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This Week In Weddings

This Week In Weddings

A podcast for wedding industry entrepreneurs and wedding professionals

Creating Brand Ambassadors Within Your Business: This Week In Weddings – Episode 143

As a business grows, there often comes the need to grow your team and bring on employees. But how do you make sure that the staff you bring on aren’t just punching the time clock but are true representations of your company and brand? In this week’s episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we’re chatting with wedding planner turned business consultant Jen Taylor about some tips for creating brand ambassadors within your business.

About our guest:

Jennifer Taylor is the owner and founder of Taylor’d Event Group, a leading event planning company that serves local and destination clients in Washington State and Maui, HI. She is also the principal of Jen Taylor Consulting, a consulting firm that works with creative businesses of all sizes to implement streamlined workflows and organized systems to find more time and space for business growth and personal development.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

  • How Jen got started in the wedding industry after helping friends with their weddings 
  • The growth of Jen’s company from one employee to five
  • What the difference is between someone who is an employee and someone who acts as a brand ambassador
  • The tools Jen used in her company to train your team

Want to connect with Jen?

This episode of This Week In Weddings is sponsored by Honeybook.

How to Branch Out of Your Business: This Week In Weddings – Episode 142

Being a serial entrepreneur is not a foreign concept to many of us. Often times, when you’ve built a successful business, the idea of creating another one is exciting. But, if you have grand plans for another business or even a spin-off of your current offerings, how do you make time for the new adventure. In this week’s episode of This Week In Weddings, we’re chatting with a wedding industry entrepreneur who successfully created a secondary brand when she saw a need in the market. Listen in to hear the circumstances that led her to come up with her second business idea, the research that she did before launching, and how she is able to manage two separate, yet connected, businesses.

About our guest:

Kirsten Palladino is the editorial director and cofounder of Equally Wed, the world’s leading LGBTQ+ wedding website. She is the author of Equally Wed: The Ultimate Guide to Planning Your LGBTQ+ Wedding (Seal Press), and the creator and lead educator of Equally Wed Pro, the LGBTQ+ inclusive certification course.

Kirsten and her company have won awards from Glamour magazine, Atlanta Business Chronicle, Time magazine, Rising Tide Society, Honeybook, the Webbys and Fenuxe magazine. She has been featured in a variety of media outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, Chicago Tribune, The Knot magazine, Out magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides magazine, The Advocate magazine, Glamour magazine, NPR, CNN and more.

Kirsten regularly speaks on stages around the globe as a Wedding Pro Educator for The Knot and WeddingWire, as well as for other conferences such as Engage! Luxury Wedding Business Summit, WIPA, Rising Tide Society, Wedding Industry Education and more. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her wife and twin sons.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

  • How planning her own wedding made Kirsten interested in joining the wedding industry
  • How and when Kirsten decided to open a secondary branch of her business
  • The biggest thing Kirsten did with her main business to allow her the time to create another one
  • How she markets her two different brands to two different audiences

Want to connect with Kirsten?

This episode of This Week In Weddings is sponsored by Honeybook.

How to Work with a Wedding Planner: This Week In Weddings – Episode 141

Wedding planners are a great source of wedding referrals and can be a perfect conduit to repeat business. But how do you get on a wedding planner’s preferred list? And even more importantly, how do you stay on that list? In this week’s episode of This Week In Weddings, we’re chatting with a seasoned wedding planner about that things to do to make yourself stand out in a planner’s eyes. And, of course, Kimberly can’t help but add her own two cents about the topic as well!

About our guest:

Saundra is the owner of planning forever events, an event planning business based in Evansville, Indiana. For the last 16 years, she is known to create weddings and celebrations that become treasured memories forever, usually, with large liquor and bar tabs.

She entered the event planning world with many years of business experience under her cap; such as, corporate event planning for doctors and selling advertising/media campaigns to all ranges of businesses. Real-world business experience, managing expectations, budgeting, marketing, and strong sales skills, has helped her maintain her longevity. 

Saundra never dreamed of being a wedding planner. Instead, she fell into this crazy event world through luck and has stuck it out through grit and creating collaboration with other wedding professionals to produce outstanding events.

Ten years ago, Saundra was invited to speak at an intimate event planning conference. With her extensive background in sales training from her advertising job and a passion for the subject of selling to clients, Saundra developed the Get Real Sales Coach seminars to teach other industry professionals “How to Close the Deal”. 

She has brought her no-nonsense, straight-forward delivery to stages across the country, including Australia, at conferences such as the Association of Bridal Consultants, The Special Event, NACE, privately funded conferences, and her own workshops. Currently, she has elected to pull back from speaking engagements and applauds her friends and peers that are on the speaking circuit.

Saundra could go on and on about her published articles, but really, she knows no one really cares. She is, however, proud that for the past 13 years, she has worked for a local ABC morning lifestyle show, producing and delivering wedding content for live TV and co-anchoring special events such as the Royal Wedding.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

  • Saundra’s experience in the wedding industry
  • How to best reach out to a wedding planner for the first time (and what not to do)
  • What will get you on a wedding planner’s shit list
  • Tips for working with planners and their clients

Want to connect with Saundra?

This episode of This Week In Weddings is sponsored by Honeybook.

Communicating Realistic Budgets with Clients: This Week In Weddings – Episode 140

Weddings are expensive, and most couples go into the planning process with absolutely no idea how much what they want actually costs in the real world. As wedding vendors, how can we communicate clearly with couples about wedding costs and why we charge what we do? In this week’s episode of This Week In Weddings, we’re chatting with wedding planner Mary Wright Shah about some best practices for clearly communicating costs and budgets throughout the planning process. Whether you’re a wedding planner or represent another vendor category, this week’s episode will give you some real takeaways for talking about numbers with couples.

About our guest:

Considered one of the top wedding planners in the country and founder of Diamond Affairs Weddings & Special Events, Mary Wright Shah is dedicated to providing the highest level of service, detailed perfection and flawless execution of her events.  With over 20 year’s experience in hospitality, consulting, planning, designing and producing luxury weddings and social events in the country and around the world, she is one of the most respected and sought-after wedding planners. Mary and the Diamond Affairs team have the ability to go well beyond the traditional roll of a wedding planner, they offer an extensive knowledge in design, access to world-class locations, venues and vendor relationships.  

Mary is known for her heightened attention to detail to texture and interiors. By layering the details, she creates a one-of-a kind experience for her brides and their guests. With her leadership even the most complex wedding is able to unfold with style and perfection. Her wonderful relationships with the best creative partners in the country allow clients to put together the perfect team of professionals to create the event of their dreams and exceed all expectations.

A devoted wife and mother of three boys, Mary loves style, inspiring food and wine, traveling and especially great interior design. She continues to invest in her ability to innovate and enjoys coming up with new trendsetting ideas with her current and future weddings & events.  

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

  • Mary’s twenty years of wedding industry experience
  • Pre-qualifying clients prior to meetings so that no one’s time is wasted
  • Tips for clearly communicating prices and how vendors can better explain their pricing and policies to clients
  • A wedding planner’s perspective when it comes to getting proposals from vendors that are above a client’s budget

Want to connect with Mary?

This episode of This Week In Weddings is sponsored by Honeybook.

The Power of Your Language and How It Can Transform Your Business: This Week In Weddings – Episode 139

We communicate every single hour of every single day, but have you ever given thought to how the words that we use shape people’s perception of you? In this week’s episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we’re chatting with wedding planner Renée Dalo about language and how the choice of words can either empower or diminish each of us as entrepreneurs.

About our guest:

Wedding planning wasn’t always in the cards for Renée Dalo. Instead, what started out as a seemingly one-time favor for a friend evolved into a thriving side-hustle to her acting career. When it was her turn to walk down the aisle, she flipped the script and discovered that the wedding industry was truly where she belonged. Shortly after her “I do’s,” she started Moxie Bright Events, a boutique wedding planning company, and never looked back. 

It wasn’t long before fellow industry pros were looking to her for advice. With over 12 years of experience under her belt, Renée turned her knowledge towards the advancement of the industry as a whole and launched her top-notch educational resources for event pros. In addition to her self-guided Wedding Management e-course, Renée was the co-host of the popular B2B podcast, Rock Your Wedding Biz, and is currently the host of a new weekly podcast, Talk with Renee Dalo. 

Renée is a fan favorite on the speaker circuit, taking the stage at conferences across the country, including Wedding MBA, Creative at Heart, Let’s Plan Conference, and Tide Talk LA. She is recognized across the industry, having earned a coveted spot on Honeybook’s 20 On The Rise list, and she contributes frequently to industry publications. She currently serves as the Vice President of WIPA Southern California and has also held leadership roles in The Association of Bridal Consultants and The Rising Tide Society.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

  • Renee’s background in theatre and how she shifted into the wedding industry
  • How many words the average person speaks in one day
  • How the words we use, particularly for women, affect how people perceive us
  • How apologizing when there’s nothing to be sorry about and using words like “just” and “actually” can reduce your power and undermine your confidence
  • Simple steps you can take to reframe your language
  • “Playing Big” by Tara Mohr
  • Just Not Sorry Google plug-in
  • Grammarly
  • Podcast – Talk with Renee Dalo

Want to connect with Renee?

This episode of This Week In Weddings is sponsored by Honeybook.

So, You Want to Be On a Podcast…: This Week In Weddings – Episode 137

In this casual episode of the This Week in Weddings podcast, Kimberly and Annie chat about being a guest on a podcast. From the “why” you’d want to be on a podcast to the “how” to pitch to a podcast, they’re sharing their best advice for those who might want to break into this media, including a few tips for being a great guest once you are selected for a podcast.

Creating a Cozy Courtship with Your Clients: This Week In Weddings – Episode 136

If you have a thriving business, you certainly have to juggle multiple clients at one time. But, how can you make each client feel like they’re the only one? Or… better yet, do you even WANT them to feel like they’re the only one? In this week’s episode, we’re chatting with wedding planner Alisha Chadee about creating a cozy (and crazy) courtship with your clients throughout the time you’re working with them.

About our guest:

Alisha has a project management background in learning and development, plus 5+ years of experience coordinating corporate events and the director of education for WIPA Toronto. She’s developed a proven planning process for couples who want to know how to create magic on their wedding day. (But not throw money off yachts like they’re in a rap music video.) She thinks in floor plans, endorses moving if you find a spider in your house, and has an oyster obsession.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

  • How Alisha and her business partner got into the wedding industry
  • How Alisha pre-screens clients before signing them to make sure they are a good fit
  • How Alisha uses social media to show her clients who she is and what she’s all about
  • How they track client info and preferences, so they know tiny details of their clients
  • When she “friends” clients on social media
  • The systems she has in place to give clients information 

Want to connect with Alisha?

This episode of This Week In Weddings is sponsored by Honeybook.

What To Do When You Hate Your Business: This Week In Weddings – Episode 135

Burnout in the wedding industry is real! And if you’ve been in business for any period of time, you’ve likely had periods of feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or just beat down. But what do you do when you have a period of hating your business? In this week’s episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we’re chatting with wedding photographer Erin Youngren about her own experience and how she made shifts to get back to a business she loves.

About our guest:

Jeff and Erin Youngren are the husband and wife wedding photography team known as The Youngrens. For over a decade now, their deeply emotional style has led them across the U.S. and around the world to photograph wonderful couples they love. Along with The Youngrens, Jeff and Erin also own and manage two other photography brands that photograph weddings and commercial work, plus they coach photographers and run their podcast Creative Rising, a show about what it’s really like to run a photography business. Even as the owners of three brands with a regular team of ten photographers plus a full-time staff of editors, designers, and studio managers, they’ve developed highly effective business models and marketing systems to make sure that their business fulfills the vision for their life, instead of their life being run by their business. Their mission is to help other photographers do the same – build life-giving businesses they love instead of burned out businesses they don’t.

When Jeff and Erin aren’t shooting, traveling, speaking, or podcasting, they’re hanging out with their greatest adventure of all, their son, James, in their home of San Diego, CA.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

  • How Erin got started in the wedding industry with her husband
  • The circumstances that led Erin and her husband to stop loving their business
  • The mind shift changes Erin had to make in order to turn around her feelings about her business
  • Why the wedding industry is full of burnout
  • How working with a business coach has helped Erin and her husband improve their business and perspective

Want to connect with Erin?