154: 5 Blunt Truths From A Luxury Dubai Wedding Planner with Laura Shepherd

The truth often hurts. And in an industry that exists to make dreams come true, no matter the cost, it’s no wonder that it’s commonplace for many vendors to blur the lines a little and to tell engaged couples what they want to hear.However, this is unequivocally NOT the case with my guest today. I first learned that Laura existed through a Reel that was recommended in my Instagram feed titled: “Advice I’d Give You As A Wedding Planner If I Weren’t Afraid of Hurting Your Feelings”.I’m sure you’ve seen these Reels before, and they are super lightweight with advice like: “make sure you find time to eat on your wedding day” and “keep a pair of runners in a bag so you can change into them later in the night”. I mean, they’re true and okay. Not exactly groundbreaking, though.But Laura’s advice was exceptionally transparent and so incredibly timely given the bloated client expectations that many of us have noticed increasing in the last couple of years.I feel like her planning advice is how weddings need to be viewed now and love that one of her favourite sayings is: “design for feelings, not for aesthetics”. And this is coming from a luxury planner who sees budgets in the millions of dollars. So get ready for some tough love, because these are facts, and sometimes we just need a reset on what this wedding thing is all about, right?RESOURCESLaura Shepherd on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laur.shep/Couture Events Worldwide on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coutureeventsworldwide/The Wed Ed: https://www.theweded.com/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dubaiweddingplannerSend Unbridely a 90-second audio message on Speakpipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/unbridelypodcast*The Unbridely Podcast is sponsored by its listeners. When you purchase products or services through links on our website or via the podcast, we may earn an affiliate commission.*------This episode of the Unbridely Modern Wedding Planning Podcast is brought to you by WedSites.com, Unbridely's recommended all-in-one wedding website builder, guest management platform & wedding planning tool.Visit WedSites.com to get started on your FREE wedding website and use code UNBRIDELYPOD to get 10% off any of their paid plans.-----Unbridely acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we record this podcast on, the Kaurna People. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.Support the showFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unbridely/or TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unbridelyEmail the Unbridely Podcast:[email protected]