Wedding Planner Society Podcast

Laurie Hartwell & Krisy Thomas - CWP Society
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CWP Society is proud to produce the "Wedding Planner Society: Industry Expert Insights" podcast!Laurie Hartwell & Krisy Thomas, award-winning Master Certified Wedding Planners and Industry Educators from 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. The ROI You're Not Calculating

    1D AGO

    The ROI You're Not Calculating

    You can be fully booked and still feel like you're starting over every January. That gap — between staying busy and actually building something — is exactly what this episode is about. So many wedding planners and coordinators invest in client-facing upgrades while quietly avoiding the one investment that compounds over time: their own professional development. Matt Mitchell, Co-Founder and CEO of Event Ledger — a bookkeeping and advisory firm built specifically for event professionals — joins Senior Educator of the CWP Society, Krisy Thomas to talk about why that pattern exists and what it's actually costing us. Matt has been on both the planning side and the finance side, which means he doesn't just understand the numbers — he translates them into real wedding-world decisions. Together, they dig into why education gets treated like a reward instead of a business strategy, how "creative martyr syndrome" keeps planners undervaluing their own growth, and what it really looks like to take professional development seriously before another year slips by. Matt shares three straightforward ROI tests to use before saying yes to any certification or masterclass — can it support a 5% pricing increase, will it save you hours per project, and will it help you avoid the kind of costly mistakes that quietly damage your referral reputation. He also gets concrete about what a financially healthy wedding planning business actually looks like: paying yourself consistently, planning for taxes, understanding your net profit margin, and knowing your effective hourly rate so that being "busy" doesn't quietly become burnout. If you're ready to stop pricing on instinct and start building real authority in this industry, this one's for you. Subscribe, share this episode with a planner friend, and leave a review so more event professionals can find it. And ask yourself: what's the next investment you're willing to make in your own career? www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    44 min
  2. The Planner You're Becoming

    2D AGO

    The Planner You're Becoming

    Starting over doesn't mean starting from scratch — but it can feel that way. A new price point, a new market, a new certification level, a new season of life. Each one has a way of making experienced planners feel like beginners again. The question isn't whether those moments will come. It's whether you'll treat them as growth or crisis. In this episode, I'm joined by Venisha Walker, Master Certified Wedding Planner and Owner/CEO of Cloud 9 Events based in Tennessee. Venisha shares how she found her way into the wedding industry, why she took professional development seriously from the beginning, and what it actually looks like when education shows up where it matters — in your client workflow, your timelines, and the way you lead a vendor team on a wedding day. We also get honest about imposter syndrome, time management, and the quiet distortion that happens when you spend too much time measuring yourself against someone else's highlight reel. And we talk about something that doesn't get named often enough: the emotional labor of this work. Weddings have no redo. The heart behind the logistics is often what clients remember — and what drives the referrals and vendor relationships that build a reputation over time. If you've been navigating a transition, questioning your standards, or just need a reset on your why, this conversation is for you. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    38 min
  3. Put the Fire Out Before They Smell the Smoke

    APR 6

    Put the Fire Out Before They Smell the Smoke

    Your clients may never see your vendor emails, your production notes, or the quiet fixes you make in the background. But they absolutely feel the result. That "certified difference" shows up as ease, trust, and the unmistakable sense that someone capable is leading the room. In this episode, Senior Educator Krisy Thomas is joined by Master Certified Wedding Planners and CWP Society Educators Emma Cockerham and Riley Snyder to connect the dots between vendor leadership and the client experience — because vendor management isn't just timelines and checklists. It's the real work that protects the visible wedding day. Emma breaks down what certified planners do differently: how to cultivate mutually beneficial vendor partnerships, communicate with expert follow-through, and hold professional standards without apology. Riley brings the client-side lens — how strong vendor leadership reduces couple stress, prevents vendors from bypassing the planner, and builds the kind of trust that carries through the entire planning process. The conversation gets practical about hard moments too, because professionalism isn't proven when everything goes smoothly. You'll hear how to respond when a vendor falls short with grace and courage, how to recap expectations without burning bridges, and how to put the fire out before the client smells the smoke. If you've ever wrestled with how much to share when something goes sideways, this episode walks through a clear framework for protecting the couple's experience while staying transparent when it truly matters. Ready to elevate how you lead vendors and serve couples? Visit cwpsociety.com to explore certification, then subscribe, share this with a planner friend, and leave a review so more wedding pros can raise the standard. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    32 min
  4. That Low Hum of Doubt

    MAR 30

    That Low Hum of Doubt

    You can love wedding planning with your whole heart and still feel a low hum of doubt when a client questions your pricing or something unexpected happens on wedding day. That tension is more common than you think — and it has a fix. In this episode, Certified Educator Vicki Amar joins Senior Educator Krisy Thomas to talk about how to rebuild the thing that actually settles you: a professional foundation that makes your value visible before you ever walk into the room. Vicki Amar is a Certified Wedding Planner and owner of Amarvelous Event, whose career path spans luxury hospitality and the New York City mayor's office — where she helped execute iconic outdoor events like New Year's Eve in Times Square and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Even after planning massive, logistics-heavy events at that scale, she still pursued wedding planning certification, because weddings demand a different kind of leadership. Emotional clarity, creative decision-making, detail management under pressure — and only one shot to get it right. Together, Vicki and Krisy dig into what professional identity actually means in the wedding industry, why experience alone doesn't always translate into authority, and how continuing education, strong systems, and intentional vendor relationships build real, lasting confidence over time. You'll also hear a wedding-day story that captures preparedness perfectly: a missing-hardware décor problem solved with a hole puncher from an emergency kit. The episode closes on something that keeps planners in this career for the long haul — community over competition, and the power of a trusted planner bestie who tells you the truth. If you're ready to feel more grounded, credible, and clear in your work, this one's for you. Listen now, subscribe, share with a planner friend who needs to hear it, and leave a review so more planners can find this community. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    35 min
  5. Are You Leading Weddings Or Just Surviving Them

    MAR 23

    Are You Leading Weddings Or Just Surviving Them

    Krisy Thomas, Senior Educator at The CWP Society, is joined by Master Certified Wedding Planner Nicole Martinez for an honest conversation about what it actually takes to lead with confidence on wedding day — not just survive it. If you've ever had the quiet thought, I hope nothing major happens today because I'm not sure what I'd do — this episode is for you. Nicole shares what shifted when she stopped treating wedding planning as something you simply pick up along the way and started building a real foundation through structured education. The difference isn't subtle. It shows up in how you communicate with clients, how clearly you define scope of work, how you hold boundaries without burning bridges, and how you navigate vendor conflict without torching relationships you'll need again. They also go deeper than timelines and checklists — into the human side of the work. Personality types, listening skills, and the practical strategies that help you calm real anxiety on wedding day while protecting the couple's relationships, their experience, and your reputation. Whether you're looking for stronger systems, better crisis management, or the kind of confidence that comes from actually knowing what to do next — this conversation has something for you. Ready to build that foundation? Visit CWPsociety.com to explore certification options.  www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    33 min
  6. What Gave Me The Push

    MAR 9

    What Gave Me The Push

    Feeling that quiet pull to level up — but not sure what to change? That restless sense that you're capable of more is worth listening to. In this episode, Krisy Thomas, is joined by Christina Collins, Master Certified Wedding Planner, and Tracy Dapp, a seasoned Certified Wedding Planner, who nearly walked away from years in the industry,  before finding her way back through certification and community. Together, they dig into what it really looks like to turn that instinct into repeatable excellence — through structure, training, and the support of people who get it. Christina opens up about how COVID exposed the gaps in the wedding industry and led her to make a deliberate shift from venue coordination to full planning. Instead of just grinding harder, she pursued advanced training that changed how she shows up under pressure — separating the contractual from the emotional, advocating confidently with vendors, and walking into every event as the calm that steadies the whole team. Tracy shares an honest look at burnout, imposter syndrome, and the decision to invest in herself when it would have been easier to quit. Renewed systems and hard-won confidence gave her the clarity to fire a misaligned client — and the documentation and vendor relationships to do it on solid ground. Throughout the conversation, we unpack the difference between reacting and responding — and why responding always starts with stillness and better questions. You'll walk away with practical perspective on using contracts as protection, documenting your work, reducing client decision fatigue, and building vendor partnerships grounded in trust rather than kickbacks. At the heart of all of it: couples hand us their family dynamics, meaningful budgets, and memories that can't be redone. That's not a responsibility to grow into casually. Education and experience aren't rivals — they're partners that raise both your floor and your ceiling. If you're feeling the itch, don't wait for "later." Choose to be seen, evaluated, and equipped. www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    44 min
  7. The Standard for Diverse Celebrations

    MAR 2

    The Standard for Diverse Celebrations

    In this episode, Krisy Thomas, Senior Educator with The CWP Society, is joined by Rima Shaw, Certified Wedding Planner and Certified Educator, for a conversation that goes straight at one of the most uncomfortable moments in our industry — that jolt of panic when a couple asks you to lead a culturally rich, multi-day celebration you don't fully understand. Together, they unpack what true preparation really looks like: before the inquiry call, before the proposal, and long before the wedding day. They dig into the difference between curiosity and genuine cultural fluency, why "figuring it out as you go" ultimately fails the couples who trusted you, and how a planner's integrity shows up not just in the answers they give — but in the questions they know to ask, and the ones they're wise enough not to. The conversation covers the framework behind culturally rooted celebrations: how rituals carry sacred meaning, why the order of events is never arbitrary, and how family dynamics shape decisions that extend far beyond logistics. Rima brings real-world perspective on what planners miss when they're underprepared, what those moments feel like from the family's point of view, and how a trained team can recognize a skipped ritual and course-correct gracefully alongside the officiant. They also take on the biggest misconception in multicultural planning: no two weddings — even within the same faith — are the same. Assumptions quietly erode trust. Informed, respectful discovery builds it. This episode is as tactical as it is principled. You'll hear how to prepare beyond a Google search by building relationships with officiants and culture-immersed vendors, what questions belong in your client questionnaire, how to approach rehearsal protocols, and when the most professional answer is, "I'm not the right fit for this — yet." And they get candid about the real business case for deep specialization, particularly for complex South Asian celebrations, and why continuous education is the backbone of both stronger service and stronger pricing. Saying yes to a culturally significant wedding is a promise to lead with knowledge and respect — not an opportunity to learn on your clients. If this episode resonates, subscribe, share it with a planner who needs to hear it, and leave a review telling us the standard you hold when you say yes. Ready to invest in your expertise? Visit cwpsociety.com!  www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    35 min
  8. Raise The Standard Or Erode The Trust

    FEB 23

    Raise The Standard Or Erode The Trust

    Weddings don't come with a second chance — and yet too many planners are still showing up underprepared, overpromising, and hoping it all works out. In this episode, CWP Society Founder and CEO Laurie Hartwell and Senior Educator Krisy Thomas pull back the curtain on what's really at stake when planners skip the education and go straight to the business card. This isn't about gatekeeping or status. It's about protection — for couples trusting us with one of the most significant days of their lives, for the vendors we work alongside, and for the reputation of this profession as a whole. Together, Laurie and Krisy get specific about where things break down: timelines sent days before the event, vendors left scrambling without critical information, "luxury" labels built on confidence rather than skill, and advice circulating on social media that sounds polished but causes real harm. They also map out what doing it right actually looks like — proactive communication, collaborative timelines, calm crisis management, and a standard of preparation that doesn't cut corners. You'll hear why venues start building walls after just one bad experience, why shadowing alone can't teach the invisible prep that makes a wedding day run, and why clients today are asking harder questions — and deserve clearer, more credible answers. Experience matters. But education multiplies it. And in a market that's moving faster than ever, the planners who lead with credentials aren't just protecting their business — they're protecting every couple who trusts them. If you're serious about showing up prepared, earning the trust of every vendor in the room, and raising the bar for planners everywhere — this conversation is your new baseline. Subscribe, share this episode with a planner who needs to hear it, and leave a review letting us know the one standard you believe should be non-negotiable in this industry. Ready to take the next step? Visit cwpsociety.com.  www.cwpsociety.com | info@cwpsociety.com | IG: @cwpsociety | FB: @cwpsociety

    41 min
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5
out of 5
26 Ratings

About

CWP Society is proud to produce the "Wedding Planner Society: Industry Expert Insights" podcast!Laurie Hartwell & Krisy Thomas, award-winning Master Certified Wedding Planners and Industry Educators from 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
    Laurie Hartwell & Krisy Thomas - CWP Society
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    117
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 @2024 CWP Society, The Wedding Planner Podcast
  • Show Website
    Wedding Planner Society Podcast

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