Wedding Planner Society Podcast

CWP Society - Laurie Hartwell, Founder & CEO
  • 5.0 (27)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

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

  1. 5d ago

    The Evolution Of A Wedding Planner/Coordinator

    Do you want to know the secret to evolving into a better wedding planner year after year? Not busier. Not more booked. Better. More efficient, more confident, and more in control of your workflows, processes, and client experience. That question sets the tone for a candid conversation between Laurie Hartwell, and longtime friend and CWP Society educator, Krisy Thomas of Southern Sparkle Wedding and Event Planning. Krisy has been featured in major publications, earned multiple planning and design credentials, and built a reputation for calm leadership and polished execution. We dig into what wedding planner certification really changes when it’s done well. It’s not just letters after your name, it’s the knowledge that shapes how you communicate with venues, guide families, and collaborate with vendors under pressure. Krisy shares why people remember how you make them feel, how confidence grows through education, and how “elite” is less about status and more about consistency. We also talk about plateaus, imposter syndrome, and the exhaustion that can creep in even when your business looks successful. You’ll hear practical reframes for staying grateful, tracking your progress on purpose, and keeping your standards high without chasing perfection. Plus, we challenge two common traps: believing your market is too small to elevate, and believing you’ve already arrived in an industry that changes multiple times a year. If you want to sharpen your wedding planning skills, strengthen your vendor relationships, and build a business that still feels fun, hit play. Then subscribe, share this with a planner friend, and leave a review so more pros can find the conversation. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    The Evolution Of A Wedding Planner/Coordinator

  2. Sep 22

    Come Hell Or High Water

    The father-daughter dance is happening, the dance floor is packed, and then the fire department walks in with lights flashing. Outside, a flash flood is rising so fast that cars are sitting in water and the roads may not be safe by the end of the night. As brand-new business owner Christina Collins learns in her very first wedding under STEP Events, wedding planning isn’t about forcing the timeline to behave. It’s about leading through the unexpected. We talk through the full behind-the-scenes scramble: reading the room while sirens distract guests, negotiating for five minutes to communicate, calling nearby venues until someone says yes, pivoting catering to a to-go setup, and improvising guest transport when the bus can’t get back through flooded roads. Christina shares what made the difference: a vendor team willing to ask “what else do you need?”, clear delegation, and calm communication that keeps guests feeling cared for even when the plan changes completely. Then we pull out the practical takeaways for wedding planners and coordinators: building a flexibility toolkit with backup vendors, alternate timeline structures, real Plan B options for outdoor weddings, and crisis reliability protocols you decide before anything goes wrong. We also get blunt about staffing, because no planner should be the only set of hands on a wedding day. If you’ve ever worried you’ll freeze when something goes sideways, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a planner friend, and leave a review with the best backup plan you’ve ever used. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    Come Hell Or High Water

  3. Sep 16

    The Magic Behind The Curtain

    “Effortless” weddings are usually the ones with the most happening behind the curtain, and we’re finally saying the quiet part out loud. We sit down with returning guest Rima Shah of Big Guava Events, a certified wedding planner and educator known for running wedding days so smoothly that couples and guests think the magic just happens on its own. It doesn’t. It’s built through planning systems, calm leadership, and a team that can execute thousands of details without making it about themselves.  We talk through what guests never see: the constant cues, the vendor check-ins, the discreet fixes, and the micro-movements that keep the room feeling relaxed. Rima breaks down why staffing is a nonnegotiable for the day or days of the wedding, especially for complex celebrations like South Asian weddings, and why trying to “prove yourself” by doing everything solo usually backfires. You’ll also hear the practical habit that quietly saves weddings again and again: rigorous inventory lists that are checked, shared, and checked again so nothing becomes a last-minute surprise.  Then we get real with a story that shows the job at its sharpest: critical Hindu ceremony items go missing minutes before guests enter, and the only way through is fast delegation, clear communication with the priest, and vendor collaboration that keeps the couple insulated from panic. We also dig into maintaining the same service standards across two very different markets, plus what it means to take care of your team so they can take care of you. Subscribe, share this with a planner who’s white-knuckling wedding weekends, and leave a review if it helps. What’s the most “invisible” task you think clients underestimate? www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    The Magic Behind The Curtain

  4. Sep 10

    Thriving In Business And Life

    The wedding industry loves the word “balance,” but nobody tells you what it looks like when a wedding weekend collides with a school event, your partner works overnights, and your body is running on fumes. We’re sitting down with Nikki Rogers, a 23-year wedding planning pro and owner of The Serendipity Collective, to talk about what “all in” really means when you’re building a wedding planning business and raising a family at the same time.  Nikki shares her path from high-end hotels and clubs into more personal, non-traditional venues, and why that shift changed the client experience she wanted to deliver. We also get into the leap of starting her own company for flexibility, the reality of being gone on weekends, and how mom guilt shows up when you’re committed to your couples and your kids. If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing because you can’t be in two places at once, this conversation puts words to that pressure and offers a healthier frame.  We also dig into the practical side of sustainability: staying relevant through wedding planner certification and ongoing training, setting business hours that flex with summer break, and communicating boundaries without apology. Nikki gets especially real about planning while pregnant, bringing in extra support, and turning down bookings she can’t serve well, not as a loss, but as responsible leadership.  If you’re a wedding planner, wedding coordinator, or creative business owner trying to build a life that works, hit play, share this with a friend who needs it, and subscribe for more honest conversations. After you listen, leave a review and tell us: what boundary would make your business feel lighter? www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    Thriving In Business And Life

  5. Sep 1

    The Dream Team Behind The Wedding Day

    Weddings do not fall apart all at once. They unravel in tiny moments: a late delivery, a missing linen, a vendor who vanishes when it is time to cue a key event. The reason so many couples never see the chaos is because a tight vendor dream team is quietly fixing it in real time, and that kind of calm is built long before the wedding day ever starts. We sit down with Emma Cockerham of Infinity Events Memphis to talk about what “team player” really means in the wedding industry and why vendor vetting is one of the most important skills a wedding planner or wedding coordinator can develop. Emma shares a high pressure museum wedding where rentals arrived hours late, forcing the entire vendor crew to create an elevator assembly line and set a full seated dinner in minutes. It is a masterclass in collaboration, professionalism, and timeline discipline. Then we get into the standards that protect clients: how to spot red flags, why contracts matter, and why respecting the wedding timeline is not optional. You will also hear a story about an incredibly unprofessional DJ, a reminder that the cheapest option can become the most expensive mistake when the person holding the microphone is not prepared to lead a room. We also unpack the “single point of contact” role and how clear communication keeps vendor relationships strong without blocking the couple’s connection. If you want better weddings, fewer fires, and more confidence in your recommendations, hit play. Subscribe for more planner-forward conversations, share this with a wedding pro friend, and leave a review with your biggest vendor vetting non negotiable. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    The Dream Team Behind The Wedding Day

  6. Aug 25

    The Pivot: From NYC Events To Intimate Weddings

    One missed detail in Times Square can ripple across a million people, but Vicki Amar says the emotional stakes of a wedding can be even higher. She spent nearly a decade producing major NYC citywide events, then walked away to become a full-time wedding planner and the owner of Amarvelous Event in South Florida. That career pivot forces a bigger question: is “big” really about headcount, or is it about how much care you bring to the work? We talk through the surprisingly direct overlap between large-scale event coordination and wedding planning: anticipating failure points, protecting the guest experience, and staying calm when the pressure spikes. Vicki shares what changes when you go from a machine full of departments and protocols to being the one person who holds the timeline, the vendor team, and the couple’s peace of mind. She also explains her favorite client touch, a post-wedding “exit call,” where couples get to relive the day and finally hear the behind-the-scenes “saves” they never noticed. Then we zoom out to what makes a sustainable career in the wedding industry: community over competition. We dig into how planners build trusted networks for referrals and support, why shared standards matter, and how design details like florals, candlelight, and color palettes can trigger the biggest emotions. We also get real about family dynamics, mediation, and reading what isn’t said in the room, because weddings are never just two people and a checklist. If you’re a wedding planner or professional looking for certification, support, and a global community, come check out the CWP Society. Subscribe, share this with a planner friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    The Pivot: From NYC Events To Intimate Weddings

  7. Aug 18

    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

    The Complexities of South Asian Weddings

  8. Aug 11

    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

    Who's Got The Plan For The Planner
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5
out of 5
27 Ratings

About

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

Information

  • Creator
    CWP Society - Laurie Hartwell, Founder & CEO
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    143
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 @2024 CWP Society, The Wedding Planner Podcast
  • Show Website
    Wedding Planner Society Podcast

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