Unbridely - Modern Wedding Planning

You’ve decided the big white wedding is not for you and an elopement or micro wedding is what fits you. So you start looking at potential venues, and you hit a wall fast; half of them have a 50 guest minimum, and the other half never actually tell you what is included, or that you have to share the space, until you are already deep into the contract. Today we share the 9 things you need to check b...

You set a budget before you even got engaged or you had a number in your head. And then someone in your family offers to help, maybe with the venue, maybe with the photographer, and suddenly that number isn't entirely yours anymore. And the problem with an offer like that is you're stuck: You don't actually know what they're picturing. They don't actually know what it cost...

You set an RSVP deadline. You put it right there on your wedding invitation. You probably even sent a reminder. And yet, here you are, past that date, staring at a guest list where a chunk of people have just said... nothing. And the problem with no response is that you’re stuck:  Your caterer needs final numbers.  Your venue needs final numbers.  Your seating chart needs names.   Today we’re goin...

While you might not label yourself as a feminist, most of my listeners believe in the value of equality. And that means that some traditional wedding customs definitely don't sit well with you. But your wedding doesn't have to be all or nothing, and this episode is going to show you exactly how to make it yours. My guest, Synclaire Warren, is a Gender Equity Leader, Key Note Speaker, and...

There’s a good chance (91% in fact) you’ve never planned a wedding before and that you’ll only have one shot at it - with no do-overs. Wedding regret is a real thing that can steal joy from the planning, have you feeling anxious on the day and can haunt you afterwards too.  But there are solutions to most dilemmas, circumstances and situations if you’re willing to listen and learn.  In this specia...

You might have arranged an unplugged ceremony, but what about the other 8 to 18 hours of your wedding day when it’s entirely up to your guests as to whether they take photos or video. While many couples don’t mind what’s captured, they often do care about what’s posted to social media, who gets tagged, and when.  Today I’m tackling the stuff the unplugged ceremony conversation never touches: spoil...

How do you make sure your vendors know what an incredible contribution they made to your wedding and what it meant to you? In the United States, the answer is tips and gratuity. It's expected, it's budgeted for, and on an average wedding they add thousands of dollars to a bill engaged couples are already pushed to afford. I recently polled the Unbridely Suppliers Facebook group about thi...

The big group photo. Your wedding photographer might be quietly dreading it. Your guests have mentally clocked where the bar is. And the chances of everyone having their eyes open at the same time are roughly fifty-fifty at best. So is it actually worth it? By the end of this episode you will know: The recent history of the big group photo and how it changes how you think about it Why so many phot...

How can you be sure you’re planning a wedding that your family and friends will actually enjoy? In my job as a celebrant here in Australia this wedding season, I’ve been reminded of some of the basics of wedding planning and how, frequently, it doesn’t matter how big or modest your budget is.  These concepts are about making a welcoming and comfortable space for your guests so they want to stay, a...

Have you ever received a wedding invitation and felt a ping of disappointment when you saw it was on a Wednesday? The excitement for your friend was real, but so was the mental load that followed.  In this episode, we talk about weekday weddings from both the guest and engaged couple’s side of the situation. While the cost savings of a weekday wedding can be significant (like 30-40% off the venue...

You are not the only one deep in research rabbit holes at midnight while your partner sleeps soundly beside you. Wedding planning imbalance is one of the most common (and quietly exhausting) experiences during engagement, and almost nobody talks about it honestly without adding a punchline at the end.  In this episode, we get into why one partner so often ends up carrying the bulk of the wedding p...

Most engaged couples pick a wedding catering format the same way they pick a venue: because it just felt right, or someone recommended it. But the format you choose shapes everything from the energy in the room, to how long they stay at your wedding and, maybe most importantly, how much you spend. Josh de Haas from Chopping Board Catering, one of South Australia's most in-demand wedding cater...

Over half of couples planning a wedding right now are using AI, and most of them have no idea where it's quietly leading them astray. In this episode, Camille cuts through the hype for an honest, experience-backed take on AI in wedding planning. She breaks down exactly where AI earns its place in your planning toolkit, why it's structurally designed to tell you what you want to hear rath...

What makes a wedding truly unforgettable? HINT: it's rarely the budget.  It's the small, intentional decisions that show your guests (and yourselves) that you really care about their experience and comfort. In this episode, I break down 8 specific tweaks that my couple, Tess and Michael, did differently that completely transformed the vibe and energy of their wedding day.  Every single i...

More and more couples are choosing to offer a thoughtful non-alcoholic bar menu at their wedding; not as a restriction, but as a genuine upgrade in hospitality.  Today Camille breaks down exactly how to design a mocktail menu that stands on its own: how to name it (with 10 options you can steal), how to tie it to your love story, make it visually beautiful, and brief your bar staff so it's ac...

Money is almost always a touchy topic in weddings, but in the current economic climate there's definitely an added feeling of pressure and expectations. Making sure you have a wedding budget and are tracking expenses in a way that you are both happy with is crucial to a great wedding for sure, but even more so to the health and longevity of your marriage. So if you're planning the most e...

Have you wondered which traditions you should keep, ditch, or remix when you’re not a hetero-normative pair tying the knot? Jesse from New York reached DMd me on Instagram, asking for some tips on his same-sex destination wedding in Provincetown, Massachusetts. While this episode is tailored to Jesse’s questions, which include dilemmas around mixed gender bridal party titles, suggestions for outfi...

Do you want to include your dog (or dogs) at your wedding, but maybe bypass the chaos, the chewed bouquets or your dad picking up giant poos in his very best suit? Today we’re talking about how to include your fur-baby in your day in a way that’s truly calm, safe and, honestly, ridiculously cute. With an added secret advantage of actually making your guests relax and laugh more too. You’ll hear ho...

Engaged couples everywhere, like literally all over the world, are grappling with the harsh reality of wedding planning amid the ongoing cost of living crisis, and it's causing some people to make the decision to elope or cut back and in some cases even postpone their wedding until a time when they feel, I don't know, more confident about their financial situation. According to the resul...

Did you realise that the success, or dismal failure, of your wedding speeches can throw your reception timeline, energy and atmosphere into total chaos? Poorly planned, badly timed, rambling, or offensive speeches can affect everyone from your caterers, to your friends, your videographer to your DJ. We’re throwing it back to one of your all‑time favourite and value-packed episodes of the Unbridely...

These 5 wedding mistakes are breaking my heart this wedding season. And on the planning and lead-up side to your wedding, you might dismiss them. They may not seem as important as other things, or that they’ll have much of an impact on your day. But on the other side of your wedding, I see people genuinely upset, disappointed and sometimes angry too that they didn’t give themselves the best chance...

Joe Karso from Do Better Weddings is on a mission to help men seriously lift their groom game. He shares some eye‑opening mindset shifts and super practical ideas that make it easier for grooms to stop being passengers and actually show up as real partners in the planning, on the day and beyond. We talk about what it looks like when a groom is genuinely present and supportive, how tiny, thoughtful...

Can you guess what a space disco in a Texas ghost town, and a punk rock concert with a merchandise table, have in common with a traditional wedding?  In today’s episode, I’m chatting with New York–based founder, author and self-confessed “anti-wedding planner” Amy Shack Egan, the woman behind Modern Rebel, the Love Party movement, and the day-of coordination marketplace, Cheersy. We dive into what...

This is a topic I've actually had on my list to talk about for about four months now. Recently, the story about Brooklyn Beckham and his mum, Victoria Beckham, hit the headlines, and the internet just went wild. Brooklyn said in an interview that he and his wife, Nicola, felt uncomfortable and embarrassed by some of his mum's behaviour at their wedding three years ago. And then, chaos. I...

Have you had the band vs DJ chat with your fiancé? You know, the one where one of you imagines a soulful jazz quartet playing your old-school first dance song, while the other wants a DJ who can read the room, and keep the dance floor absolutely packed all night? What if the whole “band vs DJ” debate has been the wrong question all along, and the real secret to unforgettable wedding entertainment...