Wedding Venue Sales & Marketing

What if your wedding venue could generate more revenue without booking more weddings?

In this episode, Nikita is joined by hospitality consultant Jonny Bann to explore how wedding venues can diversify their income, unlock new revenue opportunities and build more profitable businesses all year round.

With over a decade of experience transforming hospitality businesses, Jonny shares what wedding venues can learn from the wider hospitality industry. From corporate events and retreats to wellness experiences and private hire, they discuss how venues can make better use of their existing spaces, facilities and teams without compromising their core wedding business.

They also explore how to price new offerings profitably, identify opportunities for cross-selling and avoid the common mistake of trying to diversify too quickly. Whether you're looking to fill quieter dates, introduce additional revenue streams or make your venue more commercially resilient, this episode is packed with practical advice to help you identify opportunities and take the first steps towards diversification.

Connect with Jonny Bann:

Website: https://www.jonnybannconsultancy.co.uk

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonny-bann

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Hosted by: Nikita Thorne

Guest: Jonny Bann

Producer: Chloe Newman

What really makes a couple choose one wedding venue over another?

In this episode, Nikita is joined by wedding venue consultant Kelly Chandler to explore why great customer experience can be one of your biggest drivers of bookings, conversion and long-term revenue.

From the speed and quality of your first response to the relationship couples build with your team, Kelly shares what today’s couples increasingly expect from wedding venues - and where venues risk getting left behind.

They discuss how to balance automation and AI with genuine human connection, why CRM and sales technology should support rather than replace your team, the growing role of WhatsApp, and why couples increasingly need more reassurance and nurturing throughout their decision-making journey.

If you want to build a customer journey that feels personal and performs commercially, this episode is packed with ideas to take back to your venue.

Connect with Kelly Chandler

Website: https://kellychandlerconsulting.co.uk/

Instagram: @kelly__chandler

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-chandler-47175910/

Wedding Venues & Planners Summit

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Hosted by: Nikita Thorne

Guest: Kelly Chandler

Producer: Chloe Newman

How are today’s couples choosing wedding venues, and what makes them confident enough to enquire?

In this solo episode, Nikita Thorne, Head of Strategy at Guides for Brides, explores how couples research and compare wedding venues before making contact, with a particular look at the behaviours we’re seeing from Gen Z and millennial couples.

From social media, Google and AI to wedding directories, reviews and your own website, discover the questions your marketing needs to answer before a couple is ready to enquire.

Nikita also introduces the VETTED framework: Vibe Check, Emotional Connection, Trusted, Transparent, Ease of Contact and Dependable, a practical way to identify where your venue marketing could be creating friction or losing potential enquiries.

Research on Gen Z & Millennial mobile behaviour

Create your Wedding Venue Buyer Persona

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UK Wedding Conference

Host: Nikita Thorne

Producer: Chloe Newman

Why do couples ghost after an enquiry or showround – and what can wedding venues do to convert more of that interest into bookings?

In this episode of The Wedding Venue Sales & Marketing Podcast, Nikita Thorne is joined by Alan Berg, bestselling author, international speaker and former Vice President of Sales at The Knot, to talk about the sales habits that could be costing venues bookings.

Alan shares practical advice on how to create better conversations with couples, the importance of asking the right questions, why your follow-up needs a clear next step and how to confidently ask for the sale without becoming pushy. They also discuss the sales metrics venues should actually be tracking and why generating more enquiries isn’t always the answer.

If you want to reduce ghosting, improve your showround conversion and get more from the enquiries you already have, this episode is packed with advice you can put into practice straight away.

Connect with Alan Berg:

Website: https://alanberg.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanberg/

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UK Wedding Conference

Hosted by: Nikita Thorne

Guest: Alan Berg

Producer: Chloe Newman

From customer experience and team culture to service standards, venue flow and profitability, there’s far more to success than simply generating more enquiries.

In this episode, Samantha Gilchrist, founder and CEO of The Gilchrist Collection, shares what she has learnt from growing a portfolio of 12 wedding venues across the UK and USA.

Sam explains why successful venues should compete on delivery rather than price, why staff training is one of the most valuable investments a venue can make, and how seemingly small details in service and operations can have a major impact on reviews, reputation and revenue.

If you own, manage, market or sell weddings for a venue, this episode offers a candid look at the decisions that help build a stronger and more profitable wedding business.

Connect with Samantha Gilchrist:

Website: https://gilchristcollection.co.uk/

Instagram: @samanthagilchristofficial

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UK Wedding Conference

Hosted by: Nikita Thorne

Guest: Samantha Gilchrist

Producer: Chloe Newman

Is a wedding directory listing still worth it — and what actually turns a listing into a booking? Nikita Thorne is joined by Shannon Tarrant, 20+ year wedding industry veteran and founder of Wedding Venue Map in the US, for a UK vs US comparison of how couples search for venues, what makes them inquire, and why chasing more leads isn't the fix venues think it is.

They cover the biggest listing mistakes venues make, why price transparency beats pretty photos, how to spot a genuinely bad lead vs a qualified couple who hit friction, and how AI search is changing venue discovery in both markets.

Connect with Shannon:

Website: https://www.shannontarrant.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshannonexperience

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UK Wedding Conference

Hosted by: Nikita Thorne

Guest: Shannon Tarrant

Producer: Chloe Newman

Wedding venues often assume that getting more enquiries will lead to more bookings – but what if the real problem is what happens after those enquiries come in?

In this episode of The Wedding Venue Sales & Marketing Podcast, Nikita Thorne is joined by wedding sales expert Kelly Mortimer to explore how venues can convert more enquiries, increase average booking value and maximise wedding revenue.

Drawing on more than 25 years’ experience in luxury hospitality and wedding sales, Kelly explores the sales journey from the first website visit through to follow-up and venue viewing. She shares why imagery matters, how buyer behaviour has changed, why high-performing venues follow up more than you might expect, and where venues could unknowingly be losing potential bookings.

If you want to understand where your venue's biggest sales opportunities could be hiding, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can put into action.

Identify where couples may be dropping out of your sales journey and where you could improve conversion.

Download the free audit

Connect with Kelly Mortimer:

Website: https://kellymortimer.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellymortimerweddingsales/

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UK Wedding Conference

Hosted by: Nikita Thorne

Guest: Kelly Mortimer

Producer: Chloe Newman

Want more enquiries, more bookings and better results from your wedding venue? The Wedding Venue Sales & Marketing Podcast, brought to you by Guides for Brides, is here to help.

Hosted by Nikita Thorne, each episode gets practical about what it takes to market, sell and grow a wedding venue business today — covering sales conversion, SEO, social media, customer experience, pricing, AI and marketing strategy.

Guest episodes open with the Hot Seat (quick-fire takes on the big issues) before moving into the Deep Dive — unpacking the thinking with real strategies and examples you can apply.

Expect fresh perspectives, practical actions and useful resources to help you attract better enquiries, improve conversion, increase booking value and build a more profitable venue business.

New episodes every Monday from 14th September.

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Join us at the UK Wedding Conference: https://www.ukweddingconference.co.uk/

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