Drinks with a Minister Podcast

My premiere episode features Carla Panzera Ulloa of My Dream Ceremony, a wedding officiant and recent bride who also happens to be my best friend! This episode's drinks: Lattes made with Dunkin' Donuts awesome coffees. Marie had Pumpkin Spice and Carla had French Vanilla. Topics we covered:

• How Carla became an officiant
• What it's like getting married at the courthouse
• What Latino weddings in Southern California are like
• Navigating family dynamics as an independent Latina bride
• Finding a wedding venue
• How Carla decided between a DIY wedding and going with a full-service wedding venue
• The joys of having a winery wedding
• How to have a Star Wars wedding without going full Offbeat Bride
• Why Carla chose a small bridal party and didn't have the wedding party stand up there with them
• How being crafty and DIY for your wedding can be a stress relief
• Do NOT go to meetings with your vendors hungry!
• Why you always need to build in an extra half hour to every prep appointment on wedding day
• Why you don't tell the bride about mishaps on wedding day
• The reason it's important to have your family in the dressing room with you at some point as you're getting ready on wedding day
• The joy and emotion of the first look
• Don't forget the first look with your parents!
• How being a bride changes the way a wedding vendor interacts with their couples
• Why being a Millennial helps us as wedding pros
• Carla shares her frustration with the lack of transparency and responsiveness from wedding pros
• The difference between a wedding hobbyist and a wedding pro
• Why wedding pros get frustrated when the only question is about price (even though we understand you don't know what you don't know!)
• I encourage you to cyberstalk your wedding pros
• It's okay to ask for help when you're planning your wedding!
• Why it's so important to choose the few things that really matter to you when planning your wedding
• We show some love to our make-up artists
• Why befriending your competitors is the best approach to small business

Links to the awesome people and companies mentioned:

• Churon Inn and Winery
• David's Bridal
• Sandra Michelle Artistry

This podcast is sponsored by Let's Get Married SoCal.