Wedding Planning Podcast

Fun proposal ideas, what everyone will wear, and easy & affordable gift ideas!

​Today we’re going to flow through a detailed conversation about your bridesmaids, focusing on f​un bridesmaid proposal ideas, what everyone will wear, and some easy & affordable gift ideas!​

For a full shopping list & blog post on the bridesmaid gift boxes I mentioned in today's show, visit:

www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/bridesmaid-proposal-...

I open the show with a public service announcement about being sensitive towards your wedding party and their finances. You know everyone’s situation much better than I do, and as you move through your engagement, keep in the back of your mind that being a participant in a wedding comes with a price tag, sometimes a big one.

As the captain of this ship, it’s important to be sensitive to people’s financial situations when choosing dresses, jewelry, planning parties & trips, etc.  

Anyone who’s been in a wedding knows that all of those things add up really quickly, and you will definitely be a hero if you can be respectful of everyone’s wallet & credit cards!

And THEN we get to the fun stuff - creative proposal ideas, what to wear, where to shop, gifts, & more.  Tune in for so much more!

- An extra special thank you to today's show sponsors - 

Save $10 on your ticket to an upcoming Big Fake Wedding show with promo code "WEDDING".  Coming to you soon in Kansas City, Philadelphia, Detroit & Dallas!

Email Susan for FREE honeymoon travel planning services - [email protected]

Confused about tipping your wedding vendors? 

Who gets a tip?  How much?  And when is it included in the bill?  We’re going to uncover the truth about wedding vendor tips, today on the Wedding Planning Podcast!

A huge thank you to today's show sponsor, Generation Tux!

Visit www.generationtux.com/wedplanning and use promo code WEDPLANNING for 10% off your wedding party

You've got friends.  And you’ve got wedding vendors.  What happens when you mix the two?  You’ve got a "friend-or". 

Today we’re going to review SIX important guidelines for working with your friends and/or family members who are offering their talents for the wedding. 

Your cousin bakes cakes.  Your neighbor is a photographer.  Your co-worker plans weddings on the side.  Your roommate from college is a DJ.  So, should you rely on their services for your wedding?

Maybe.  There are some key questions to consider before committing to working with friends so that you’re not caught in an awkward, uncomfortable, or worse - friendship-ending situation - in the months down the road.

Your 5-star ratings & reviews are a huge booster to the show, and mean the world to me! 

CLICK HERE to leave a 2-minute review of the show

A special thank you to today's sponsors:

• Save $75 off gorgeous weddings bands from hellonoemie.com with promo code WEDDING
• Get $50 towards your honeymoon with Susan’s Travel Services, when you email susan@susanstravelservices and mention the Wedding Planning Podcast (her services are totally FREE!)

Your wedding planning questions, answered!

Join me in this valuable Wedding Planning Podcast BONUS episode to talk through 6 of your wedding questions, on everything from honeymoons, to decorations, to family & money.

Some important links & resources we reviewed in today's show ...

• Visit our friends at www.generationtux.com and use promo code WEDPOD to save 10% off the entire party!  (pssst, & groom's tux is free with 5 paid party members)
• FREE honeymoon planning is available from Susan & her team at Susan's Travel Services.  Email Susan to get started at [email protected]
• Some good quality & priced LED / battery operated tea light candles can be found here
• Link to blog post on DIY flower garland & flower balls | Visit www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/decor

And last but not least, past episodes mentioned ...

• Wedding Day Speeches & Toasts | episode dated 3.20.19
• Managing Wedding Planning Overwhelm | episode dated 3.27.19 (expired)

Honeymoon planning can easily get lost in the shuffle of wedding planning (aka organizing A MILLION other things). 

Whether you're looking to spend days or weeks, a hundred dollars of $10,000, we're going to cover it all - 

Today I'm sharing some honeymoon planning essentials that you can use to get started designing the trip of a lifetime.  We’re going to review:

• Creative AND affordable honeymoon ideas,
• When to go on your honeymoon (right after the wedding vs. wait),
• Clever ways to fund your honeymoon plans,
• How much is "reasonable" to budget for your honeymoon,
• And MORE of your amazing honeymoon / travel questions!
  
  

Create a honeymoon fund on your gift registry, AND get a totally free $50 credit when you sign up at www.zola.com/wpp

Looking for some FREE honeymoon travel guidance?  Contact Susan & her team of travel professionals by emailing [email protected]

Mention the Wedding Planning Podcast for $50 off your honeymoon plans, AND get additional $50 credits for every friend & family member you refer who books!

Questions about today's episode, or your wedding plans in general?  Please be in touch by sending a DM on Instagram to @weddingplanningpodcast

Cheers to you!

xo Kara

Planning a wedding, bridal shower, or bachelorette party in another city comes with some challenges.  Today we're walking through some ways to set yourself up for success if you're planning from a different city, state, or even country.

You also sent in some great questions this past week on wedding day dress code, bridal shower gifts, decor, & more that we'll review in the second half of the show.

GIVEAWAY!  Tune in for details on how you can claim a totally free Wedding Planning Podcast pink trucker hat, perfect for your beach bag & summer fun.

Join future Q&A's by following @weddingplanningpodcast on Instagram.  Keep an eye on my "Stories" for prompts to submit your wedding questions throughout the week ;)

Today's show is brought to you by our friends at: 

Newspaper Club - order free samples & save 20% (up to $100) with promo code "WEDDING" when you visit www.newspaperclub.com

Noemie - save $75 off any wedding band with promo code "WEDDING" when you visit www.hellonoemie.com

Today we're joined by a very special guest!  Join my husband John in a valuable conversation about ways to involve your fiance in the wedding plans.

We share ways we divided & conquered wedding planning tasks between the two of us, such as gifts, cakes, flowers, venue, music, & more.

John also shares insightful advice for communicating with your fiance from a guy's point of view - something we don't get a lot of on the show.

This is a great episode to share with your fiance, and I hope you enjoy our conversation!  

Cheers,
Kara

PS - Today's show is sponsored by our friends at www.indochino.com.  Get a sharp, custom suit made for just $379 with promo code "PLANNING".

Participate in weekly Q&A's when you follow @weddingplanningpodcast on Instagram

Are you drowning in wedding "etiquette" and "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.

I appreciate that you’re listening from all different backgrounds, regions, & cultures.  What is the norm in NYC may be entirely opposite in Charleston, and unheard of in Los Angeles. 

Part of the inspiration for today’s episode is my husband and I coming from two very different parts of the country, and our separate expectations of what should & shouldn’t happen at a wedding. 

Where he’s from, it’s totally normal to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a huge wedding for 300 of your closest family & friends.  The brides family pays.  It’s unheard of to have a cash bar, to not ride in a limo, and to not invite kids.

Where I’m from, pretty much everything opposite of that.  I have a really small family, and celebrating your reception in the basement of the church with no booze is pretty normal.

Where things get tricky 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.  Forget what “everyone else is doing,” and open up the possibilities beyond that.

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

No this doesn’t mean being blatantly rude or disagreeable to your family, or sneaking behind your partner to sabotage something that you know they really want. 

You will need to continuously deploy common sense, compromise and understanding throughout your engagement.  But these commonly held beliefs can by all means be reinvented. 

Today's show is brought to you by our friends at ...

The Big Fake Wedding | Sign up today at www.thebigfakewedding.com with promo code "WEDDING" & save $10 on your ticket!

ZEBIT | $2500 interest-free financing is available to you when you visit www.zebit.com/wedding

WPP EMAIL RECAPS | Enjoy a FREE "Engagement Starter Kit", email show recaps, sneak-peeks, behind-the-scenes fun & more when you visit www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/learnmore

Come behind-the-scenes with Sasha Wasio, an incredibly talented wedding photographer in Part II of this special 2-part series of the Wedding Planning Podcast!

Today Sasha and I cover:

• The importance of scheduling an engagement shoot
• What to do if you need to "break up" with your wedding photographer
• Things to consider when scheduling photos into your wedding day timeline
• The logistics of doing a "first look" shoot on your wedding day
• And lastly, Sasha explains exactly what happens behind the scenes after your wedding as your photographer gets the raw images ready for you (trust me, you'll understand right away why wedding photography is so expensive!)

A special thank you to today's show sponsor!

The Big Fake Wedding is the ultimate wedding experience: appearing in 30 cities across the country, you can be a guest at a perfectly planned “fake wedding” . 

You’ll see a carefully selected team of wedding vendors in action, meet them in person, AND experience all the fun of being a guest at an unforgettable wedding! 

Visit www.thebigfakewedding.com to grab tickets while they last & don’t forget to use promo code WEDDING to get $10 off.

For a complete Wedding Photography checklist / recap of this special series, visit www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/photo

And last but certainly not least, to learn more about working with Sasha and her husband Yaneck, stop by and say hello at www.wasiophotography.com

Come behind-the-scenes with Sasha Wasio, an incredibly talented professional wedding photographer in this special 2-part episode!

Sasha and I cover everything you need to know about hiring a wedding photographer in this candid, thorough & friendly conversation. 

Sasha shares her expertise on non-negotiable questions to ask potential photographers, keeping your expectations HIGH, the importance of scheduling an engagement shoot, and so much more.

We'll be back next week with Part II of our conversation.  We'll cover the "first look", scheduling your photos into your wedding day timeline, and exactly what happens behind the scenes AFTER your wedding day as your photographer gets the raw images ready for you.

A special thank you to today's show sponsors ...

Newspaper Club has been helping people print their own newspapers since 2009, and gives you a really fun alternative to traditional wedding stationary.  To order free samples AND get 20% off your your order, visit www.newspaperclub.com and use promo code WEDDING.

Shop Noemie for beautiful options for wedding bands, at the highest quality & lowest price anywhere!  Visit www.hellonoemie.com and use promo code WEDDING for $75 off any wedding band

For a complete Wedding Photography checklist from Sasha & I, visit www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/photo

Last but certainly not least, to learn more about working with Sasha and her husband Yaneck, stop by and say hello at www.wasiophotography.com