Wedding Planning Podcast

This week on the Wedding Planning Podcast, we're going to sort out some misconceptions and FAQ's about wedding planners and day of coordinators.

BONUS >>> Join me inside my digital wedding planning package, The VAULT for a special bonus meeting on training a friend or family member to act as your Day Of Coordinator.  Sign up for your FREE 3-DAY TRIAL here!

Our goal today is to get really clear on the difference between a wedding planner and a day-of coordinator, and to determine whether or not you really need to hire a professional to help you with your wedding plans.

When I got married, I wasted a lot of time researching and interviewing planners before I realized that A.) I didn’t HAVE to hire anyone, and B.) John and I had all the tools we needed to plan OUR perfect wedding day.

And side note, shocker - obviously, none of the wedding planners I interviewed ever mentioned to me, hey by the way, did you know that you could actually just do this on your own?  

Thankfully I came around to that, but it took lots of wasted effort and stress to get there.

Flash forward to today - I literally created the Wedding Planning Podcast so that any engaged couple could tune in and use the episodes and the tools we review in the weekly shows to plan their own wedding - no professional or pricey wedding planner required. 

Spoiler alert before we even dive in - I definitely DO NOT think you have to spend thousands of dollars to hire a professional wedding planner! 

Some alternatives?  Try checking out the sites we mentioned in today's show, including your local Craigslist postings, Thumbtack.com,  taskrabbit.com and fiverr.com

I also know that there are countless wonderful wedding planning professionals out there, and for some couples it’s a really smart investment … and we’ll get into all of that that much more in today’s show.

Blog post for today's show, AND free "Day Of" Checklist here!

A special thank you for supporting our valued show sponsors:

Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book!  Simply email [email protected] to get started.

Check these guys out at Generation Tux and use promo code within today's episode for 10% off the entire groom’s party AND a free groom's tux w/ 5 paid party members. 

This week's episode of the Wedding Planning Podcast is a collection of wedding questions & situations submitted by members of my digital wedding planning package​, The VAULT.​

Membership includes the priceless benefit of submitting your wedding questions for feature on these monthly Q&A shows, and this week we're discussing in detail:

• DIY Invitations - is this really a good way to save money? (If you're interested in HIGHER quality, much MORE for your $$$ and VERY similar end-game pricing, I'd recommend Minted Weddings)
• Processional - order, traditions, substitutions (detailed article >>> Processional Order)
• Online bridesmaid dress shopping (including my very recent personal experience & recommendations >>> azazie.com),
• A brief COVID update,
• And last but certainly not least, managing disagreeable vendors.​

Monthly membership to The VAULT also includes a weekly bonus "off the record" chat where we can connect behind-the-scenes, and go deeper into select wedding topics covered in the free weekly shows.

The latest TWO featured OFF THE RECORD bonus shows are available to you for a sneak peek when you sign up for a free 3-day trial​ of The VAULT.

There are zero contracts, no pre-payments or obligation, and you're free to cancel anytime ... although I certainly hope you'll recognize the value in this revolutionary, ALL NEW WAY to plan your dream wedding, and that we can continue the journey together!

Cheers to you & your dream wedding celebration,

Kara

PS - Thank you for supporting this week's show sponsors:

Is your happiness suffering in these insanely stressful times? Connect with your Better Help professional counselor today and save 10% off your first month.

Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book! Simply email [email protected] to get started.

Are you drowning in wedding "etiquette" & "rules"? 

Everyone has an opinion on invitation wording, cash bars, inviting kids, and what traditions absolutely SHOULD be included in the wedding day.

Today, let’s take a step back, and reframe things ... starting with your WEDDING MINDSET.

Where wedding planning can get overwhelming is when our expectations of what a wedding “should” look like conflict with our budget, our styles, and our personalities. 

And of course, an added layer of difficulty arises when you and your partner come from different backgrounds, and one of you thinks paying $10,000 for a photographer is completely reasonable, and the other wants to spend $10,000 total on the entire wedding.

But no matter where you’re from, I’m a firm believer in your wedding day being an expression and celebration of you & your partner.  At the end of the day, you’re making a really special commitment to one another, and looking to celebrate the occasion with your loved ones.  That’s it!

With that said, let’s look at these “wedding etiquette rules” with a fresh set of eyes.  We're going to make a pledge to let go of what “everyone else is doing,” and open up the possibilities way beyond that.

Please trust that you truly have the support from me to ditch what everyone else is doing, and craft your day, your way. 

There's an ALL NEW WAY to plan your wedding, and I'm sharing a FREE 3-DAY TRIAL of my revolutionary digital wedding planning package so that you can see for yourself what one bride calls, "a breath of fresh air in the wedding industry."  See you there!

>>> www.wedpodcast.com <<<

Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book!  Simply email [email protected] to get started.

A fun piece of feedback I hear from you, especially after our wedding Q&A shows, is “wow, we never even would have thought of that!” 

Today I 'm revealing a list of 12 wedding details that are really easy to overlook ... and being on top of them can literally change the course of your wedding day.  

These little "aha moments" can stack up quickly and mean the difference from frantically skirting a bunch of mini disasters, to proactively being prepared for all the little hiccups and bumps that will naturally occur throughout the course of your wedding day.  

Malcolm Gladwell is a Canadian author, journalist, and producer of one of my favorite Podcasts, Revisionist History.  In a recent episode he said, “It’s impossible to make a list of things that have not yet occurred to us” and I immediately knew I wanted to apply those wise words to your wedding plans. 

Let’s roll through a dozen essential wedding details that may get overlooked in the planning process - tune in for so much more!

A special THANK YOU to today's show sponsors:

Today's show is just the beginning of dozens of strategic recorded meetings that walk you through exactly how to plan your dream wedding, from start to finish.  Learn more and sign up for a totally FREE 3-DAY TRIAL trial by visiting www.wedpodcast.com

Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book!  Simply email [email protected] to get started.

Is your happiness suffering in these insanely stressful times?  Connect with your Better Help professional counselor today and save 10% off your first month.

"How can we reign in our wedding planner?  Our venue includes a coordinator for the rehearsal and wedding day, and initially I was pleasantly surprised by how accommodating and informative she is.  Since the initial relief and excitement of finding and booking the perfect venue, we’re starting to realize the huge task ahead of us in terms of booking EVERYTHING (the venue comes with nothing set up, so we need to choose tables, chairs, place settings, dance floor, bar, basically everything.) 

At this point, I feel completely overwhelmed by her ideas & suggestions, and I’m starting to worry that the wedding she has envisioned for us does not line up with our vision OR our budget.  How do I reign in our wedding planner and rest easy knowing that we are on the same page?"

There are so many layers to this question that we have a dedicated show to help answer it! 

In my years of experience, it’s not just the wedding planners who need to reigned in ... often times it's also the moms, bridesmaids, aunts, cousins, and we’re going to cover all these scenarios in today’s episode.

You'll also enjoy a sneak peek inside my digital wedding planning package with release of exclusive audio, "Creating Your Wedding Vision". This exercise alone is one of the most valuable wedding planning tools I have to helping you create a celebration that truly honors your priorities & values.

Tune in for so much more!

A special THANK YOU to today's show sponsors:

Today's show is just the beginning of dozens of strategic recorded meetings that walk you through exactly how to plan your dream wedding!  Learn more and sign up for a totally FREE 3-DAY TRIAL by visiting www.wedpodcast.com

Check these guys out at Generation Tux and use promo code within today's episode for 10% off the entire groom’s party AND a free groom's tux w/ 5 paid party members. 

Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book!  Simply email [email protected] to get started.

This week I have a mailbox full of your wedding planning questions to answer, on everything from what the moms should wear, budgeting with $5000, using a rental property as a venue, and lots more popular topics that have come up in the past few weeks!

Most of these questions come from members of my digital wedding planning package, where one of my favorite benefits of membership is a fast track VIP pass to submit your wedding questions & show topic requests ... literally any time you think of them.

You have a standing invitation to join us and take advantage of this ALL NEW WAY to plan your dream wedding celebration, including a FREE 3-day trial when you visit wedpodcast.com. 

The digital format allows me to extend a full service planning experience for an incredibly affordable monthly subscription, plus there are no contracts, absolutely zero obligation and that FREE 3-DAY TRIAL when you sign up today at wedpodcast.com.

A special thank you to today's show sponsors:

Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book.  Simply email [email protected] to get started!

Is your happiness suffering during these insanely stressful times?  Connect with your Better Help professional counselor today and save 10% off your first month.

Our goal this week on the Wedding Planning Podcast?  To save YOU $3,650 on your final wedding bill!

We could literally talk for hours about all the pretty things you see on Pinterest & Instagram that do not HAVE to be a part of your wedding celebration.

In the interest of time, I’ve chosen EIGHT wedding elements that I would suggest skipping - or scaling waaaaaaaaay back on.  I think you'll be shocked at how easy it is for us to save over $3,000 over the course of a 20 minute conversation!

If your goal is a simple, beautiful, and affordable wedding - then the sky is the limit on the millions of wedding details you can leave out.  

 In my digital wedding planning package, couples are encouraged to make a detailed list of their priorities way early on in the engagement.  They can then use that rock-solid road map over & over again, to check in throughout their engagement and be sure that priorities & values are being honored with every single decision.

Want to come behind the scenes for more in-depth guidance on setting an unshakable planning foundation that will bring you all the way through to your wedding day & beyond?  Now you can try my revolutionary digital wedding planning package FREE for 3 days!  

• NO CONTRACTS,
• A very small monthly subscription price that you’re 100% free to CANCEL ANYTIME,
• And a FREE 3-DAY TRIAL so you can even take a look around before committing!

In essence?  You have absolutely NOTHING to lose, and everything to gain.  Get started today at www.wedpodcast.com.

I'll see you there!

A special thank you to Susan's Travel Services for sponsoring today's episode.  Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book!  Simply email [email protected] to get started.

Other partner links mentioned in today's show:

Wedding shoes on Amazon? Why not! Check out these beauties & more for a fraction of the price at a "wedding" retailer.

Support a small business AND shop high quality, low priced wedding accessories on Etsy.

Last word! A CLASSIC way to save? Purchase once-used decor & other wedding items from another couple on a resale site like Craigslist, Ebay, or Facebook Marketplace. 🙌🏼

STREAMLINE + SIMPLIFY has been a tagline for the WPP literally since I created the show way back in 2015.  (Look closely, it's even on our logo!)

Not only are these two of my favorite words in the English language - that I try and live by in ALL aspects of my life - more specifically, they perfectly summarize my approach to wedding planning.  

Every situation you’ll encounter throughout your engagement can be examined through the lens of simplicity and potentially scaled back or streamlined in some way that will make your life easier, more affordable, more relaxing, and overall, more enjoyable.  

Often we find ourselves in the midst of a planning roadblock and the first instinct is to explore your options. 

In the first example we’re going to talk about today - a couple who has family in 2 different places, many of whom don’t want to travel, you might consider … getting married in each place, what would that look like?  Getting married where we live?  Getting married on an island with just us? 

In all the feelings and family dynamics and charged emotions that fly around throughout your engagement season, it’s sometimes easy to get lost in a million far-fetched options ... when the simplest, most streamlined option is left by the wayside.  

On that note, today we’re going to explore some common wedding planning scenarios where things can escalate and become verrrrrrrrrry complicated, very quickly. 

I’m going to do my best to point out some straightforward, simple solutions that I hope will make your engaged life EASIER, MORE AFFORDABLE, and put a stop to waking up in the middle of the night with your mind racing over how many passed appetizers there should be, how many people should be in your wedding party, and how much ice to buy for your welcome party. 

Ready to get started?  Tune into the full show for so much more!

Today's show is just the beginning of dozens of strategic recorded meetings that walk you through specific wedding planning milestones and show you exactly how to plan your dream wedding! Learn more and sign up for a totally free zero obligation 3-day trial by visiting www.wedpodcast.com.

Thank you for supporting this week's show sponsors:

• Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book!  Simply email [email protected] to get started.
• Enjoy all the fun & memories of a photo booth for a fraction of the price.  Details at Booth by Mail, & save 10% with promo code “WPP10". 
• Is your happiness suffering in these insanely stressful times?  Connect with your Better Help professional counselor today and save 10% off your first month.

Creating a simple, yet info-packed wedding website is the easiest, most hassle free way to easily share information with your wedding guests. 

Today we’re having a deep dive convo on exactly how to create a killer wedding website.  We're covering what to include, what not to include, and lots of priceless details on how to leverage this incredible tool to MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER over the coming months!

Even if you’ve already got a wedding website up & running, I hope you’ll stick around for today’s conversation because I have lots of website elements to share that many couples miss, and I want you to be able to leverage your website to your FULL ADVANTAGE over the next few months ... making your life easier, and of course, your guests’ lives easier as well!

A quick outline of what we're going to cover in today's meeting:

• Home Page
• Events
• Travel & Accommodations
• FAQ Page
• Your Story
• Wedding Party
• RSVP Details
• Links to your registry
• & don't miss my BONUS TIP for keeping in close contact with your wedding guests throughout the coming months!

PS - A special thank you to today's show sponsors:

Enjoy freshly sourced wedding website designs from an incredible community of independent artists & designers when you visit Minted Weddings!  FREE Minted wedding websites include all the tools you need to get started, and you’ll even receive a $50 credit towards your wedding stationary when you visit www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/minted.

Enjoy all the fun & memories of a photo booth for a fraction of the price!  Details at Booth by Mail, & save 10% with promo code “WPP10". 

Check these guys out at Generation Tux and use promo code within today's audio episode for 10% off the entire groom’s party AND a free groom's tux w/ 5 paid party members! 

Take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book!  Simply email [email protected] to get started.

This week's episode of the Wedding Planning Podcast is designed to focus on the most critical part of your wedding day - your wedding ceremony.  

In the midst of wedding planning chaos, the ceremony can get pushed to the end and miss getting the full attention and creativity it deserves. 

Do yourselves a favor & start thinking about your wedding ceremony early ... don’t let this become a last-minute item on your wedding planning to-do list!  

Your wedding ceremony is literally the WHY of the entire wedding day, and today we're going to review:

• Ceremony flow of events,
• Finding an officiant, 
• Your wedding vows, 
• And finally some additional ways to incorporate meaning and personality.

A well-crafted wedding ceremony will perfectly express your relationship as a couple.  It should make your guests understand exactly why they are at the wedding, and may address the couples past, present and future. 

We can be serious, lighthearted, traditional or a mix of all three - your ceremony doesn’t have to follow any script, and you’re free to personalize this portion of your day in any way you like!

Tune in for so much more, and be in touch with any stories, questions or thoughts by sending me a DM @weddingplanningpodcast !

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE:

Today's show is just the beginning of dozens of strategic recorded meetings that walk you through specific wedding planning milestones and show you exactly how to plan your dream wedding! Learn more and sign up for a totally free zero obligation 3-day trial by visiting www.wedpodcast.com

Enjoy some really fun & creative unity ceremony ideas by visiting www.weddingplanningpodcast.com/unity

Take the guesswork & stress out of choosing the music for your special day!  Visit MyWeddingSongs.com today to prepare your wedding music for FREE and enjoy over 600 custom wedding playlists.

Sample wedding vows & guide >>> https://apracticalwedding.com/wedding-vow-examples/

HIRING YOUR OFFICIANT episode dated March 6, 2020

CHOOSING YOUR WEDDING MUSIC episode dated March 17, 2021

For lots of unique unity ceremony, ceremony signage, wedding program inspiration & more, visit Pinterest

A special thank you to today's show sponsors for making this episode possible:

Train your loved one to deliver your ceremony like a pro with the Unboring Officiant training package!  Listeners enjoy 50% off when you visit www.unboringofficiant.com/weddingplanningpodcast

Is your happiness suffering in these insanely stressful times?  Connect with your Better Help professional counselor today and save 10% off your first month.

Would you LOVE to take advantage of FREE honeymoon planning services for your all-inclusive, cruise, or exotic honeymoon AND get $50 off when you book?  Simply email [email protected] to get started!

Enjoy all the fun & memories of a photo booth for a fraction of the price!  Details at Booth by Mail, & save 10% with promo code “WPP10".