Whitney Haldeman
This Week in the World: Week 10

bumble bff

Bumble BFF

In the midst of my non-stop travels, I went home to Nashville last week to host an event with Bumble BFF. But before I get into the particulars of the evening, let me give you a little context as to why I participated in this particular partnership.  

If you’re single, chances are you’ve given Bumble a go at some point. If dating apps are completely foreign to you, let me break it down simply: Bumble is an easy way to connect with other people in your area. It shows you profiles of people you want to see (filtered by age, location and gender) and lets you connect by a mutual opt in by swiping right. But unlike other apps, women always make the first move once you match on Bumble. (#girlpower) 

I had already been an active user of the app (any brand that connects me to cute European guys while traveling is a win in my book). But after listening to a podcast interviewing Whitney Wolfe (the founder and CEO of Bumble) while doing my coast-to-coast road trip earlier this spring, I really became an advocate for the brand. 

Aside from empowering women to make the first move, the Bumble brand also deeply values connection. Bumble has a reputation (in my opinion anyway) to be the platform of choice if you actually want to go on a date and get to know someone, not just casually hookup. But then they take things a step further than most dating apps, because the connections you can find here aren't just limited to the dating realm.  

Let me pause quickly to rewind to a conversation I had last year. A friend of mine had just moved to a new city where she knew no one except her husband. On a day when she was feeling particularly lonely, she called me to tell me how she wished she could get on a dating app just to meet people without having to date them. “Why is there a service to help you find a partner, but not friends? Isn’t that just as valuable?”  

Enter Bumble BFF. Using the same mutual opt in by swiping right, this portion of the app serves to help you find your girl gang. So whether you’re looking for a bestie to brunch with, a yoga buddy or any kind of gal pal, Bumble BFF has you covered.  

I couldn’t be more on board with this idea. As a traveler who loves connecting with people everywhere I go, I’m all about expanding opportunities to meet people. So to celebrate this service and introduce some gals to each other in my own city, I teamed up with Bumble BFF to throw a party with the purpose of connection.  

Right from the start of the ideation for this project, I knew I wanted to bring in one of my BFF’s, Tillie. This girl values authentic connection more than just about anyone I know.  She’s also done so much to empower singles in our community (including hosting awesome mixers to meet new people). Given the heartbeat behind this event, she was an obvious choice to help me co-host.  

bumble bff nashville
bumble bff nashville tn

We both agreed a bunch of people just standing around and chit chatting over drinks would be missing an opportunity to have some fun, so we called our friend Emmy at Inner Light. Inner Light Yoga is an awesome new studio in Nashville that’s super high energy and unlike most other yoga classes you’ve probably ever been to. This include dance parties to Justin Bieber and instructors occasionally dropping the F bomb as they guide you through your practice, but ultimately they’re about the collective of people and that together we are stronger. 

We all put our heads together on how to make this event a super fun, memorable night that leaves people feeling inspired + well-connected. We realized that while an app may not be the most basic way to make friends, there were plenty of other “basic” things we knew everyone could all agree on. This lead us to a theming the night with some of those favorites. So we spread the word about “basic”-ally the best party ever to students at Inner Light, on all of our respective social media channels, to gals using Bumble BFF — pretty much any and everyone that was new to town or looking for some friends, and we packed the house full.  

 

Emmy created a super fun pop playlist that was bursting with guilty pleasures like NSYNC and Spice Girls. We did tons of partner poses and moved off our mats throughout the class to move and dance and mingle with one another.  

After practice, our friend Holly from Golden Roots made some yummy snacks for everyone. They are an amazing local meal delivery service that partners with local farms in Tennessee to create delicious, thoughtful, gluten-free recipes. I told Holly about our idea to embrace the “basic” and so she made some amazing gluten-free avocado crostini and quinoa grain bowls for everyone to nibble on after practice. Not only is Holly adorably creative + a super good cook, she's also a registered + licensed dietitian who’s seriously talented at what she does. If you’re in the Nashville area, I can’t recommend her services enough.  

To put the cherry on top of our basic theme, we served up some delicious frosé (yep- frozen rosé) because why would you drink anything else at a party like this?) 

We were also able to give away some awesome swag, free classes to Inner Light, a yoga mat, and two gift cards to Vida-Flo Nashville. I was especially excited about these gift cards because I went to Vida-Flo myself the week prior and loved it. They offer IV treatments that deliver direct hydration, vitamins and energy (the perfect way to re-hydrate after a sweaty yoga class and multiple glasses of frosé).  

The night was so much fun and all these awesome partners coming together made everything that much more wonderful. I loved getting to chat with so many amazing women- both old friends and new ones. And I especially loved watching other women connect from afar.  

If you’re someone who’s a skeptic about digital connection, allow me to help you squash those doubts immediately. I already disclosed that Bumble has allowed me to go on lots of dates with cute guys around the world, but I’ve also met a handful of my closest friends online through the blogging world. In today’s digital age, connecting with people you meet in some form of online format is no longer seen as “weird.” In fact, I would argue those who continue to believe this ancient mindset will miss the opportunity to meet many wonderful people who can enrich your life. 

 

I sincerely believe platforms like these empower us to be our best selves and live our best lives. And while we'll always cherish our friends that we’ve had forever, I also think it’s of the utmost importance to continue to seek connection with new people who share our passions as we continue to grow and develop.  

 

I am so thankful platforms like Bumble and Bumble BFF exist for those of us who love to get out in the world and connect with people in it. And I’m especially thankful that so many wonderful people came out for such a fun night to celebrate what that looks like in action.  

 

Interested in trying Bumble and/or Bumble BFF? Download the app!

 

Thanks to Bumble BFF for sponsoring this post + event and for giving us all a reason to have such a great time! All opinions are my own.

Thanks for stopping by!

xx

Whitney