Emotionally Booked Out

What started as a styled shoot became something none of us expected: a real wedding. In this episode, I'm joined by wedding planner Jen of Hitched AF and our incredible couple, PJ and Aaron, to unpack what it felt like to hand over the planning process, trust an entire vendor team, and experience a wedding that was designed around them - not trends, timelines, or expectations. We talk about bu...

Happy Pride Month 🌈 Every June, wedding vendors rush to add a few rainbow photos to their feed. But real inclusivity? That goes so much deeper than a once-a-year portfolio refresh. In this episode of Emotionally Booked Out , I’m joined by Ali of A Ray of Light Videography - a queer wedding videographer, advocate, and bride herself. Together, we unpack what it actually feels like to plan a wedding...

Unlike other episodes, this one takes the form of what it feels like to sit in on a FaceTime call between my best friend, Mallory, and me since high school. She’s one of the few people who got a front row seat to my journey, who knew me before McKenzie Bigliazzi Photography. This episode is hard to summarize, but this is my best: Two best friends from central Illinois sit down and accidentally unp...

Two photographers. One very honest (unfiltered) conversation about why workshop culture feels so weird right now. When did “education” turn into: fighting 20 people for the same shot shooting styled couples with zero story attaching yourself to photographers with huge followings and leaving with content… but no actual growth In this episode, I sit down with photographer and educator Milly Baine fr...

Business has been feeling… off lately? You’re not alone. I’m sitting down with Kelsey from Launch Your Daydream (aka the reason I look cool on the internet), and we’re getting into the real, unfiltered side of running a business. Not the “do this and you’ll make more money” version. The actual experience - you know, the shit that no one talks about but truly affects all of us. We’re talking about:...

HAPPY ONE YEAR PODCAST ANNIVERSARY! I'm so stoked you've been here with me - I can't believe it's been one whole year. If I lost my entire business tomorrow and had to start from scratch, no audience, no referrals, no portfolio, here is exactly what I would do. This is not a fluffy “go viral” episode. This is not about posting every day or chasing trends. In this episode, I break d...

What if burnout isn’t about doing too much, but about being in the wrong rooms? In this episode of Emotionally Booked Out, I’m sitting down with Jordan Vaz, founder of The Friendship Mixer, to talk about what real community actually looks like and why so many “community over competition” spaces feel off. We get into the difference between networking and genuine connection, how to recognize when a...

Flexibility, inclusivity, and saying yes to real, aligned people is how you grow a business that actually works. In this episode, Kylee B. Photography joins us to talk about breaking the wedding industry rulebook. From working with all types of couples to navigating budgets and family dynamics, Kylee shares how being flexible and inclusive can set your business apart. This is a modern, non-traditi...

When I started this podcast, it wasn’t about numbers. It wasn’t about growth hacks. It wasn’t about going viral. It was about creating a space that wasn’t dictated by an algorithm, a space where the right people could just sit with me and think deeper about business, burnout, and what actually matters. And lately? What’s been on my mind is vanity metrics. Followers. Likes. Views. Engagement. The i...

I wasn’t burnt out because I was working too much, I was burnt out because I was ignoring myself. In this episode of Emotionally Booked Out , I’m walking through the changes I’m making in my business this year to protect my energy, my creativity, and my nervous system. We’re talking about: – Why rest is not a reward, it’s a requirement How overbooking has a terrible ROI Setting calendar boundaries...

What if the pressure to “pick a niche” is actually the thing burning creatives out? In this episode, McKenzie sits down with Leslie Kinross Wright — photographer with Sunshine and Savasana, hair & makeup artist, studio owner of Soleil House Denver, stylist, and mom — to talk about failure, fear, rebuilding, and why doing things scared is often a sign you’re doing something right. This conversa...

Learning feels productive. Action feels scary. If you’ve been buying courses, hiring mentors, saving Instagram tips, and still feeling behind - this episode is for you. In this solo episode of Emotionally Booked Out , I’m talking about why education isn’t actually the problem in your business - avoidance is. We’re unpacking the course-to-consumption pipeline, decision paralysis, fragmented confide...

This is our first episode of the year and our first guest episode - and we’re not easing into anything. In this conversation, I’m joined by wedding and elopement photographer Gavin Stebbins , and we’re calling out the bare minimum when it comes to inclusivity in the wedding industry. Posting one queer couple during Pride Month and calling yourself an ally? Yeah… not cutting it anymore. We talk abo...

In the final episode of 2025, McKenzie reflects on the hardest year of her life - what broke her open, what held her steady, and what she’s consciously leaving behind. This episode is an honest, unfiltered conversation about boundaries as self-respect, detaching self-worth from validation and metrics, and why rest is not a reward - it’s a strategy. McKenzie dives into what she’s done over-explaini...

The end of the year is weird. It’s heavy. It’s emotional. And for a lot of us—especially entrepreneurs—it’s layered with pressure, grief, expectations, and this unspoken belief that we have to keep it all together. In the final episode of Emotionally Booked Out for 2025, I’m getting really honest about what this season brings up for me: complicated family dynamics, grief that never fully fades, se...

In this episode, I’m taking you back to the moment everything changed - the move from Illinois to Colorado, the chaos of COVID, and the unexpected way elopements ended up shaping my entire business. I’m sharing the real behind-the-scenes: the fear, the excitement, the “holy sh*t what am I doing” moments, and the community who held me up when I was rebuilding everything from scratch. From underchar...

In this episode, McKenzie Bigliazzi opens up about the deeply personal journey that shaped her life as an artist, educator, and wedding photographer. From the early influences that sparked her creativity to the unexpected shift into wedding photography, McKenzie reflects on the moments, relationships, and life-altering experiences that pushed her toward personal growth and a career built on storyt...

Every photographer faces that split-second question: do I direct this moment or let it breathe? In this episode, we are getting real about one of the quietest but hardest parts of being a professional photographer - knowing when to step in to create intentional, artful work… and when to step back and let life unfold naturally. Through personal stories, on-the-job reflections, and honest conversati...

Let’s be real.. the client experience doesn’t start when someone signs the contract. It starts way before that. In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on how I run my business behind the scenes, ya know, the things I do before people even inquire, how I guide them through every step of the process, and how that all leads to those 5-star reviews that allow me to book more dream clients. From...

September hit hard: back-to-back weddings, endless editing queues, client emails stacked sky high. And yet, the industry flex is still “booked + busy” while everyone is quietly drowning. In this episode, I’m calling BS on hustle culture and the burnout badge of honor. Similar to what we talked about last week, We’ll talk about why “busy = successful” is a myth, why clients don’t care how many all-...

The past few weeks have been heavy, chaotic, and honestly overwhelming AF. If you’re an entrepreneur trying to keep your business moving while the world feels like it’s on fire, this episode is for you. In 20 minutes, we get real about staying grounded amidst the chaos, protecting your energy, and showing up with clarity instead of panic. I’ll share three simple, no-fluff mindfulness practices you...

In this episode of the podcast, McKenzie Bigliazzi dives into the evolving world of wedding photography and the creative industry at large. From the powerful influence of Pinterest to the rising values of Gen Z couples , McKenzie explores how trends shape - and sometimes limit - photographers’ artistic vision. She shares her own experiences navigating the pressures of social media marketing , the...

Feeling like your dream clients vanished the second you raised your rates or got clear on your brand? You’re not imagining it. In this 20-minute episode, we break down why your ideal clients might not be finding—or booking—you, and what to tweak without selling your soul. We cover: Why your portfolio and voice might not actually speak to your dream clients How to spot patterns in the clients you r...

Let’s talk about what’s actually happening behind the lens right now. In this episode, I’m pulling from real conversations with photographers, online forums, and industry trends to unpack the quiet (and not-so-quiet) burnout many of us are feeling. From oversaturation and being treated like a line item, to the pressure to go viral or compete with content creators, it’s a lot. And if you’ve been wo...

Let’s cut the fluff: this episode is a behind-the-scenes reality check from someone who's done pretending everything’s fine. From burnout I saw coming (and ignored anyway) to undercharging, red-flag clients, messy backend systems, and the pressure to be perfect online. I’m sharing the real, unfiltered lessons that built up until I had to deal with them. This isn’t about shame. It’s about clarity....