For Real: Life, Leadership, & Unlearning

It’s August 2020, five months removed from our two-week pause that we were supposed to have in March.  That’s about half of your year that has probably gone up in flames, and let’s be honest, you’re probably not going to meet your goals for 2020.  So what are you doing about it? What’s your pivot? What are some new ways that you’re growing your business?  Dixie Bagley from Rome Georgia has 8 busin...

The Planner's Vault Reopen Webinar Have your wedding planning goals gone up in flames in 2020? Come join me Wednesday, Aug 5th at 8:30 pm EST for a free training on How to Stay Alive & Thrive During The Most Important Engagement Season of Your Career Despite Pandemics, Cancellations, & Reschedules - YIKES! On this webinar training (sign up at https://www.theplannersvault.com/survive2020 )...

Megan and Jason Gillikin celebrate the 10-year anniversary of A Southern Soiree, and Megan shares her top ten lessons learned over the past decade - lessons she's now bringing into The Planner's Vault. Weddings for Real is brought to you by  The Planner's Vault , a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vau...

This pandemic has caused delays, cancellations, stress, tears, more delays, unanswerable questions, confusion...it really sucks to be in the wedding industry right now. But here's what it can't change - couples getting engaged and booking wedding vendors. So in this solo episode, here are 3 things you can change right now for more bookings. Weddings for Real is brought to you by  The Planner's Vau...

In 2012, Julie Bunkley had run Invision Events in Birmingham Alabama for 7 years, and the business was doing...fine. But it wasn't growing. She knew that to grow, she had to find a true #2, not just someone to help out at weddings.  She was lucky enough to hire Courtney Wolf, and the two of them have been a dynamic duo ever since. On the show today, they talk about hiring for your #2, and keeping...

How can you network and build vendor relationships when there are no weddings and no networking events?  Megan gives her top three tips that you can take action on RIGHT NOW. Weddings for Real is brought to you by  The Planner's Vault , a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest exp...

Aaron Shook has been in the hospitality industry for 30+ years in restaurants, catering, and now in wedding planning at Perfect Storm Moments . Through it all, he's seen a lot of weddings - and a lot of waste. And his personal mission is to raise awareness and show wedding vendors how we can save the planet.   Weddings for Real is brought to you by  The Planner's Vault , a membership site for wedd...

It's time to talk about racism in the United States, (the lack of) diversity and inclusion in the wedding industry, and how to have open and honest conversations.  Terrica Inc Cocktails and Details Upcoming Webinars with Terrica: Healing Wounds & Bridging Gaps: An Honest Conversation About Race & Allyship in the Wedding Industry , June 3rd at 2PM EST Protest or Progress? Actions, Reactions...

Julie Painter (aka Dallas Girl Friday) is a virtual assistant who specializes in the wedding industry, and today she gives the inside scoop on what a VA does, when you should think about hiring a VA, and how to work best together.  Weddings for Real is brought to you by  The Planner's Vault , a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking commu...

Have you ever felt the pressure of keeping up with what looks "elegant" or "luxurious" on Instagram? Why? Why do we care about matching what we see on the cover of The Knot or Martha Stewart Weddings? Isn’t it more important that our clients are happy and we’re and we’re running a profitable business? Isn’t that why we all got into this?  The Flower Guy Bron  had this exact realization a few years...

Today we’re talking all about how to get your clients, your vendors, and your team on board with the digital age. Sometimes it’s super frustrating when clients can’t figure out how to sign a contract, or a vendor is ridiculously slow to respond, or a team member doesn’t respond the way you want them to. Well our guest today, Nora Shiels from Rock Paper Coin and Bridal Bliss Wedding Planning in Por...

So be honest. Is email marketing something you do for your business? Are you bringing future clients into your sales funnel and giving them content every week?  (Do you really even know what a sales funnel is?) If you’re like me, you  have 100% NOT been using email marketing to generate leads from engaged couples, and I’m really just not sure how to do it.  So I brought on an expert, Aleya Harris...

Welcome to the Weddings for Real 100th Episode Extravaganza! On this special episode, you'll hear who won the awards for:   Toughest Interview Easiest Interview Funniest Episode Best One-Liner Most Referenced Episode Topic Megan Thought Would Suck But Was Actually Great Biggest Impact Personally Person Most Likely to Become Insta-Famous Favorite Episode That Had Nothing to do with Weddings Guest Y...

Some of the most lavish and exciting weddings to work are the ones where culture plays a big part in the wedding. And today we talk to someone who specializes in multicultural weddings, international photographer Petronella Lugemwa , and she gives us the do's and don'ts of multicultural weddings.   THE PLANNER'S VAULT: On February 27, 2020, Megan launched The Planner's Vault , a membership site fo...

What a crazy, chaotic, noisy, tearful, and stressful week. In a world that's completely upside down because of COVID-19, what can we do to make it through so that we're ready for what's on the other side? The Planner's Vault  is a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on...

With the Coronavirus causing chaos throughout the world, it has taken its toll on the wedding industry as well. Gatherings are being limited, some vendors aren't comfortable working, some couples are panicking, some weddings need to be cancelled or postponed. So as wedding vendors, what do we do?  Megan talks to Rachel Sheerin about tips for couples and vendors, and shifting your mindset both pers...

Do you ever meet a new friend, and things are going great. You feel like you’ve made a solid connection, and then one day, BAM, she ghosts you? It probably doesn’t happen all that often to you, but I’ll bet your clients feel that way when the wedding is over. And that last feeling you give them of being ghosted, unfortunately that might be what they remember you by. Today's guest is Renee Dalo, we...

On February 27, 2020, Megan launched The Planner's Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out ov...

How many of you are REALLY going after corporate events?  You probably can work a corporate event just fine, and maybe you’ve done some, but are you really making an effort to show your market that you’re available for corporate? My guess is, probably not. Today, Caryl Lyons from Roar Events and The Roar Playbook gives us the top five reasons you SHOULD be doing more corporate events!  OFFICIAL AN...

Lindsay Lucas is THE wedding venue consultant .  She's a former wedding planner who now helps venue owners (and those aspiring to be) to create profitable and sustainable wedding venue businesses.  Lindsay had the idea for a complete shift in her business, but it wasn’t easy convincing herself that this was the best way to go. Today, we talk about if YOUR idea is really something to go after, that...

Weddings for Real had the opportunity to interview engaged couples at The Merrimon-Wynne House in Raleigh NC Bridal Showcase, so that vendors could have a better understanding of what couples are looking for. We asked couples: What's the first place you looked to find your wedding vendors? Where do you get wedding inspiration? What's your splurge for the wedding? And what do you not care so much a...

Do you work with your wife or husband? Or do you spend so much time with your work wife or work husband that it basically feels like you’re married?  Well, working together for so many hours – and possibly living together too – those people probably get on your nerves quite a bit.  Well my guests are Steven and Jenn Van Elk from Jennifer Van Elk Photography , the Wedded Podcast , and the Wedding P...

If you’re a solopreneur or you run a small team, and you’re thinking about growing, but you haven’t quite figured out how to clone yourself yet, then I want you to listen to this episode closely, because it’s all about putting your experience and knowledge in writing and making it easy for others to get in your head. On episode 92, Morgan Montgomery with Paisley and Jade talks all about SOPs – Sta...

How was 2019 for you?  What were your wins and losses?  Did you hit your goals?  What are your plans for 2020?   On today's episode, Megan and Jason Gillikin talk all about chaos, transitions, wins, fails, goals, and more in the last episode of 2019!   As you heard on the show, we have a BIG announcement coming soon, and the best way to hear about it first is to join our mailing list at weddingsfo...

Today's guest is Margaux Fraise from Harmony Creative Studio in Los Angeles. Margaux has been planning weddings and events for 8 years. She's also a cancer survivor, which in 2014 knocked her out of running her business for about two years. Through that experience, she learned to appreciate life, the little things, and the gestures that go a long way. So today we talk about gifting for both client...