Mental health and mental illness have historically been a taboo topic, but there's no reason it should be. With one in five Americans suffering from some sort of mental health condition, there's no reason it should be hidden in the shadows or seen as something of shame. In this week's episode of the This Week’s In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with wedding industry veteran Beth Chapman about how mental illness has affected her family, including the steps she's taken in her own life to protect her mental health as a busy entrepreneur.

 About our guest:

Beth Lindsay Chapman is a veteran of the fashion industry and is known for her work as a bridal boutique owner, stylist mentor, author, and wedding fashion consultant. After her tenure as a Vice President of Merchandising for Ann Taylor, her love of bridal fashion, and sincere desire to create a memorable shopping experience for brides, compelled her to launch The White Dress by the shore, a luxury bridal boutique, in 2004.  Beth is also the founder of Beth Chapman Styling + Consulting. After running a bridal store herself for over a decade, she recognized a need for support and education for bridal store owners. Her passion for teaching and education and her desire to empower independent bridal retailers, has led her to mentor other bridal store owners on elevating their brand and increasing their sales and business profitability. 

Beth is also a sought after stylist.  She not only assists brides in selecting their for fashion for their wedding and provides day of wedding dressing services, but she works with publications and brands on styled editorial shoots. Beth’s fashion artistry has allowed her to style editorial shoots throughout the world. Her work and voice can be seen in: The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, Inside Weddings, BRIDES, Destination I Do, Cayman Vows, Well Wed Magazine, Bliss Celebrations Magazine, Vows Magazine, style me pretty and 100 Layer Cake.  

She is the co-author of two books, The White Dress in Color, and The White Dress Destinations  and has also contributed to Wedding Bible by Sarah Haywood, and Simple Stunning Bride by Karen Bussen.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Beth's background and how he got into the wedding industry
• How mental illness has affected both of her children, and the difficult journey she and her husband went through to get them properly diagnosed and treated
• Medication for mental health issues, and why Beth wishes she had jumped on board sooner
• What Beth learned about managing her own mental health after spending years focused on her children's