many people want both or even want to experience what I have to offer. And I now feel so excited and confident about what we do here. And I don't have

doubts about whether it's bougie. And I mean, you guys know I'm bougie as hell girl. Like, of course I'm going to shower my ladies with the best things and make this experience so incredible, but I don't have to compete with the budgets of some of those other events, I should really say. So that is a little bit of a vulnerable share. And it just goes to show you that sometimes the experienced people

are really craving is a lot different than maybe what you see on Instagram. And as somebody in the wedding industry, I think this is just an important thing for you to recognize that it's really about the people, the community, and the memories that are created, the connections that are created at the events that you plan or that you're a part of. That is what people ultimately remember, and maybe T-Pain coming out.

Candice (13:46.28)

on stage. mean, that's very memorable, right? So on that note, let's talk about this year's retreat. What I want to share with you next is what we're going to be discussing at the retreat, because we're not just hanging out here. I want to share with you some of the topics that we'll be discussing that I'll be teaching on, that other members will be sharing on. And then I'll share with you a little bit of our itinerary, and then some special kind of

Details that I think make this retreat very special that I think you'll really appreciate so let's talk about what we're actually Talking about what we're actually working on and it at and it all stems from Those operating standards that I shared with my mastermind at the beginning of the year and that I also recorded an entire podcast on so if you haven't listened to the operating standards that I have set for 2026 in my mastermind Girl, please go listen to that episode. Okay, very important

those operating standards and I always set the tone at the beginning of every year with my mastermind to kind of lead like a state of the industry address or I Always go live at the beginning of the year and share my ideas for the year

These ideas shaped this retreat. And our retreat inspiration is refinement. So everything we're focusing on this year is centered around this one core idea of refinement. And what I mean by that is all of the talks are focused around choosing what matters for you and letting the rest go. I think it is at this level of business that these women are operating at, and they're operating at an extremely high level of business.

we have things in place. You know what I mean? Like we've done the basic beginner stuff. We're way beyond that here in the mastermind. And we really need to pay attention to the small details in business that actually have a profound impact. And that's what refinement to me is all about. the first topic, and let me share what I'll be speaking about. So the first topic I'm speaking about is discernment and reduction. So important. I'm kicking us off with this topic.

Candice (15:57.122)

We're talking about why mature businesses need to get simpler. And also how a lot of complexity in business is.

Bogging things down for you and why it's making things so much more difficult So I'll be delivering a talk on discernment. I'm so excited about this I actually bolted out of bed last night at 11 o'clock because I had this idea this this Concept came to me around this topic and I had to like get up voice note it to chat so I did not forget and perhaps I'll share this talk with you guys here later on the podcast, but

Really, we're looking at what actually needs to be removed or simplified in someone's business for them to grow. Because I think discernment becomes your competitive advantage. And at this stage of business, discernment is actually the muscle we need to build. The next topic I'll be talking about is refining revenue. And so we're going to be getting very honest about what actually drives revenue in our businesses.

Not all visibility leads to income. And I think a lot of people are doing way too much. They're offering way too many services. They've got way too much on their plate. So we're going to be talking about how to get focused, how to align things, and how you often make more money when you reduce things. So I'm very excited about that talk. Not your generic pricing talk.

Although I'm sure the ladies are gonna pull me aside and be like, Candice, I wanna raise my price. And I love those little sidebar conversations, those intimate coaching moments that we get to have together. The next topic I'll be talking about is refining the client experience. And this goes right back to my operating standards and really what is gonna be required out of us as high level service providers, most of whom are providing a luxury level service.

Candice (18:02.478)

or providing a service at just a more refined level, at a more thoughtful level. I'm thinking of a couple of ladies in the group, they're not luxury, they're lovely, but they do it so well and they're so profitable. And they also very much care about client experience. It's not about the luxury of it, but it's about how you make people feel. So back to my point, we're talking about why over delivering is ruining your business and how it actually weakens your authority.

and how you can design an experience for your clients that is proprietary, unique to you, instead of reacting constantly.

Another topic that I will be discussing is around leadership. And this topic is a mixture of how you show up as a leader, but it also largely is around nervous system and how minding your nervous system is so important for leadership. if you've listened, well, actually, no, my nervous system episode is coming up next week. So exciting. Spoiler.

I recorded the most comprehensive episode I could on my experience with nervous system dysregulation. So many of you guys reach out to me and wanted to hear my story. My podcast editor, Haley Gaffin from Gaffin Creative, love her by the way, recommend her to anybody who has a podcast or wants to launch one. She has amazing programs and she has a team that edits. She edits my podcast. She told me.

Candice, this episode, she left me a little note in Asana and she was like, I absolutely love this episode so much that it resonated with me and that just really touched me and I hope you have the same reaction. We're talking about nervous system during the retreat. And all of these topics that I'm presenting on all come back to refinement, choosing what matters and letting the rest go. But it's not just me talking. I have brilliant, smart, dynamic women coming to this retreat.

Candice (20:10.326)

and all of them are so incredible and have so much knowledge and so much experience to give. I hand selected five women who I wanted to talk about something specific that they recently experienced in their business or implemented or did. And I love Member Gives because it empowers the group to share. There's so much collective knowledge in this group.

18 women coming this year, which I forgot to mention. 18 women. The amount of years of experience, the trials, the tribulations, the creativity. So I hand selected five women this year to give a talk. And I asked them to talk about some specific things. So here's what we're hearing from members on how they relaunched their brand with a strong creative point of view. Very important, part of my operating standards for 2026. We actually have a member who

rebranded after leaving the retreat and she trademarked this. She coined this term at relieving our retreat last year. She coined this term and I just, her brand is just completely shifted gears and it's so good you guys. So good. You're actually going to be hearing from her because she's coming on the podcast to do a behind the brand interview. So I will save her story for that.

But we've got Sid talking about how she relaunched her brand with a very strong creative point of view. We have Frances in the group who's talking about how she hired a system strategist to help her in her business make sense of her systems and the results that she's achieved from that and why she thinks that that was a game changer for her.

We have Maggie and Amber, the dynamic duo behind Kindred Light Studios, longtime members of WPI, talking about how they eliminated things in their business. And by doing that, it actually created more opportunity for them. Their business has exploded. And by the way, they are so talented. They're photographers. They're based in Cincinnati. And they're just so freaking talented. It's crazy.

Candice (22:31.212)

We have Kristen from the group from While Just Events. Kristen is so fabulous. I love her. I'm so excited to see her again. Her energy is so good. She leads an incredible team. And she's talking about how she generated, and I'm not going to say the number here, but she generated a lot of money in sales in Q1 using Google Ads. So she's breaking down her strategy for us. And then my BFF, Carla Ten-Eich,

is talking about how to trust your own creative instincts. Something that I think Carla is so good at. Carla's a photographer, she's an educator, she's incredible, she's one of my co-authors, she's one of my dearest friends. Me, Carla, Beth Chapman, we're like the Rat Pack, we're like the three amigos.

Carla is so brilliant with trusting herself and her creative instinct as a photographer, as a business owner, as a person who gets dressed every day. And when she relaunched her brand, she recently rebranded it, it's so fabulous. She wrote all this copy on her website herself. And I was reading this copy and I was saying, my God, this is so you and I am obsessed with what you're saying on your website. Go look at our website, carlatonight.com. I...

just was, I don't know, I was so moved by it that I was like, I need you to talk about trusting your own creative instinct because she keeps saying it on her website, I trust myself, my creative instinct, what I see, how I see, I use all my five senses, I'm listening, I'm hearing, I'm watching, and I just found it so fascinating how she was describing it. I was like, I need the women to hear from you on this. So you're not just getting one perspective, it's not just me talking, although I'm doing a lot of talking.

you're getting a room full of lived-in experience and I think this is what really expands you and opens up your mind. So let me talk then now about the experience and give you a run through of our itinerary. So most women are arriving on this Sunday. Some ladies are arriving a little bit early for some R &R and a little pool time and a little you know relaxation a little treat yourself moment but many women are arriving on this Sunday and so I love to get together before we get together at my home. We're going to meet at the hotel.

Candice (24:45.164)

Our host hotel is Hotel Indigo. It's on the South Coast. It's right on the beach. It's gorgeous. It's stunning. If you saw it on my Instagram stories, it's absolutely beautiful. It's brand new. Barbados needed a hotel like this. Decorated, gorgeous. I mean, it's so fabulous. I'm praying that it is, it's new. So you you just always a little kinks. I'm hoping everything is just great. And if there's kinks that everyone's patient about it, but we'll see. Either way.

The hotel was fabulous and they have this amazing rooftop. There's only two hotels in Barbados with rooftops, by the way, that you can go on. And so we're meeting on the rooftop for sunset cocktails and bites. We're gonna watch our first Bayesian sunset together, hug, laugh, cry, connect, talk. And I'm so excited to meet the ladies and have it be so easy for them. After a day of travel, I want them to feel, get checked in, get freshened up, meet me on the.

hotel rooftop for some cocktails, cockies, and appetizers. So I'm so excited about that. And then Monday and Tuesday is where the women come to my home. And that is where we have all those conversations that I was sharing. So the structure of the day is intentional. We arrive and we have some sessions in the morning with lots of conversation.

So the way this works is you're not just sitting to people, listening to people talk with slide decks. The talks are actually pretty simple and short. 10 minutes for member gives, 10, 20 minutes for my talks. And I know you're thinking, that's it? That's all we really need, because it's about asserting an idea with the group, and then the group talking about it. What I want.

is for us to have a conversation about topics, not for you to be talked at and then have no outlet to process, to apply, and to think about what we're talking about. So most talks are 10 to 20 minutes with 20 minutes of discussion following. So both days, we have

Candice (27:04.302)

talks, discussions, but we also have some workshopping, small group workshops. I pair the women up into small intimate groups, which allows them to kind of go off in different corners of my house and have conversations intimately about a certain topic or about how to apply something. The women are also bringing to the retreat a question.

So let me back up a little bit because I forgot to put this down in my notes. We did this last year. It was so great that this year I asked them to bring that question. But I asked them to listen to all the talks and have conversations and to filter what they're hearing through the question they have. And the question is a big question. And I don't want to spoil what some of their questions are because they shared it with me. Many of them have come up with their question.

But it's a question like, I want to reach a luxury level clientele, or I want to be working with clients who have a minimum budget of 200K. What are the visibility steps that I need to take in order to attract the right clients? It would be a big question. And so imagine you come to Barbados. You're here to learn and be a sponge and connect and relax and enjoy yourself. But you're coming with something on your mind.

that you are filtering everything through to get answers for. And that's so powerful. I mean, it's so powerful to have that question.

All of our talks will support that question as well all the conversation. So we have small intimate groups, but we're also gonna pull one or two people up each day on Monday and Tuesday to do some group hot seating in front of the group. So they'll bring that big question up to the group and we'll workshop it as a group. It's not just me giving advice, but we've got brilliant minds and women in this group. And I think we can all agree.

Candice (29:09.358)

It's so much easier to give somebody else great advice than to give yourself great advice. So I'm so excited to hear what the women share with one another. And I know you're probably very much like me in the sense that you love supporting people, you love giving people advice. And sometimes it's through the advice you give others where you find the answers for yourself. So I'm so excited to see how all of this goes.

Now, we mostly host the group discussions on my veranda, which is beautiful, lots of seating, it's covered, it's breezy, it overlooks the ocean, we've got my beautiful gardens, and it has this indoor outdoor feel. It's absolutely fabulous. Each day, we'll break for lunch and we have some really nutritious kind of brain food lunches scheduled. Sandwiches, gorgeous, rich salads, cold soups, fresh juices.

This year, I really wanted to give the women nutritious, delightful food. So that's what we have by one of my local restaurants here, one of my favorite local restaurants, the Trin is catering. So we'll break for lunch and then we'll go back to masterminding and discussing throughout the day. And we also have lots of fun little snacks throughout the day. So I'll be serving my famous rosemary grapes, which are really my friend, Nicole Michaels, rosemary grapes.

But now they're my famous rosemary grapes when I serve them. So I'll be serving those. And towards the end of the day, we'll spend some time around the pool, on the pool deck, floating, enjoying ourselves, eating snacks, chips and guac, that kind of vibe, and just decompressing and talking and relaxing. Now, here in my home, I have two helpers that help me with this. My helper, Dawn, who comes every week to help me out around the house. She'll be here helping.

And I also have our bartender, Kevin, returning from last year. I met Kevin for the first time when he showed up on my doorstep and was like, I'm here to bartend. And he's coming back this year. And I'm so excited. He was such a big hit with the ladies. was our resident male in-house. And he was whipping up fantastic margaritas for us, spicy marks and Aperol spritzes and lemon cello spritzes. So we're doing those again this year, but also serving wine and flavored waters and juices and.

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soft drinks for those who are not drinking, not day drinking. So we have cocktails and snacks and a gorgeous lunch and Kevin will be waiting on us hand and foot serving us coffee and tea and all the things. So that is what happens here at my home on Monday and Tuesday but we're breaking out of the Kistu crib.

And we are going on a little bit of an adventure on Wednesday. So Wednesday is all about connection, having a little bit of fun, and seeing some of Barbados. I mean, can't keep these ladies cooped up in my gorgeous house for two days. We do have to get out and about. And so I have rented a gorgeous luxury catamaran for the day. We're all going out for a day on the water. We're going to cruise up and down the West Coast, have a gorgeous lunch prepared for us on board, cocktails, full open bar, gorgeous lunch, snacks.

My friend Julius bought this beautiful catamaran and I can't wait to be a guest on it. It's gonna be fabulous. We'll usually dock some place for lunch where we can go swimming and we'll try to find the turtles and swim with the turtles. I'll be curious to see where Juju takes us this year and where we might dock out. And then we'll be dropped off beachside and dinghied onto the beach.

to head back to the hotel after a day on the water. And I have to tell you, Barbados, being on the water in Barbados, it gives you a full appreciation of just how beautiful this island is. You get to see all the mansions on the West Coast, all the fancy hotels, Sandy Lane, crystal clear turquoise water. You can see the bottom of it. It's so stunning. You can see the fish swimming in the water. It's absolutely amazing. Who knows, maybe we'll catch a fish and serve ceviche right on the boat. It's just so fabulous.

But on the boat, we have conversations, we talk, we listen to music, we chill out. Some ladies have taken a nap on the boat and just relaxed and felt at peace, which I love. And it's just a chance for you to decompress and relax and enjoy yourself. And it's my chance to treat you, which by the way, I love doing. If you're of my private clients, I love treating you. I treat you to coffee, I buy you gifts, I send you little things.

Candice (33:42.946)

Here and there, the retreat is no exception. And so it's my opportunity to treat the ladies to a very special day. After the catamaran cruise, ladies will go back to the hotel, relax, freshen up. And then this year, we're doing a really fun pajama night. So I'm bringing the ladies back to my home for an evening in our pajamas. I am so excited about this. I'm calling it Caviar and Cocktails. I've got a big old tin of caviar reserved for the group.

And we're doing a little high-low vibe. So caviar, chicken nuggets, beautiful charcuterie board. It's gonna be so fabulous. I am absolutely ordering Burger King burgers for us. So it's a little bit of a naughty evening. It's gonna be a lot of fun. Martinis and champagne and Shirley Temples is on the menu. And I'm so excited about this. We've got our bougie set of pajamas. ordered the...

craziest set of the most expensive pair of pajamas I will ever own. And I'm just so excited about it. I have my friend Samar coming to help us make friendship charm bracelets. So it's gonna be a really great night. And of course, Kevin will be whipping up Shirley temples and dirty martinis for us at the bar. And I wanted to do this in light of a farewell dinner, which we did last year, which I was by the way, so fantastic.

But I want to do something a little bit different and more intimate. Because how often do you get to put on a fresh set of gorgeous pajamas and go to your girlfriend's house and just have a girl dinner and have cocktails and just eat girl food and talk and laugh and do face masks and just share stories and just have the absolute best night where you're laughing and not talking about business strategy, but just being together.

I'm so excited about this. just can't wait. It's going to be so much fun. it's by the time you're listening to this, it's happening tomorrow if you're listening to this on Tuesday. So that is our itinerary for the retreat. I'm so excited. As you can see, I'm just smiling from ear to ear. I cannot wait. And so let's talk about why I think this matters. And this is something that also affirmed for me that this experience is so special and that what I'm creating doesn't need to compete with, you know.

Candice (36:05.71)

the super bouj events out there that you by the way, spend like five grand to attend. Plus, not everybody has this in their life. Not everybody has close friendships like this. Not everybody has a space where they can fully relax. Not everybody gets invited on a catamaran cruise. Not everybody gets to get in their bougie pajamas and go sit on their girlfriend's couch and relax for the evening and have a.

catered experience and eat Burger King burgers and caviar. And I'm very aware that I have created this experience in my own life. I'm so lucky where I have a gaggle of girlfriends that I can, that will never say no to an invitation to my home for a girls night. And I can invite them over and we can talk and laugh and gossip and have a great time and be ourselves and dress fabulous and eat fabulous food and have cocktails.

everybody has that in their life. And I wanted to create an experience like that. I wanted the retreat to feel like you went to your best friend's house for the weekend and you had the best time. Like Carla coming to my house for the week. I wanted it to feel like you went to your best friend's house and she pulled out all the stops.

She got you a welcome gift. She made you feel right at home. took care of every detail. She made sure your class was always full. There was food always in front of you, your favorite food that you loved, that you were nourished both physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally. And that is what this retreat is all about. Now, what you leave with when you leave Barbados, well, you're coming to Barbados.

for the experience, to be at my house, to hang out with me, to hopefully get your question answered and also have a little fun because it's a write-off. But what you're also leaving Barbados with is clarity, confidence, connection, direction, memories, friendships, a deeper friendship with your coach, who you trust, who supports you.

Candice (38:25.474)

And I think you leave Barbados a little bit different every time you get to come. So if you're listening to this and you're thinking, I want that. I want to be in Candace's house. I want to be floating in her pool, drinking a martini. I want to meet Kevin, the bartender. I want to meet Candace's dogs and her husband and sit on her couch and laugh and get a little tipsy at the pajama party. Well, I would love for you.

to come and hang out with us. But the only way you're going to get here is if you join my mastermind. And the beautiful thing is this retreat experience is currently included in your mastermind experience, which means you get a year of coaching with me, a year of access to me supporting you in every facet of your business, whether it's your systems, your processes, your pricing, your services, your branding, your marketing, your visibility.

the relationships you're building, the direction you're going in, the client shit that pops up, even life stuff. Because there's no way to separate the two. You get all that support for a year, and you get the opportunity to attend one of our retreats while you're a member, which means the catamaran cruise, the girls' night, Kevin and the cocktails in the pool. It's all included in your experience. And that, my friends, is pretty remarkable.

I was talking to my business coaches, she was like, girl, I think I need to start charging for this.

So you better get in while it's hot is what I'm telling you. On that note though, I also want you to just ask yourself what kind of rooms are you putting yourself in right now? And are they actually helping you grow? I hope they are. And if you're looking to grow in the room that I've created in my living room on my veranda with this group of amazing women, I would love for you.

Candice (40:24.952)

to go and check out weddingproinsiders.com. I'm not sure when you're gonna be listening to this episode. You might be listening to it as it airs. You might be listening to it a few weeks later, months later. What you'll find on that page is all of the amazing opportunities for coaching and connection that are included in your year-long experience. And if there's an ability for you to apply, you should. If there's space, you should apply to come join us.

If you see a waitlist form, fill that out and then email me and let me know like, hey girls, there any space? Like, I'm serious. I want in. I'm ready to meet Kevin. I'm ready to come to Barbados. And of course, if there is a spot available, we can definitely chat. Now, WPI is by application only. And this is for so many reasons. But I created an application process for this. At some point, I think in 2021, I think we launched on.

Because I want to make sure, number one, this is the right investment for you. Because WPI is not for a beginner business owner. And by beginner business owner, mean somebody who is still in the thick of launching a business, figuring out what they do and who they serve. Not somebody who's pivoting or changing. But I mean, that first year or two of business, WPI is not going to necessarily be the right fit for you. But it will be.

Once you get into a more mature business, WPI is for mature business owners. And the number of years you've been in business does not equal maturity for sure, but I need you to be making money and I need you to be seasoned at what you're doing. That creates the best environment for what this product has to offer. That doesn't mean you're perfect and you have to have all the answers because obviously you're coming to coaching and coming to this experience to grow and push yourself.

But you do need to be making money in your business, booking clients, and looking to, as we would say in Barbados, up the thing. You got to be looking to make some moves. WPI would be an amazing fit for you. And I would love for you to go to weddingproinsiders.com. And if the applications are open, girl, put your application in. Because right now, I'm actually currently looking for new members. We have some spots that have opened up.

Candice (42:53.294)

Some long-term members have graduated from the program, and we have some space, which does not happen very often. We usually get, like, I would say total, maybe eight spaces open up a year. And that's because women renew their time year over year. And I think that just tells you the strength of this mastermind. Women don't want to leave. They don't want to leave because they love the community. They love the support. They're continuing to get so much value out of this.

And they love working with me and they love the community of women. They stay for the community. And I love that. I'm so proud of that. One of our members, Krista, who shout out to Krista, she's such an important part of our mastermind. She joined us last year, 2025, maybe the end of 2024. And she has become such a great connector. Krista is the type of person where she wants to help everybody. And I love that about her.

She said, Candice, this group has changed my life. It has changed my life in so many ways. And the women in this group, I'm so grateful for this experience. And I'm so grateful. She said when she came to my home for the first, she finally relaxed. She finally let herself relax. And she felt that peace being here in my house. And I was honestly so taken back by that. I was like, my god.

I didn't plan for that to happen, of course, but just goes to show you how an experience like this could be exactly what you need, or maybe you didn't even know that you needed. So I can't wait to welcome her back. She's actually sitting right, she's in my effing living room right now. And I know she's drinking a Prosecco and she's living her best life in an outfit that she has long planned and she is just having the best time. So shout out to Krista. All right, friends. Well.

Thank you so much for letting me share a little bit more about the WPI retreat. This was such a fun episode to record and I'm so excited to share some video and a recap even after our retreat. So stay tuned. You can see all of it unfold in real time on my Instagram and you know I'm gonna be pumping out all the content from the retreat afterwards. I hope to see you at some point sitting in my living room in your cozy clothes.

Candice (45:15.778)

and to be face to face supporting you in your business. All right, friends, thank you so much for listening to today's episode. Thank you for being here. I wanna remind you there's so much power in your purpose and I will see you very soon.