Today on the Wedding Planning Podcast, we're exploring your top wedding questions, including: Ideal number of wedding party members / pro’s & con’s of larger vs. smaller group? What are your thoughts on doing a first look vs. waiting for the more traditional moment when I walk down the aisle? Inviting kids to the wedding - does it have to be “all or nothing?” Babysitting options? OK to assign seats for the ceremony? Divorced parents on my side and want to keep them separated. Including famil...
Jun 25, 2025•28 min
They say hindsight is 20/20, and today on the Wedding Planning Podcast I'm sharing the top money spending regrets that married couples have. It's really easy to get swept up in dozens of "must-have's" during your engagement - but after today's episode, you'll think twice about these wedding expenses. Questions or topics you'd like to hear more on? Please be in touch! weddingplanningpodcast.co/contact Talk soon, Kara...
Jun 18, 2025•16 min
My inbox is full of your wedding planning questions, including: Are wedding fairs worth the time? How to pick a DJ? No idea where to start! My dress is very heavy, with a dramatic long train. Should I consider a separate reception dress for dancing? >>> My fave site for reception party dresses >>> Lulus.com What are your thoughts on a NYE wedding? We love the symbolism of beginning our lives together at the start of a new year, but the logistics of actually planning for NYE see...
Jun 11, 2025•24 min
Creating a simple, info-packed WEDDING WEBSITE is the easiest, most hassle free way to easily share information with your wedding guests. Join me today for a detailed wedding planning workshop on exactly how to create an amazing wedding website - zero technical skills required! To get started, choose your wedding website design from an incredible community of independent artists & designers when you visit Minted Weddings. FREE Minted wedding websites include all the tools you need to get sta...
Jun 04, 2025•27 min
You’ve done months (maybe even YEARS) of wedding planning & preparation, and the big day is finally almost here! Last stop? Rehearsal dinner. This week we’re reviewing everything you need to know for planning & hosting this extra special night with your family & friends. We cover everything from the ceremony rehearsal itself to practical tips for hosting your loved ones afterwards. DETAILED BLOG POST HERE --> www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/rehearsal Naturally, I have a ton of creat...
May 29, 2025•26 min
Affordable & beautiful Save the Date announcements and wedding invitations - how hard can that be?? Well, if you’ve spent 3 hours on a Saturday getting lost down the rabbit hole of 9 different wedding invitation websites, then you know that finding a practical solution that fits your style and your budget is much easier said than done. Today I’m sharing a complete guide to wedding stationery, from Save the Dates to invitations. We'll even review all of those mysterious extras like fancy pape...
May 28, 2025•25 min
Setting a realistic wedding budget that works for you is one of the first steps you’ll take after getting engaged - and ideally before making any big wedding decisions. So if you’re newly engaged ( or maybe just need a wedding budget reset!) , you’re in the right place. To streamline the process, today's show is a step-by-step guide on exactly how to create a realistic wedding budget that gives you plenty of space for all the things that you value the most. Let’s face it, a wedding planning expe...
May 23, 2025•24 min
This week, I have an inbox full of your wedding flower questions to share! I also put together a list of the top wedding flower mistakes that I see couples make, to further help guide you to "DIY wedding flower SUCCESS". Today we're reviewing: How much should 5 relatively simple bouquets cost? I’m being quoted over $1200, which feels so ridiculous. Visiting a flower farm to pick stems w/ my bridal party - how early should we pick & arrange them so that they are still fresh? How much time sho...
May 21, 2025•24 min
The little dollar bill emoji with flapping wings is a great one-tap summary of planning a wedding. Budgeting for expected expenses is hard enough, let alone all of the little unexpected stuff that sneaks in along the way! Today we’re going to shine a light on 16 annoying + unexpected expenses that couples don’t plan for, so that you can adjust your budget early on and not be taken by surprise in the coming months. Full blog post for today's show can be found here. Thank you for sharing the show ...
May 15, 2025•26 min
Wedding flowers are high on the list of things that couples rate "not very" to "not at all" important to them. So why spend thousands of dollars on elaborate, professional floral centerpieces and bouquets? There are so many simple, beautiful & affordable alternatives - Today I have an 5-part formula for you to follow so that you can have beautiful, top quality flowers ... for an affordable price tag. And the tips I’m sharing today don’t have to be just for your wedding - you can use the same...
May 14, 2025•23 min
Get ready for a fun show today! Here’s a road map of where we’re going: I have a recap of my brother-in-law's 3/30/25 wedding in Rochester, MI. I'll share what was amazing, a detailed rundown of the venue / flow of events, how they took advantage of cost-saving opportunities, their solution to kids at the wedding, and lots more valueble takeaways! I also have an inbox full of your questions on everything from: How to blend "nostalgic elements" into our wedding celebration? Responding to requests...
May 12, 2025•33 min
Creating your wedding reception seating chart can QUICKLY become one of wedding planning’s biggest pains. Between crazy family members, divorces, step-parents, hook-up’s gone wrong, introverts, extroverts and lots of alcohol - your seating chart can quickly begin to feel like a jigsaw puzzle from hell. This week on the Wedding Planning Podcast, we’re going to review some easy tips & tactics for designing your reception seating chart. Simple stuff that will ease the pain, and take this task f...
May 07, 2025•36 min
Get answers to all of your wedding cake + dessert questions in today’s show! From everything to researching bakeries, booking cake tastings, hidden fees to be aware of, unique dessert alternatives, and budget-friendly cost saving tips, we're covering it all in today's sugar-coated show. Links mentioned in our convo: The complete blog post for today's show is linked here >>> weddingplanningpodcast.co/cake TLC rounded up a group of experts to share the most popular wedding cake flavor com...
May 01, 2025•27 min
When you’re in the thick of wedding planning, it can feel like this phase of life will go on forever. But believe it or not, at some point you WILL actually be married, and wedding planning will come to an end (insert cheering emoji / crying emoji here - take your pick!). I see a pretty split reaction to this, with half of us feeling thank universe, the wedding can’t come soon enough ... having all that extra brain space back from planning and organizing a million tiny details will be amazing. O...
Apr 30, 2025•35 min
Get ready to explore hassle-free online bridesmaid dress shopping with featured brand, Lulus Weddings! Tune in & discover how you can enjoy a successful online bridesmaid dress shopping experience, including: Professional bridesmaid styling ideas, Struggling with piecing together colors or patterns in a mismatch dress situation? No worries! Lulus free bridal concierge service makes the process 100% stress-free . The 5 KEYS to creating a cohesive visual palette with mismatched dresses, The bi...
Apr 24, 2025•26 min
Great news - you don’t need to be a professional designer or natural-born artist to select a beautiful & cohesive color palette for your wedding celebration. Today on the Wedding Planning Podcast, we’re running through 5 easy steps for choosing the colors to incorporate into your rehearsal, ceremony & reception. I also have a bonus rundown of the top Wedding Color Palette MISTAKES that I see couples make, so be sure to stick around until the end! A lightening speed recap: 1. Start w/ you...
Apr 23, 2025•17 min
You deserve wedding insurance that's fast and affordable, and protecting your investment in your wedding celebration literally couldn't be easier than a quick online visit to Brite.co/wedpod . Today we’re joined by a very special guest, Dustin Lemick. Dustin is the CEO and founder of BriteCo . BriteCo is a modern insurance company built for the digital age, and their goal is to simplify the process of securing jewelry and wedding insurance. Well, mission complete, because streamline and simplify...
Apr 09, 2025•26 min
Today we’re going to chat about a handful of ways when trying to "save" money on your wedding can totally BACKFIRE. Aside of college educations, new homes and new cars, your wedding likely has one of the biggest price tags you’ve ever paid. You’re spending tens of thousands of dollars - of course you’re trying to save money when possible! You’re not out there researching the most expensive venue in your area, or trying to find ways to spend more money on your invitations. When a potential photog...
Mar 26, 2025•40 min
Your bachelorette party is a really fun engagement milestone AND it'll be a breeze to plan with these easy planning guidelines + sample itineraries! Today's show also includes lots of your questions on party etiquette, gift giving, who plans what, and even a "tale of two parties" ... two very different bachelorette formats, each with their own pro's, and each guaranteed to result in an unforgettable night(s). Who plans the bachelorette party? Who should get invited? When should we start planning...
Mar 19, 2025•25 min
Your WEDDING CEREMONY is undoubtedly the most important part of your wedding day celebration - it's literally the WHY of every single thing we touch on here on the Wedding Planning Podcast! Unfortunately, many couples push the ceremony logistics to the very bottom of their wedding planning to-do list, and as a result, this critical piece of your wedding day misses getting the full attention & creativity that it deserves. Tune in to the full show for a start-to-finish guide for infusing your ...
Mar 12, 2025•28 min
"What’s really bothering me lately is I’m in a stress cycle over anticipating what might go wrong during our wedding weekend and wanting to proactively jump in and plan for those things. What are some unexpected stress-points that we can be prepared for as much as possible?" Do yourselves a favor - plan to be caught off guard by something on your wedding day! Next step, mentally prepare to brush it off in the moment so that you can be fully present and enjoy your wedding day. Survey 100 couples ...
Mar 05, 2025•27 min
Enjoy a jam-packed show full of your wedding planning questions, including: What’s an ideal wedding planning timeline? How can we include family members who want to “help” with the wedding? Managing wedding planning stress, Inviting kids to the wedding? Cost-effective dessert options, Helping a younger bridesmaid feel included w/ the older girls, Are Bridal Expos worth it? Should we go to one? How to chose our wedding theme? And soooo many more! To submit questions for an upcoming show, visit we...
Feb 26, 2025•45 min
Engagement photos are an incredible opportunity to capture you & your fiancé in your happiest moments, and to share those images across your save the dates, your wedding website, holiday cards, and as decorations throughout your wedding celebration. The thing is, choosing the perfect outfits, getting hair & make up just right so that you look incredible but still natural, and posing effortlessly can be much easier said than done! Choosing what you’re going to wear and struggling through ...
Feb 12, 2025•16 min
Today we’re going to break down the complicated, sometimes messy process of crafting your wedding guest list. BONUS, I have lots of your guest list questions to share along the way! Tune in for a Wedding Guest List Step-By-Step guide that includes: An outline for getting started with your wedding guest list process, Smart Tips and benefits to running an "A List / B List" invitation tier system, How to manage non-invited Plus One's, Effective ways to trim your guest list, Managing family requests...
Feb 05, 2025•35 min
In today's bonus episode, we explore the risks of judging a wedding venue by the initial price tag. Lots of budget savvy couples see their venue selection as a great opportunity to control costs and set the stage for major savings down the road. This CAN be a great strategy … when approached the right way. The problem is that as we’re doing the research and gathering venue quotes, IMPULSE can take over. What seems like a great deal on the surface can quickly spiral into a total money pit if you’...
Jan 31, 2025•26 min
Choosing your wedding venue is the most important decision you'll make throughout your wedding planning. No pressure! Not only is your wedding venue the centerpiece of your celebration, it's also likely the budget category where you'll invest the most money. So it's ultra-important to make a careful, well-informed decision. Tune in to today's show for a detailed conversation that covers: The key wedding checklist items that are directly related to your venue, How to set yourselves up for a succe...
Jan 29, 2025•29 min
Trust me, I know that wedding planning can be stressful, overwhelming, and a complete PITA at times. That's why I compiled a list of 40 uplifting wedding planning affirmations for you to tune in to any time you need a mental wedding refresh: Our wedding celebration will be a perfect reflection of us. I commit my attention to our top priorities & tune out the rest. We cannot control the actions or inactions of others. A meaningful wedding is within reach. I chose love over anger. I let go of ...
Jan 11, 2025•5 min
Tune in to this bonus episode for a list of "10 Things To Do After Getting Engaged" - The days & weeks after saying "YES!" are a whirlwind of fun & excitement. From sharing the news with your loved ones, flashing that ring every chance you get, and dreaming of cakes and dresses, you're definitely at the start of an unforgettable time in your lives ... And I couldn't be more honored to be a part of it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for including me in your engagement journey. I LO...
Jan 10, 2025•21 min
In this bonus workshop, we'll explore exactly how to get started defining - and refining - your wedding vision. This is a valuable exercise that I would love for you & your partner to do separately, then come together to compare what each of you saw. I don't expect that anyone will have all the answers the first time, or see every single last detail in crystal clear focus. The point isn't to get it "right" on the first try, but rather to begin to clear your mental slate and give your imagina...
Jan 09, 2025•12 min
From nightmare meetings with wedding planners, to renting a mansion & our "DIY" heavy approach, in this bonus episode you'll hear the full details of my own wedding planning journey. The couples who give up on the new approach to planning that we focus on here on the Wedding Planning Podcast will likely stay stuck exactly where I was in the story I'm sharing today, after meeting with the awful 3rd wedding planner. They’ll do exactly what most couples do, and freak out over how much there is ...
Jan 08, 2025•23 min