The Big Wedding Planning Podcast

Big Takeaways Sometimes a leap of faith is necessary, and if you both feel good about it, do it! In Dre’s case, he and Andrea signed a contract and paid a deposit on a venue, sight unseen. When they did get a chance to visit it, they were pleasantly surprised (and relieved), but they also knew that once the deposit was paid, they were going to have to make the venue work no matter what, so comprom...

Special Guest today - Mia! Mia is Christy’s cousin and at 25 years old, she has been a bridesmaid in 7 weddings in last 2 years (and a guest to plenty more). We’re talking today about the role of ‘Bridesmaid’ and how this experienced ‘maid feels about all the money, dresses, parties, duties and of course, the honor of the job. Click HERE to become a premium subscriber and unlock all of the amazing...

Is wedding planning this stressful for all couples?! Short answer: Yes, yes it is. Listen, planning a huge party is a big endeavor. Layered into that, is a LOT of money, a LOT of emotions and some crazy expectations. Family. Emotions. History. It can feel very weighted. It feels overwhelming. Totally normal! In this episode, Michelle and Christy share the experiences of some of our clients - past...

The rehearsal. Necessary? Yes! Fun? Totally! Well, maybe more necessary than fun, but hear us out. There are lots of reasons why a rehearsal is important, and it’s not just to run through the actual ceremony ‘script’. You need to do that, in some way, at a rehearsal, sure. But it’s also super important to gather your VIPs (wedding party, officiant, parents, readers…) Click HERE to become a premium...

Big Takeaways May is the beginning of WEDDING SEASON in most of the country, and industry pros are very busy (usually happily)! We may not be as responsive as quickly at this time - it’s like tax accountants in early April. If you know a wedding planner, and it’s May, give her a hug. We love it, but this job is tough! Second systems needed from your DJ, for a ceremony: ask questions, get specifics...

Kathy Newby is an Event Specialist at Abbey Party Rentals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kathy and Michelle started working together on events almost 2 decades ago! Kathy got her degree from the ‘school of hard knocks’ - moved around a lot, has a ton of experience, and settled in the Bay Area and began her events career on the hospitality side. She started working for a big rental company in 1994,...

More and more couples are choosing someone very special in their lives to officiate their wedding ceremony. We want to tell you about those very special people out there and how that all works. Officiating weddings when you’re not really an officiant? How does that work? It used to be that couples who were not getting married in a House of Worship would have an “Officiant For Hire” marry them. The...

When will you need beverage service / bar at your wedding? Cocktail Reception. Most weddings will have a cocktail reception directly after the ceremony and that typically lasts 1 hour. Dinner. Champagne and wine during dinner, but some couples chose to keep the bar open during dinner as well to allow guests to grab a drink at their leisure. Typically 90 min. Dancing / After Dinner. After dinner, d...

Joyce Scardina Becker is a leader in the West Coast wedding industry. She has owned Events of Distinction, a high-end event planning company, for over 20 years. She is the founder and instructor of the only University accredited Wedding Planner Certificate Program offered at California State University East Bay, and she is the founder of WIPA (all links below). She’s also won a ton of industry awa...

Michelle and Christy are wedding planners. Part of being a wedding planner is carrying around a very VERY important clipboard. This clipboard has very important documents on it. A timeline, floorplans, contact list, ceremony layout, and the final details list. What items are you bringing to your wedding? Where do they need to be set up? What do you want back at the end of the night? The Final Deta...

Boudoir shoots...what are they? Who does them? Why?? In this episode, Michelle goes ‘behind the scenes’ and hangs out with photographer Michelle Walker and bride Chloe as Chloe bares all (or most) for a sexy, fun boudoir shoot. Chloe shares why she is doing this, and what she is looking forward to...the experience itself is fun and empowering, and the photos will be put together in a special album...

This episode is our first of the QUICK FOCUS SERIES. Short episodes where Michelle and Christy focus on small but important parts of the wedding and give you just the info you need to know in 10 minutes or less! The nuts and bolts - just the facts - the stripped down version of wedding planning 101. Think of it like Cliff Notes for your wedding planning process. Michelle and Christy will review ju...

Amanda Lund and Matt Gourley are getting married! They’ve been planning their wedding and they have a lot of awesome advice! They are getting married in a few short weeks and they’re checking in with us at this point in the process...Amanda just had her bridal shower, Matt is busy with woodworking for the wedding reception signage, and we pick their brains about planning, vendors, social media, an...

Michelle Walker made it easy on us for this episode - she came with a detailed outline of what she wanted to talk about. A top 10. Yay! Here are her most important tips for your wedding planning: Top 10 Things Wedding Photographers Want to Say to Clients (but usually don’t…) 1) Have a long cocktail hour. 75-90 minutes. So you have time to mingle with your friends and family, and it allows for GREA...

We’ve been doing a lot of interviews and heavy informative stuff on the podcast lately, so we needed to circle back to the fun we have doing this show together as co-hosts! Not that interviews aren’t fun - because they definitely are, but we miss each other! In this episode, we love on each other, and we love on you, our dear listeners and fans! Join us for some laughs, some Spanish lessons, and w...

In the San Francisco Bay Area, you won’t find a shortage when looking for a wedding DJ, but one company looms large on the wedding horizon - Denon and Doyle. In this interview, Michelle talks to owner Sue Doyle, manager and DJ Mark Haggerty and DJ and office manager Mark Addison about their experiences ‘in the field’. They have an amazing team of professional DJ’s and include supplementary service...

Becca Ashmon is one of Christy’s go-to makeup artists in Dallas/Fort Worth. In this episode, Christy interviews her and they talk about how Becca got into the industry, why being a makeup artist (MUA) is not for the faint of heart, how personality absolutely matters, and what brides can do to find the perfect MUA for their wedding day. Also, Becca shares her favorite makeup brands, and we talk abo...

Big Takeaways Michelle nails another awesome interview! This time, she channels Jerry Seinfeld - driving around town with Nancy, interviewing her for the podcast while they wander the East Bay streets. Nancy Liu Chin is a big time florist in the SF Bay Area, she has been in the biz for 15 years. She is sharing her wisdom, experience and passion for flowers and the wedding industry in this intervie...

In this episode, we reminisce about some of the funny/awkward/crazy stories from weddings we have done. Between the two of us, we have about 20 years of weddings under our belts. Remember - sometimes it isn’t funny during or right afterward, but in a year, it could be a hilarious story you tell at Thanksgiving! Having a sense of humor about life is imperative. We hope you enjoy listening to this e...

Michelle is sick and Christy has a fat lip - but we will carry on! It’s been a while since our podcast has gotten back to its roots...so to speak. We have been dissecting the WEDDING DAY TIMELINE, in our recent 3 piece mini-series, and Michelle recently interviewed Maria Chang, which was inspirational and insightful. We’ve just been craving a lighter, chatty chat, and we needed to catch up with ea...

Big Takeaways Logistics...Contract review...Vendor policies! This part is, admittedly, not the most fun part of wedding planning. Which is why it’s a feat that Christy and Michelle managed to make talking about it FUN. Or at least we tried. This is part 3 of 3 - TIMELINES. Part 1 - Framing. The Main Events. Part 2 - Fun! The Micro Events. Part 3 - Plugging in the rest. We break down all the ‘littl...

Big Takeaways THE AMERICAN DREAM! Maria Chang came to the USA back in 1986, as an 11 year old child refugee from Nicaragua. Maria has been a professional make-up artist for over 20 years. This is a bit of a departure from our normal show, but it was too good not to put out there. Yes, you will gain some make-up tips for your wedding day, but that is not all. In this episode, you will hear a hard-w...

Big Takeaways Special dances, toasts, thoughtfully selected song choices… Do you want to toss a bouquet? Should that be done before or after the cake cutting? Let’s figure this out! In Part 1, it was the frame and now, in this episode, we start to add some color - some fun - some personality - to the timeline. We dive into what we refer to as the MICRO EVENTS - the part of the wedding that make yo...

Big Takeaways Spreadsheets. Live them, love them. Don’t fight them! We break down our basic techniques for drafting your initial wedding day timeline - the rows, the columns, the hints and tricks. Rome wasn’t built in a day, people! The Wedding Day Timeline takes time...little by little, it all comes together....in a spreadsheet. :) Who, what, when, where...getting all this info into a timeline ma...

The way to a wedding guest’s heart is through their stomach. The reception typically makes up 50-60% of your overall wedding budget. Let’s talk about how that money gets spent on food! Click HERE to become a premium subscriber and unlock all of the amazingness:       Ad-free, full length episodes      The TBWPP Wedding Planning Resource Center with  Access to 6 mini courses of The Big Wedding Plan...