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Weddings For Real is a top-rated wedding industry podcast packed with expert tips, actionable strategies, and relatable stories. For over 6 years, we've interviewed the leading voices in the wedding industry, covering everything from client experience and team building to social media, SEO, branding, and the real-life lessons learned as an entrepreneur. With over 280 episodes and 250+ 5-star reviews, we guarantee you’ll find the insights you need to grow your wedding business and thrive.

wedding industry podcast
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280+ Episodes

5 star reviews

Over 250+ five star reviews

Podcast downloads

350,000 Downloads

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290

10 Life Hacks for Squirrel Brain Entrepreneurs


239

219

279

What You Need To Know About Growth + Burnout (Part 1)


Use This Strategy For Standing Out In A Crowded Market


5 Truths Every Business Owner Needs To Hear

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

92: You Down with SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)? With Morgan Montgomery!

If you’re a solopreneur or you run a small team, and you’re thinking about growing, but you haven’t quite figured out how to clone yourself yet, then I want you to listen to this episode closely, because it’s all about putting your experience and knowledge in writing and making it easy for others to get in your head. On episode 92, Morgan Montgomery with Paisley and Jade talks all about SOPs – Standard Operating Procedures!As you heard on the show, we have a BIG announcement coming soon, and the best way to hear about it first is to join our mailing list at weddingsforreal.com or text "wfr" to 33777.

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

91: 2019 Year in Review: Wins, Fails, and Goals for 2020

How was 2019 for you? What were your wins and losses? Did you hit your goals? What are your plans for 2020?

On today's episode, Megan and Jason Gillikin talk all about chaos, transitions, wins, fails, goals, and more in the last episode of 2019!

As you heard on the show, we have a BIG announcement coming soon, and the best way to hear about it first is to join our mailing list at weddingsforreal.com or text "wfr" to 33777.

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

90: Impactful Gifting Strategies for 2020, with Margaux Fraise

Today's guest is Margaux Fraise from Harmony Creative Studio in Los Angeles. Margaux has been planning weddings and events for 8 years. She's also a cancer survivor, which in 2014 knocked her out of running her business for about two years. Through that experience, she learned to appreciate life, the little things, and the gestures that go a long way. So today we talk about gifting for both clients and vendors – why that’s the right thing to do but can also be used as a strategy to get more business.

On the episode, you heard Margaux talk about a Client Gifting for Wedding Pros Cheat Sheet, and you can find that at bit.ly/weddingprogifting!

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

89: Shared Values and Different Personalities: Building an A-Team with Aneesa Glines

Aneesa Glines can best be described as a force of nature with a huge smile and even bigger laugh, whose kind nature is matched by her business drive and desire to grow professionally. She's the owner and lead consultant of Harmony Weddings and Events, the owner of Forest Hall at Chatham Mills, AND the owner of the upcoming venue The Graham Mill. And she only got into weddings - while still in college - in 2015! So with the growth, she has become a master at building her team - all very different, but all with shared values

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

88: A Kick in the Pants from Cindy Novotny, The Radical Mentor

Cindy Novotny has been called "The Radical Mentor" for good reason. She is a no-nonsense, call-it-like-it-is, whether-you-want-to-hear-it-or-not speaker and hospitality consultant. Today she comes on the show to talk about her upcoming book, The Secret to My Stamina, and her previous work, Living with No Balance and Loving It.

Cindy has run her consulting business Master Connection Associates with her husband for over 30 years and tours internationally 50 weeks out of the year. She is a keynote speaker at events like Engage, Wedding MBA, and many more conferences (not just in the hospitality field). 

In the episode, you heard about the She Creates Content Calendar from Kinsey Roberts. By clicking on this link and entering coupon code WFR at checkout by December 1st, you get 10% off an already ridiculously priced $127 for a year-long content calendar! With the calendar, you get:

- 10 Page Welcome Guide with Your 10-page welcome guide that includes marketing channel ideas, best practices, daily prompt ideas, and monthly themes to keep in mind as you're creating content.

- 365 Days of Content Prompts for Wedding Business Owners. If you're in the wedding industry, serving engaged couples, this content is for you.

- 30 Day Sample Strategy Prompts to boost your creativity when it comes to creating a consistent marketing strategy for your wedding business.

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

87: The Power of Enneagram: How to Grow Professionally and Personally by Knowing Your Number, with Joanna Kenney

If you're anything like Megan, 2019 has been all about personal and professional growth - how to be a better boss, friend, partner, and mom. And one of the most fascinating ways that she has found to analyze how she can improve overall is the Enneagram personality assessment. So on today's show, Megan talks to Joanna Kenney (also of Jo's Paper Kitchen in Montgomery TX) about what makes the Enneagram different from other personality tests, the nine numbers, their strengths and weaknesses, and how you can use your number to better yourself!

In the episode, you heard about the She Creates Content Calendar from Kinsey Roberts. By clicking on this link and entering coupon code WFR at checkout by December 1st, you get 10% off an already ridiculously priced $127 for a year-long content calendar! With the calendar, you get:

- 10 Page Welcome Guide with Your 10-page welcome guide that includes marketing channel ideas, best practices, daily prompt ideas, and monthly themes to keep in mind as you're creating content.

- 365 Days of Content Prompts for Wedding Business Owners. If you're in the wedding industry, serving engaged couples, this content is for you.

- 30 Day Sample Strategy Prompts to boost your creativity when it comes to creating a consistent marketing strategy for your wedding business.

Jo's Paper Kitchen on Social Media:

Instagram: @JosPaperKitchen

Facebook: @JosPaperKitchen

Pinterest: @JosPaperKitchen

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

86: Does Working With a Wedding Planner Make Your Job More Difficult? Danielle Pasternak from the Put A Ring On It Podcast Has Opinions

If you’re a member of the Rising Tide Society Facebook Group, you might have seen a post (since deleted) a few months ago from a photographer who said that when a wedding planner is involved, it makes other wedding vendors’ jobs more difficult and it messes up the flow of a wedding day. From his perspective, it’s better to have a wedding WITHOUT a planner. Well as you either saw or can imagine, this sparked a lot of debate, and shockingly, many people agreed with his perspective. Danielle Pasternak, wedding planner at DPNAK and co-host of the Put A Ring On It Podcast, has some thoughts, and she shares them on the show today!

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