PODCAST · arts
Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast
by Tracy Taylor Ward and Shannon Leahy
Welcome to Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast. We are Tracy Taylor Ward and Shannon Leahy, wedding planners with a love for event design who work with clients all over the world. Tracy’s company, Tracy Taylor Ward Design, is based in NY and FL, and Shannon’s company, Shannon Leahy Events, is located in CA and MD. After a combined 20 years in the events industry, we’ve “wedded” our expertise to share with you everything we know about weddings and how to run a successful luxury event planning company. Whether you’re a wedding planner looking to elevate your client’s experience, or a bride or groom wondering how to hold a chic, seamless and exceptionally fun wedding, you’ve come to the right place! So grab your favorite pen and notebook, and take a seat. We can’t wait to help you level up your wedding!
Episodes
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From Help Wanted to Dream Team: Our Hiring Evolution
In this episode, we’re diving into the essential strategies for building an exceptional team that propels your business forward. Whether you’re a seasoned planner or just starting out, hiring the right people is crucial for scaling effectively. Tune in to learn about our first hires, our best…
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Perfect Petals: How to Use Personal Flowers in Weddings
What is a “personal flower,” who gets them, when do they get them, how are they presented, and what do you do with them?! From bouquets and boutonnieres to nosegays and wreaths, we have many thoughts! Tune in to learn what flowers work best and how to make them last! Plus, hear all about our…
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Inflation Frustration: Navigating Wedding Price Surges
Welcome back to “Wedded” with Trace and Shannon! After a brief hiatus, we’re here with a fresh format and lots of exciting topics sourced from you, our fantastic listeners. In this episode, we dive into the topic of wedding inflation. We discuss how prices have changed in the wedding industry…
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How To Plan Like A Pro: Our Core System Revealed
Planners— are you tired of spinning your wheels with inefficient systems? Couples— have you ever wondered how you could plan your wedding more effortlessly? Today we are breaking down all of our Core System tools and how you can prevent yourself from wasting time and making mistakes by employing...
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After the Aisle: Conquering Post-Wedding Blues, Name Changes, and the Journey Ahead!
Join us today as we provide practical advice and strategies to overcome post-wedding blues, simplify the name change process, preserve cherished memories, and thrive in your new life as a married couple. Whether you're a newlywed or a wedding planner, this episode is your guide to navigating the...
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The Art of Wedding Negotiations: Strategies for Successful Vendor Communications
Get ready to dive into the nitty-gritty of vendor contracts! Today we are sharing valuable tips on establishing clear and open communication channels throughout the negotiation process. Discover our favorite strategies for requesting discounts, understanding pricing structures, and finding areas...
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Thriving in a Slow Wedding Season: Adaptation and Resilience for Wedding Planners
It's time to talk about something we all dread in the wedding industry: a super slow season. But don't worry, we've got you covered with a ton of tips and tricks to keep your business thriving even when things are moving at a snail's pace. From diversifying your business to strengthening your...
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Hashtag 'Happily Ever After': Exploring the Role of Social Media in Modern Weddings
This week we are exploring the ever-evolving world of social media and its impact on weddings. From swoon-worthy inspiration to the pressure for Instagram-perfect moments, we'll uncover the good, the bad, and the controversial. Plus, don't miss our listener question segment where we reveal our...
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An Introvert's Guide to Wedding Planning
Planning a wedding can be stressful for anyone, but for introverts, it can be especially overwhelming. So, we're here to share some tips and strategies for creating a wedding that prioritizes self-care, mental well-being, and introvert-friendly planning. From scheduling moments of alone time to...
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Going Green: Planning a Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Wedding
On this week's episode of Wedded, we're all about planning a sustainable and eco-friendly wedding! We're sharing stories and tips for carbon conscious couples, including how we find venues and vendors who prioritize environmentally friendly options for everything from flowers to wedding attire....
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How to Attract Your Ideal Client
Let's face it, in the wedding planning industry, there are a lot of fish in the sea. So, if you want to stand out and attract your ideal clients, you need to know who they are and what they want. On this week’s episode we are dishing on how to find your "ideal client" and improve your marketing...
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The Budgeting Masterclass You’ve All Been Waiting For
Whoever said ‘Money, Money, Money. Must be Funny” must not have been a wedding planner. Tune-in to this week’s episode for everything you need to know about wedding budgets, from when to discuss finances with clients to our personal processes for setting and sticking to a wedding budget. But…
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Navigating Conflicts With Parents During Planning
It’s never easy to make plans when there are too many cooks in the kitchen, and event planning is no exception! Planning a wedding often means navigating inter-family dynamics for the first time, which can be challenging, especially when the parties’ involved aren’t seeing eye to eye. That’s why...
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Vendor No Show? No Problem.
For those who have never been in a scenario where a vendor cancels at the last minute or simply doesn’t show up on the wedding day, consider yourself one of the lucky ones! Handling this type of situation can feel overwhelming and stressful, especially for a crucial vendor for your clients’...
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What to Wear — Wedding Planner Edition
Wondering what you and your on-site team should wear to your upcoming events? We’ve got you covered—Tune in this week for our tips on determining the best dress code for you and your team, and how appropriate on-site attire can actually impact future client bookings! PLUS: One listener asks about...
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How to Decide if an Engagement Party is Right for You (& How to Plan One)
Wondering why your social media feeds have been flooded with proposals lately? That’s because we’re in the height of Engagement Season (Nov-February), the most popular time for to-be-wed couples to pop the question! With that, we’re talking all things engagement parties this week, so whether…
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Best Practices for Annual Business Reflections To Guarantee Your Best Year Ever Ahead
Wedding season has wrapped, so what should you do with this time off from in-person events?! Well wed-heads, we’re so glad you asked! This week we’re dishing out our best practices for reflecting on the prior year and using the off-season to plan ahead for the one ahead in order to ensure it’ll…
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Venue Search: The Most Important Questions To Ask To Find Your Perfect Space
With proposal season now in full swing, venue searching will be (if it’s not already!) top of mind for thousands of couples and their wedding planners. That’s why this week we’re diving into all the details you should consider before contracting with a wedding venue, many of which may surprise…
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Surprising Unforeseen Costs In Wedding Planning
This week, we’re talking about one of our favorite topics…finances! More specifically, we discuss those big budget items that couples either forget about or are shocked to find out what they actually cost, so whether you’re a planner hoping to better educate your clients or you’re planning your…
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10 Wedding Day Details You Definitely Don’t Want to Forget
Let’s be honest…nobody’s perfect, ourselves included! This week we’re discussing the ten most commonly forgotten wedding day details and lessons we’ve learned over the years so that you too can learn from our mistakes! PLUS: One listener asks about how to navigate personal and professional...
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7 Life-Saving Tips to Prevent the Burnout Blues
With wedding season coming to a close, it’s time to talk about burnout, which can be a common phenomenon with any demanding profession, and wedding planners and designers are no exception! This week, we disclose our top tips for preventing and reducing unnecessary stressors that can ultimately…
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How to stretch your budget to make your weddings (and portfolio) look like luxury weddings
Calling all planners and designers looking to level up their portfolio in order to attract a higher caliber of clientele—You won’t want to miss this week’s episode where we share our top tips for making your portfolio pop, which is imperative for bringing in bigger budget projects! PLUS: We…
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Respondez, S'il Vous Plaît! — The Etiquette Around RSVP-ing & Tips for Simplifying the Process
Whether RSVP collection is a service you offer or you simply need help advising couples on how to handle it themselves, guest management is no easy feat! On this week’s episode we give you an inside look at how each of us tackle collecting all necessary guest information and how such details…
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The Art of Decision-Making – How to Help Clients Progress Throughout the Wedding Planning Process
As planners, it’s our job to alleviate the stress surrounding the hundreds, if not thousands, of decisions that go into our clients’ events, but you can go about this in a variety of different ways…This week we discuss how our processes for helping clients navigate decision making has evolved…
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Wedding Trends: 2022/2023 Edition
The time has come to share our top five wedding trends! If you’ve been wondering what you can expect to see throughout the remaining half of the year and into 2023 at wedding celebrations, this week’s episode is right up your alley! PLUS: We share our go-to places to find design inspo. Discussed…
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Your “I Do” Crew – Who to Have by Your Side, When to Ask Them & What’s Expected of Those in Your Wedding Party
Deciding who will be standing by your side throughout the wedding planning process and on your wedding day is one of the first decisions engaged couples have to think through–From the number of wedding party attendants to have (if any) and when to ask them to be a part of your “I Do” crew to what...
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Cheers to the Freakin’ (Wedding) Weekend — Everything You Need to Know about Planning a Weekend Wedding Experience
Why have one day of celebrations when you can have many?! On this week’s episode we’re discussing full wedding weekends and their recent rise in popularity over the last few years–Tune in to hear our thoughts on these multi-day soirées, including tips for budgeting for numerous events, preventing...
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Please Be Seated: The Real Deal on Escort vs. Place Cards
This week we’re diving deep into the details, discussing all things escort and place cards! Whether you’re wondering what the differences are between the two, when to incorporate each into your events or just want to know what our favorite escort card displays have been to-date you’ve come to the...
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How to Find & Book Your Perfect Beauty Team
We’re back and talking all things beauty! Whether you’re hiring your own hair and makeup team or looking for tips and tricks on vetting the right professionals for your clientele, we’re here to help. Listen in to hear why we think who you hire can make or break the entire wedding day vibe. Plus…
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Big News: Our Personal, Professional & Podcast Updates
Don’t worry—This isn’t goodbye, it’s just see you later! With events back in full swing, our lives have been a little bit busy. So while we LOVE connecting each week with all you wed heads, we’re taking a break to focus on our upcoming events, our families and, of course, more big plans for…
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The Ultimate Wedding Vendor Gratuity Guide
To Tip or Not To Tip? This week, we answer this million dollar question, and so many more, as we discuss proper tipping etiquette and how to approach the topic of vendor gratuities with clients. PLUS: We share our tips (pun intended) for curating a unique and elevated gifting suite for wedding...
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Everything You Absolutely Need to Know About Hosting a Micro-Wedding
While COVID-19 popularized the micro-wedding concept, intimate events are nothing new, and, in our opinion, are here to stay! In this week’s episode we debunk common micro-wedding misconceptions and discuss the etiquette surrounding these smaller celebrations. Plus: We share our advice for…
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10 Ways to Seriously WOW Your Wedding Guests
It’s all about the guest experience these days…From unique interactive entertainment to exciting exits, we’re spilling our secrets for how to plan (or host) a truly wow-worthy wedding! PLUS: We chat about how we each handle our preferred vendors lists and whether these should be shared publicly…
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Our Greatest Tips to Grow Your Team
So you’re ready to stop riding solo but aren’t sure where to start when it comes to creating (or expanding) your team? You’ve come to the right place! Today we share tips for finding the right talent, while creating a healthy and happy team environment. Plus: We share advice for our listeners who...
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Breaking Up with Clients Who Aren’t the Right Fit
They say that breaking up is hard to do…and a challenging client is no exception! In this week’s episode we give you six steps for terminating a professional relationship with a client who isn’t the right fit, while looking out for everyone’s best interest. Plus, we dish on tips for balancing...
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How to Create a Killer Wedding Mood Board
If our previous design process episodes left you wanting more—and wondering what the heck the differences are between a “Mood Board” and a “Color Scheme—then today’s your special day! PLUS: Do you really need a formal education in event planning to break into the industry? Tune-in to find out....
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How to Brand Your Wedding Business
What IS branding? How do you figure out what YOUR brand is? How did Tracy get so good at it? Get the scoop on the benefits and challenges of defining your brand in the wedding world—and take a shot every time Tracy says “clear”! Plus: a listener asks how to deal with a venue coordinator taking…
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Wedding Favors: Take 'em or Leave 'em
We’re dishing our thoughts on wedding favors—and whether we, well, favor them. Should you have them? Should you encourage your clients to have them? What should they consist of? How should you distribute them? As always, we’ve got answers. Plus: a listener asks about black tie wedding etiquette…
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How to Break into the Luxury Wedding Market
Hope you’re ready to celebrate—it’s our one-year anniversary episode! This week, we’re finally answering our most-asked question: how can planners break into the luxury market? We discuss how we define luxury, the different tiers of luxury weddings, how to use marketing strategies to appeal to…
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Everything COVID and Weddings: In Conversation With Alison Bryan Destinations
This week, we sat down with destination wedding planner extraordinaire, Alison Laesser-Keck, as she quarantines from Covid in Mexico post-wedding. How can you make your guests feel comfortable? Should you postpone your wedding? What kind of testing requirements should you implement? How do you...
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Avoid These Client Management Mistakes at All Costs
We’ve been around the wedding planning block. That means we’ve had lots of time to make lots of mistakes—and you get to learn from them! In this episode, we’re discussing our nine biggest client management faux pas. From not setting realistic expectations to failing to ask couples their preferred...
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Top 10 Tips for Creating Your Guest List
Creating a guest list for your wedding can bring up some uncomfortable situations. That’s why we’ve rounded up our top ten questions to ask yourself (or your clients) when getting your list together. From family dynamics to coworker relationships and plus ones, consider us your trusted guides....
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Lounge Furniture: The Questions You Didn’t Know You Had
Lounge furniture adds warmth and intimacy to your venue and makes guests feel at home. But how do you handle rental companies? How do you set it up? What do you think about when making selections? Why is renting better than buying? Consider it covered. Plus: a listener question about adjusting…
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9 Tips to Score Instant Referrals
From how to get (and give!) referrals to why they’re so important—and how to have that conversation with your couples—we’re here to help you boost your wedding business. Learn how to use social media to your advantage and write authentic emails. Plus, a listener asks us how to classify employees...
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The Top Wedding Styles/Themes of 2021
We started with five and ended with seven…but either way, here are our favorite wedding styles! We’re chatting about where to look for inspo, what types of venues go with each style, whether pampas grass is out, and which theme goes best with the hit show Bridgerton. Plus: a listener asks the...
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So You’re Engaged…Now What?!
Congratulations—you’re engaged! We’ve rounded up our seven key steps to focus on once you’ve said “yes.” From our thoughts on ring selfies and insurance to how to find the right wedding planner for you, we’ve got you. Plus: a listener question about who should give toasts—and whether it’s based…
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Tracy’s Surprise Wedding Decor
Would you ever let your wedding planner surprise you completely with your wedding decor? One super cool couple let Tracy do just that. From finding a new venue just 4.5 weeks out to pivoting the decor based on a single plate, hear all the details this week. Plus: a listener question about having...
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Our Favorite Wedding Ceremony Traditions
It’s arguably the most important part of the wedding—so why save the planning until the last minute? From who is officiating (and how to do it legally) to personalizing your ceremony based on your venue and culture (wine blending and tree planting, anyone??), we’ll help you get the ceremony in...
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Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too: Wedding Cake 101
Time for a mouthwatering episode! Learn what to look for in cake vendors, when to do a cake tasting, and how much cake you should order. You’ll also hear our thoughts on saving the top layer for your one-year anniversary and whether or not we’re team sheet cake. Plus: a listener question about...
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How To Find Amazing Interns
This week’s hot topic? Interns. We’re dishing where to find them, how to train them, and what type of work you should give them. Learn how Tracy’s hiring process scores her the best of the best interns...and how Shannon could up her game. Plus: a listener question about Google Drive vs. programs...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast. We are Tracy Taylor Ward and Shannon Leahy, wedding planners with a love for event design who work with clients all over the world. Tracy’s company, Tracy Taylor Ward Design, is based in NY and FL, and Shannon’s company, Shannon Leahy Events, is located in CA and MD. After a combined 20 years in the events industry, we’ve “wedded” our expertise to share with you everything we know about weddings and how to run a successful luxury event planning company. Whether you’re a wedding planner looking to elevate your client’s experience, or a bride or groom wondering how to hold a chic, seamless and exceptionally fun wedding, you’ve come to the right place! So grab your favorite pen and notebook, and take a seat. We can’t wait to help you level up your wedding!
HOSTED BY
Tracy Taylor Ward and Shannon Leahy
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast have?
Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast currently has 91 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast about?
Welcome to Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast. We are Tracy Taylor Ward and Shannon Leahy, wedding planners with a love for event design who work with clients all over the world. Tracy’s company, Tracy Taylor Ward Design, is based in NY and FL, and Shannon’s company, Shannon Leahy Events, is...
How often does Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast release new episodes?
Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast has 91 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast?
You can listen to Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast?
Wedded: The Wedding Planner Podcast is created and hosted by Tracy Taylor Ward and Shannon Leahy.
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