Wedding Planner Society Podcast

Hosted by CWP Society - Laurie Hartwell, Founder & CEO

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Episodes

136

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

CWP Society is proud to produce the "Wedding Planner Society: Industry Expert Insights" podcast! Laurie Hartwell, award-winning Master Certified Wedding Planner, and Industry Educator, and founder & CEO of the CWP Society, discuss the real lives of wedding planners and professionals, dispense business tips, and share ways you can elevate yourself and your career in the wedding industry. Visit the CWP Society website for more information: www.cwpsociety.com

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60 recent

August 18, 2026Episode 3241 min

The Complexities of South Asian Weddings

A South Asian wedding can mean five events, hundreds of guests, sacred ceremony timing, and a timeline that shifts the moment an elder remembers "one more tradition." That's not chaos — it's culture, and it's exactly why preparation matters. In this episode, we're joined by Rima Shah of Big Guava Events, a planner with more than 14 years of experience, to talk about what planners rarely see from the outside: the mountain of coordination before the wedding weekend even starts, how religious rituals and family customs can evolve in real time, and why the couple isn't always the only source of truth so building communication early is key. Finally, we share why The CWP Society is building a South Asian wedding certification, and how education helps planners serve couples with respect, confidence, and real cultural understanding. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share this episode with a fellow planner, and leave a review with the biggest insight you're taking into your next wedding weekend. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

August 11, 2026Episode 3135 min

Who's Got The Plan For The Planner

We're the calm in everyone else's storm — the ones with a backup for the backup and a contingency for every "what if." But we almost never stop to ask what happens if the unexpected lands on us. In this one, Brianne and Laurie catch up as old friends and get honest about that blind spot — not to scare anyone, but to talk through what's actually changed for each of them, and the small, doable things that let a planner step away without everything unraveling. Brianne Ackerland — a Master Certified Wedding Planner with 15 + years planning weddings across Iowa and Illinois, who also educates planners through the CWP Society — shares the day her life flipped overnight: a sudden cardiac arrest, just one day after wrapping a full-service wedding. We get into the messy reality of recovery, including what it's like to be unable to speak clearly while your phone keeps ringing and the weddings keep coming. From there we get honest about the operational gaps so many of us have: client details living only in our heads, passwords stored nowhere anyone else can reach, and backups that are "someday" ideas instead of real systems. Then we map out steps you can actually take now — building a planner ICE list (in case of emergency), naming a point person who knows exactly who to call, curating a trusted local network, and creating real redundancy with both cloud tools and good old-fashioned paper. We also dig into why personality fit matters when someone steps in for you, the tools that quietly cut down the chaos, and how leaning on trained assistants can make a handoff feel seamless for your couples. If this one sparked a gut-check, take one small step today — then come back and tell us what you changed. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a planner friend, and leave a review so more wedding pros can find us. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

August 4, 2026Episode 3035 min

Turning A Pinterest Board Into A Wedding Story

The best weddings have a moment where the couple walks in, stops, and exhales — and that moment is never an accident. In this episode, we talk with Riley Snider of Elegant Affairs by Design in Tampa, Florida, about how real wedding design works when it's built on purpose, not trend-chasing or "more decor." Riley walks through the practical process she uses to find the thread behind a chaotic Pinterest board: deep design questions, a detailed design questionnaire, and a dedicated design meeting built to uncover what actually matters to a couple — connection, intimacy, energy, family tradition, or a specific hosting vibe. We also talk about reading reactions, inviting honest feedback, and using tools like multi-page vision boards so couples can see their story coming together before the day arrives. Then we get into the harder conversation: budget. Riley shares how she guides couples toward intentional spending, prioritizes what creates the biggest impact, and avoids letting any decision feel like a compromise. We also cover guest experience ideas couples are loving right now, and why chasing a "viral wedding" can pull planners away from what their clients actually need. If you want to design weddings that feel personal, cohesive, and memorable, this episode is for you. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

July 31, 202641 min

The Partner Behind The Planner

Nearly 30 years into marriage, Laurie sits down with the person who has watched it all unfold up close — her husband, Phil. The late nights. The hard calls. The moments she carried more than she let on. This conversation is about what it actually takes to support a Wedding Pro — not just the surface-level cheerleading, but the daily reality of loving someone who is expected to be decisive and organized and endlessly warm, all at once. Phil talks about how his understanding of that pressure has shifted over the years, why the instinct to "fix" can land as dismissive, and what support really looks like when the calendar is full and the person you love is running on empty. Laurie also introduces her "cargo plane" theory of burnout — why planners are trained to carry weight for everyone else, and how something as simple as a real check-in can be the difference between steady and overloaded. The conversation goes deeper still, into the season that changed everything: Phil's stage 3B colon cancer diagnosis, the surgeries and chemo that followed, and the strange reality of a business — and a life — that kept moving regardless. They close on hope, identity, and the empty-nester chapter ahead, along with why community matters so much for planners and coordinators who need people who actually understand the weight of this work. Subscribe for honest conversations about building a sustainable career in this industry, share this episode with a Wedding Pro who needs to hear it, and leave a review to help more planners find us. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

July 22, 2026Episode 2941 min

Grace For The Grace-Givers

You can be the calm one in every crisis and still be quietly running on empty. Today, we’re naming the thing so many wedding planners and coordinators feel but rarely say out loud: we give grace away all day long, then hold ourselves to a harsher standard than anyone else ever could. I’m sitting down with Tish Clay of Simone Elise Events, a master certified wedding planner and seasoned wedding pro who built a business alongside her husband while balancing real life, real emotions, and real limits. We talk about what burnout actually looks like in the wedding industry, including the sneaky early signs like irritation, drained social batteries, and the pressure to be “on” 24/7. We also get honest about the emotional labor behind client management and vendor communication, especially when you’re the person everyone expects to fix everything. From there, we dig into practical self-care for wedding planners that doesn’t feel fluffy: boundaries that actually hold, what it means to stop carrying other people’s pain, and why professionalism and vulnerability can coexist. Tish shares the mindset shift that changed how she processes stress, including the simple but powerful practice of “feel your feelings” so they don’t pile up and take you out later. If you’re ready to build a sustainable event planning business that protects your peace, listen now. Share this with a planner friend who needs it, and leave a review so more wedding pros can find the support they deserve. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

July 14, 2026Episode 2842 min

Busy vs Profitable

A full calendar can feel like the ultimate sign of success in the wedding industry — until you notice your bank account doesn't reflect it. In this episode, we sit down with Matt Mitchell, co-founder and CEO of The Event Ledger , to talk about the quiet money problems that talented wedding planners and coordinators face when their business grows faster than their financial systems. Matt brings a rare combination of experience — years in high-net-worth finance and firsthand experience running his own wedding planning company — and he makes the numbers feel human instead of intimidating. We get honest about why profitability often lags behind demand: pricing on gut feel, ignoring real operating expenses, and treating owner pay as whatever's left over. Matt walks us through a more grounded approach to pricing, starting with what you actually need to take home, then layering in expenses, taxes, and realistic event capacity. We also get into the practical side of bookkeeping — how separate accounts for operating, taxes, and owner pay can instantly change your decision-making, and why consistent tracking beats a once-a-year scramble. If slow season makes you panic, we cover the tools that smooth it out: a yearly budget, a cash flow forecast, and reserves that build month by month. The takeaway is simple and powerful: your numbers are data, not a verdict — and you can't fix what you won't face. For information about the Wedding Planner Certifications and membership options with the CWP Society visit CWPSociety.com www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

July 9, 2026Episode 2733 min

The Four R's For Venue Referrals

A venue coordinator forms an opinion about us fast, sometimes before they’ve seen a single timeline or ceremony setup. That snap judgment becomes the difference between being tolerated for one wedding and being the planner they recommend every time a couple asks, “Who do you trust here?” We break down what actually earns venue referrals, and it’s not a bigger portfolio or more years in business. It’s a set of repeatable habits that make the venue team’s day easier. We walk through the Four R's for building strong venue relationships: read, respect, respond, and remember. Reading the venue packet and policies before the walkthrough sounds basic, but it instantly changes the quality of our questions and the confidence we project to clients. Respect shows up in who we address in the room and whether we treat the catering manager and venue coordinator like true partners. Respond is the moment-of-truth skill on wedding day: when the timeline shifts or a vendor is delayed, we communicate early, bring solutions, and keep the venue in the loop. Remember is the follow-up almost no one does, a specific note that names a person and a moment, and it’s one of the cheapest ways to land on a preferred vendor list. Then Nikki Rogers, owner and Master Certified Wedding Planner for The Serendipity Collective, joins us with 20 years of wedding planning experience from both sides of the ballroom doors. We talk about why venues protect their reputation, how “bossy” behavior hurts not just one planner but the entire industry, and what real leadership looks like when we’re bridging dozens of moving pieces. If you want better vendor relationships, smoother timelines, and a reputation that gets you booked again and again, hit play. Subscribe, share this with a planner friend, and leave a review so more pros can find the show. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

July 6, 2026Episode 2642 min

Raising the Bar for the Entire Industry

Weddings are one of the only major projects where it's considered normal to skip training and figure things out in real time — and that mindset is quietly costing couples, planners, and the industry as a whole. In this episode, Krisy Thomas and Laurie Hartwell of The CWP Society take on a claim that keeps circulating online: that wedding planning education is optional, certification doesn't matter, and experience alone is enough. They break down why that logic doesn't hold up in any other profession with real responsibility — and why it shouldn't hold up here either. Experience teaches you what you've already lived through. Certification and continuing education prepare you for what you haven't faced yet: crisis leadership, vendor conflict, contracts that actually protect you, pricing that makes sense, and the behind-the-scenes systems that keep a wedding day calm. Krisy and Laurie also discuss the risks of learning by shadowing without foundational training, why coordinators need real planning knowledge — not just wedding-day presence — and what's at stake as AI changes how couples search for, evaluate, and book wedding professionals in a market where anyone can claim any number of "years of experience." If the industry wants long-term respect, stronger vendor and venue relationships, and a healthier marketplace overall, it starts with the standards planners hold for themselves. Subscribe, share this with a planner in your circle, and leave a review to help more professionals raise the bar. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

June 29, 2026Episode 2521 min

The Success Gap In Wedding Planning

The wedding industry is really good at making capable planners feel like they're not enough. In this solo episode, Master Certified Wedding Planner & Senior Educator, Krisy Thomas, addresses something most planners feel but rarely say out loud: the gap between where you are and where you think you should be. That gap is often created by comparison — polished highlight reels on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok that represent someone else's years of repetition, refined systems, and hard-earned vendor relationships. When you're measuring your current process against someone else's final result, it's easy to lose sight of the work that actually builds a career. Krisy gets honest about what happens when aesthetics start driving decisions instead of client experience, why mistakes don't mean you're not cut out for this, and the difference between grace and avoidance when something goes wrong. She also challenges the industry's narrow definition of success — and makes the case that the only version worth building is the one aligned with your actual values, goals, and life. From how you handle a difficult moment on a wedding day to how you define growth on your own terms, this episode is a reset for planners who are doing the real work and still wondering if it's enough. It is. And this conversation will help you see why. Visit CWPSociety.com t o learn more about certification and professional membership for wedding planners. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

June 23, 2026Episode 2432 min

Three Quiet Business Blockers

Your calendar can be full and your business can still feel stuck. In this episode of The Wedding Planner Society Podcast , Senior Educator Krisy Thomas breaks down three quiet growth blockers that show up in wedding planning businesses at every stage — and they rarely look like problems. They look like decisions you already made. We dig into the pricing structures, service packages, and long-standing workflows that become invisible ceilings when you stop asking whether they still reflect the business you want now. Then we look at reputation — not the one you're building, but the one that's already out there telling your story for you. And finally, the standard that lives in your head but never made it into your process, and what that costs you when it's time to grow. Then Certified Wedding Planner, Tracy Dapp, joins Krisy for a candid conversation about what it looked like to pivot after years in the industry — from an early partnership that quietly held her back to the deeper education and mentorship that changed how she operates. Tracy gets specific about referrals, vendor relationships, messaging, and the real work of rebranding, updating services, and building the kind of documented systems that create consistency clients can trust. If any of this feels familiar, this is your sign to stop filing it under "later." Pick one area, revisit it, and take the next step. Subscribe, share this with a planner friend, and leave a review so more wedding pros can find the resources they need to keep growing. Visit CWPSociety.com to learn more about certification and membership. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety