From nightmare meetings with wedding planners, to renting a mansion & our "DIY" heavy approach, in this bonus episode you'll hear the full details of my own wedding planning journey.

The couples who give up on the new approach to planning that we focus on here on the Wedding Planning Podcast will likely stay stuck exactly where I was in the story I'm sharing today, after meeting with the awful 3rd wedding planner.

They'll do exactly what most couples do, and freak out over how much there is to do, how much things cost, and how complicated it feels to go off the beaten path …

They'll cave when someone is critical of a fun idea, and pull back when they feel judged for something that they did or didn't do. John and I faced skeptical, judge-y eyes too many times to count throughout our entire planning process - but that's another story, for another time.

And they'll fall back to the status quo wedding planners, the big corporate websites, and the free checklists to plan a cookie cutter wedding for them, without ever even knowing the priceless opportunity that has slipped away.

The opportunity to design the wedding that YOU actually want, and to share a once-in-a-lifetime experience with your loved ones that leaves a lasting sense of love & connection for decades to come.

And to miss out on that, is quite simply, heartbreaking.

But here's the final, most important part of this very long email:

Unforgettable, life-changing weddings don't just "happen".

They don't just magically arise from the mountain of printouts and free checklists, and magazines, budget calculators and Pinterest boards and reels that you consume on loop.

And just having a wedding vision isn't enough, without continued support, encouragement, and ongoing direction.

So my wish for you is these three things:

• The patience to let your wedding vision fully unfold,

• The courage and confidence to trust in your vision, and let it guide all of your decisions, big & small,

• And the support and encouragement that I promise to bring each week to our time spent together.

Thank you so much for being here today, and thank you for inviting me to be a part of such a special time in your lives - it means the world to me.

Cheers, Kara