Business in Bloom: Recapping Our WAVE Event in Prince Edward County, Ontario
By Kelsey Reidl & Emily Elliot |
WAVE Mastermind | July 2026
If you follow along with the WAVE community, you already know that we love taking our events on the road… bringing together ambitious female entrepreneurs from across Ontario for days that feel less like a "networking event" and a whole lot more like something you'd find in your diary under "the day everything shifted."
Our July event in Prince Edward County, Ontario was exactly that.
Here's the full recap of a day that we're still smiling about… and why Business in Bloom might just be the most meaningful theme we've ever chosen for a WAVE gathering.
Full recap below…
Why We Chose Prince Edward County
We'll be honest: neither of us knew PEC deeply before this event.
But here's the thing… our community did.
Women in our WAVE Mastermind had been asking us to come to the County for months, and that was all the direction we needed.
Emily says it best with a philosophy she learned during her yoga teacher training years ago: teach to what you SEE, not what you think is best.
So we listened. We said yes. And we trusted the incredible women already embedded in PEC to help us build something special.
Several of our key WAVE Mastermind members who live in the County helped us hand-select speakers, venues, caterers, and even prize donations.
When you invest in community, community shows up for you. This event was proof.
Prince Edward County is a SPECIAL place!
With its winding rural roads, flower farms, waterfront venues, and a thriving creative entrepreneurial ecosystem … it turned out to be the perfect backdrop for a day about growth, roots, and blooming on your own terms.
The Business in Bloom Theme: Why It Hit Differently
We didn't land on Business in Bloom by accident.
One of the most common frustrations we hear from female entrepreneurs is the desire for immediate results…the launch that goes viral overnight, the offer that sells out on day one. But the businesses we admire most? They were built slowly, intentionally, through seasons of planting, tending, and trusting.
Flowers are the perfect metaphor for that.
As Emily shared…
"The best and most aligned businesses are built when seeds are planted often, when we stay inspired, when we trust seasons — all things that are symbolized by flowers. Watching each unique woman build a unique bouquet was so uplifting because it showed how distinct all of our visions and dreams are."
No two bouquets looked alike that afternoon. And no two businesses in the room did either. That's the point.
The Morning: A VIP Brunch at The Drake Devonshire
Before the doors opened to the public, our WAVE Mastermind members gathered for an exclusive VIP morning — a vibey brunch on the water at The Drake Devonshire in Wellington, PEC.
Fourteen incredible women sat down together, shared a meal, and set the tone for the season ahead. This is one of our favourite things to gift long-time WAVE community members: time. Real, unhurried, unstructured time with each other. No agenda. Just good food, beautiful views of Lake Ontario, and the kind of conversation that only happens when you're surrounded by people who get it.
If you're a current WAVE member, this is your gentle nudge: the IRL events are worth showing up for.
Em & I had already left brunch to set up at Fronterra Flower Farm, but our group remembered to snap this SUPER cute photo by the water!
The Afternoon: Frontera Flower Farm, PEC
At 12:30 PM, the doors opened to the public at Frontera Flower Farm… and the space took our breath away from the MOMENT we pulled in!
(We had never actually seen the venue before the day of the event… perhaps an event ‘faux pas’ but we really connected with the owner (and female foudner) Inge!
Frontera is an indoor-outdoor venue on a working flower farm near Picton, Ontario, complete with a gorgeous barn, dried flower installations, old farm-style tables, and yurts tucked into the fields. The entire space was decorated with a palette of dried and fresh blooms, and every detail felt intentional and alive.
We love the process of finding venues that are in their building season — places that are growing into their vision, just like the entrepreneurs we serve. Our first conversation with Frontera's owner was immediately aligned: she loved our vision, we loved hers, and the collaboration was born. As Emily reflects, when you keep asking "how can we think about this differently?" instead of throwing in the towel, the right doors open.
Here's how the afternoon unfolded:
Welcome, Introductions & Games
We kicked off by introducing ourselves… because even if you've followed WAVE for years online, there's something different about hearing the story in person.
Kelsey has spent 15 years in digital marketing as a professional marketing consultant, small business coach, and podcast host (now in year eight!), with a specialty in content marketing, SEO, and helping businesses rank in the age of AI search.
Emily has taken a bold and beautiful pivot from her career as a naturopathic doctor into becoming a community builder, mindset coach, and sales coach — and she brings both the clinical depth and the entrepreneurial heart to everything she does inside WAVE.
Group Roundtable: Meet the Room
Before we moved into speakers, we made sure every single woman in the room had the chance to introduce herself. Name. Business. What brought you here. That's it.
This is something we do at every WAVE event, and it never gets old. There's something grounding about knowing who's in the room with you — whether they drove 20 minutes or three hours to be there.
Fireside Chat: Brittany Hopkins of Anice Jewelry
One of the most moving moments of the day was sitting down with Brittany Hopkins, the founder of Anice Jewelry — and a woman Kelsey has known for nearly 12 years.
Brit shared the full arc of her entrepreneurial journey: opening her first brick-and-mortar store in Toronto, growing her team, closing locations, and eventually making the life-altering decision to move to Prince Edward County. She talked about the mistakes she made early on, how she built her first loyal audience as a shop owner, and what she'd say to the woman who's still in the messy, figuring-it-out stage of business.
Spoiler: it was exactly what the room needed to hear.
Hands-On Floral Design Workshop with Inge at Frontera
After Brit's talk, we headed outside for something a little different: a hands-on floral design workshop led by Inge, the owner of Frontera Flower Farm.
Inge first toured the group around the farm … rows of lush blooms in every colour, a working farm that felt more like a dream… before guiding everyone through building their own bouquet to take home.
This is where the Business in Bloom theme became visceral. As each woman picked and arranged her own unique combination of stems, the room buzzed with conversation, laughter, and connection. Door prizes were drawn — including The Good Mood Cookbook donated by Sarah Grossman and a $50 gift card to Anice Jewelry — drinks were replenished, food was passed, and the afternoon settled into exactly the kind of energy we dream up when we're planning these events.
Breakout Rooms: Real Talk, Real Connections
One of the most consistently beloved parts of any WAVE event is our breakout rooms.
We pair you deliberately with two or three women we think you should know and ask each person to share:
What's your business?
What's one goal you have for the next few months?
Where are you feeling stuck?
There's something about that third question that cracks everything open. Female entrepreneurs spend a lot of time performing certainty. The breakout rooms give you permission to be honest — and in that honesty, real connections are made.
Lifestyle Headshots in the Flower Fields
Because of course we did.
Every single attendee had the opportunity to get a lifestyle headshot taken by Britt B, a PEC-based photographer who absolutely captured the magic of the afternoon. Women walked out into the flower fields, and the photos that came back were stunning — genuine, joyful, and so on-brand for the kind of woman who shows up to a WAVE event.
If you need new brand photos, Britt is your person.
Just LOOK at these photos of our amazing WAVE community!
Panel Discussion: Sonya Zabo & Phoebe
To close out the programming, Emily led a powerful panel discussion with two remarkable women:
Sonya Zabo — founder of Zabo Law, mom of three grown kids, and a woman who has scaled a professional services business on her own terms.
Phoebe — founder of Slumber and Shine, currently navigating the wild season of growing a business with three young children at home.
Together, they covered:
What has moved the needle most in their business
How growth looks completely different at different seasons of life
The fastest way they generated their first $100K (a question we'll definitely be asking at future events — the answers were fascinating)
Whether success has looked like what they expected — and what surprised them most
The diversity of seasons in that panel was intentional. Because there is no single timeline for building a great business. There is only your timeline.
Closing & What Came Next
Emily and I closed the day with a reflection exercise… sharing key takeaways, wins from the room, and a look ahead at how attendees can stay connected inside the WAVE community.
As everyone said their goodbyes, they grabbed a final bite of food and a piece of date-sweetened chocolate from Dakama Chocolate, generously sponsored by Emily — a sweet ending to a full, beautiful day.
Families trickled in as the event wrapped up, kids ran through the flower fields, and a few last headshots were taken in golden hour light.
It was the kind of ending you don't want to rush.
Thanks to our amazing sponsor, Dakama!
What We Learned (And What We're Taking Into Every Event After This)
On listening to your community: The best decisions we've made inside WAVE have come from paying attention to what our people are actually asking for — not what we think is best. PEC was a community ask. We said yes. It delivered.
On trusting imperfect paths: Finding a venue in PEC during wedding season was not easy. Most spaces came with high price tags and limited availability. But instead of giving up, we kept asking: how can we think about this differently? Frontera wasn't on the original shortlist. It became the best possible choice. The right doors open when you stay curious.
On the power of assigned seats: We know, we know. But we will never stop assigning seats at WAVE events. It removes the social anxiety of where to sit, it creates unexpected connections, and it signals that the experience has been curated for you. Introverts especially have told us this is one of their favourite details.
On building bouquets (and businesses): There is no right way to build either. The most beautiful ones are assembled from what inspires you, in your own time, in your own season.
Join Us Next: WAVE IRL Elora, October 2nd
If you missed PEC, the next chapter is coming to Elora, Ontario… and we'd love to see you there.
WAVE events bring together female entrepreneurs from across Ontario for days that are equal parts strategic and soulful. Whether you're building your first $100K or scaling past it, there's a seat at this table for you.
👉 Join the WAVE community / Get your ticket to Elora →
WAVE is a virtual mastermind and IRL event series for ambitious female entrepreneurs across Canada, founded by Kelsey Reidl and Emily Elliot. Learn more about our weekly mastermind.