Focused AF

This week, we’re diving deep into all things weddings, florals, and conference life! We kick off with a full WPPI recap — sharing our experience staying at the newly renovated Rio, the highs and lows of conference events, and why the value you get is what you make of it.

Then, we sit down with Jess from Crossed Keys Estate, a family-owned wedding venue that has grown from a rustic tent site to a high-end luxury destination. Jess shares her journey running the in-house floral design division, Crossed Keys Designs, managing 100+ weddings a year, balancing business with motherhood, and hosting VIP events — including a wedding attended by Beyoncé and Jay-Z!

We get real about the behind-the-scenes labor of wedding florals, industry trends for 2025–2026, shifting client expectations, and how adapting your brand over time is key to long-term success. Whether you're a vendor, creative, or business owner in the wedding world, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss.

You can check out her work here:

Website: https://crossedkeysdesigns.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crossedkeysdesigns/

While we can all admit that 2024 (and even 2025) have been unusual years for the wedding industry, there are several outliers who've been bucking this trend of doom & gloom that seems to be everywhere you look.

In today, episode, we interview one of those outliers: Kelly of Kelly Sea Images. Not only is she single-handedly photographing nearly triple digits of weddings every year (on her own, without an associate team!), and doing all the post-production work without the help of AI, she is also highly sought-after in the luxury market.

She also dispels all the pervasive myths in the industry, and is living proof that:

• A human being can shoot more than 15 weddings a year, or even 50, for that matter.
• High volume shooters aren't necessarily cheap.
• Keeping your work, systems, communications and workflows simple is the key to success.

https://www.instagram.com/kellyseaimages/

https://www.kellyseaimages.com/weddings/

John Branch IV is a father, husband, photographer, and educator - but most importantly, he's a fellow gear head and YouTuber!

Learn how he maintains his work-life balance amidst his busy work & travel schedule, as well as his impressive content creation workflow.

You can check out John Branch IV below:

https://www.jbivphotography.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@jbivphotography

https://www.instagram.com/jbivphotography/

Everybody wants to know how to grow an associate team - but what if you're on the other end of that coin? What if you simply wish to photograph gorgeous weddings on the weekends for other studios?

As a veteran associate lead photographer of Pearl Paper Studio for over the past 11 years, Stephen Capone is everything a studio needs an associate photographer to be: talented, dependable, and the consummate team player.

The career path of being a full-time associate photographer is not for everyone. For the 2+ years we've had this podcast, Stephen's been clawing at our door for a chance to share his stories, as well as what it's like to work for the most amazing bosses on the planet :).

Today's drink is the Cinnamon-Ginger Pear Gin & Tonic

- .5 oz pear syrup

- 1 oz gin

- 1 oz tonic

- Garnish with sliced ginger & cinnamon stick

What did we accomplish this year? What do we hope to accomplish in 2025?

Today's drink is an Apple Cider Old Fashioned

- 1 oz bourbon

- 2 oz apple cider

- splash of bitters

- garnish with cinnamon stick

When people see you at the top of your game, they oftentimes don't see the blood, sweat, and tears that go into building a profitable business. It's a common theme that you hear with success stories - this concept is neither new (nor inspirational, for that matter).

However for better or worse, it's all absolutely 100% true.

On one of our recent lives, a viewer/listener wanted to know about some of the specific mistakes that we've made along the way. What were some of the struggles/mistakes we've faced in our wedding photography careers, and how did we overcome them?

Today's drink is an Aperol Margarita.

- 1 oz tequila

- 1 oz aperol

- 1 oz triple sec

.75 oz lime juice

.5 oz simple syrup

We take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to answer viewer questions about sales, marketing, and business.

Side note: we may/may not have strayed off topic to talk about silly things going on in our personal lives!

One of the best things your favorite podcast cohosts have ever done for our businesses was attend conferences, both here at home and abroad. Hands down, it's one of the quickest ways to level up your skills, build your portfolio, and grow your professional network - all the key ingredients to running a successful business.

This is why we've invited Christopher Stiles & Jennifer Zapatka of The Lens & Light Summit to talk about their conference, and how/why they decided to bring this incredible experience to their own backyard.

Brielle Uszenski of I Do Wedding & Event Planning stops by the studio to chat about managing client expectations, creative personalities, and all the crazy shenanigans when nobody listens to her professional advice.

You can check her out here: https://www.ido-planning.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/idoplanningandevents/

If you think that trying to make a living through wedding photography is hard, try being a musician! The Essential Jason Nelson joins us in the studio and shares how he's been able to niche down, leverage social media, and create a thriving brand that most of us can only dream of.

You can check him out here: https://www.instagram.com/essentialjasonnelson

In honor of our special guests, this drink is the "Careless Whisper"

Ingredients

For cocktail:

For mint syrup:

Instructions