Wedding Empires - Grow and Market Your Dream Wedding Business

Jac Bowie & Ben Connolly
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Entrepreneurship

🎙️ Ready to take your wedding biz to the next level? The Wedding Empires Podcast is where industry savvy meets entrepreneurial genius! Hosted by Jac Bowie—serial entrepreneur and CEO of The Wedding Academy—and Ben Connolly—award-winning wedding photographer and educator, this power duo serves up the latest insights, trends, and strategies to help you thrive in the ever-evolving wedding industry. 💍✨ Whether you’re just starting out or ready to dominate the competition, we’ve got the tips, tricks, and insider knowledge you need to build your empire.

  1. Oct 12

    A Quiz Can Become Your Most Powerful Lead Magnet

    Your next best lead magnet might not be a guide, a checklist, or another “free spreadsheet” at all. We’re talking about quizzes and not the fluffy kind. I’m joined by Kylie Lang, founder of the Wedding Academy and now a full-time quiz strategist, to show how quiz marketing can pull in the right wedding leads, segment your audience, and make your follow-up feel genuinely personal. We walk through the framework Kylie uses to build quizzes that convert: start with the burning question your ideal clients are already searching, define 3 to 4 outcomes that explain what’s really going on, then write results that sound like your audience’s own words. We also explore creative quiz angles for wedding photographers, florists, venues, and planners that go deeper than budgets by tapping into real insecurities and decision-making styles. Then we get practical about distribution and funnel strategy. We cover driving traffic with SEO blog posts, Pinterest, and low-cost traffic ads, why you should embed the quiz on your own website for first-party data and retargeting, and how to connect platforms like Interact or ScoreApp to your CRM for tags, custom fields, and conditional email content. If you want a wedding marketing strategy that feels fun for the client and smart for the business, this one’s your blueprint. Subscribe for more tactics that actually move the needle, share this with a wedding pro friend, and leave a review so more business owners can find the show.

  2. Oct 12

    How To Become The Go To Wedding Vendor In Your Market

    If your inquiries keep turning into “What do you charge?” and then silence, it’s probably not a sales problem, it’s a positioning problem. We’re joined by Heidi Thompson from Evolve Your Wedding Business to talk about what it really takes to stand out in a crowded wedding market without racing competitors to the bottom. The big shift is simple and uncomfortable: when couples can’t see a meaningful difference between vendors, they compare on price because you’ve given them nothing else to hold onto. We dig into the psychology behind “best fit” buying decisions and how to make that fit obvious fast. Heidi shares the five-second website test, why generic phrases blend you into the crowd, and how to stop guessing what clients want. The practical move: interview your best couples, steal their exact language, and build messaging around the problem they need solved, whether that’s feeling comfortable on camera, blending cultural traditions, or planning something highly personal that still keeps family happy. We also get tactical on execution with a sustainable marketing plan: picking no more than three channels, making decisions in CEO mode, and running a focused 90-day plan you can actually finish. Heidi breaks down how her Wedding Business Collective is structured to help vendors of any type create clarity, book better-fit clients, and protect their time. If you’re ready to stop sounding like everyone else and start being the obvious choice, hit play, then subscribe, share with a wedding pro friend, and leave a review so more vendors can find it.

  3. Oct 12

    The Wedding Pro Legal Playbook For Contracts And Clients

    Your wedding contract isn’t supposed to be a formality, it’s supposed to be the thing that lets you sleep at night. I’m joined by Leah Weinberg, an attorney and former NYC wedding planner, to get blunt about the legal pressure points wedding pros face and the contract language that prevents the same fights from happening again and again. We also talk about Leah’s firm name change to Weinberg Legal, and how COVID accelerated a lot of hard lessons across the events industry.  We dig into the biggest misconception we hear from wedding vendors: that a long, detailed client service agreement will scare couples away. Leah explains why that fear is usually unfounded, and how clarity can actually increase trust. From there we get specific on must-have clauses like a tight scope of services (so “full service” doesn’t become endless unpaid work), plus intellectual property protections for planners’ timelines and floor plans, florists’ design decks, and photographers’ copyright and usage rights.  Then we tackle the messy topics head-on: rescheduling policy, cancellation policy, event cancellation insurance, and force majeure clauses that reflect real life, not just “acts of God.” Leah breaks force majeure into three practical scenarios: what happens when the wedding can’t occur, when a client goes silent during planning, and when a vendor emergency hits on the wedding day. We also cover payment schedules and the surprisingly common “legal” disputes that are really communication breakdowns.  If you’re a wedding planner, photographer, florist, or any event professional who wants stronger contracts and fewer headaches, hit play and take notes. Subscribe, share this with a wedding pro friend, and leave a review so more vendors can find these legal tips for wedding businesses.

  4. Oct 12

    Wedding Publicity Strategies That Build Real Trust

    If you’ve ever stared at a submission form, a messy vendor list, and a folder of 3,000 photos thinking “where do I even start?”, this conversation is your roadmap. We sit down with Megan Ellie, owner of OFD Consulting, a powerhouse in wedding public relations and wedding marketing, to demystify how getting published actually works and why it still matters in a world dominated by Instagram, short-form video, and fast-scrolling Gen Z couples.  We get specific about the benefits that go beyond ego: social proof that helps couples trust you faster, SEO gains through quality backlinks, and the referral flywheel that happens when an entire vendor team has a reason to share your work again. Megan explains how to pick publications based on business goals and aesthetic fit, what editors really want to see in real wedding submissions, and how photographers and planners can curate a gallery that tells a clean story while still prioritising the couple’s experience.  We also cover the unglamorous parts that protect your reputation: permissions, accuracy, exclusivity, and how to follow up without burning bridges. Megan shares what to do when an editor stays silent, how to respectfully withdraw before you submit elsewhere, and why styled shoots are more competitive than most people realise. You’ll walk away with a clearer PR plan, a smarter workflow, and fewer submission mistakes that quietly cost you features.  If this helps, subscribe, share it with a wedding pro friend, and leave us a review so more people can find Wedding Empires.

  5. Oct 12

    What If Your Wedding Flowers Outlived The Photos

    Your wedding flowers are one of the most emotional details you’ll ever pay for, and they usually disappear within days. We sit down with Andrea Cole, a Dallas Fort Worth artist and entrepreneur, to talk about wedding flower preservation and how she turns bridal bouquets into lasting resin keepsakes and pressed-flower art you can display forever. Andrea breaks down what resin preservation actually is (yes, it’s chemistry), why timing, temperature, and humidity can make or break a piece, and how she learned the craft through pure curiosity and creative experimentation. We trace the leap from selling small floral pieces at markets to preserving wedding bouquets for clients who ship flowers from across the United States, and what that shift demands in quality control, client communication, and customer service. Then we zoom out to the business side: Etsy as a starting point, Instagram marketing before and after the algorithm changes, and why “going viral” on reels or TikTok doesn’t always equal sales. Andrea also shares how WIPA (Wedding Industry Professionals Association) helps wedding pros build real relationships, earn referrals, and network with a serve-first mindset that strengthens your brand over time. If you’re building a wedding business, looking for bouquet preservation ideas, or trying to grow without burnout and gimmicks, this conversation will give you a clear, grounded playbook. Subscribe, share this with a wedding pro friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

  6. Oct 12

    Email Marketing For Wedding Pros Who Need New Leads

    Your next wedding booking might not come from Instagram at all, it might come from the inbox. We sit down with email marketing strategist Kylie Kelly to get practical about what actually works when you’re a wedding professional with a constant need for new leads and a short client lifecycle. From planners and photographers to stylists and florists, we’re all fighting the same battle: how do you stay top of mind without sounding pushy, spammy, or like a “marketer”?  We dig into subject lines that lift open rates because they sound like a real person, not a promo. Kylie shares the simple filters she uses to avoid inbox-killers, plus how to think about storytelling as a relationship tool with a purpose. We also talk segmentation and personalisation, so your emails feel tailored to where a couple is in their wedding journey, and we break down click-through strategies like link placement, buttons, and readable formatting that works on mobile.  Then we get timely with deliverability: the domain authentication changes affecting Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, what to search for in your email provider, and why sorting it now protects your open rates. We cover welcome sequences for new leads, what to send and how often, how to handle unsubscribes without taking it personally, and how to measure success beyond sales by tracking replies and conversations. Stick around for tools, automations, and lead scoring ideas that help you spot your hottest enquiries fast.  If you found this helpful, subscribe, share it with a wedding biz mate, and leave a quick review so more creatives can build an email list that actually converts.

  7. Oct 12

    From Passion To Profit In Weddings

    Your wedding work can be stunning and you can still be broke, booked inconsistently, and exhausted. We sit down with seasoned business coach Tammy Johnston to get honest about the gap between being great at your craft and running a profitable wedding business. Tammy comes from a deep financial services background and has spent decades helping self employed owners turn scattered effort into sustainable income, especially creatives like photographers, planners, and other wedding vendors. We unpack the biggest misconception she sees: “my work will speak for itself.” In a crowded market, couples cannot hire what they cannot find, trust, or understand. Tammy walks us through the mindset and habit shifts that help you step into entrepreneurship, plus the core foundations that keep businesses alive: clear vision, consistent marketing, the right advisory team, solid financials, and systems that get the work out of your head and into repeatable processes. Then we go practical. We talk pricing that reflects your true costs, why underpricing attracts the wrong clients, and how cash flow and profit work together to keep your business healthy. We also explore marketing strategies that do not depend on social media alone, including networking with complementary vendors and thoughtful follow up that keeps you top of mind long after the wedding day. If you want a wedding business that pays you well and still leaves room for a life, press play. Subscribe, share this with a wedding pro friend, and leave a review so more creatives can find the business help they actually need.

  8. Oct 12

    Grow A Wedding Brand Without Big Spending

    Big budgets don’t build great wedding businesses, smart systems do. We’re joined by Jessica Bishop, founder of The Budget Savvy Bride and host of the Bouquet Toss podcast, to unpack what actually works when you’re marketing a wedding brand on a shoestring and you still want real leads, real authority, and long-term growth. We talk through Jessica’s origin story, from starting as a personal wedding planning blog during the recession to growing into an internationally recognised resource. Along the way, she shares the “measured reinvestment” approach that keeps risk low while momentum stays high, plus how organic SEO and content marketing can outperform ads when you commit to solving the exact problems couples are searching for. Then we get tactical: keyword research basics for wedding professionals, why YouTube now looks like the new SEO frontier, and how to earn media features using tools like Quoted (and other journalist source platforms) even if you don’t have a PR agency. We also cover free exposure opportunities like submitting real weddings for publication, and why Pinterest marketing is so powerful because every pin links directly back to your site for stronger click-through. Finally, we answer the $500 question: what to buy first for maximum return, from Canva Pro for fast, on-brand design to scheduling tools that let you batch your marketing and get your time back. Subscribe, share this with a wedding pro friend, and leave a review if you want more practical strategies like these.

See All (24)

About

🎙️ Ready to take your wedding biz to the next level? The Wedding Empires Podcast is where industry savvy meets entrepreneurial genius! Hosted by Jac Bowie—serial entrepreneur and CEO of The Wedding Academy—and Ben Connolly—award-winning wedding photographer and educator, this power duo serves up the latest insights, trends, and strategies to help you thrive in the ever-evolving wedding industry. 💍✨ Whether you’re just starting out or ready to dominate the competition, we’ve got the tips, tricks, and insider knowledge you need to build your empire.

Information