Amanda has been listening for the last 7 months while planning her wedding. One weekend, she roped Erick in on a road trip...he's hooked!

Our guests for this episode are real engaged couple, Amanda Faile and Erick Tjarks. Amanda has a blog (link below) and here’s what she said about TBWPP:

“Not only are these girls equipped with never-ending knowledge, they’re hilarious. I often wish I was hanging out with them as they are so funny and full of life. They’re also the reason Erick and I splurged and hired our month of coordinator, Taylor Boesen of White Willow Events. Whether you’re planning a wedding, helping plan a wedding, or simply interested in learning more about the crazy bridal industry – listen to their podcast, you won’t be disappointed.” Awesome! Listen to this episode to find out how a midwestern couple is planning their own destination wedding. (Living in Chicago, Planning in Des Moines.) Amanda and Erick talk about their good decisions, their compromises and things they wish they had done a little differently. Plus - goldendoodles!

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Big Takeaways

Type A Bride and Involved Groom - Amanda and Erick worked together on wedding planning and the distribution of labor (we mention this a lot on the podcast, it’s usually more than a little bit uneven) was pretty fair!

We’re looking at approximately 150 guests for a budget of 25k. Wedding spending goes a lot further in Iowa than other parts of the country (I’m looking at you Coasts!) Amanda and Erick were very clear about their priorities (awesome photographer for her, awesome band for him) from the onset of wedding planning, and they skewed their budget to accommodate those priorities.

Challenge #1: The Bar Plan

Challenge #2: Hiring vendors when you don’t live in the area.

Cool Detail: Combining Dirt!

The biggest thing Amanda took away from the podcast when planning her wedding was to hire a ‘month of’ coordinator. She ended up hiring someone that has worked at their venue often and it’s a perfect fit. Hooray for our good advice and the positive impact it can make!

Links we referenced

Amanda’s lifestyle blog about TBWPP helping her on her planning journey: http://www.livingaf.com/home/2018/4/2/wedding-planning-101

Amanda on Instagram: @amandafailla (remember the video we posted of these two cuties singing our theme song? So fun.)

Our Bar Episode: http://www.thebigweddingplanningpodcast.com/quick-focus-bar-service

Get In Touch: 

The Big Wedding Planning Podcast is…

Hosted and produced by Michelle Martinez 

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