In this episode of Mind Your Wedding Business, Kevin Dennis sits down with Loni Peterson of LP Creative Events to unpack why understanding consumer behavior is essential for wedding professionals navigating a rapidly changing market.

Drawing from both her real-world experience and her role as a professor at CU Boulder, Loni shares how emotional connection, authenticity, and values-driven branding influence how couples choose their vendors. She explains the industry’s shift from influencer marketing to impact marketing, where couples—especially younger generations—prioritize meaningful experiences and alignment over aesthetics alone.

They also discuss short planning runways, evolving client expectations, and why wedding pros must adapt their communication and marketing strategies to stay relevant. This episode offers practical insight for anyone looking to build stronger client relationships while focusing their energy where it matters most.

Loni Peterson is a seasoned business owner and full-time professor at the University of Colorado Boulder in the Advertising, PR, and Design Department. She blends academic insight with real-world experience, bringing a passion for creative strategy, brand storytelling, and experiential marketing to her work on stage, in the classroom, and throughout the wedding industry.

Highlights

1. Why emotional connection matters more than ever in client decision-making
2. The shift from influencer marketing to impact marketing
3. How values-based branding attracts better-fit clients
4. Why experience now outweighs material “wow” moments for couples
5. Understanding short planning runways and changing booking behavior
6. How to prioritize your energy instead of doing everything at once
7. Why adapting your communication style is no longer optional
8. Leaning into your strengths to build trust and longevity in your business

Connect with Loni:

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Connect with LP Creative Events:

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Connect with Kevin:

Wedding IQ

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All right, folks, welcome to another episode of Mind Your Wedding Business. I'm here today with Loni Peterson. How you doing, Loni?

So good, how are you?

I'm doing wonderful. So I'm really excited to have you here today. We had Loni out and she came and spoke to our little networking groups. I got to meet and hang out with Loni and I'm really excited to sit down and do a podcast interview with you here today. So excited to jump in. All right. So Loni, can you tell us a little about yourself and how we got you here today?

Absolutely. So I have been in the events industry for over 15 years and I'm currently a full-time professor at CU Boulder and I teach in the advertising PR and design department of the communication college. So I currently own LP creative events and we do majority weddings. I do have experience in nonprofit fundraisers, experiential large scale events. So I think because of that event history, I bring a unique eye to weddings and I really like to bring my

college classroom topics to wedding prose because I think everything is interchangeable and everyone can continue learning. You gotta keep learning.

It's funny you say that because it's like you can read anything, any kind of business thing and you can apply it or any kind of even behavioral thing and apply it to your business. So I think we get so wedding minded sometimes that we forget that there's other things out there other than weddings. So all right. So today we're talking about Inside Out, Uncovering the Hidden Truths of Consumer Behavior. So as we get started, let's start with the basics. So how do you define consumer behavior and why is it

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

especially important for wedding professionals to understand.

Absolutely. So when we are looking at our potential new clients, they want to feel like they're hiring a best friend. You want to put yourself out there like you're your truth. You're being authentic. And so when you've got people surfing all different types of social platforms, websites, so many options, you want to find that personal connection with potential clients and you want to be able to click with them because as a planner, I'm working with them for 12 to 18 months. I want to be sure we're a good fit.

Mm.

And what insights really teach you how to do is to create a formula of putting the data with an emotion and it helps you create an understanding of how your consumer interacts with your brand and how they buy stuff.

Hmm.

I love it. All right. So what are some of the biggest misconceptions you see business owners have about how couples actually make decisions?

Yeah, I think it's a little bit of the let's like throw spaghetti at the wall and see what happens where in marketing and teaching these classes, you have to start everything with data. You have to know your audience and you have to really stop and think about where they live. Where do they spend their money? What's happening in the economy? How do they emotionally connect? And especially with Gen Z and our younger generations that are eventually coming into our new client pool, they care about their values. They want to be giving their money where it impacts them.

Heh.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

I mentioned this a couple of times in the past weeks I've been speaking is we're leaving influencer marketing and heading into impact marketing. So we're no longer being played by, Kim Kardashian told me to buy the slip gloss, so I'm gonna buy it. It's how does this brand impact me and do I find value in it and am I going to invest my time and my money into this thing? So trying to figure out how to position your business in the best way to fulfill this impact marketing, especially for this younger group of kids that are coming up now to be engaged in.

Mmm.

Yeah

and ready to move on to the next chapter of their lives.

Yeah, we always get older, but our clients stay the same age. We hear that a lot.

⁓ You know, I know one

of my college kids last year she's like you're 29 I go yes. Yes, I am That's right

Yes, I am. And don't you forget it. All right.

So you were talking a little bit about emotions. So why do emotions play such a powerful role in purchasing decisions, particularly in the wedding space?

Yeah, so a wedding day, emotional, step one, lots of money's involved and different people have different relationships with money, whether they've either grown up in a household with a ton of money, no money, they've earned their own money, they're paying for the wedding themselves, their parents are helping, there's so many different situations that you have to consider on an emotional level when it comes to paying for vendors on their wedding day, having this like dream thing that their day is gonna be like, it's a lot to consider all at once.

understanding where they want to put their money because of an emotional connection will make sure that they are tied to you and they feel good about the investment. ⁓ Sometimes we get parents that are like, you should do this, you should do that. And then the clients aren't really into it because they're not emotionally attached to the decision that they're making because someone else is telling them what they got to do.

Mmm.

Yeah, and do you think maybe a little bit now weddings are becoming a little bit more non-traditional and so people are doing it their own way? Where is that like a disconnect between like the parents and the couples getting married?

Yeah, I think there is still a group of parenting out there that's, you know, living their dream that they never got to have. It's definitely still in the mix. I think folks are waiting till they're a little bit older and older, you know, late mid 30s, not old, but they're waiting till they've established their careers and they have their own money. So then they're making their own choices and not being, you know, being told how to make their choices. So I think there's a little bit of everything, but we are seeing that the main pinpoint is that the decision needs to be

Hmm.

impacted by them. need to be value driven and they have to understand where they're investing their money. And you know, I do have the benefit, my husband's a financial advisor, so I'll ask him every day, 10 words or less, what's happening because you have to understand what's happening in the economy to understand what people are doing with discretionary income and how that then trickle down and affects the wedding industry. So, know, season's going to be late, why things are slow. You know, what I'm seeing right now is a short planning runway. So

Yeah.

Why is there a short planning runway? How does that affect my business? And am I accepting those clients? Because sometimes it's harder to have a shorter runway to plan stuff.

Yeah, especially for a planner. really makes your life, you know, you have to do everything instead of 12 to 18 months out, you're cramming it in, in the three to six months and it just, it's not ideal. So.

Yeah, and we're still booking

really early, especially in Colorado. I've, you know, with these shorter runways, my go-to vendors are like, nope, already booked, already booked. So it's on both ends of the spectrum.

Yeah, it really yeah, and it's kind of it's nice because the people that are the couples that are out there actually booking Early are actually getting what they want and these other couples are having to settle so

Yes.

Yeah, and that's just, it's hard to educate when it's their first wedding and they've never done it before. like, I can wait at six months, whatever, but no, no you can't.

Mm-hmm

Yeah, and it always makes me laugh too is because they have, like you said, unrealistic expectations coming into the planning process. they don't, I don't know if they're not, you know, taking the advice that's out there from all the different wedding websites or, you know, magazines or, you know, chat, GBT, Google. mean, there's so many different things out there. So.

Yeah, chat's really making it tough for us out here to really get the truth out there, but we'll make do.

Yeah, all right. So you were talking about behavior earlier. So have you seen consumer behavior shift among engaged couples over the last few years?

Yes, I think ⁓ it's less materialistic and it's more on experience. So how can we give the best guest experience? Because that's going to dictate how they want to spend their money. it's honestly less on floral and visuals, but more of like, let's make a weekend excursion. Let's do an activity. I want to be at a venue that has lodging on site because I want to spend three days with everybody. So that's where people are.

I think shifting into where they're finding value in their money outside of the big and grand visual effects and good for photos. They want those experiences and memories.

It's funny, you made me think of a couple that we just recently did their wedding last fall and they were all about the food experience. And that's all they were worried about is from cocktail hour all the way through to the reception, to the late night snack, to even little treats to go home with. was, you know, they really, it was the most food I've ever seen at one wedding, but that was what was important to them, you know, like having that experience. So.

you

Exactly. And

that's what mattered to them as a couple. were foodies and that's what they wanted to share that with their, with their couples. And in Colorado, a lot of the times it's we love to hike and ski and be outdoors. And we want to share this special place with our guests. so tons of logistics that go into getting people up a mountain and, know, area and like here, get on a chairlift and be lifted miles in the air and go to a remote place that you don't have cell service. So it's a, a lot of trust involved in bringing these experiences to life for folks.

Yeah.

Yeah, but I'm sure they're one of the kind of experiences that people don't normal us a city a folks and West Coast people don't ever get to experience stuff like that. So

Oh yeah, it's

so fun. It never gets old. you know, I to like some planners that I look out to, I'm like, how do get to wear a cute dress to go to work? I'm like, I'm in my trail running shoes and a sport because you know, you're traversing a mountain and you're up and down and doing all sorts of stuff. Cause on the terrain, just, you never know what you're going to get.

Yeah, a little hard to hike in pumps or heels, So, all right. So why do people interact with certain brands but not others even when the services are similar?

Exactly.

So that goes back to your personal connection that you choose to have, your authenticity and how people connect to your values. ⁓ My personal business account has a ton of my personal life in there because again, we're gonna be spending 12 to 18 months together. I wanna build a relationship and I wanna find a connection point. And you never really know what's gonna connect with somebody. ⁓ I have two horses and sometimes that's what brings people to my page and to have my business because I kind of understand that world. ⁓

So I think being able to show up authentically and find your values as a business and an individual, that's how you're gonna bring in those ideal clients and people that are gonna connect with you on a much deeper level because you're right, planning is planning. We're dealing with timelines, but it's the personality, it's how you're gonna handle a stressful situation, it's how you're going to, my nickname's blonde sergeant in the industry, so some people don't want that on site, and that's totally fine. We're not meant for everybody, but some people are like, no, I need somebody to be like, you're 10 minutes late and you gotta go.

So it's being able to show your true colors and your values and your personality and connect even though you are offering a similar service as your neighbor.

I love the blonde sergeant, but it's so true because sometimes these couples need someone else to be the bad guy and really be the one that, sorry, we have to go. The planner says, we have to do this. so sometimes it's easier having that. So I love the blonde sergeant. That's great.

Yeah.

And they always try

to be like, well, what about? And I'm like, no, like, sorry.

Yeah,

it was you you were talking earlier something made me think of what? Experience I had so i'm a huge sacramento kings fan. I my basketball team sucks I know that ⁓ but we but I season tickets and the whole thing and I once had a bride That was a golden state warriors, ⁓ cheerleader pick me to ⁓ work her wedding because She stalked me on instagram and saw that I like basketball

Therefore we had a connection and it was the cutest thing ever because even during her speech she thanked everyone and she said even though he wears the wrong colors, ⁓ know, and so but we had a great experience, you know, it was just funny because we connected on basketball Not even the team. It just was the overall thing. So

Yeah, yeah,

I mean that that rings so true and especially with, you know, people that are worried about spending larger sums of money. This is that this is your end. This is your golden ticket is being able to find ways to communicate and then to connect and, you know, be with them on these special days that are also kind of stressful leading up to it all and a lot of decisions to make and to be there to support them through that process. It's huge.

Yeah, I love it. All right, so what actually motivates someone to move from casually following a business to inquiring or booking them?

So there's like four steps people have to go through in order to make a purchase. They have to be aware of your business. So they should even have to know you exist. They have to experience it in some way, whether that's DMing you, writing a response on a post or reading a blog or hearing it from a friend or something. They have to experience it. And then they make a contact and then they make a purchase. So you don't go right from, saw you on Instagram to making a purchase. You have to nurture that relationship the whole way through.

If you're not being, if you're not, people aren't aware of you, then that's a problem, visibility, right? But then if there's for them to experience and try it on for size for free, then you're leaving some folks at that point in the process. And then what is that thing you can give them that gives them a chance to see what it would be like to work with you. And that can be so many different facets of that. But, and you know, traditional marketing is you have to be exposed to something seven or eight times before you make a purchase. And so that's that data driven.

⁓ structure of marketing and this is that emotional journey of like awareness, experience, you know, moving into that, I will give you my money for this thing. So it is twofold with that data understanding of who your audience is and where they see you. And then how do they choose to interact with you and changing a behavior will only happen if you've done all of those pre steps.

Yeah. All right. Good advice. All right. So why do some clients become raving fans who refer others while others quietly disappear after their transaction? And I say this because ⁓ I we still have, did this girl's wedding almost 20 years ago and she still interacts with our Instagram page 20 years later. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, you made an impact and here she

is still hearts and comments and all that good stuff. ⁓ I think they stick around because you continue to engage and you continue to put out this personal feel. I'm probably gonna ruffle some feathers, but I text my clients. I don't mind the text. I'm chronically on my phone, emails, whatever. So if I can find a moment to be able to like, I saw something and thought of you, share it Instagram story or a photo or a link to something, trying to find those.

my God.

that's so awesome.

Yeah, so I had like done one two years ago, one the year before and then this one and then I had two in the future and they're all at each other's weddings. So that was super fun. And so you just have to take a moment and reflect you're like, how did I treat them? What was our relationship like? How was that experience to make them all be at the same place because they're all friends, but then also refer me when you know, they found out they got engaged. That was really, really fun to be at that and see everybody in one place.

That's some powerful marketing right there, photo right there. Yeah.

Yeah, I know it's on my it's on my grade. can check it out. And the professional

photographer caught it. We like did this whole picture. It was it was so fun. So I think that just is proof that you're doing something right. And people coming back 20 years later. So, you know, ⁓ the other thing I have myself on repeat is just stay the course, you know, don't don't change too too much because it's all cyclical. It's going to come back. You're going to have highs and lows. But if you create something that's consistent and what people can expect from you.

you're gonna make it. So just stay the course. You're doing a good job. ⁓

Yeah, and I don't think I'm going to be honest with you. I don't think you're ruffling feathers with the text messaging either because I've it's we Tom Shlednik from the not spoke at the local wedding group that we had you out and he basically said if you are running your business the way you were running it three years ago ⁓ in the next two years, you're going to be non-existent like you have to adapt and because the client this is such a pivotal moment in time where our clients in the wedding industry are changing rapidly.

and faster than ever. And if you continue to, nope, this is how I've always done it and I'm always going to do it this way. I mean, he flat out said, you're probably going to be out of business. adapting to things like text messaging and adapting to where you're meeting them and all that kind of stuff, you have to, you have to adapt or die. Yeah.

You do, you do. And I really

owe it all to my teaching because I'm in a classroom eight hours a day, twice a week for, with, with the Gen Z's and I am like up to speed with what's happening and you know, how they're processing stuff, how they like to interact and you know, where their comfort levels lie and why are they making the choices they're making. So it's been a fun kind of insider scoop to the generation as they're, they're coming through this college phase and, kind of understanding their psyche a little bit. It's been fun.

and keeps you hip.

It really does. And

there's a new word around, it's lokenually. So like low key and genuinely, I know. And so I texted one of my students, I'm like, so should I try to sneak this in in class on Tuesday? And they're like negative a thousand. It's a gen L word. Don't even try it. I'm like, okay, okay, okay.

Yeah, thank God you had someone to tell you, because if you, yeah.

Well, I have a good bumper

system here.

All right, so you talk about uncovering hidden truths. What are ⁓ wedding professionals usually missing when they evaluate their marketing performance?

that people are finding them the way that they were finding them five years ago and that the referral process is the same as it was. you know, micro weddings are coming in, smaller guest counts, same big budgets are happening. So I think it's the idea of what you were mentioning not evolving with the times and our new clientele. But you can't forget that you've got millennial parents and like understanding what their mindset is and how they were brought up and what choices they made. And so I think it's

Okay.

being able to have a better understanding holistically of who all your people are that are involved. And if you get too narrow-minded, you're going to miss a little bit of the nuance in how to communicate with whoever's in charge, right? Who's paying the bill, right? That's who I care about. It's like, who do I have to make happy in this situation? So I think, and not doing the research and understanding your platforms. You can do so much with your analytics on your Instagram, your website analytics.

Yeah, it will, yeah.

How are people coming to your website? Where are they going? How long are they spending? And understanding behaviors that way digitally will help you then to create specific content, when to put it out, and then tracking that I think is important. But this is a heavy lift, and we're super busy with admin and the day-to-day and being on site and all of the long hours that sometimes it's difficult to set some dedicated time aside for that data collection portion.

All right, well speaking of data, so how can business owners move beyond the surface level metrics like followers increase that kind of stuff to understand a deeper consumer intent?

So if your Instagram page is a business page, you've got a professional profile, really dive into all of that. They've gotten such ⁓ better tools for the backend. Now you get like a 30 day snapshot, which is so fun to kind of see on Instagram of like what happened in the last 30 days, whether it was new followers who saw my content, who was it. ⁓ so utilizing that at your fingertips, it's free. And then really taking a peek at your Google Analytics or your website analytics and making the path of

where they landed, where do they go to next, how long did they spend on each page, right? So if they're coming to you on your gallery page, guess what? My gallery page is gonna be updated every two weeks, right? Keep it fresh. And the more you update your website, the more it'll start to trickle to the top. And I think doing SEO audits more regularly is huge because those change constantly and ⁓ it takes like 30 to 60 to really see benefits from your SEO. So being able to like quarterly take a peek at that and see what's going on.

really keep things fresh and you keep coming up at the top.

Yeah, SEO, could do a whole probably podcast on it, but we just, we just worked with Sarah Dunn and we just went through and redid a bunch of our ⁓ stuff for our business page. And it was just amazing because just, we did it about November, October of last year. And we're already seeing inquiries for like venues that we've never worked at and just things that we, yeah, it just, it was like, why didn't I do this earlier? This was a, you know, like I feel like an idiot for not doing it sooner because

No, it's just so tough because there's 82 things you can pick from. So it's like, okay, where do I spend my time? And so it's like the magic sauce of the SEO plus adding stuff to your website and you know, the godforsaken blogs that you still have to write that nobody reads, but they still do work for you. It's like making time to write blogs. This past week I was told I should blog like twice a month. I'm like, there's no, there's no way. There's no way. There's so much work.

Yeah.

Yeah, we've been and we try for

once a week and well, it's easy too because we try to push out podcast content on there, which makes it easy. But then also ⁓ just trying to I don't know. We just went to wedding and B.A. and there was all kinds of and someone said, you got to still get back to once a week. They said twice a week and twice a month is OK. But if you get back, SEO is going to love you because it just seemed fresh and fresh content coming. So the more the more the merrier. So.

Yeah, and

I think that also connects to TikTok. TikTok rewards you for consistency. And so does blogging and SEO. So even if your TikTok is seven seconds and it's useless and whatever, it doesn't matter. As long as you're like just cranking out content, that's your golden rule is just keep putting stuff out there. That's right. Until it changes again.

Yeah.

Keep feeding the algorithm, huh?

Well, yeah, which is I feel like it's ever-changing so that's another thing you just got it again You got to adapt or die which we would go back to you, you know I don't know Tom said that and that's been one of the most powerful things that I've heard in a long time like I'm like, Okay, yes We really need to do because I see so many people that are like no I only talk to people on the phone or no, I only do it this way. I don't want to do zoom calls I don't want to you know

It's like I've got pretty dialed in time management and if I can do something quickly and get it off the list, like that's my number one identifier of like, should I be doing this or not? Because ⁓ that gives me anxiety is like seeing my inbox full and like messages not answered. I can't deal with that. I'd rather get the information out. My clients have what they need and we can move on and continue the conversation and you know, but that's not everybody's style and that's okay. Cause not every client's for me and you know, it's just part of that process.

know.

Yeah, we have a mutual friend. My older sister that a lot of people know her as Meghan Ely. She has a zero inbox and she she will not she ends her work day with nothing in her inbox. And I still to this day don't know how she does it because I can't I can never get to that point in my life. But. It says we started recording. All right. All right. We're getting we're getting there. All right.

I know I'm looking at two right now in this one. I've got four email accounts and we're at like seven emails total, so it'll be okay. Yes. No, you're good.

So have you seen a consumer behavior shift among engaged couples over the last few years?

Yes, I think, again, less materialism and more into value and experience. And they want just their immediate people with them. don't want their I think they're also more empowered to tell a parent know that they don't want the 200 person wedding. They want the 50 60 and and to still have the same budget and opportunity to do it up big with experiences. And.

Gosh, I think the question of should I even get married is coming up more often, which for us is tough, right? Because this is our livelihood. But you know, the housing market is really tough and interest rates are really high. And there's other really important things that people would like to do with their lives. And so they're having to juggle some really hard choices and think through what priorities they have and what they want to do. And sometimes that means a smaller guest count wedding so they can put down down payment on a house and figuring out what that all looks like. ⁓

I know think I had to grow up really fast. So I think everyone else had to grow up really fast, but you people are still learning about how to make priorities and where money goes and how all this works. So, you know, there's a lot of growing as you're getting engaged and then you're getting inundated with the millions of questions from people of like, what should I wear? How should I go? It's just a lot. It's emotionally a lot. know, PSA, Hyreplaner, we're here to help all those questions because

Hehehehehe

I don't think people upfront realize what's gonna come down the pipeline once they get engaged until it starts happening.

No, and it's interesting that you said they're having to make all these decisions too. I find too, like we recently had a client that they were like the second or third of their friends to get married. So they wanted their wedding bigger and better than the last people. if you're one of the first people in your friend group to get married, I always say that's the easiest because there's zero expectations there. But for these folks that are like one of the last of their friend group to get married, well, we can't do this because that one did that. And we can't do that.

that because of this and it goes on and on and on. It's crazy.

And I'm also seeing a little bit of analysis paralysis and having a nice delicate balance of as a planner how to help push them along, you know, to keep hitting their goals and making decisions but without being too much because that's going to make them back off. And so it's learning a new understanding of how people are working. And so with the shorter runways and analysis paralysis, we're getting, you know, hit from both sides. So, you know, I'm still evolving and understanding the psychology behind all of this.

and what their upbringing was like. And these kids that are in college now, they've lived through so many school shootings that it just unfaces them. I'm like, can't even imagine what that has done to them and understanding. it comes back to, they don't build trust very quickly at all. So you have to spend the time to build the trust with them. And it's like little things here and there that will continue to build trust more and more.

Yeah.

And so when you do have that big ass that comes across, or it's like, you're, got to do this in five minutes or we're toast. Like then they start to trust and believe, but, ⁓ it's a slow, it's a slow process because I think they've been in really emotionally high and low situations in their youth. And so they're, transitioning those feelings into their now adulthood with things like wedding planning.

Yeah, I'm old so I only went through in school fire drills and earthquake training, but I heard that the active shooter training is a whole thing that they practice at school. And it blows and it like blew my mind when I heard that I'm like, ⁓ but then I'm like, ⁓ okay, makes sense.

Thank

Yes, yes, and yeah.

phase.

Mm-hmm.

anything else that's serious in their life is gonna translate the same way.

Yeah, so takes a long time to build that trust.

Yes, I think this is a really great form of primary research that people can do. So primary research is something that you conduct yourself and it's your information that you can do whatever you want with. And it usually is free. So which is really nice for small business owners of, well, any size to do some of this interviewing is ⁓ really valuable information. So I do this with clients that I've really enjoyed working with in the past. And I ask them straight up, why did you pick me? And they'll usually come up with something that was a

personal tie, I liked that you blah, blah. I appreciated the fast response. Like I liked that you were a professor. They usually come back with something that was a personal connection to what was made them aware of me and then why they wanted to ⁓ have an experience with me, which eventually led to making a purchase and hiring me as their planner. So I think that is gold mine of information is asking those folks, why did you choose to go with me in the first place? And then listening to what those emotional reasons were.

and figuring out how you can then execute that on either your marketing or social posts or what you decide to put out there about yourself, because you probably will bring in more like-minded clients.

love that. All right. Once a business ⁓ owner uncovers meaningful consumer insight, what's the next step and how do we actually implement it?

Gosh, so just like marketing

and advertising, there are so many things you could bite off and chew at one time. So it's important that while you're gathering your research and putting all of these emotional and data connections together, putting them all out in front of you and then prioritizing. I think we need to figure out first, where should my energy go? Because yes, while all 10 of these things are important, what are the top two? So for some, could be increased inquiries. For some, it could be more referrals or reviews.

on a website, others could be, I really need to boost my SEO on my website. Like where are your priorities? And I'd say, start with the top two priorities and then work your way down. A lot of times you'll find once you start working on those top two priorities, things kind of trickle into those other eight things that you've got left on your list. So I think the warning is don't do too much at once. Go one or two things at a time because if you do too many, you're never gonna know exactly what worked and what didn't work.

Mm.

So also being able to track your progress and understanding, okay, option A didn't work, right, so I changed it to B, that's when it changed, and being able to understand why you're doing the things you're doing instead of just closing your eyes and hoping for the best.

Yeah, and especially because I feel like we as wedding professionals, we get burnt out, you know, because we have our real job is being creative. And then we have the part that, you know, we have to have a good business model and everything that keeps going to keep us going. So it's hard to juggle that because we all of us, feel like, want to live in the creative side, not so much in the business side. So it really makes it hard.

And you absolutely

can. It's then, your priority paying someone to take things off your plate? So you can then be more creative. So then we budget for it and we make time and space for that. Because if you're not living in your zone of genius, as they say, then your business isn't going to grow and people aren't going to connect with you if you're being bogged down in QuickBooks, if that's not your place of happy. know, like where can you outsource some cash and bring some of your joy back? I mean, that's half the battle of staying in business for as long as you have.

Yeah.

Yeah, and I think that's where a lot of wedding professionals go wrong. They'll try to become the web designer and they've tried to become the bookkeeper and they try to do all these things instead of outsourcing. I just hear so, you one, you see so many crappy websites or you start, know, people having a hard time keep taking care of cashflow or any of those kinds of stuff because they're not letting professionals help them.

Yeah, and I think it's tough too, because when you start out your business, you have to do everything. It's a manageable scale when you start out, and then all of a sudden it's scaled to here, and you're like, shoot, can't do everything after all. And so that's a very, ⁓ it's a tough thing to come to internally to figure out, you know, I do need help, and where do I want my time to be spent, and where do I find value in bringing other people in with expertise that I may not

Yeah.

Especially because we're preaching hire professionals to do your wedding don't go the DIY route, but therefore on the back end we're doing the DIY stuff on the back end so Yeah, say yeah all the above D all the above. All right. All right as we wrap up Loni What's one strategy wedding professionals can apply immediately to connect with their ideal clients on a deeper level?

Yeah, practice what we preach, do as I say, I don't know. ⁓

That's right.

your authenticity, find what is easy for you to do and do that on social and do that on your website. Is it easy for you to put your face on the camera and talk for two minutes? Is it easy for you to send DMS to people that you think are doing a great job? What things are easy for you to execute and start doing that and building traction? And then once that is a muscle memory item, you can add on something else or expand or add another element or go into a different direction. But I think

Lean into your strengths, find what's easy, and then just start doing that thing, and then the rest will start to build after that.

Love it. All right, Loni, how can folks get in contact with you? What's the best way to reach out to you? ⁓

Yay, I love new friends.

Instagram, LP Creative Events. And my email, Loni at LP Creative Events, L-O-N-I. And check out my website as well, lpcreativeevents.com.

All right, and we'll have all of Loni's information in the show notes and we will be blasting it out in the email blast as well. So you'll be able to find all of Loni's information out there. So Loni, thank you so much for being here today. really appreciate, I can't even talk, but I appreciate all your professionalism and everything you taught us here today. So thank you guys so much. Of course. Bye guys.

Thanks so much for having me. Thank you.