Samantha & Sean got married at a state park in New York, but this was no ordinary celebration ... Their stunning wedding weekend featured no cell service, just 6 electrical outlets, and a hot air balloon send off for the new bride and groom!

Samantha is joining us this week to share the good, the challenges, the things she would do differently, and the things she wouldn't change for the world.

To view her beautiful wedding photos and a full recap of today's show, visit weddingplanningpodcast.co/samantha.

And if you've ever dreamed about quitting your day job to pursue something you're truly passionate about, Samantha can relate 100%! Be sure to check out her wedding floral business venture, @golden.hour.flowers on Instagram

Today on the Wedding Planning Podcast, we're doing a thorough review of wedding dress alterations, styling & accessories, & post-wedding preservation ideas, and so much more.

Our conversation covers the dress alterations process in detail, including pricing, money-saving tips, a timeline for when to get started, and alternative options for having your dress altered.

We also cover:

• What's a bustle, do I need one, and how much does it cost? (article on bustling I mentioned in today's show can be found here)
• Styling and shape wear options like bras, corsets, and compression garments,
• The importance of COMFORTABLE SHOES,
• Getting your dress home & last minute wrinkle patrol (the handheld steamer I mentioned can be found here)
• And some creative ways to preserve and / or repurpose your gown after the wedding.

I hope you love it, and congratulations on that beautiful dress!

Cheers,
Kara

There are countless unique ways to celebrate your wedding / bridal shower (that don't involve sitting around and playing awkward games with your female friends & relatives!).

In this week's episode of the Wedding Planning Podcast, we're giving the "traditional" wedding shower some much-needed updates. Listen in for creative + modern twists that you're sure to fall in love with.

In many cases you don't plan your own shower, so please feel free to forward this episode along to anyone who's helping you with your wedding plans!

For a complete written version of today's show, including lots of listener Q&A's, visit the blog post linked here.

PS - A special THANK YOU to this week's show sponsors, who made this free weekly episode possible:

• Enjoy early access to ad-free episodes each week when you subscribe to WEDDING PLANNING PODCAST PREMIUM in Apple Podcasts.
• FREE Wedding Websites designed by independent artists? Yes please! Get started building your wedding website today with www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/minted and take advantage of exclusive listener perks on save the dates, invitations & more.
• Shop Etsy for one-of-a-kind wedding day details, personalized just for you >>> www.weddingplanningpodcast.co/etsy

This week's featured wedding planning meeting is an overview of how to formulate a detailed wedding vision - and equally as important, learning how to articulate and advocate for that vision with those who are helping you plan.

Here's an overview of the specific scenario we'll be discussing:

"How can we reign in our wedding planner? Our venue includes a coordinator for the rehearsal and wedding day, and initially I was pleasantly surprised by how accommodating and informative she is. Since the initial relief and excitement of finding and booking the perfect venue, we're starting to realize the huge task ahead of us in terms of booking EVERYTHING (the venue comes with nothing set up, so we need to choose tables, chairs, place settings, dance floor, bar, basically everything.)

At this point, I feel completely overwhelmed by her ideas & suggestions, and I'm starting to worry that the wedding she has envisioned for us does not line up with our vision OR our budget. How do I reign in our wedding planner and rest easy knowing that we are on the same page?"

In my years of experience, it's not just the wedding planners who need to reigned in ... often times it's also the moms, bridesmaids, aunts, cousins ... feeling familiar?

We're going to cover all these scenarios in today's episode.

You'll also enjoy a clip of exclusive audio, "Creating Your Wedding Vision". This exercise alone is one of the most valuable wedding planning tools I have to helping you create a celebration that truly honors your priorities & values.

Tune in for so much more!

Our goal this week? To save YOU $3,650 on your final wedding bill.

We could literally talk for hours about all the pretty things you see on Pinterest & Instagram that do not HAVE to be a part of your wedding celebration.

In the interest of time, I've chosen EIGHT wedding elements that I would suggest skipping - or scaling waaaaaaaaay back on. I think you'll be shocked at how easy it is for us to save over $3,000 over the course of a 20 minute conversation!

If your goal is a simple, beautiful, and affordable wedding - then the sky is the limit on the millions of wedding details you can leave out.

Partner links mentioned in today's show:

Wedding shoes on Amazon? Why not! Check out these beauties & more for a fraction of the price at a "wedding" retailer.

Support a small business AND shop high quality, low priced wedding accessories on Etsy.

Last word! A CLASSIC way to save? Purchase once-used decor & other wedding items from another couple on a resale site like Craigslist, Ebay, or Facebook Marketplace. 🙌🏼

Today I'm sharing AN ULTIMATE ENGAGEMENT CHECKLIST, including 10 key "to-do's" to launch your wedding planning journey into action.

CONGRATULATIONS! 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.

I've worked with thousands of engaged couples over the past 7 years of producing this podcast, and most of them are in autopilot mode already at this point in the planning process.

And unfortunately, those couples miss a much larger opportunity.

An opportunity to wait patiently for their ideal wedding vision to unfold BEFORE going out and making big, irreversible decisions that end up really limiting what's possible for them ... and I don't want that for you.

SO MUCH MORE inside today's free audio meeting!

Links & resources:

Is Engagement Ring insurance for you?

"When the initial excitement settled, we felt like planning an entire wedding seemed really expensive, overwhelming, and exhausting."

Let me back up ...

My now-husband John proposed in the summer of 2009, at the end of a 3-week trip we took through Europe.

We were in Paris - our last stop - and we waited for hours to get to the lower platform of the Eiffel Tower, where he dropped to his knee with the sparking lights of the tower above us, and lit up city buildings & river boats in the distance.

We never even had dinner that night because it got so late, but you know how it is with the crazy excitement you felt on your engagement day - dinner didn't even matter. We had just lived an incredibly powerful moment that was about to change our lives forever.

Within weeks, my ring was resized and fit perfectly. We had shared the news with literally everyone we knew, and we started discussions about potential venues and dates, and of course, the elephant in the room - how we would pay for everything.

Tune in for so much more!

A universal truth? Your wedding day will FLY BY.

Having a well-thought out, well-planned WEDDING DAY TIMELINE is critical to keeping the day organized, and flowing stress free.

In this featured episode of the Wedding Planning Podcast, we're actually reviewing & creating two separate timelines:

• The DAY-OF TIMELINE, including all the events between waking up, and the wedding reception beginning,
• The RECEPTION TIMELINE, including the events that will happen within the reception itself.

We're going to focus on the DAY-OF timeline first, and you'll find specifics on creating your reception timeline in the second half of this meeting.

Here's a link to the Pinterest Wedding Timeline examples that I mentioned in the show.