This Week in Weddings

If the wedding industry isn't stressful.... we don't know what is! And even when the world is normal, the goal of creating perfection for a client's wedding day can take a toll on any wedding industry entrepreneur. How do we live in a stressful world and work in a stressful industry without losing our minds? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with a stress reduction coach with a background in the event industry about reducing stress while running a wedding business. 

About our guest:

After contracting shingles twice before the age of thirty, Victoria knew she needed to recalibrate her relationship to stress. Following her own wellness journey and becoming certified as a health and a life coach, Victoria now helps women to reduce their stress, live more fully and better perform in their daily lives.

Through Stress Less Ladies Ltd., Victoria supports women in stress reduction through one-to-one coaching, group coaching, online programs, and is an experienced international public speaker. Her go-to motto. Life isn’t stress less, but we can stress less.   

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• The Victoria's background and how she learned that stress was having negative effects on her health
• The importance of focusing on the things that you can control
• How even slight exercise can help with stress reduction
• A simple breathing exercise that can help you instantly relax
• The importance of self care and how it can look different for everyone
• Victoria's Self Care Habits - http://stresslesshabits.com

Want to connect with Victoria?

• Online: https://stresslessladies.com/
• Victoria's podcast - Girl Tries Life Podcast

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

In an industry built by reputation, how you come out of a difficult situation says so much about you and your business. And we all know that the wedding industry definitely has its fair share of difficult! Difficult clients, difficult situations, or even difficult vendor partners, can make producing "perfect" events for a living no small feat. But when faced with these challenging obstacles, how do you come out on top? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with a seasoned wedding photographer who has had his fair share of experiences worth sharing. 

About our guest:

Brian Leahy is a laid-back Southern California guy with an intense passion for people and travel. His philosophy is simple: every great photo starts with connection—a connection with people, their loved ones, their crazy friends, and the natural beauty of destination locations. His outgoing nature, relaxed style and knack for capturing fleeting candid moments has made him one of the most sought-after photographers in the US, both for local events and destination events around the world. For Brian, photography is more than just the end result; it’s about the experience, too. His background in travel photography informs his style and technique, but his personality leads the rest. The best images come with trust and rapport as Brian becomes part of your group, blending in to find those special, candid moments. Brian has been published in countless magazines and blogs, including: Martha Stewart Weddings, TheKnot, Inside Weddings, Grace Ormonde, People, etc. Brian is also a highly skilled and seasoned speaker and educator within the wedding and events world, having taught for TheKnot, Engage! Luxury Wedding Summit, and many more.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Brian's background in the wedding industry
• The importance of building relationships quickly with other vendors on the wedding day
• Brian's tips for how new or less experienced vendors can approach an event day to work successfully with more seasoned professionals
• Brian's thoughts on how (and when) to approach a client with an issue on a wedding day
• The importance of a vendor team working together on a wedding day
• How some clients may just be unable to be satisfied, no matter how hard you try or how good of a job you've done

Want to connect with Brian?

• Online: www.brianleahyphoto.com 
• Instagram:  @brianleahyphoto

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

Pricing your services is always a hot topic in the wedding industry. But what many entrepreneurs don't consider is that your price determines much more than just the numbers in your bank account. How you're priced can often equate to a perceived value for your goods and services and even determines who your target audience is. Before making changes to your pricing or even your pricing structure, take a listen to this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast. We're chatting about how your pricing is your marketing and the two really go hand in hand.

About our guest:

Although she didn’t realize it at the time, Gretchen Culver’s desire to run her own business started at a young age with her summer lemonade stands. After college, a lemonade stand didn’t seem to be the best way to pay back her student loans, so she entered the world of events working for a catering company. She quickly fell in love with weddings and has been creating them ever since. 

Over the past 14 years, Gretchen has worked in almost every area of the industry. She launched her own event planning company, Rocket Science Events, in 2010, hoping to revolutionize weddings. In the same revolutionary spirit she launched Minne Weddings in 2020.

She has been named one of the “30 under 40 to watch” by Special Events magazine and one of BRIDES and Martha Stewart’s Top Planners. Her work has won international awards and been featured in magazines, online and on TV.  She's the immediate past president of the Minneapolis-St. Paul ILEA chapter and a founding member of the Small Wedding Society.

When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time drinking wine, eating good food, building LEGO with her kids, and Netflix and chilling with her husband. 

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Gretchen's background in the wedding industry
• What "your pricing is your marketing" even means
• How fashion has led the way with the link to pricing and marketing
• The importance of conveying value with your pricing 
• How more complex pricing structures are often perceived by potential customers
• How being priced too low can be perceived by potential clients

Want to connect with Gretchen?

• Online: www.rocketscience.events and minneweddings.com
• Instagram: @rocketscience.events
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rocketsciencewe

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

Getting your wedding business active on Pinterest is a perfect task during unexpected business downtime, but Pinterest can be confusing! And many wedding businesses just don't know how (or why) to use it for marketing their companies. Have no fear... Julianne Smith is here! In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting all about Pinterest for your wedding business and what you should be doing to take advantage of this search engine that's perfect for showcasing the visuals that the wedding industry is known for. 

About our guest:

Julianne Smith is a nationally recognized wedding accessory designer, digital media strategist and small business educator.

Julianne is the owner of The Garter Girl, a stylish wedding garter design company she started in 2004, after she couldn’t find a wedding heirloom worthy of her best friend. The Garter Girl is known for stylish and meticulously handmade wedding heirlooms that are too pretty to toss. The Garter Girl and Julianne have been featured on NBC’s Today Show, Lifetime, The Knot, Martha Stewart, Brides, and Glamour as well as many top wedding magazines and blogs.

Before creating The Garter Girl, Julianne was a political communications strategist, spokeswoman and media specialist. She worked on Capitol Hill for a member of Congress and served in the White House’s administration.

Combining her passion for DC, media and weddings in 2010, Julianne started the Washington DC area’s top wedding website, United With Love. Julianne built United With Love to be a trusted resource and a well-known brand with thousands of readers every day. She sold United With Love in 2016.

Today, Julianne helps creative small businesses throughout the wedding industry who are struggling and confused with their online presence. Julianne offers done-for-you services, online courses and speaking engagements on search engine optimization, blogging and Pinterest.

Born Pennsylvania, Julianne currently lives with her husband and three children in Washington, D.C. 

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Julie's background in the wedding industry and digital media
• Pinterest as a search engine, not a social media tool
• Getting specific with pins, including the titles and descriptions to make them SEO-friendly on Pinterest
• How Pinterest drives traffic back to your website
• Pinning regularly on Pinterest, including pre-schedulers that make it easy
• Searching popular topics on Pinterest through trends.pinterest.com
• Juli's Pinterest course with a $10 discount code for This Week In Wedding listeners using code "TWIW"

Want to connect with Juli?

• Online: https://www.juliannesmith.com/ and https://thegartergirl.com/
• Instagram: @gartergirl
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/gartergirl/

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

While Instagram and Facebook may be great social media channels, Google still reigns supreme when it comes to finding information on the internet. But getting your company's website to rise in the search rankings is no easy feat. In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with tech guru Julie Novack from PartySlate all about optimizing your website for search engine optimization (SEO). Through a few simple tips focused around content strategy, Julie shares how to better optimize your site with SEO in mind. 

About our guest:

Julie is the CEO and Co-Founder of PartySlate, a Houzz-like website where leading event professionals share their work, build their brand and drive leads. Before founding PartySlate, Julie held executive positions at top-tier digital agencies such as Razorfish, Vibes Mobile, and Agency.com. With over 20 years of digital marketing experience with some of the biggest brands in the world, Julie is excited to bring this expertise to the events industry. Julie received an MBA in marketing and finance from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Julie's background in technology and how she got into the wedding and event industry
• The three different types of SEO – Content SEO, off-site SEO, and technical SEO
• How link backs help give your website authority
• Simple ways to request link backs from your event industry peers and wedding websites
• Why SEO is all about content, content, content
• How (and why) to incorporate more words and not just photos on your website and blog posts
• Checking your pagespeed through Google's PageSpeed Insights 
• Partyslate's Houzz-inspired website and how to apply for a listing as a pro

Want to connect with Julie?

• Online: www.partyslate.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/partyslate
• Instagram: @partyslate
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/onpartyslate/

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

The Black Lives Matter movement certainly is not new. But the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor have finally brought racial injustice, prejudice and systematic racism to the forefront of America discussions. While the This Week In Weddings podcast is generally about the business of weddings, the awareness to inequality is everybody's business. Join us as we discuss microaggressions toward the black community that you may not have even been aware of.

About our guest:

What Amber Knowles loves most about weddings is the immense love and happiness present on the day. There really is nothing that compares to having all of your family and friends present from around the world in one place, ready to celebrate with you.

As the founder of The Amber Studio, Amber’s artistic vision is to create joyful imagery of the diverse couples she works with. Her goal is to capture the real you, the real way you smile, the real way you laugh, and the real way you love. It's a bigger task than simply documenting your event, her goal is to be your historian. And, she makes it her mission to capture those happy, meaningful, and real moments just as they are.

You can usually find Amber at a yoga class or with a glass of wine in her hand. She is a Cali girl at heart, but will always consider herself a New Yorker after living in the city for ten years. So far she is loving her Texas adventure with her husband, Ed and her cuddly pup, Miles.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Amber's background in the wedding industry
• Amber, Lance and Kimberly's perspectives on what people and businesses are doing wrong when showcasing their support of the Black Lives Matter movement
• Why statements like "You don't act black" and "I don't see color" are offensive to members of the black community
• The group's thoughts about being "on brand" when it comes to speaking out about racial inequality
• How small, incremental changes are better than sudden, sweeping adjustments
• The importance of talking to your children about race
• How you can be a strong ally to the black community

Want to connect with Amber?

• Online: https://www.theamberstudio.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theamberstudio
• Instagram: @theamberstudio

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

Reducing business expenses, and especially right now, is certainly on the top of every entrepreneurs to do list. But how can you still market your business when you have a limited budget to do so? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting all about marketing with a limited budget and what things you can do to stay top of mind without spending large amounts of money. Before you cancel all your marketing activities in an effort to save money, check out this week's episode with Kinsey Roberts.

About our guest:

A marketing strategist for wedding pros, co-owner of Vista View Events, and a Certified Wedding Planner through The Bridal Society, when Kinsey isn’t sitting down with brand-building women for She Creates Business, you can find her co-hosting The Venue Podcast, attending an industry conference, or helping wedding pros build and execute their marketing efforts and content strategy. On the rare occasion she’s not immersed in the world of weddings, she’s likely wandering around the family ranch with her husband and two boys or hosting friends for a fun-filled, family-style dinner.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Kinsey's background in marketing and the event industry
• Reasons for wanting a lean marketing budget, aside from a pandemic
• Why consistency is key in marketing, particularly social media
• Taking an audit of your current marketing efforts before making changes
• The importance of having multiple referral pipelines into your business
• Why video marketing shouldn't be ignored, especially for businesses who focus on SEO

Want to connect with Kinsey?

• Online: www.shecreatesbusiness.com
• Instagram: @shecreatesbusiness

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

Are you over the Zoom call? It's safe to say that this new way of meeting with clients and selling your services isn't going away any time soon, so wedding industry entrepreneurs have to get on board with a new way to communicate. In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with Eddie Zaratsian about this new world of digital and virtual communication and the changes he's making in his process to adapt.

About our guest:

Eddie Zaratsian is the visionary behind Eddie Zaratsian Lifestyle and Design, a full-service event design and production studio based in Los Angeles, California. With over 25 years of experience, Eddie’s creativity and passion is evident in every aspect of his work, and his ability to imagine and actualize events is unparalleled.

Named as one of the top five international florists by the London Financial Times, Zaratsian has built a reputation as a visionary artist, and his work has been celebrated and featured by Martha Stewart, Harper's Bazaar, Grace Ormonde, E! News and Glamour, among others. Now, through guest lectures and classes globally, as well as private workshops in his spectacular LA Design Studio, Eddie generously shares his extensive business, design and floral expertise.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Eddie's background in the event industry
• Eddie's new BunchBox concept
• Transitioning from in-studio meetings to Zoom calls
• How Eddie is presenting information to potential clients when he can't meet them in person
• Providing design ideas earlier in the booking process
• The proper way to care for an orchid plant

Want to connect with Eddie?

• Online: www.eddiezaratsian.com 
• Instagram: @eddiezaratsian
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EddieZaratsian/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMlkNd-3XsWcdnXkIq5pFgA

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

How many events do you want to do in a year? Even more importantly, how many events can you do in a year while still providing excellent service to your clients? While some wedding businesses operate with volume in mind, others take on fewer events and give a higher touch experience. In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with wedding planner and designer Wendy Kay about the different business models and the advantages of turning volume into higher value.

About our guest:

With a background in producing and directing live and recorded television for the better part of 10 years, Wendy is the definition of “quick on your feet.” She prides herself on being a solution-oriented problem solver—which has served her well in her 10 years of planning and executing flawless events. Wendy’s passion to create and execute original ideas for each of her couples’ weddings means that in addition to running smoothly, they are a fun, enjoyable, memorable, and tangible pieces of fine art.

With a straightforward approach, Wendy builds a rapport with her clients. She believes that the more she gets to know her couples, the better (and more personal) the wedding will be. Birds of a Feather Events was named a Top Planner to Follow by Martha Stewart Weddings and is on the much coveted “Brides Best Wedding Planners” list.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• The difference between a volume-based and value-based business
• How volume-based businesses have felt the affects of Covid-19
• Some ways you can tell if you're a volume-based business
• Tips for moving from a volume business to one that does less volume but provides extreme value for your clients
• Pricing your services and how that plays into the volume vs. value model
• The biggest thing that goes into making the switch
• For Wendy's background about how she got into the wedding industry, check out our first episode with her here.

Want to connect with Wendy?

• Online: http://birds-of-a-feather-events.com/
• Instagram: @birdsofafeatherevents
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Birdsofafeatherevents

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.

Oh TikTok. You so crazy! But is this new social media platform something wedding pros should be jumping on? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with a wedding planner who has jumped on the TikTok bandwagon to the tune of 28,000 followers and thinks it's a great way to connect with the next generation of couples. Whether you're already on the platform doing the Savage dance or don't even know what the Savage dance is, this episode is definitely worth a listen.

About our guest:

Sarah Wintersteen is owner and creative director of Sistered States Event Styling, a boutique wedding planning company based out of Dallas, TX. She specializes in creating curated and classic events with a personalized playful twist for her couples. As a fourth generation business owner, Sarah started her event planning business at the age of 22 and has continued to build her business over the past 3 years, bringing personalized and elegant weddings to her couples around the DFW metroplex! 

Over the past month, Sarah has taken her business to Tik Tok, the fastest growing social media platform in the world. In just 6 weeks, Sarah was able to grow her Tik Tok following to over 28 thousand followers, averaging around 5 to 10 thousand views on her videos. Taking advantage of this new social media platform, she has been able to share her wedding planning tips and tricks to the next generation of couples getting married! 

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Sarah's background and her start in the wedding industry
• The basics of TikTok - what is it? and how does it work?
• Why TikTok isn't all about dancing and lip syncing and how small businesses can use it to connect with their audience
• How TikTok is different from Instagram Stories
• The number of leads Sarah gets each week directly from TikTok

Want to connect with Sarah?

• Online: https://www.sisteredstates.com/
• Instagram: @sisteredstates
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sisteredstateseventstyling
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/sisteredstates/
• TikTok: @dallasweddingplanner 

-------

SUPPORT THE PODCAST!

Have you gotten value from This Week In Weddings? If so, it's time to pay it forward! Your contribution of as little as 10-cents a day will help us offset our costs, like file storage, web hosting, and editing. Plus, a larger donation gets you perks, like access to a private Facebook group to discuss each week’s episode!

Check out the ways you can contribute to the show.