🎙 Season 8 of The Venue RX Podcast is a Wrap! 🎉 Season 8 brought some of our best conversations yet—filled with powerful takeaways, industry insights, and real talk for venue owners and event professionals. Whether you’re new here or a longtime listener, this season had something for everyone. 🔥 Here Are the Top 10 Moments from Season 8 (You need to hear these again—or for the first time!) 📺 Watch or listen to all the episodes here : 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-XAPFZdrsag0aue...
Jun 10, 2025•12 min
In this week's episode of The Venue Rx podcast, host Jonathan Aymin welcomes sales strategist and expert Maria Bayer for an insightful conversation on mastering the art of sales in the wedding and events industry. Maria shares her signature approach, Irresistible Selling , which reframes sales as a skill rooted in empathy and client understanding. Drawing from her journey from finance to high-level sales, Maria emphasizes the importance of setting clear expectations, qualifying leads early, and ...
Jun 02, 2025•1 hr 8 min
In this week's episode of The Venue Rx podcast, our host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Kelly Chandler, a leading UK-based venue consultant, for a fascinating conversation on the rapidly evolving wedding venue industry. Drawing from her extensive experience, Kelly shares a unique international perspective on how venues are adapting on both sides of the Atlantic. She unpacks the key differences and surprising similarities between the UK and US markets, diving into emerging trends, industry challen...
May 26, 2025•59 min
In this episode of The Venue RX podcast, host Jonathan Aymin is joined by Pinterest marketing expert Laura Rike for an insightful conversation on how wedding venues can use Pinterest to grow their brand and attract more clients. Laura explains how Pinterest functions as a visual search engine and how that distinction makes it an especially effective tool for venue marketing. She shares tips on setting up a Pinterest business account, building themed boards that reflect a venue’s aesthetic, and r...
May 19, 2025•45 min
In this episode of The Venue RX Podcast, host Jonathan Aymin welcomes Mark Chapman, President of The I Do Society, for a deep dive into advertising strategies designed specifically for the wedding industry. Mark shares his evolution from wedding photographer to advertising strategist, revealing how a deep understanding of couples' behavior and the wedding market’s nuances is key to successful marketing. Mark unpacks the power of Google Ads, the influence of social platforms like Meta and TikTok,...
May 12, 2025•1 hr
On this week’s episode of The Venue Rx podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Dan Donovan, CEO of Stratoscope and Ingressotek, to explore the vital role security plays in successful event planning. With decades of experience including security leadership at 13 Super Bowls and seven Olympic Games Dan offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the industry has transformed since 9/11. From shifting public expectations to the rise of AI and robotics, Dan explains how security strategies have evolve...
May 06, 2025•47 min
In this episode of The Venue RX Podcast , host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Broc Barton for a powerful conversation on leadership development within the wedding and events industry. Broc shares his inspiring journey from DJing to becoming a leadership coach, emphasizing the critical role leadership plays in creating unforgettable guest experiences. Throughout the episode, Broc dives into the importance of building structured processes, cultivating self-awareness, and committing to personal grow...
Apr 28, 2025•1 hr 16 min
In this week’s episode of The Venue Rx Podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Ken Gavranovic, CEO of Product Genius, to explore how AI is shaking up the wedding venue industry. Ken shares eye-opening insights on how AI is changing the way couples discover venues—especially through search engines like Google—and how it's helping businesses create more meaningful, personalized customer experiences. From streamlining day-to-day operations to gathering real-time feedback, Ken breaks down how ve...
Apr 21, 2025•46 min
In this week’s episode of The Venue RX podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Cassie LaMere, founder of Cassie LaMere Events. Cassie opens up about her journey in the event planning industry, sharing how her personal experiences ignited a passion for crafting meaningful, impactful events. She explores the evolving world of corporate events, offering insights into how venues can tap into opportunities beyond weddings. Cassie also highlights the power of networking, the value of distinctive e...
Apr 14, 2025•54 min
In this week’s episode of The Venue RX podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Vanessa Fuller of Chivari, a leading supplier of event furniture. Vanessa shares her expertise on selecting and maintaining rental inventory for wedding venues, emphasizing the importance of aesthetics, meeting client expectations, and streamlining operations. She highlights Chivari’s commitment to color consistency, personalized customer service, and proactive inventory management. Vanessa also breaks down curren...
Apr 08, 2025•41 min
In this episode of The Venue Rx podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Kyle LaBarre, a venue owner and industry coach, to explore his journey in the wedding venue business. Kyle shares his experience acquiring and transforming Black Oak, detailing the strategies he used to grow the venue, including refining sales processes and navigating challenges like liquor licensing in Texas. Kyle discusses his transition into coaching, where he now helps venue owners optimize their sales techniques and...
Apr 01, 2025•55 min
In this week’s episode of The Venue Rx Podcast , host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Colleen Carswell, a seasoned fractional Chief Operating Officer with extensive experience in the wedding and events industry. With a deep understanding of business operations and leadership, Colleen shares invaluable insights on the mindset shifts necessary for small business owners to scale successfully. She dives into the common mental roadblocks entrepreneurs face, including challenges with money mindset, cont...
Mar 24, 2025•58 min
In this episode of The Venue RX Podcast, host Jonathan Aymin welcomes back Alan Berg, a leading expert in wedding venue sales, marketing, and business strategy. Alan shares his insights on the ever-changing wedding industry, focusing on how venues can adapt to shifting consumer behaviors and expectations. A key topic of discussion is the impact of generational differences, particularly among Millennials (Gen Y) and Gen Z couples. Alan highlights how these younger generations approach wedding pla...
Mar 17, 2025•35 min
In this episode of The Venue RX podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with marketing expert Kai McInnes to explore the power of advertising for wedding venues. Kai shares his journey from managing marketing and sales at his family’s venue, The BarnYard, to co-founding The Wedding Marketers , a marketing agency dedicated to helping venues attract newly engaged couples through highly targeted advertising campaigns. Throughout the conversation, Kai dives into the advantages of using paid ads over ...
Mar 10, 2025•39 min
In this week's episode of The Venue Rx podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Emily Walleman, a seasoned marketing strategist and Google Ads expert, to explore powerful marketing techniques for venue owners. Emily shares her journey from wedding planning to founding her own marketing agency, highlighting key lessons learned along the way. She breaks down essential marketing metrics, including ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) and EPL (Expected Profit per Lead), and discusses how tracking these numb...
Mar 04, 2025•38 min
In this week’s episode of The Venue Rx , host Jonathan Aymin sits down with marketing expert Heidi Yarger to explore the crucial role of branding and marketing in the wedding venue industry. Heidi highlights the power of storytelling and the necessity of a strong online presence, emphasizing that venues must craft a compelling brand narrative to connect with their ideal couples. Heidi shares her expertise on developing a cohesive branding strategy, stressing that every touchpoint—from a venue’s ...
Feb 24, 2025•57 min
This week on The Venue RX Podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Elizabeth Solaru, a former microbiologist who transformed her passion into a thriving career as a luxury cake designer. Elizabeth shares her inspiring journey from science to entrepreneurship, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the luxury wedding and events industry. She dives into the key strategies that helped her build a world-renowned brand, from leveraging media exposure to fostering emotional connections with clients. ...
Feb 18, 2025•54 min
This week on The Venue RX Podcast , Jonathan Aymin sits down with Anja Winikka, founder of Freeda, to discuss the power of community in the wedding industry. Anja shares her journey from her time at The Knot to creating Freeda, an exclusive network that connects established wedding professionals for collaboration, resource sharing, and support. She highlights the importance of openness and vulnerability, especially when engaging with the next generation of industry professionals who bring fresh ...
Feb 10, 2025•41 min
Get ready for another incredible year with The Venue RX Podcast ! In 2025, we’re diving even deeper into the business of weddings and events, bringing you expert insights, game-changing strategies, and real-world success stories to help venue owners and event professionals thrive. Expect conversations with top industry leaders on topics like scaling your venue business, mastering sales and marketing, optimizing operations, and leveraging technology to enhance the client experience. We’ll also ex...
Feb 06, 2025•3 min
In this week’s episode of The Venue RX Podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with David Short, the owner of Irvington Event Center in Indianapolis. David shares his inspiring journey from flipping houses to running a 12,000-square-foot co-working and event space. He opens up about the financial hurdles he faced—especially during the COVID-19 pandemic—and the creative strategies he used, including securing investors, to bring his vision to life. David highlights the venue’s versatile layout, whi...
Jan 21, 2025•46 min
In this episode of The Venue Rx Podcast, host Jonathan sits down with Kate Kotecki, owner of Kotecki's Grandview Grove, a renowned wedding venue in New York. Kate shares her family's deep roots in the wedding industry, starting with her father’s catering business, and provides a behind-the-scenes look at the complexities of running a wedding venue. She opens up about the unique challenges of living on-site, maintaining work-life balance, and navigating client expectations. The discussion also co...
Jan 14, 2025•55 min
In this episode of The Venue Rx podcast, host Jonathan Aymin interviews Kasie Romagno, the owner of The Armory Arts, a modern industrial venue in the heart of the Poconos. Kasie shares her journey from teaching to managing a wedding venue, drawing on her family's entrepreneurial roots in the concert and real estate industries. She reflects on the challenges of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of maintaining low overhead costs, and the unique dynamics of running a family business....
Jan 11, 2025•1 hr
In this episode of The Venue RX Podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Beau Davis, a driving force behind the development and management of venues in Lake Elsinore, California. Beau recounts his inspiring journey from the service industry to revitalizing venue spaces in the community, with a spotlight on Launch Pointe—a unique resort-style wedding venue and campground. The conversation dives into the remarkable growth of Lake Elsinore, the innovative strategies employed at Launch Pointe, an...
Dec 31, 2024•42 min
In this episode of The Venue Rx Podcast, our host Jonathan Aymin explores the concept of a venue's "DNA"—the distinctive traits and selling points that make a venue unique. Designed for aspiring venue owners and those in the early stages of their business, Jonathan presents a ten-step framework to identify and capitalize on these defining features. He highlights key aspects such as location, architectural design, amenities, historical significance, operational values, and brand identity. By unde...
Dec 18, 2024•26 min
In this week's episode of The Venue RX Podcast, host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Joshua Pniewski of Forever Farms Winery for a candid discussion about the realities of owning and managing a wedding venue. Joshua pulls back the curtain on the significant effort and intricate logistics involved, revealing that venue ownership is much more than simply hosting events. He dives into the challenges such as navigating zoning regulations, managing demanding clients, and addressing the impact of negati...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 17 min
In this week's episode of The Venue RX Podcast, host Jonathan Aymin is joined by Lindsay Barrows, a dynamic entrepreneur in the wedding industry. Lindsay shares her inspiring journey from an unexpected start in entrepreneurship to successfully managing three wedding venues and an event planning company. She reflects on overcoming challenges during the 2008 recession and emphasizes the importance of resilience, adaptability, and effective delegation. Lindsay dives into her operational philosophy ...
Dec 10, 2024•1 hr 11 min
In this episode, Jonathan dives into the power of scarcity as a sales strategy to increase wedding bookings at venues. He examines different types of scarcity, including fear-driven examples like the toilet paper rush during COVID, seasonal phenomena like pumpkin spice lattes, and exclusivity-based scarcity, which he highlights as particularly effective for wedding venues. Jonathan breaks down several scarcity tactics: quantity-based (limited availability of dates), time-sensitive (short-term of...
Dec 06, 2024•22 min
In this episode of The Venue Rx podcast, host Jonathan Aymin welcomes Dana Kadwell, a seasoned venue owner and educator, to discuss her transition from hands-on management to strategic leadership. Dana explores how adapting to shifting client expectations and implementing structured processes have been key to her success. She shares insights on effective hiring, delegation, and the importance of understanding personal strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, Dana offers actionable advice on balan...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr
In this episode of The Venue Rx Podcast , host Jonathan Aymin sits down with Katherine Montes, the owner of Continuum Art, a multi-functional event space and art gallery in downtown Hendersonville. Katherine shares her journey of transforming a historic warehouse into a vibrant hub that blends art, events, and tattoo studios. She discusses her approach to pricing, event management, and balancing the creative and operational aspects of her business. Katherine also sheds light on the challenges sh...
Nov 26, 2024•45 min
In this episode, Jonathan shares key insights from his experience at Wedding MBA 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Reflecting as both an attendee and exhibitor, he highlights three essential takeaways: Tailoring Advice to Your Business Industry advice isn’t one-size-fits-all. Jonathan stresses the importance of applying strategies in a way that aligns with your venue’s unique goals, market, and clientele. Networking with Purpose Active engagement at events is invaluable. By setting clear goals, partici...
Nov 20, 2024•15 min
