Weddings for Real

Katherine Miles Jones joins Megan to talk about her career start in New York City, how she started in the wedding photography business, an amazing and breathtaking engagement shoot at the Rockefeller Center (see image below), the biggest regret of her wedding, the community of vendors and developing friendships with her competition, how she makes clients feel comfortable, her love of photography, how she recharges her batteries, and some crazy wedding stories, including photo shoots with Abraham Lincoln the alpaca (see image below) and Nacho the Donkey.   

Plus Katherine tells Megan what her favorite food is and the one movie that she has seen in theaters over the past three years.  

Portrait of Katherine by Sarah Der Photography. 

Alpaca and Rockefeller engagement images by Katherine Miles Jones. For more of Katherine's amazing images, check out her portfolio on her website. 

This episode was not sponsored by Wandering Bear Coffee.

No alpacas were in Katherine's car during the recording.

For another wedding podcast you might like, check out the Wedding Photo Hangover Podcast by Steven Van Elk and Dustin McKibben.  

Music for this episode by https://www.bensound.com.

The host of the show is Megan Gillikin, owner and lead consultant at A Southern Soiree Wedding and Event Planning.  She's also available for wedding and hospitality business consulting and can be reached at [email protected].

Weddings for Real is edited and produced by Jason Gillikin for Earfluence.

Phil McInnis from 21 Films Videography in Raleigh came on the show to talk about how he has built up his business from just Phil and his wife Jess to a team of 6 filmmakers and editors, what differentiates the 21 Films style of videography from other wedding videographers, what motivates Phil, how to work with other vendors, and of course we get into some crazy stories about people drinking a little too much and being on camera.

21 Films Team

Blair + Danny, The Merrimon-Wynne House from Twenty-One Films on Vimeo.

Jess + Mike, The Umstead from Twenty-One Films on Vimeo.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MEGAN.  We have launched The Planner’s Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out over the years like How to Get on Preferred Vendor Lists, The Client Experience, and more. My mission with the vault is to elevate the industry (along with some amazing experts and fellow entrepreneurs) and I want it to be affordable so it's possible to stay invested in the community and yourself for the long haul. For more information, head on over to ThePlannersVault.com. 

Music for this episode by https://www.bensound.com.

The host of the show is Megan Gillikin, owner and lead consultant at A Southern Soiree Wedding and Event Planning.  She's also available for wedding and hospitality business consulting and can be reached at [email protected].

Weddings for Real is edited and produced by Jason Gillikin for Earfluence.

Cydney English, owner of The English Garden, has been in the flower business for literally her entire life and runs a florist shop in Raleigh where about 60% of her business is weddings.  She does over 120 weddings per year, and she employs 10-20 people at a time depending on the season. Actually, Cydney and her husband Warren are both third-generation florists.

On this episode, Cydney talks about her life growing up with her dad and grandma as florists, what it was like in the early days of starting her business, trends in the wedding industry, making your wedding personal to you, and what she thinks about competition.

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MEGAN.  We have launched The Planner’s Vault, a membership site for wedding planners who are hungry to grow, ready to hustle, and actively seeking community and education. In the vault, there will be guest experts on many topics relevant to growing and cultivating a successful event planning business with new content added consistently, plus all of my templates that I have built out over the years like How to Get on Preferred Vendor Lists, The Client Experience, and more. My mission with the vault is to elevate the industry (along with some amazing experts and fellow entrepreneurs) and I want it to be affordable so it's possible to stay invested in the community and yourself for the long haul. For more information, head on over to ThePlannersVault.com. 

Music for this episode by https://www.bensound.com.

The host of the show is Megan Gillikin, owner and lead consultant at A Southern Soiree Wedding and Event Planning.  She's also available for wedding and hospitality business consulting and can be reached at [email protected].

Weddings for Real is edited and produced by Jason Gillikin for Earfluence.

Join The Planner's Vault Challenge!

Hey WFR listeners, Megan here with an extra special bonus episode and an opportunity you don’t want to miss!

Next week, I’ll be running a FREE 3 day engagement season challenge to help you get ready for the upcoming engagement season challenge and consider this your official invitation to join me you can find out more and signup at ThePlannersVaultChallenge.com.

Here’s five reason this challenge is extra special:

1- I’ll teach you how to get ultra-clear on your audience, messaging, and next steps to attract and book more clients you love.

2- I’ll teach you how to lean into relationship building to open doors in your business and reach your dream client without expensive marketing, complicated tactics, or salesy pitches.

3- I'll give away a TON of fabulous prizes, including gift cards and free coaching sessions!!

4- I’ll offer daily power hour live co-working sessions to get the work done and I’ll be there to answer your questions and cheer you on as you compete the tasks.

5- This exclusive challenge is really hands-on, so I only run it once a year. That’s also why I keep space limited— which allows me to connect with you directly for Q&As and personalized guidance. And did I mention, it’s free to join? You seriously have nothing to lose!

So, I have to ask.... Do you want to get more out of your wedding planning business? Do you crave confidence and clarity heading in to 2023? Are you ready to be challenged?

It starts November 14th!

Now if you still have a few more questions, Here’s some additional helpful info!

Question 1- is the challenge just for planners?

This challenge is designed for wedding planners but other wedding pros are welcome to join. You may need to adjust some of the templates and scripts to fit your business but you’ll still find value in the work!

Question 2-

Is this for new planners or experienced planners?

This challenge will be incredibly beneficial for you if you’re in year 1 or year 10. There are editable templates and scripts as well as tips for standing out in a saturated market and connecting with venues intentionally. It’s packed w goodness and over $200 in high value templates pulled from within my membership The Planner's Vault.

Question #3-

What’s the time commitment of the challenge?

3 day challenge with 3 business momentum building tasks each day. Hour of coworking and 30 minutes of lives a day!

See you inside!

The Planner's Vault Challenge

James Walters of Walters and Walters Photography has been in the wedding industry for 16 years, and he has some crazy stories to tell.  So he did!  

In 2013 he came out with the book, Accessory to Marriage: A Chronicle of Outrageousness from My Life as a Wedding Photographer.

In today's episode, James talks about some of his favorite stories from the book and his code language when it comes to weddings, like who "Fluffy" and "Triple D" are.

Above images from Eden Holt Photography.  

Walters and Walters can be found at:

http://waltersandwalters.com/

https://www.instagram.com/real_jameswalters/

https://www.facebook.com/waltersandwalters/

Music for this episode by https://www.bensound.com.

The host of the show is Megan Gillikin, owner and lead consultant at A Southern Soiree Wedding and Event Planning.  She's also available for wedding and hospitality business consulting and can be reached at [email protected].

Weddings for Real is edited and produced by Jason Gillikin for Earfluence.