In this episode of The Hard Launch, host Natasha Yuhjtman chats with Caroline Crawford Patterson, the creative behind Everything But the Dress. From going viral on TikTok during lockdown to launching a groundbreaking bridal pop-up, Caroline shares how she turned creative frustration into a thriving business.

They dive into how she challenged outdated wedding norms, bootstrapped her company from scratch, and helped spark a new generation of female-founded wedding brands. If you love stories about female entrepreneurship, creativity, and building something new in the wedding world, this one's for you.

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Time Stamps:

00:00 – Welcome & Caroline's viral wedding story

02:30 – The first TikTok video that changed everything

04:40 – Building community through creativity during lockdown

06:50 – Challenging the outdated wedding industry model

09:20 – Why weddings needed a new generation of female founders

11:40 – The birth of Everything But the Dress and its vision

14:00 – The struggles of bootstrapping a luxury pop-up in NYC

18:30 – Patience, timing, and learning to pivot as a founder

21:00 – Intrinsic motivation and surviving the founder grind

23:10 – How Caroline organizes her creative "buckets" for clarity

30:00 – Building a personal brand as a multi-hyphenate creator

34:50 – Evolving beyond bridal and designing for new life stages

39:30 – The rise of women transforming the wedding industry

43:40 – Advice for women afraid to pivot or start something new

48:00 – Final reflections: "Don't be scared to start."