For Real: Life, Leadership, & Unlearning

Megan and Jason Gillikin are back for a Weekend Wine Down, where we reflect on the chaos that was 2018 and put some goals out there for 2019!   We hope you enjoy, and have a great weekend, and Happy New Year!   The host of Weddings for Real is Megan Gillikin, owner and lead consultant at A Southern Soiree Wedding and Event Planning .  She's also available for wedding and hospitality business consu...

Megan Gillikin was the guest on the Holdermess Podcast with Kim and Penn Holderness, on their episode, " Our Wedding was NOT the best day of my life ".   If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to their podcast , and check out their latest viral video, "Baby Just GO outside!"       Holderness Family on Social Media: Instagram: @theholdernessfamily Facebook: @TheHoldernessFamily twitter: @KimD...

It's the Day in the Life Podcast on the Weddings for Real feed!  If you don't know Day in the Life with Brittney Lynn, go check it out! She interviews people that have interesting jobs - counterterrorism expert, pastry chef, Hollywood producer, etc - and gets to know what a day in the life is like for them. Such a cool concept!  And today we're sharing her interview with Megan Gillikin, host of th...

Megan Gillikin, host of the podcast, has been a wedding planner in the Raleigh NC market since 2010. Over the last 8+ years, she has made some mistakes in her business. And today she opens up and talks about those, with lessons learned from the experience. Wedding vendors, hopefully you can avoid some of these.   Weddings for Real on Social Media: Instagram: @weddingsforreal Facebook: @weddingsfor...

Deanna and Grant of Harrison Wedding Films in Washington DC came on the show to talk lessons they've learned in their first year of business, communication tips for vendor collaboration and creativity, what they do differently that sets them apart from their competition, and the hurricane that took years off their lives! Deanna and Grant are such a fun and talented couple, and we're excited to sha...

Did you know that 40% of engagements occur between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day?!?!  Wedding Vendors, is your business ready for engagement season?  Megan Gillikin, qualified industry veteran, host of this show, wedding planner, and business coach (along with her completely unqualified but occasionally funny husband Jason Gillikin), gives her tips for making sure your business is ready! Rockef...

Jaine Kershner, owner of Brklyn View Photography , has been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot, Style Me Pretty, and many more, and she was even named by BRIDES Magazine as one of NYC's best wedding photographers. Today she comes on the show to give her 5 tips to get your wedding photography published!   Jaine also has a podcast, Tea with Jaine , so go give that a listen! Brklyn View Ph...

Laura Wasser, Celebrity Divorce Attorney, comes on the show to talk prenuptial agreements. What can and cannot be included in a prenup? How do prenups help with difficult future conversations in marriage? Can you get a post-nup? And of course, what are some of the weirdest clauses that Laura has been asked to put in a prenup? :)   Laura is the founder of ItsOverEasy.com and practices law at Wasser...

Megan and Jason walked around with a microphone at the Forest Hall at Chatham Mills Open House on Sunday, talking to wedding vendors and some engaged couples, and it was such a fun experience!  Thank you Aneesa for having us, and thank you to everyone who let us interview them. They were: Aneesa Glines, Forest Hall and Harmony Weddings ( Forest Hall Instagram , Harmony Instagram ) Elyssa Kevis, ow...

Weekend Wine Down 8! Megan and Jason follow up on this week's episode on Next-Level Instagram with Tyler J McCall , and Megan shares more of her Instagram no-no list, which is: Do NOT follow/unfollow! Do NOT crop a professional photograph! Do NOT use bots! Do NOT forget to tag the vendors! Do NOT post photos you had nothing to do with! We hope you enjoy, and have a great weekend!   Weddings for Re...

Tyler J McCall is a social media strategist and coach...actually that's selling him way short...Tyler is THE Instagram Guru, and he comes on to share some of his Instagram tips and tricks for wedding vendors!   Hear his advice on Instagram Stories versus your feed, sharing too much on Instagram, how to attract the right clients through client onboarding AND client offboarding, and the concept of r...

Megan and Jason just came back from the Rocky Horror Show at Booth Theatre in Cary NC, and it was amazing!   Plus Megan shares her "dead cat as a groomsman story"! Last week we had Katie and David from Overlook Barn , and next week we have Instagram guru Tyler McCall.   Have a great weekend everyone! Weddings for Real is edited and produced by Jason Gillikin for Earfluence .

The Overlook Barn  on Beech Mountain (North Carolina) is an absolutely stunning wedding venue both inside and out, with views for miles and so many options inside. But just four years ago, it was a run down storage shed. That is until Katie Elder and David Schumann got engaged and decided to buy the property, turn it into a venue for their own wedding, then make it one of the most sought after ven...

Kim and Penn Holderness are known for their viral videos on YouTube where they sing and dance, sometimes in their Christmas Jammies. But Kim and Penn are much more than what you see in the videos. They are a dynamic, hilarious, and down-to-earth couple who came on the show today to talk about how they met, their engagement, their wedding, tips for a healthy marriage, and how to be a great guest at...

Megan and Jason give advice to their 20-year-old selves, Megan on kissing frogs and Jason on traveling more. Coming up on Wednesday's episode, Megan talks to the hilarious and wide-open Kim and Penn Holderness on what marriage advice they would give themselves on their wedding day, plus how to be a great guest at a wedding.   Don't forget, we have a seminar coming up at The Umstead Hotel in Cary N...

Day-Of Wedding Coordination, sometimes called month-of wedding coordination, can actually be more difficult than full-service planning - or at least it can be more confusing. Wedding planners, and really anyone in the events industry, tend to be people pleasers.  So when couples ask for more than what's in the contract, it's a wedding planners natural inclination to say yes. But when you're only c...

In this weekend wine down, Megan just got back from a wedding, so she talked about that - why she has purple feet, and did the best man really throw a head of lettuce at the groom during his speech?  Plus unpacking the amazing experience that was interviewing Van Eure and Kelly Joslin from the Angus Barn. Next week, we have Erin McCauley from Chestnut and Vine Day-Of Wedding Coordination on the sh...

The Angus Barn Way, their commitment to unparalleled service, is legendary in the local hospitality industry. The owner of the Angus Barn, Van Eure, sat down with Megan to talk about the history of the Barn (her father opened it in the middle of nowhere in 1960), empowering employees to make sure the customer experience is second to none, why she vowed never to do weddings again (never say never),...

In this weekend wine down, we talk about the new intro where Megan mentions a dead cat as a groomsman. It's true, and we'll share it...when we get to 60 reviews on Apple Podcasts. We also talk about our seminars on October 22nd, and the guests coming up in the next several weeks. Be sure to check out the podcast this week where we release 2 episodes with the Angus Barn Restaurant in Raleigh NC! An...

Thanks for listening! On this Weekend Wine Down, Megan and Jason talked about 2 seminars coming up on October 22nd, what happens when you play a podcast on half speed, attending The Big Fake Wedding in Raleigh, last week's episode with Becca Atchison, and next week with Alan Berg.  We hope you enjoy! Below are the seminar images with links: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brunch-learn-instagram-mille...

Full Service Wedding Planning Company Rebecca Rose Events founder, owner, and creative director Becca Atchison comes on the show to talk about how and why her pricing model is different than almost everyone else in the wedding planning industry, why she decided to bring a partner into her company, what she's most proud of (not being named top planner by Southern Living Magazine or a Planner to Fol...

Megan and Jason talk about what a weird week that was because of the Hurricane, and the new seminar Brunch and Learn: Instagram, Millennials, and How to Market Your Wedding Business , coming October 22nd at The Umstead.  Listen to the episode for a discount code!  As part of that seminar, Megan will share her Instagram No-No list, and she gives a preview of it in this Weekend Wine Down today. If y...

Makeup Artist and all-around hilarious and amazing person Michelle Clark came on the show today, not so much to talk about makeup - although we get to that in the lightning round - but more so about what goes on in the bridal suite before the wedding. The makeup artist and the hair stylist are usually the first vendors in the room, so they see the dynamic between the bride and her tribe first-hand...

Happy Weekend!  It was a big week here, and Megan and Jason talked about it.  We had our "Instagram, Millennials, and How to Market Your Wedding Business" seminar, and we're already planning another one for next month! Give us feedback if you get a chance - what do you think of this format? In addition to the regular episodes of course! Weddings for Real is edited and produced by Jason Gillikin fo...

I brought my mom onto my podcast, and you'll hear all about our arguments from my wedding, which included cake, videography, photography, and invitations. And believe it or not, we both admit that the other one was right! Today’s show is all about how moms and daughters can plan a wedding together in peace. As you probably know, the wedding tradition still is that the bride’s parents pay for the w...