THE COOKIE-CUTTER TRAP: LESSONS FROM 300 WEDDINGS ON WHAT TRULY MATTERS

We had a great time on our interview with Julie Comfort about THE COOKIE-CUTTER TRAP: LESSONS FROM 300 WEDDINGS ON WHAT TRULY MATTERS. Julie Comfort is an experience designer, educator, and author of the forthcoming book Beyond Pretty. Julie teaches wedding planners and designers the invisible architecture behind the world’s most unforgettable events, and what… Read more »

ESCAPING TIME POVERTY

We had a great time on our interview with Peggy Sullivan about ESCAPING TIME POVERTY. Peggy Sullivan is self-proclaimed “busyness addict in recovery,” Peggy now empowers professionals to escape time poverty and focus on what truly matters. As the creator of the Performance by Design Framework, she provides actionable strategies that help people achieve more… Read more »

Why Confidence Is Your #1 Marketing Tool as a New Event Planner

You can have the most beautiful Instagram grid, the most polished website, and the most carefully crafted elevator pitch, and still lose clients to a planner who has none of those things but exudes confidence when they get on the phone. Confidence closes. Everything else just opens the door. What Confidence Communicates to Clients When… Read more »

How to Know What to Charge Before You Have a Full Client Roster

When you’re new, pricing feels like a guessing game. You don’t have a portfolio of past events to reference, you’re not sure what the market will bear, and you definitely don’t want to price yourself out of your first few clients. It can feel overwhelming when you’re trying to build confidence and credibility at the… Read more »

How to Name, Brand, and Position Your Wedding & Event Business From Scratch

Your business name is the first impression you make. Your brand is what makes you memorable. Your positioning is what makes clients choose you over everyone else. Getting these three things right early can save you years of frustration, and help you attract exactly the clients you want from day one. Naming Your Business: Practical… Read more »

Stop Booking Clients Who Drain You: How to Design a Business Around the Work You Love

There’s a version of event planning that looks glamorous from the outside but feels exhausting from the inside, and it usually involves a full calendar of clients who weren’t the right fit from the start. One of the most powerful decisions you’ll ever make in your business is learning to say yes intentionally and no… Read more »

Package Pricing: Why I Don’t Put Prices on My Website and What I Do Instead

Scroll through any event planner’s website and you’ll likely find it: a pricing page with tidy packages, set fees, and a neat little table of what’s included at each tier. I understand the appeal. It feels transparent. It weeds out tire kickers. It saves time. I just don’t think it’s the right move, and here’s… Read more »

From Dream to Real Business: The Foundation Every New Event Planner Needs

Starting an event planning business without a foundation is like planning a wedding without a venue, you might have all the pretty details figured out, but nothing has anywhere to go. The foundation of your business is what everything else gets built on, and it’s what most new planners skip in their rush to find… Read more »

From Overwhelmed to Booked: What Happens When You Stop Guessing and Follow a System

Overwhelm is the number one reason aspiring event planners don’t start, and the number one reason they don’t grow as fast as they could once they do. When there’s no system, every decision feels equally important and equally urgent. Everything is heavy. Everything feels like a potential mistake. But the opposite of overwhelm isn’t calm,… Read more »

How to Calculate Your Minimum Hourly Rate as a Wedding & Event Planner

One of the most powerful things you can do in your first year as an event planner is calculate your minimum hourly rate. Not what you want to charge. Your floor. The number below which you literally cannot afford to work. Once you know this number, every pricing conversation becomes clearer, calmer, and more confident…. Read more »

Real Results: How My Students Built Thriving Wedding & Event Businesses From Scratch

I could talk all day about strategy and frameworks and pricing formulas, and I believe in all of it. But what I believe in most is results. Real people, starting from scratch, building businesses they’re proud of. Here are some of the stories I’m most grateful to have been part of. Victoria: From Zero Experience… Read more »

Hourly Rate vs. Flat Fee vs. Percentage: Which Pricing Model Is Right for Your Event Business?

Once you know your income goals and minimum hourly rate, the next question is: how do you actually charge clients? There are five main pricing models in the event planning industry, and the right one depends on your niche, your clients, and where you are in your business. Let’s break them all down. Pricing Model… Read more »

The 3 Things You Actually Need to Start an Event Planning Business (Hint: It’s Not a Website)

I can’t tell you how many aspiring event planners have told me they’re not ready to launch because they don’t have a website yet. Or they’re waiting on business cards. Or they want to take one more course first. I understand the impulse, but none of those things will get you your first client. Let’s… Read more »

How to Launch Your Wedding & Event Planning Business in 60 Days (Even With No Experience)

If you’ve been dreaming about starting a wedding or event planning business but keep telling yourself you need more time, more experience, or a perfect plan, this post is your wake-up call. You can launch in 60 days. Not someday. Not when everything is perfect. Now. Why Most Aspiring Planners Never Launch The number one… Read more »