The Business of Luxury Weddings James × Schulze

When your successful planning business has a thriving floral arm, why would you shut it down? To make room for more creativity and collaboration! Most people wouldn’t dream of ending something that’s doing so well, but that could be keeping us from what we really want.
 
If a business is just chugging along, it’s easier to keep going as is. Shaking things up is actually so much harder than staying the same, but as entrepreneurs, we often have to let go to level up. We have to close down something good to make room for something exceptional.
 
This is what By Bello’s Lindsey Morgan realized, so she made the decision and took the leap. How did she come to the realization that she had to close her floral business? What new awesomeness has this created space for? What are the keys to her business growth and success?
 
In this episode, she talks about her journey, the power of taking action, and how she has created multiple streams of income in her business. 
 
Guest Bio
 
Lindsey Morgan is the owner and creative director of By Bello and Bespoke by Bello. Passionate about marrying natural landscapes with distinctive event design, Lindsey has been nationally recognized for her inspired approach, building memorable parties from the ground up. Alongside her masterful team, Lindsey provides each client with a highly personalized experience, leaving both the celebrated and celebrating with an event they’ll remember for a lifetime. For more information, head to https://bybelloevents.com/.
 
Want a clear and comprehensive roadmap on how to succeed in the luxury wedding market? Check out the Business of Luxury Weddings course. You’ll learn the entire business model and thought process - so you can sign consistent 5-figure contracts, build a powerful network of the right people, and travel to iconic destinations. Learn more and join the waitlist at SageJourney.co.
 

When it comes to branding and approach, most photographers are focused on themselves. It’s all about their aesthetic and getting clients to fit into it. We make ourselves the thing our clients should aspire to. That was our approach for years…until we realized that it wouldn’t allow us to sustain real success in luxury.
 
So we switched to this: focusing on our clients; and instead of pigeonholing them, shifting our approach according to their needs. Many photographers would consider that selling out - why would we let clients dictate what we do, we’re the creatives after all.
 
Well, if we want to move up to premium and luxury, we have to deliver a lot more than creative talent. We have to craft an experience, and we can’t do that if we don’t take a client-focused approach.
 
How do we shift from ourselves to our clients? How does this approach allow us to build and sustain real success?
 
In this episode, we talk about the value of curating our brand around serving others instead of ourselves. 
 
Want a clear and comprehensive roadmap on how to succeed in the luxury wedding market? Check out the Business of Luxury Weddings course. You’ll learn the entire business model and thought process - so you can sign consistent 5-figure contracts, build a powerful network of the right people, and travel to iconic destinations. Learn more and join the waitlist at SageJourney.co.

Get to know your client and match yourself up to that. That’s the format of traditional marketing we’re taught to use. What if we could accomplish more by going about it in a completely different way? In luxury, cost isn’t the biggest factor in the decision making process - desire is. If we make people want our service, they will buy it.
 
Creating desire instantly makes us more sought-after, especially in a market segment  where exclusivity and uniqueness are the currency of buying choices. From the way we book client calls, to the photos we post on social media, we can use desire to increase the demand for our photography.
 
What steps can we take to make our services more desirable? How do we raise our prices and tap into a higher market segment? How can we build sustainable businesses while also having room to actually live our lives?
 
In this episode, we’re joined by the CEO and Founder of Photographer's Edit and host of the Bokeh podcast, Nathan Holritz. We talk about simple and practical steps we can take to make our services pull in the buyers we want. 
 
Guest Bio
Nathan Holritz is the CEO and Founder of Photographer's Edit and Cheezoo. He’s also the host of the Bokeh podcast. Starting in professional photography over 20 years ago, Nathan helped bring a modern style of premium wedding photography to the Chattanooga market via Holritz Photography.
 
While helping run Holritz Photography, Nathan saw both a personal and industry need for a company that could handle the post-processing of the thousands of images photographed at weddings. He created Photographer's Edit, a company geared toward providing a solution for professional photographers to outsource this post-processing following weddings and large events. The company was launched in 2008, and has since processed millions and millions of images for wedding, portrait, and commercial photographers. Head to https://www.photographersedit.com/ to find out more.
 
Want a clear and comprehensive roadmap on how to succeed in the luxury wedding market? Check out the Business of Luxury Weddings course. You’ll learn how to entire business model and thought process - so you can sign consistent 5-figure contracts, build a powerful network of the right people, and travel to iconic destinations. Learn more and join the waitlist at SageJourney.co.

For many photographers, weddings are a highly intimidating niche. The idea of shooting a once in a lifetime event, at the highest spectrum of emotions can be daunting.
 
And that’s before you add a luxury component to it.
 
Shooting that level of event and having that caliber of client comes with a lot, but the biggest thing is a shift in our own mindset.
 
To break into luxury and command those rates, you’re basically creating value overnight and that can understandably be a real challenge psychologically. We have to shake off the middle class mentality and start to think of events the way the ultra-wealthy do - it’s not about cost, it’s about want.
 
How do we start to occupy the luxury mindset? What are the key skills we need to have at this level? In this episode, we’re joined by photographers and co-hosts of the B&H Photography Podcast, Allan Weitz and Jill Waterman. We talk about luxury weddings, how to build a successful business in that space and the skills that take you to that next level. 
 
Guest Bio
 
Allan Weitz is a Photographer, Writer and host of the B&H Photography Podcast.
Jill Waterman is a Photographer, Writer, Storyteller and co-host of the B&H Photography Podcast.
 
Go to https://www.bhphotovideo.com/. 
 

At the luxury level of weddings, it’s easy to think you have to live in an epicenter city and have a ton of notoriety to succeed. The whole world has to know you if you want your business to grow. But bigger, famous and splashier isn’t the only route to visibility, success can happen without notoriety.
 
You can thrive while being the best kept secret. It’s possible to create these gravitas “goosebump moment” events, and still live your life. A planner can create dreamy destination weddings without living in New York, Miami or LA.
 
For Alicia Fritz, fulfillment doesn’t come from being known by the whole world, it comes from connecting with clients and carrying their vision. Why is remaining grounded so important to her? How did she carve out her niche? What do weddings mean to her?
 
In this episode, the founder of A Day in May Events talks about her story, her process and what she attributes her success to. 
 
Guest Bio
A native of Traverse City, Michigan, Alicia Fritz is the founder and Principal Designer of A Day in May Events, a nationally recognized event production firm sought after for mastering the art of entertaining. Alicia’s appreciation for hospitality is rooted in her company’s ethos; to architect milestone celebrations that embody the taste and priorities of her clients, accentuated by a strong sense of place and purpose in every detail. With a mission to preserve the unique history and life experiences of her clients and their families, Alicia and her team have been entrusted as strategic partners for their private, legacy clients for close to two decades.
 
Since 2007, Alicia has built a dedicated staff of event specialists and creative thinkers who operate with a methodical and intuitive system that prioritizes collaboration with their clients, respectful partnership with their creative teams and an unwavering commitment to a flawless event. Harmonizing an architect’s mindset with the imaginative and artistic touch of a great host, Alicia has been recognized as one of the country’s top event planners by VOGUE and Martha Stewart Weddings to name a few. From the serene, idyllic coastline of Northern Michigan, to the exquisite landscape of the South of France, and far flung locales likeMustique, Alicia and her team rarely create in the same place twice and welcome the challenge of producing these exceptional moments for beloved clients in unchartered territory.
 
For more information, head to https://www.adayinmayevents.com/ follow @adayinmayevents on Instagram. 
 
Want a clear and comprehensive roadmap on how to succeed in the luxury wedding market? Check out the Business of Luxury Weddings course. You’ll learn the entire business model and thought process - so you can sign consistent 5-figure contracts, build a powerful network of the right people, and travel to iconic destinations. Learn more and join the waitlist at SageJourney.co.

Creating a magical wedding is a dance of balancing contradictions. You have to saturate the senses without over-producing, steep the event with individual details that become seamless, pace a fast-moving day, and counter the emotional crescendos with much needed lulls.
 
The planners responsible for this do multiple events a year, but they still have to make that particular event authentic to who’s being celebrated.
 
The ultimate litmus test and sign you’ve succeeded? When someone can’t pinpoint what exactly made the day so magical because the components are so harmonious.
 
How do you set yourself up for this from your first moments with the client? What steps can you take to understand the client and the guest’s journey throughout the day? In this episode, we’re joined by leading wedding planner, Jennifer Zabinski. She shares how she makes her events so magical, and the thinking behind her approach.
 
 
Guest Bio
 
Though she’s now known as one of the country’s leading wedding planners—named best of the best by both Harper’s Bazaar and Martha Stewart Weddings—Jennifer Zabinski didn’t always know she wanted to be an event planner. After graduating from Cornell University’s prestigious School of Hotel Administration, she headed west to California, working for some of the biggest names in the hospitality business. She quickly worked her way up the ranks at The Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, becoming one of the youngest senior members on both staffs to spearhead events. It was there that Jennifer realized her knack for bringing people together and making sure their every need was met could translate to a new line of work in the wedding industry.
 
Marrying her business acumen to her talent as a creative and strategic thinker, Jennifer moved back to New York and became the partner at The Wedding Library, a bridal design and retail shop, where she led the planning and events division for a decade. She struck out on her own in 2011 with the launch of JZ Events. Combining a methodical, collaborative approach with an innovative spirit, Jennifer has planned, designed, and executed hundreds of events in some of the most exciting stunning locales around the world (Necker Island, St. Barts, Ravello, Cap Ferrat, Amalfi Coast, Aspen, Paris, Florence, and San Francisco, to name just a few). Throughout that time, she has fostered close relationships with top vendors, including award- winning caterers, floral designers, and photographers, all of which means she knows just the right pro to carry out your vision.
 
“Most people don’t come to me wanting to replicate someone else’s event,” says Jennifer. “They want to do something that’s never been done before, whether that’s a new spin on a classic venue, finding a far-flung location to host a weekend-long celebration, or dreaming up a novel theme.” At the end of the day, she says, everyone wants to create something that’s utterly unique. Achieving that goal for clients is the difference between a good planner and a great one.
 
Jennifer’s work has been recognized in the pages of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Martha Stewart Weddings, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, Brides, Glamour, The Knot, among many other magazines, blogs, and websites. She lives in New York City with her husband, two children, and dog, Gunner.
 
For more information, head to https://jzevents.com/ and follow @jzevents on Instagram.
 
Want a clear and comprehensive roadmap on how to succeed in the luxury wedding market? Check out the Business of Luxury Weddings course. You’ll learn how to entire business model and thought process - so you can sign consistent 5-figure contracts, build a powerful network of the right people, and travel to iconic destinations. Learn more and join the waitlist at SageJourney.co.