This Week in Weddings – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Giving your clients a good experience is key to growing your business and word-of-mouth referrals. But, what are some simple ways to elevate the client experience without selling your soul or working 24 hours a day? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting about some simple tips to elevate your client's experience in a manageable way.

About our guest:

Behind the lens of Lynne Reznick Photography, Lynne Reznick is an educator-turned-photographer on a mission to share her knowledge and lessons learned from nearly a decade of industry experience. A lifelong learner at heart, Lynne combines her passion for training and mentoring with a unique teaching approach grounded in proven educational practices.

As the founder of The Wedding Client Experience Academy, Lynne offers an easy-to-digest online curriculum based on four fundamental pillars. The result establishes deeply rooted trust with clients, streamlined systems for the busiest workflows, and empowers pros to create bespoke moments for their couples.

In addition to providing ongoing mentoring and coaching intensives, Lynne shares several complimentary resources on her site’s educational hub-including the Styled Shoot Planning + Timeline Spreadsheet and The Manual Mode Pocket Guide.

A sought-after expert in her field, Lynne’s insight has been recently published with Rangefinder Magazine, the Rising Tide Society, SpecialEvents.com, and the Knot.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Lynne's background and how she got into the wedding and event industry after being a teacher
• How proactive communication is a key to giving your client's a good experience
• Using automation to schedule communication with clients
• Tips for making email templates sound more personal
• Ideas for connecting with clients both before, during, and after their wedding
• Lynne's "Wedding Client Experience Academy" course

Want to connect with Lynne?

• Online: https://www.lynnereznickphotography.com
• Instagram: @lynnereznickphoto
• Facebook 

Getting your work published in a wedding magazine or blog is an aspirational goal for many. But with fewer publications out there, it's more competitive than ever. In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting about best practices for finding the right publications to submit to, getting your work published, and following up.

About our guest:

Jainé Kershner is a wedding photographer based in New York. Jainé Kershner Photography was handpicked as one of NY’s best wedding photographers to know by BRIDES and has been featured in several publications including Martha Stewart Weddings, BRIDES, Style Me Pretty, and The Knot.

In 2018, Jainé launched "Tea with Jainé" to directly educate wedding photographers with honest answers, actionable steps, and tangible tips to successfully grow and create a profitable photography business. She hosts her weekly podcast “Tea with Jainé” where she chats with wedding industry insiders who share their knowledge, experience, and expertise directly with her audience. Jainé is a dedicated business coach who offers one-on-one sessions along with submission curations services for wedding photographers. 

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Jainé's background and how she got into the wedding and event industry
• Finding the right publication match for your work
• The benefits of print vs. online publication
• What publications are looking for in terms of images
• When to submit based on wedding seasonality
• Jainé's suggestions for following up once a wedding has been submitted

Want to connect with Jainé?

• Online: https://www.jainekershner.com/
• Instagram: @jainekershner
• Tea with Jainé podcast for wedding photographers

Pricing in the wedding industry is admittedly all over the board. Not only do various vendors charge in vastly different price ranges, but even the pricing strategies are all over the board (flat fee, packages, percentages, oh my!) In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting about pricing your art, and the necessarily mindset shifts that are needed in order to get the price you deserve and work with the clients who believe in you and your art.

About our guest:

Matthew Wengerd makes holy shit stationery for brave and daring clients under the name A Fine Press. His work with couples, individuals, and brands blurs the line between function and form, inspiring and engaging at least as much as it informs.

More importantly, Matthew's clients are an incredible group of people who seek to be known and remembered by their people. They bring open hearts and boundless trust to the process - allowing themselves to be known and seen and reflected in the work.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Matthew's background and he went from jazz musician to the wedding industry
• Matthew's previous podcast episode Getting Clients to Trust You
• Matthew's process in the sales consult, booking, and creative process
• How trust is the most important factor in the client/vendor relationship
• How your own mindset about money can affect your view of your pricing
• How turning away work that you're not passionate about can make your business thrive

Want to connect with Matthew?

• Online: https://www.afinepress.com/
• Instagram - @afinepress

Are you giving your clients the highest level of service? While giving concierge-level service to your clients might be ideal, there certainly is a fine line between bending over backwards to every client's whim and having boundaries with your own life. In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with a wedding planner and designer about offering concierge-level service to clients and what that looks like for her and her team.

About our guest:

Jeannette Tavares has been with Evoke Design & Creative since 2010. Over that time, she has designed, planned and executed a plethora of mesmerizing client experiences all around the world.

For the first eight years, she worked alongside Evoke’s founder, Jodi Moraru, as they built one of the most innovative event planning businesses on the East Coast. Then, in the summer of 2018, Jeannette acquired Evoke from Jodi and has since grown both the business and the team to the impressive collection of experienced professionals that it is today.

Jeannette possesses a broad array of experiences that highlight her ability to deliver high-end large-scale events, as well as the most customized of intimate gatherings. Her vibrant personality, logistical prowess and motivation to deliver uniqueness are what set her apart.

One of the strongest influences in Jeannette’s life has been her Portuguese upbringing. She is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, and she never misses an opportunity to let her clients’ culture and family shine through in even the most subtle of ways. This multi-cultural background has also been instrumental in allowing her to seamlessly build out Evoke’s destination business. Over the last several years, she’s produced publication-worthy events in places like Greece, Portugal and Spain, in addition to multiple cities throughout the United States.

Jeannette has been named Top 25 Event Planners under 30 from Special Events Magazine. And, you may have seen some of her work featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Inside Weddings , Martha Stewart Weddings, Modern Luxury, Town & Country, Washingtonian Bride & Groom, and more…

Prior to Evoke, she executed experiential events across the Washington, D.C., region for Washingtonian Magazine, while serving as their Events Manager. Jeannette evokes creativity, irresistible energy, appreciation for culture and an eclectic style.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Jeannette's background in the wedding industry
• What concierge-level service means to Jeannette and her team
• How Jeannette's team rearranges their schedules to accommodate their clients
• Thoughts on balance when it comes to offering this level of service to your clients.... is it even possible?
• Ideas for going above and beyond for your clients

Want to connect with Jeannette?

• Online: http://www.evokedc.com/
• Instagram: @evoke_dc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EVOKEDC/ 

We all know that it's important to have a web presence as a small business owner. But what are the biggest website mistakes that entrepreneurs are making? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with a web developer about website nightmares and the easiest ways to avoid them. From slow loading websites, website hacking, and terrible web designers, we're digging into ways to protect yourself from website nightmares!

About our guest:

Brenda Cadman is a website educator and owns Bon Accord Creative, a website education and web development company based in Charlottetown, on beautiful Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada.

After spending nearly 20 years supporting small businesses with their websites, she now has a keen interest and focus on empowering wedding industry and other creative professionals to build their website confidence and to learn how to better protect their websites.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Brenda's background in web development and how she began working with wedding clients
• Why updating Wordpress software and plug-ins is really important for avoiding getting hacked
• Having a proper backup system in place for your website
• What you need to know in terms of logins and passwords for your website, hosting accounts, and domain names
• Tips for avoiding a web developer nightmare
• Things you should be asking when hiring a web developer
• VaultPress (Backups for WordPress)
• Siteground (Hosting)
• Sucuri (Security Plugin)
• iThemes Security Pro (Security Plugin)
• Wordfence (Security Plugin)
• LastPass (Password Management)
• Brenda's website planning guide, including a list of logins you should have: https://BonAccordCreative.com/guide

Want to connect with Brenda?

• Online: Bon Accord Creative
• Instagram: @brendacadman
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BonAccordCreative/ 

Mental health and mental illness have historically been a taboo topic, but there's no reason it should be. With one in five Americans suffering from some sort of mental health condition, there's no reason it should be hidden in the shadows or seen as something of shame. In this week's episode of the This Week’s In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with wedding industry veteran Beth Chapman about how mental illness has affected her family, including the steps she's taken in her own life to protect her mental health as a busy entrepreneur.

 About our guest:

Beth Lindsay Chapman is a veteran of the fashion industry and is known for her work as a bridal boutique owner, stylist mentor, author, and wedding fashion consultant. After her tenure as a Vice President of Merchandising for Ann Taylor, her love of bridal fashion, and sincere desire to create a memorable shopping experience for brides, compelled her to launch The White Dress by the shore, a luxury bridal boutique, in 2004.  Beth is also the founder of Beth Chapman Styling + Consulting. After running a bridal store herself for over a decade, she recognized a need for support and education for bridal store owners. Her passion for teaching and education and her desire to empower independent bridal retailers, has led her to mentor other bridal store owners on elevating their brand and increasing their sales and business profitability. 

Beth is also a sought after stylist.  She not only assists brides in selecting their for fashion for their wedding and provides day of wedding dressing services, but she works with publications and brands on styled editorial shoots. Beth’s fashion artistry has allowed her to style editorial shoots throughout the world. Her work and voice can be seen in: The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, Inside Weddings, BRIDES, Destination I Do, Cayman Vows, Well Wed Magazine, Bliss Celebrations Magazine, Vows Magazine, style me pretty and 100 Layer Cake.  

She is the co-author of two books, The White Dress in Color, and The White Dress Destinations  and has also contributed to Wedding Bible by Sarah Haywood, and Simple Stunning Bride by Karen Bussen.

In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Beth's background and how he got into the wedding industry
• How mental illness has affected both of her children, and the difficult journey she and her husband went through to get them properly diagnosed and treated
• Medication for mental health issues, and why Beth wishes she had jumped on board sooner
• What Beth learned about managing her own mental health after spending years focused on her children's

South Asian weddings are a huge market. And with large guest lists and multiple days of events, it's no doubt that this is a segment of the market should not be ignored. If you're not currently working with this market segment, this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast is for you. We're chatting with wedding photographer Gurminder Banga about his experience with this market and things to know about working with this demographic.

About our guest:

To Gurminder Banga storytelling is everything. Taking over the family business over 10 years ago, he takes all the photography and life lessons he learned along the way to lead the way for the new era of the Banga Studios family. Photographer and a creator, this artist has a way of building a relationship with everything and everyone that he encounters, letting him in to capture an essence and an element they didn’t even know existed within themselves. Barstarzz all-star and the most chill vegan we know, GB is a believer in growth and stepping outside of your comfort zone. He knows how to push it to the limit and knows that when you reach for the moon, at least you’ll land among the stars.

 In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Gurminder's background and how he got into the wedding industry
• The biggest differences between South Asian weddings and Western weddings
• The importance of family with this particular demographic and how that shows in the wedding planning process
• Ways to educate oneself about South Asian weddings, including Gurminder's online course, the South Asian Training Guide: https://thegreatestguide.com/go

Want to connect with Gurminder?

• Instagram (business): @bangastudios
• Instagram (personal): @g.banga

Have you ever wondered if a life coach could help you propel forward your big goals and dreams? Or better yet, are you curious what having a coach is like, what they do, and how it all works? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with wedding photographer Molly McCauley about her experience with coaching workshops, as well as one-on-one business coaches and life/success coaches. She's sharing with us all the ins and outs and how these experiences have been beneficial to her and her business.

About our guest:

Born in Green Bay, WI, Molly had her sights set on a big city from an early age. She attended university in Minneapolis, then ventured to work and study in London, England, before landing in Los Angeles where she built her business.

With a degree in Design, Photography, and Retail Merchandising, and a Masters degree in Fine Art Photography, Molly has spent the last decade traveling as a lifestyle, editorial, and special event photographer. She has circled the globe a number of times and is sought out for her clean and classic photography, but more importantly the experience she provides her clientele. 

Her passion for personal branding launched her photographic branding program for social media influencers to create cohesive and consistent content for their online presence. Noticing a lack of business owners actually being "seen", she is excited to assist in giving folks imagery of themselves and their brand that they LOVE! Because of this, she co-founded Brand Camp Retreat in 2018 which is a luxury getaway for female entrepreneurs who are looking to up-level their business and brand — and enjoy a glass of while while they do it!

Getting to know Molly, you'll find her cozied up with her doodles, finding inspiration in her favorite design coffee table books, snacking on some popcorn during her morning movie dates with her hubs, and always passport ready!

 In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Molly's background and how she got into the wedding industry
• The three types of coaching experiences Molly has had
• Molly's experiences with group coaching and one-on-one coaching
• How the style of each of her coaching experiences was perfect for what she needed at that point in time
• Her experience with a business-focused, male coach and a more nurturing female coach
• The logistics of meeting with a coach (in-person vs. over the phone, and how frequently)
• How to go about finding a business or life coach
• How coaching helped transform her business and her mindset

Want to connect with Molly?

• Website: www.mollyandco.com
• IG: @mollyandcophoto
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mollyandcophoto

• Website: https://www.brandcampretreat.com/
• IG: @brandcampretreat
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandcampretreat/

If you're growing your business, hiring employees is inevitable. But finding and hiring good people isn't always easy. How do you figure out what you need in an employee and then interview for those skills? In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with Katie Elder about some best practices for finding, hiring, and interviewing for your team.

About our guest:

Katie Elder, PhD started her professional journey when she pursued a degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and became a consultant to companies looking to improve their hiring, onboarding, training, team dynamics, management, or leadership. Essentially, anything that has to do with the ‘people part’ of an organization. She has over 15 years of experience and has consulted with Fortune 500 companies in the tech and banking industries, government agencies, and small businesses. 

Four years ago, she undertook a new adventure with her husband. They purchased and renovated her grandfather’s barn for their own wedding and create a wedding venue, Overlook Barn, to rent out to others. In those four short years, she has built a thriving wedding business that hosts over 60 weddings a year and has been recognized by Martha Stewart, The Venue Report, Southern Living, and others as a top wedding venue. 

With People Part Consulting, Katie merges two of her life passions--management consulting with wedding industry and small business professionals. 

Katie earned her PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from George Mason University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Statistics from North Carolina State University. She has presented dozens of times at professional conferences, has publications in peer-reviewed journals, taught college courses as an adjunct professor, and even has a book chapter in the The SAGE Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 2nd edition.

 In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Katie's background and how she got into the wedding industry
• The first step in hiring and how the job is the most important thing to consider
• Where to find potential employees
• The science behind hiring and the multiple steps to the process that make it most effective
• The types of interview questions that are most effective

Want to connect with Katie?

PeoplePart Consulting

• Website: www.peoplepartconsulting.com
• Instagram: @overlookbarn / @peoplepart
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/peoplepartconsulting

Overlook Barn

• Website: www.overlookbarn.com
• Instagram: @overlookbarn / @peoplepart
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/overlookbarn

It sounds so simple and obvious – Work hard and be nice to people. But it's not always as easy as it sounds. If you don't know your "why" or simply not finding your own joy, working hard and being nice to people can be a challenge to do on a daily business. In this week's episode of the This Week In Weddings podcast, we're chatting with wedding photographer Charla Storey, who has some tips on incorporating this mantra into your daily life.

And for full disclosure... there are some slight audio issues in this week's episode. Stick with it, as there are definitely some nuggets of wisdom that make it worth it!

About our guest:

Charla Storey has been a photographer for more than a decade. Traveling the world and experiencing everything it has to give made one thing very clear in her mind, and that is that people are valuable and the moments they live are worth being remembered. She has a profound love for helping people see their value, allowing them to feel beautiful and capable. Both in educating fellow photographers and in photographing her clients, this gift has transformed her as an artist.

Charla believes she has a huge responsibility to do her job excellently because the moments she is entrusted with are legacies that live long past the minutes she is with her clients. This reason is also why she is an educator, because teaching others means empowering them to make a living that not only enriches their life, but leaves lasting legacies for those they have the honor of photographing.

 In this episode, listeners will hear about:

• Charla's background as a portrait photographer and how she made the break into weddings
• How the philosophy of "Work Hard and Be Nice to People" became a mantra for Charla
• Knowing your why and why it's important
• The importance of realizing some people just aren't for you
• Social media, jealously and comparison

Want to connect with Charla?

• Website:https://charlastorey.com 
• Instagram: @charlastorey
• Charla's Wedding Crashers Podcast