Persephone Says

My real-life friend Sarah Bradshaw of Sarah Bradshaw Photography joins me for one of the most honest conversations we’ve ever had on this show. Sarah has been shooting for 20 years, and she’s the person behind the idea that’s been rippling through our industry: fireworks vs. fireplaces. Some of us are built to light up the sky. Some of us are built to keep the room warm. Neither is wrong, and both...

My bridal bestie Tiffany Wu, creative director of House of Wu, is here, and this one goes everywhere: business, friendship, family, and motherhood. Tiffany grew up with the business in the background but was always pushed to build her own path, which led her to law school (thanks in part to a letter from Tiffany & Co.) and a decade in real estate. Then, while on maternity leave with her second...

"It must be so fun to be your own boss." I hear it all the time, and fun isn't exactly the word I'd use. On this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the version of entrepreneurship that social media loves to romanticize and talking about what owning a business actually looks like. We get into the myth of unlimited time off, the weight of knowing the buck starts and stops with you, and why you...

Every business owner and employee eventually faces it: a project that isn't landing, a frustrated client, or a boss you've let down. Today I unpack what to do when something goes wrong, because making mistakes is human and the rebound is what really counts. We cover: - Why accountability starts with naming the elephant in the room - Why you should stop hiding behind Slack and just pick up the phon...

He's back. My bestie Richard Rivas is back for his third visit, and since our last pet peeves episode was such a hit around the holidays, we're bringing it back for Q4. Disclaimer first: just because it's our pet peeve doesn't mean we've never done it ourselves. We get into it all: salmon vs. "sal-mon," coffee mug selfies with #girlboss, mismatched mugs in the cupboard, lazy couples costumes, and...

Be prepared for my most awkward and funny guest - my 9 year-old- son Roman. Today's episode is ADD AF, so hang on to your hat. We cover: - His first WIPA event - Baby's first Gala - How I 'yell' and 'scream' He's so dry and so funny. This one was recorded a few weeks ago and made me giggle. xo This is a Media Socialites Production.

This week's episode is different. I'm in the middle of something heavy that I'm not ready to talk about yet, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. But I still have to show up, for my kids, my company, my clients, the people counting on me. So today's episode is about what happens when you're not okay and tapping out isn't an option: how to hold pain and beauty at the same time, why it sometimes...

Life didn't hand me a calm month just because I needed one. In this raw catch-up episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the wildest stretch of my year: a house fire while I was mid-recording, a scraped esophagus from choking on a vitamin, presenting the wrong slide deck to a packed room, and somehow still pulling off WIPACon's first-ever national conference from scratch in nine weeks. Between th...

*Trigger Warning* This episode contains sensitive content including suicide and domestic violence. MaKela Allen is a light and I'm so honored to share her story with you. I sat down with my dear friend MaKela Allen - celebrity wedding planner, CEO of Andre Makena , mother of two, and host of the new podcast Not My Timeline . MaKela opens up about a story most people have never heard: a nine-year r...

I'm finally telling a story I've been hinting at for almost two years how I ended up half a million dollars in debt. In 2023 we had our biggest year ever, and I still couldn't figure out why things felt so tight. Turns out we were over-servicing nearly every client, carrying way too much payroll, and I'd signed off on loans without fully understanding what I was agreeing to. When it all caught up...

Shannon Leahy of Shannon Leahy Events built a bi-coastal empire on one belief: service is luxury. In this episode, we cover SO much ground on what it actually takes to build a team, a brand, and a business that doesn't crack under pressure. We cover: - How Shannon and team SLE sees their clients as muses - How she handles hard conversations - Why clarity beats comfort every time - Budget clari...

I just got back from two weeks in Mexico City with my family, and it was not the highlight reel you saw online. Here's what really happened: - Three moves in 24 hours - A Michelin dinner that turned into a stomach bug for the whole family - A 3am spiral that cracked something open. This episode is about what happens when things fall apart on vacation and how fast my mommy issues showed up in how I...

He's back! After a year and a half, my dear friend, most in-demand guest, and podcast partner-in-crime Julian Leaver returns to the mic — and this time, we're going deeper than ever. We cover: - How we became friends - How he launched LOO - The JLE Parisian Expansion - Sobriety + Friendship And so much more. I know you will love this one and if you aren't already subscribed to his podc...

Hiring out of desperation nearly burned me, so I rebuilt our entire process from the ground up. In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on exactly how we hire at the agency now: the non-negotiables I screen for, why wedding industry experience can matter more than marketing chops (and when it's the reverse), and the strategy prompt that instantly separates thoughtful applicants from...

When do you know you are really ready? The day after my twins turned nine, I was woken at 4:30 AM by my son crying from a nightmare about growing up, having no idea how to run a business or do his taxes [so cute right?] What followed was the most honest conversation about readiness and an admission of when are we ever ready to do the hard thing, right? This episode is about the truth every adult k...

Pricing drama, shady contracts, AI-jacked photos — the wedding industry has gone wild and we have to turn it around. This episode is a brick-to-the-forehead breakdown of what clarity actually looks like in your business and how to combat the ghosting and issues in our industry. This is a Media Socialites Production.

A Rebrand. A six-day shoot. A national conference I somehow agreed to run. A move I forgot happened. This week on Persephone Says, we do a little catch up on what it actually looks like to run on overdrive — the good, the unsustainable, and the "ask me again in a week" honesty in between. Do you like these types of episodes? Let me know below in the comments. This is a Media Socialites Production.

She fled cartel violence at 18 with nothing but a suitcase, taught herself a craft nobody was talking about, and built a luxury business that changed an entire industry. But the real story? What happened after the explosive growth. My beautiful friend, Andrea Cole of DB Andrea sits down with me for the most unfiltered conversation yet — and we hold nothing back. From running a 15-person operation...

A wedding industry emergency episode. Today I break down my thoughts on Vogue's viral "real budgets" article, why it missed the mark. Most importantly, we discuss why vendors need to stop airing industry grievances publicly and start owning the narrative themselves. This is a Media Socialite s Production.

One of the most vulnerable episodes - we are back with my husband, partner in all the ways - Eddie Maglaya. This week we celebrated 18 years together and 14 years married and we get really vulnerable. We cover off on: - One recurring fight for the past 18 years - The intrusive thoughts we have - Zero plans to quit - How we return to our true north - What we really fight on Happy anniversary to my...

Eduardo is back on Persephone Says, and we're getting into all of it — why we finally rebranded, what took so long, and why our old website was honestly embarrassing. We talk about evolving as founders, letting go of control, shifting away from social media as our core offering, and why we're calling ourselves a media house now. Plus: AI, merch, and what the next chapter looks like for TMS. This i...

This one is for the girlies and the gays... Today I am spilling all my beauty secrets — no filter, no shame. From Botox at 22 and Sculptra to liquid nose jobs and nefertiti neck lifts, we got there. This is a Media Socialites Production.

Stop cross-posting. Stop celebrating viral moments with zero inquiries to show for it. And for the love of god, stop calling it a strategy. In this episode, I'm in full Professor P mode — stats, hot takes, and zero patience for wedding professionals who are showing up on TikTok and Instagram the exact same way. Spoiler: they are not the same app, they are not the same audience, and they are not do...

Everyone's doing the same thing — and it's costing you the right clients. Copycat culture in the wedding industry isn't new, but it's getting worse — and most people don't want to talk about why. In this episode, we're getting into the algorithm trap, the brand strategy void, and what it actually costs you when your content starts looking like everyone else's. Spoiler:...

I dare you not to fall in love with Manda of Mae + Co Creative . Manda Worthington - Founder + Owner of Mae&Co Creative and Mae&Co Monthly is the opposite of a gatekeeper. In this episode, we dig into: - How she built a destination-based wedding planning business and building her own industry playbook. - We talk about the viral moment that nearly took her business down and how she managed...