Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney

Are you and your wedding business aligned? Today I'm catching up with Lina Orsino-Allen, half of Lina and Tom Photography. Lina's ethos is to see you grow a soul led business that can thrive without burnout. I've known Lina as part of the wedding industry for nearly 10 years, so it's an absolute pleasure to have her on the podcast today.

Lina will also be part of my real wed pro panel at Wed Pros Live London - we hope to see you there!

Follow Lina on Instagram

Visit Lina and Toms website

Lina Della Luna website

Book your ticket for Wed Pros Live.

Chapters:

1. 00:00 - Rediscovering the Joy in Wedding Businesses
2. 09:39 - The Journey into Wedding Photography
3. 10:40 - Building Confidence in Your Photography Business
4. 24:52 - Navigating Desperation in the Wedding Industry
5. 34:12 - The Shifting Landscape of Client Relationships
6. 44:33 - Navigating Business Burnout and New Beginnings
7. 53:10 - Embracing Intuition in Business

Planning on growing as a wedding business in 2026? Entering the new year today I want to reflect upon 2025 and set new goals for the year ahead. The wedding industry has a lot in store for us in 2026, lets prepare together and get ready for a successful year!

Time Stamps:

1. 00:11 - Reflecting on 2025 and Embracing 2026
2. 07:29 - Reflecting on 2025 and Looking Forward to 2026
3. 18:08 - Reflecting on 2025 and Looking Ahead to 2026
4. 26:08 - Setting Intentions for 2026
5. 33:35 - Setting Audacious Goals for 2026

Today I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas - thanks for all your support this year!

Chapters:

1. 00:00 - Christmas Reflections
2. 01:07 - Christmas Day Traditions
3. 01:28 - Board Games: A Family Tradition
4. 02:37 - Christmas Traditions and Celebrations
5. 03:11 - The Essence of Christmas: Family and Connection
6. 03:42 - Embracing the Holiday Spirit

Do you feel like you never have enough time to get everything done in your business? Do you truly know what you use your time doing right now? Today I'm chatting with Colleen Carswell, CEO of Structured to Scale about how to audit your time, and become more effective in your wedding business.

Download the time audit

Follow Colleen on Instagram

Time Stamps:

00:03 - The Importance of Time in Business

03:00 - The Journey of a Wedding Planner

16:08 - Understanding Time Audits for Business Efficiency

22:51 - The Importance of Time Management and Delegation

32:31 - Breaking the Productivity Mindset

We are living in an 'experience era' where events need to go deeper than just logistics and design. Today I'm chatting with Experience Designer - Julie Comfort about her work in this field.

As founder of The Experiential Wedding - she works alongside couples and planners to design the experience for their event, ensuring the event is remembered long after it has finished.

Find out more: https://www.theexperientialwedding.com/

The retreat: https://www.theexperientialwedding.com/workshops

Time Stamps:

00:00 - The Importance of Experience Design in Wedding Planning

06:15 - Exploring the Journey to Experience Design

10:48 - Creating Meaningful Experiences at Weddings

21:20 - Creating Memorable Wedding Experiences

28:23 - The Importance of Experience Design in Weddings

35:51 - Introduction to Experience Design in Weddings

It's that time of the year where I recap everything I learnt this year during my trip to Las Vegas (and San Francisco). Wedding MBA is one of my favourite times of the year, you can't help but be inspired when speaking at the worlds biggest wedding industry conference. I share all the lessons learnt on my travels and you will hear from some of the speakers and sponsors of my new event Wed Pros Live about why they think Wedding Industry Conferences are ALWAYS worth attending.

Attend Wedding MBA 2026 (Use code Becca at checkout)

Attend Wed Pros Live in Ireland or London in 2026

Time Stamps:

00:14 - Recap of Lessons from Vegas

02:24 - Lessons from Vegas: The Importance of Premium Service

15:54 - Creating Inclusive Spaces: The Importance of Community

25:18 - The Importance of Content Creation

Are you ready to start scaling your wedding business to new heights? Today I am chatting with the founder and CEO of the Gilchrist collection -Samantha Gilchrist. It's one of the most inspiring conversations I have ever had as she shares her journey from wedding photographer to owner of 12 wedding venues in the UK and USA.

Find out more about the Gilchrist Collection

Follow Samantha on Instagram

Time Stamps:

00:00 - Evaluating Team Performance in Small Businesses

01:01 - The Journey to Wedding Photography

12:04 - Transitioning from Photography to Venue Ownership

29:15 - Transitioning to Multiple Venues

36:03 - Expanding Horizons: Entering the American Wedding Market

Today I am chatting with Sonia Bhayani - sales and partnership director at the National Wedding Show. We discuss why wedding shows still have a place in 2025 and beyond and how the National Wedding Show is staying current. We talk about how to approach wedding shows and the best ways to ensure you get the return on investment when you exhibit.

Find out more about the National Wedding Show

Download my Wedding Show Checklist

Time Stamps:

00:25 - Introduction to Wedding Business Marketing

05:02 - Discovering the Wedding Show Experience

07:02 - The Importance of Wedding Shows

13:21 - Understanding Demographics in Wedding Shows

24:58 - Mistakes to Avoid at Wedding Shows

31:51 - Preparing for a Successful Show: Stand Design and Strategy

34:05 - Opportunities for Engagement at Wedding Shows

43:47 - Understanding Exhibitor Support and Costs

47:50 - Keeping the Show Fresh: Innovations for Future Events

This week I am chatting all things venues, from a different perspective. I'm interviewing General Manager of Mulberry House Richard Kidner about running a team and keeping the venue current and attractive to couples. Culture starts from the top - and it's clear that at Mulberry the team want to succeed. We also discover the role technology and automation has played in the Mulberry house sales process, and the time the team have got back as a result.

Time stamps:

00:02 - Entrepreneurial Mindset and Business Autonomy

04:12 - The Role of a General Manager in Hospitality

14:03 - The Importance of Team Culture in Hospitality

19:27 - Marketing Review and Business Growth

27:53 - The Impact of Automation on Customer Experience

Here in the UK there are potential big changes on the horizon when it comes to how you can get legally married. There is a lot of conflicting information out there so I wanted to try and get to the heart of what all this means for you. I spoke with Professor of Law at Cardiff University Russell Sandberg to try and get a clearer understanding about the possible changes in the law and what it could mean to our industry.

Follow Russell on Instagram for updates

Read Russell's book

Read the Law Commission information

Time Stamps:

00:16 - Introduction to Wedding Business Strategies

08:07 - Understanding Marriage Law Reform

18:26 - The Debate on Celebrant Types in Marriage

22:51 - The Role of Celebrants in Wedding Law Reform