Today I am chatting with wedding planner Vikki Richman about why you should never stop learning in your wedding business. She talks about her journey into the industry and the many things she has learnt along the way.

Follow Vikki on Instagram or Facebook

Join the Wedding Pro Members Lounge

Time Stamps:

00:00 - Embracing Continuous Learning

03:56 - The Journey to Becoming a Wedding Planner

12:09 - The Importance of Communication in Planning

17:11 - The Importance of Lifelong Learning in Business

28:13 - The Importance of Community in Wedding Planning

Mentioned in this episode:

Wedding Pro members lounge

Find out more about the wedding pro members lounge: https://go.beccapountney.com/wedpro

It's always been important to me to be open to new ideas and new learning because I don't think we're ever finished. You know, it's like you can get to 88 years old and think that your life is done, but there's still stuff to learn even as you get older.

I'm Becca Pountney, wedding business marketing expert, speaker and blogger, and you're listening to the Wedding Pros who Are Ready to Grow podcast. I'm here to share with you actionable tips, strategies and real life examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.

If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business doing what you love, then you're in the right place. Let's get going with today's episode.

Today I'm chatting with Vicki Rickman, owner of your Wedding Friend and freelance event manager at Evershot hall in Bedfordshire.

Vicki is one of my OG Wedding Pro members and she has been around since pretty much I started my business and I've absolutely loved watching her own business grow and develop. She is really awesome and I cannot wait to chat with her. Vicki, welcome to the podcast.

Hi Becca, thanks for having me.

I am so glad to have you on.

I actually said before we started recording, I can't believe it's taken this long to get you onto the podcast and I'm really glad we're finally going to get to hear from you today. I wanted to know Vicky, and you may not know the answer to this question.

Do you remember the first time that you came across me or you came to one of my events? Because I was racking my brains trying to work out where we first met. I wondered if you had any memory of it yourself.

Oh, I remember it vividly.

It was one of the first events I went to as an official real wedding planner and it was instant albans and it was a whole day of meeting other wedding suppliers and other wedding pros and.

And you just stood out amongst all the talkers as someone that really knew her stuff and was really interested in everybody else that was in the room. And that was just. It was a huge light bulb moment and real catalyst for me getting going properly in my business.

Ah, that's where it was. And I do remember that event. Now you've said it. I do remember being there as a whole day training event.

It was very early on in my business, maybe 20, 20, 18, something like that. So thanks for sticking around all of these years and still being in my world and As I said, it's such a pleasure.

I always love seeing you, working with you and watching your business grow. So let's go back through your journey because I always like to give people a bit of context.

You said that was kind of the start of you being an official wedding planner. So what came before that? What was your career up until that point?

Well, I've always planned events of some sort or another. I actually started out in theater, so we have a little synergy there.

But I realized that being a stage manager in theater wasn't really going to cut the mustard in terms of, you know, having an actual income. So I started working at various places around Luton putting on exhibitions and events and things and eventually ended up art as an administrator.

And then I was sort of segued into this team looking after another location in Luton and the management were like, well, we should be doing weddings. Why aren't we doing weddings? Let's do weddings.

I was like, oh, I know nothing about weddings, but I will give it a go because that's the sort of person I am. Give everything a go, fake it till you make it sort of a thing. So I did that for five years and I loved working with the couples.

I really was giving out way more advice than I should have been as a wedding coordinator.

And I just wanted to be able to say to people, don't come here, go to this venue because it will suit your theme and your style better than what we can do and we're not big enough for you and all those sorts of things. And having to really rein back the advice and support that I wanted to give people. And it just sort of.

The ball got rolling and my brain was just kind of like, I really want to do this, but I don't know what I would call myself. I don't, don't know if I could do it because I'd been in employment for 15 years at that point. It's very cozy being in employment.

But then I just got this one little push that pushed me out of my comfort zone in my employment that was just like, I don't want to do that. I really want to do this. I want to become a wedding planner. And I did. It's scary.

Amazing. So you decided you wanted to become a wedding planner having had that experience in weddings and events. Was it a straight leap?

Because I don't actually know this part of your story. Did you just leave your job one day and go fully self employed or was it a slow transition?

So yeah, you need, you need that level of confidence though, don't you? Because it is a big leap to go from that cozy employment to I'm going to do it on my own.

And actually if you don't have that belief and self belief and if you really knew what was on the other side of it, you may never do it. And actually sometimes you need that self belief. Do you remember then that feeling of right, I now don't have employment and I now need work.

Do you remember where you got your first work from?

Well, the first job that I did was, was a result of my previous employment because it wasn't like I was going around my couple saying I'm going self employed, you might want to employ me or anything like that because I knew that that would be stepping on too many toes. But I was on LinkedIn still and I'd obviously put out there that I was planning events and things.

The first event I actually did was a kid's birthday party. So not weddings at all.

But the person knew me from my old employment and was kind of like, oh, I can trust this person that I know to help me put together my kids birthday party. So that was my first job. So yeah, it was good fun.

As you've gone along, have you, where have you found that your best work comes from? So do you find that you get work via social media? Do you find you get it through website? Do you find it's mostly word of mouth?

What's been working best for you since you started out?

The number one for me is, and has been for a long time is other suppliers, recommendations from other suppliers who have managed to work with has been huge in getting me work. Secondly is my website, which I'm grateful for. I couldn't say, I think most of the time I find, I find that people stalk me on socials.

So it's more as a kind of reassurance that I do sort of do what I say I do and know what I'm talking about. Yeah. So yeah, but I'm not aware that someone's directly come to me because of something I've posted or Just stalking me on socials.

Now, you said at the beginning that when you went into self employment, you very quickly realized you didn't actually know as much as you thought you knew.

But what do you think when you reflect back?

Are the main lessons that you've learned along the way or the things that you maybe didn't know at the start and now you realize they were really important?

Really early on I was sucking up advice left, right and center. And it took me a while to learn that not all of that advice is with my best interest.

Sometimes it's because it's other people reflecting their journey, which is fine, but I don't have to do what they did. And it, it took me longer than it should have to realize that my journey is my personal journey.

And it's nice for other people to have ideas and suggestions, but you don't have to do what they did because we're targeting different people, we want to work with different people. We've got different life situations, you know, we've got different ethos.

So, you know, my business reflects who I am, not who other people want me to be. And sometimes that rubs other people up the wrong way, but it is me.

That's absolutely fine though, because as I always say, we have to be unapologetically us. And there is no correct blueprint.

And this is why sometimes I struggle when I go to big conferences and the only speakers they have are people who've done it before and made loads of money.

Because actually all they're doing is not teaching you best practices, they're just telling you what they did and what they did may not work for someone else.

Which is why when we have these conversations, I like to talk to different people and go around the houses and talk about different things, because everyone's journey is different.

And I think the other thing is we can get sucked into the belief that we all have to serve a story that we've spoken about a number of times over the last few years after high end couples. But actually there's a market for different parts of the wedding industry as well. And you particularly don't necessarily want those high end couples.

Exactly. And the reason I loved working with the People that I love working with is because they were very much like me. And I'm not a high end luxury person.

So of course I wanted to work with people that I align with. And it's, for me, it's just not the luxury end of the market. And I've always believed that people with smaller budgets need help too.

So I like being affordable to them.

Yes, I could price myself higher and aim for bigger, better, more luxury jobs, but I really like being able to help people, even if it's for a short amount of time.

You know, I'm not going to drop someone who's only got me for five hours for someone that wants to book me for an entire weekend because the chances are I'll get more personally out of working with that person for five hours than I will for slogging my guts out for a whole weekend.

Absolutely. And that's why it's so important for us to reflect and know actually what does make us happy. Who do we want to work with? Who, who we want to serve.

And I've had that reflection in my own business when people say you should charge 20 times as much. You could be really exclusive. You could, you should dress this way and stand in front of posh cars and go on private jets.

I'm like, but that's not me and that's not the people I want to attract. And that's okay. And that doesn't mean those people are wrong and it doesn't mean I'm wrong. We're just different.

And I think, I think it, as you said, it took you far too long to really embrace that.

And I think you're still on that journey, but I think you are closer to really being unapologetically you and realizing I don't care what anyone else says about what I want to do in my business. This is what I want to do and I'm happy to do it. And I am serving the right people and the people that bring you joy.

And it's, it's a pleasure to watch.

As I said now, over time, you've not only been doing your independent event planning, and I know you've had a helping hand service as well, where you help other suppliers. And you, you are always willing to help. You've helped me over the years at numerous events too.

But more recently you've also taken up a bit of a freel contract with a venue. So tell me a bit about how that came about and what that looks like.

Well, it actually came about by helping another supplier because, you know, I was in there helping a venue decorator do her job. And the, the team that were there were talking about how they really needed someone to replace the son of the family that was leaving that role.

And I was kind of like, well, I could do that in my super confident way. And it was just kind of. Yeah, we sat down, we had a chat, and it, it just sort of snowball from there.

But I, I would introduction have happened if I hadn't been doing my helping hands for suppliers? I don't think so. And I love working. They're a crazy bunch, I have to say. They are a crazy bunch, but they've all been doing it a lot longer than me.

So I've been on a learning curve about how they work as well. And yeah, I love working with them. It's, it's.

And it's all actually working again with my ideal client because the couples are just, they're fantastic. They're my kind of people.

A lot of them are like, I like to say I'm the DIY planner because I like working with people who want to craft things because I'm a crafty person myself. So when they come to me and they said, oh, I've been making this and I've, you know, we've. We've done this ourselves. Okay, let's, let's see.

And it's, they just, they just wow me every time someone comes in with something new. That how many different ways you can dress the same venue is just amazes me. I love it.

Well, I love that you love it. But I also know that there probably are some frustrations. And it's interesting for you because you are now part planner, part working a venue.

And so you can see it from two different perspectives. And I'm not talking about things that maybe frustrate us with the couples. We all know those. But actually, what about the things that you've noticed?

It's being kind of venue facing that maybe some of the suppliers are doing. What lessons have you learned from them? Maybe where there's things that people listening could learn from.

It's that old favorite of ghosting. Ghosting works in both directions. The number of supplies that will ghost me as, as, as a planner, but also ghost my couples.

And then my couples tell me their frustrations when they come to see me at the venue. So I see it from every angle and it's, it's frustrating for everybody, and people do miss out on business because of it.

And why do you think that is? Why do you think? Because to me, it makes Absolutely no sense.

If you're a wedding planner or a wedding venue and you're recommending a couple onto a supplier, or you're contacting the supplier with potential work, why on earth would they not reply?

I think in the early days, I believe that it was because people are embarrassed about, about saying, no, I don't want your service. And I'm very upfront and I say to people when I meet them and we have our first meeting, I understand I might not be right for you.

We're going to spend a lot of time together as a planner. If we don't get along, it's not going to work. So it's better that you say to me, it was a great meeting, but unfortunately it's not going to work.

But a lot of people don't have the confidence, both couples and other suppliers saying, I'm sorry, but I can't take your. Your job, or, I'm sorry, I've gone with a different supplier.

I think in the old days there used to be that whole kind of like, send out an, an email that says, please tell me why you've told me, you know, you're rejecting me. And people don't like receiving that because they don't like giving, giving negative feedback, especially sort of face to face.

But nowadays I think people are just too overwhelmed to, to get back to you. And that works for suppliers and couples.

You know, a supplier's DMs box is probably, you know, exploding all over the place, but they really do need to be reviewing them because if you say to. If you've got a contact me button on your Instagram and then you ig anyone that contacts you through that, you're missing out on work.

And I know I'm so bad at it as well. Sometimes it's because you're getting so many different, direct things from different directions. It's hard to keep track of sometimes.

But it's important that we go back and check all those places because we could end up missing a really good job by not checking.

I learned this lesson really, really young. I'm going to share.

So I don't think I've shared this on the podcast before, but I learned a lesson about not checking and missing out on big opportunities really young.

So when I was about, I think it was about, about 16, I'd applied to the BBC to go and do work experience on a program called what Not To Wear with Trini and Susanna. I mean, that is a real throwback.

And I remember I had a mobile then, I think so I must have been about 16 and I'd applied to this thing and never thought anything of it.

And I got a call off a number I didn't know, so I didn't answer it and they left a voicemail and I didn't re listen to it because I was like, oh, it's just junk. And I listened to it. I remember about three days later and it was the BBC saying, if are you interested in this, get back to us before tomorrow.

And I felt, felt sick because I thought I have thrown away an opportunity because I was too lazy to listen to a voicemail message.

And I think that was a really good lesson for me to learn that early on because I realized you never know just because you think there's nothing important in the dms, just because you think, oh, it's just another spam email, actually, you never know what it is. Now the story had a good ending because I actually called them back and like begged and said, I'm so sorry, I've been busy.

And actually they did let me go and do work experience a few weeks later. So it had a happy ending.

But I do think I, I have that front and center mind, which is why I'm like, you've got to check, you've got to look at these places. If you've got something open, you could be throwing away the biggest opportunity of your business.

And what I find frustrating is that often the same people who are saying to me over and over again, I'm just desperate for recommendations, I'm desperate for venue relationships, I'm desperate for this, that and the other. Then when they get those opportunities are the ones that don't reply. So you can't have it both ways.

If you really want something, you gotta pay attention and you've got to look at it.

I know it's annoying to look everywhere and there are ways you can start funneling people back and filtering people out, but you gotta look and say this all the time.

In our membership on Accountability Monday, if you've got a long to do list, you need to prioritize things that are bringing you new money into the business. Like that's got to go to the top.

So a referral or an inquiry that you've got to get back to should be like the top of the top of the top of the list, because that's something that's going to bring money in. Whereas that social media post, well, that should go down the list a bit further. Or that coffee meeting, that's just for a little chat with someone.

Go down the list further because ultimately those DMs are the route to more money. There we go. That's me on my little high horse. I think we've got that message across across loud and clear.

Now, Vicki, I know because I've worked with you for a number of years that you have seen the value in educating yourself and learning throughout the business. And as your business has grown, I know that you are someone that does a lot of different kind of training courses.

Whether that's with me, with other people, you're always looking to grow your knowledge. You're often on the calls that I put on, which shows me that you are wanting to improve and wanting to take the knowledge you can get.

You've been on the Wedding business retreat that me and Kelly put on and of course, and we'll talk about this more in a minute. You came to Wedding MBA last year, which was incredibly exciting.

So what is it about those things that make you think, yeah, this is actually a really important part of my business.

It's always been important to me to be open to new ideas and new learning because I don't think we're ever finished. You know, it's like you can get to 88 years old and think that your life is done, but you know, there's still stuff to learn even as you get older.

And I know now that I'm not Gen Z or Gen A Alpha. I'm a woman of a certain age. So I have to embrace the fact that I don't know what young people know and I've not lived their experience.

Likewise, they haven't lived my experience. But why not stay open to learning? It helps everybody ultimately. And yeah, I'm never going to close myself off from the idea of learning new things.

It's difficult, don't get me wrong. Sometimes it can feel counterintuitive. Like, you know, at the moment I'm learning about how to embrace change in my emails.

How I construct my emails has always been dictated by my 15 years of corporate speech. So I'm trying to undo all of those.

Dear sir, madam, thank you kindly, you know, regards and all of that shenanigans that goes on and try and put more of my personality into an email and it's as just like trying to extract teeth with a comb. It's just it's really hard, but I'm not going to stop doing it because I know ultimately it will bring the reward, and that's what you do it for.

At the end of the day, if it brings in the business, it's worth doing. It's. Yeah, it can be painful, but it's worth it.

I think if anyone gets to a point where they think, yeah, I know it all now. That's a really dangerous place to be in. I mean, even me. We were talking before this call went, before we hit record. Even me, right?

I'm known as the leading wedding industry marketing expert. I understand marketing, yet I still know that there are things I don't know as much as I could.

There are things that other people understand better than me.

And so just this morning I was telling you that I had a meeting about with someone who's helping me with TikTok, because I know that's an area that's important, and I can keep telling people it's important, but actually it's a little bit outside of my skill set. And I have to acknowledge that I am getting older as well. And I am not Gen Z or Gen Alpha. I am a very much an elder millennial.

And if I was to sit back and go, no, I'm listening to these younger people, and I'm just saying, I'm the expert. I know what I'm doing. We will never evolve and we will never grow. So it's a warning, really, to anyone listening if you do have those thoughts.

Yeah, I know it all. That's a dangerous place to be because there is always someone that can help you.

There is always someone else that knows something that you don't know. And I think it's a really healthy place to be. And like I said, you always show up.

I know that that's your attitude, and I think you benefit from that because you're always pushing the needle forward and pushing yourself a little bit out of your comfort zone, even when you don't always, always want to do it because you know that it will have the results. So, talking about being outside of comfort zones, I already alluded to it, but last year you made the decision to come to Las Vegas.

And as people who listen to this podcast will know, I talk a lot about going to Las Vegas because I love wedding mba. I've loved that I've got to speak there. I'm back there again at the end of this year because it is so big.

It's the biggest wedding industry conference in the world. Five to six thousand attendees. So many talks and we just don't have anything of that scale here in the uk.

So what was it that made you think, I'm going to go to that Vegas place and give that a try, try this year.

I wonder if it was something to do with some. One of my favorite people giving one of the talks there.

I appreciate that.

No, I, I, it's, I, I've, I've always done conferences in the past so I, I kind of thought I knew what to expect, but it was totally different to what I anticipated.

And I thought if not now, when, you know, you grab these things, these opportunities as they come up and yeah, to see you talk in front of that many people would was. Yeah, I was so proud. I was proud to be part of the English contingents as well because there was enough of us there that was, yeah.

And you, that was, it was eye opening in so many different ways and not at all as overwhelming as I thought it would be given the sort of 6,000 people that's, there was so much to see. I'm still not sure that I saw everything I could have seen. And I know that I missed out on some amazing talks.

Not yours, of course, I was there in front and center for yours. But I know I missed some amazing talks because the ones I went to were just fantastic. I took so much.

I, you know, I came away with an achy arm from having, you know, writing so many notes and so many aha. Moments that were just like, this is just absolute, pure gold. Worth every penny for the, for the trip.

Yeah, absolutely. And actually, and I say it time and time again, I don't think it's terrible value really for everything you get.

The actual ticket is less than 200 if you use my name at the checkout for 2, 3 days worth of conference, which, which is huge anyway. And actually here from the UK we can get to Las Vegas fairly simply. It doesn't have to be complicated.

And as we all say when we go, actually it's also a little excuse to do a bit of traveling, to see something different, to experience Las Vegas or a part of America that you might not have been to before and then claim it back on your tax. So for me it's an absolute no brainer and it is a lot of fun. But it was brave of you to decide to do that and go on your own.

I'm assuming you have no regrets about going. I was thrilled that you were there. As I said, one of my OGs right there who saw me way back in St.

Albans talking in front of about 20 people to being on that stage in Las Vegas talking to over a thousand people is. Is a huge thing, and I'm glad that you were there to enjoy that as well. What do you think your main lessons.

What were the takeaways that you took from that conference? I know it was a few months ago now, but is there some things that you thought this is. What's. This is what this has done for me.

This is how it's moved me and my business forward.

Just a greater understanding of how the American market compares to the British market. I thought they were very, very different. It turns out they're not, actually. They are in some ways, but not in as massive a way as I thought. But my.

My biggest takeaway was. Was a talk that was.

I'm going to struggle now to remember their name, but it was a really emotional talk for me because it was about understanding gender identity and how we as wedding pros, quite often we sort of assume we know who we're talking to. So we do a lot of work around trying to be inclusive, but we don't necessarily understand why we're trying to be inclusive.

And the talk was just, these are human beings with human needs, and they just want to be seen and heard and understood. And I realized that that was exactly the same for me. It was exactly the same for every couple I work with.

They each just want to be seen, understood, and heard. And we can do that in so many different ways by.

But they're really, really simple ways and be using more inclusive language and not purely referring to brides and grooms in everything that we do and every post that we put out there and just understanding that there are a lot people and a lot of different mix of. Not even genders, but just types, you know, we're not all one stagnant kind of. I am a heterosexual female, and therefore I only do.

We're all on a scale of just being human. And the scale is what are we now? 8 billion people wide? You know, so our approach is individual to individual needs and not treating everyone as one.

One giant blob mass that we can hit everybody's knees with. One little post.

Yeah, that. That makes perfect sense. And I think that's. That it sounds like that was. I didn't get to that talk myself. It sounds like it was an excellent talk.

I'll have to look it up in the program and find out who it was. Maybe I can get them on the podcast as well. We can. And talk more about it.

Because it sounds like it would was a really interesting conversation, but just understanding that couples are individuals and us as. As wedding professionals are individuals, and we are not all one size fits all. And people do need a different approach.

And actually sometimes we can fall into the trap of just seeing another. Oh, another. Another inquiry, another inquiry, another person that's ghosted me another tour.

But actually, like, for them, this is like the biggest decision of their life, especially when it comes to a venue or a planner that they're big investments.

And actually, if we take a bit more time to understand and not be quite so dismissive or quite so like, oh, they don't fit into my box, so therefore I'm not interested. I think we all become better humans, but also we're going to have a much more successful business. So that sounds like an excellent talk.

Did you make use of the exhibition stands when you were there? Did you go and go around and talk to people? Did you find anything interesting there?

Yeah, I loved the robotic arm that did the cocktails. That was fun.

One of those in England.

Yeah, there was a lot of geeky supplies there. And I loved the sort of. Well, given where, you know, where Vegas is, it's the. The whole setup that this florist did was kind of like an.

An alien invasion sort of, you know, with a flying saucer that's beaming people up and stuff. And I just thought just made my geeky little heart very happy.

Yeah, I love it.

And, you know, one of the things I learn when I go to wedding MBA number one, is that we're a tiny part in a massive industry, which I love, and seeing the variety of different people there.

But also I think actually we can learn a lot from the Americans and their confidence and the way they do things and the way that they are more than us Brits, often completely unapologetically them in the way that they conduct themselves. And I think, you know, they always say you're the sum of the people you surround yourself with.

And whenever I spend three days in those rooms in Las Vegas, I come out more energized, more confident, more joyful, because you've been surrounded by people who are radiating that love for the industry and are filling you with new ideas all of the time. And then we kind of take a little piece of that back to our little home offices where we're surrounded by no one other than just the walls.

And I think it. It does help. And I think it's important for us to get out and see people and be in places, whether that's in Las Vegas.

Whether that's online, in online communities, we can't be solitary. We have to encourage each other. Other.

So would you recommend it if there's people listening that are thinking, I might fancy that Vegas thing this November, they could come and see me, talk and be there like you were last year. What would you say to people who are considering it?

It's well worth it. It's worth every penny. And take the opportunity to embrace more than just the conference as well, because get out and explore.

Because there's so much in and around Vegas that's worth exploring. It's not all betting money on, you know, casino tables and yeah. Losing your shirt and all that sort of stuff. But it's just, it's. Yeah, yeah.

If, if you're only going to do it once, you might as well do it as a wedding pro. At the same time, it's going to an amazing conference and then you can.

Claim it back on your tax, as we've already said. And this year actually, because I've obviously been twice now and so I've explored a lot of what Las Vegas has to offer. I've done the Grand Canyon.

This year we are flying into San Francisco for the weekend. So we're going to go and enjoy San Francisco for the weekend and then we're going to hop on a very quick internal flight.

It's about 45 minutes to Vegas for the Monday to do the conference.

So salute to use it as an excuse to travel, see a few different things and then we will definitely enjoy veg this because even though I've been twice, there's still a whole list of things that I haven't had time to do yet because there is so many things to do. So if you are listening to this, you're interested in wedding mba.

Why not reach out to Vicky if you want to find out her experience or reach out to me.

I've put together a little document that I built last year which just kind of talks you through places to stay, how to get your ticket, and I'm more than happy to help you. And if you do make it there, I'm sure we can meet for a drink like we did last time. So I will be hosting some drinks.

If you are planning on being in Las Vegas and you're listening to this and you haven't told me that you're planning on being there, do make sure you do so that we can organize a little, little get together.

Vicky, before I let you go, the last thing I want to talk to you about is community because you have Been a part of my lovely members lounge for a number of years, right since day one. And people have come and people have gone and there's lots of people that have been there from day one.

But the thing I personally think is so special about that place is the people who are in it. Yes, I can give you great training, yes, I can bring in great experts, but for me, it's a safe space.

For me as much it is for the members that are in.

In it because of the way that people support each other, lift each other up and are not kind of showing off about how great they are, but have that honesty. What's been your experience of being part of that community and how has it helped you through the highs, through the lows, over the last few years?

I could, I think I can honestly say that I wouldn't still be doing weddings if it wasn't for the community, because there are times we go through imposter syndrome. You, if you're on your own and you, you've got to fight that internal battle all by yourself.

It's so much harder than when you've got a community behind you. And some of them will just turn around and say, don't be daft. Of course you can do your job. You know what you're doing.

You may have said that to me once or twice, but there are also other people that say they'll ask you probing questions or they'll, they'll say, but I remember when you did this. And it's like, oh, yeah, I did do that. And. But, but it's more than just that.

It's that if you're having a hard time or you think something is a bit dodgy, or we all get the spam emails and some of them are getting really, at looking legit. And if you go on there and just say, is anyone else finding this a little bit weird? There's a whole team of people going, oh, yes, I found that.

This, this, this, you need to do this, you know, or reviewing your website, if you, if you've got something, I've done it before as well. It's kind of like I, I think it makes sense.

But can people understand what I'm actually trying to get to when, with my introduction, does it actually say that I'm a planner or am I just waffling? Because that's what I do. And people. It can be brutally. It is from a good place and that's. That, that's key.

Everyone is there to support everyone else. And I, I really would not still be Doing. Yeah. Yeah. This job, if I didn't have that support behind me.

So I am very grateful to you, Becca, and the rest of the gang. Yeah.

And it is a really special place. I always say it's like the best secret club on the Internet, because I don't think I shout about it enough, about how special it is. And.

And that's twofold, really, because I want to keep it like that. I don't want it to be huge and have loads of people come in that ruin that space. But I also.

I love inviting new people in because we do welcome people with. And it is one of the safest spaces on the Internet. And I. I hope that it stays that way.

And I will do everything I can to keep it that way, because, yes, people will be honest, but people care. And people aren't there to bring you down. People are there because they genuinely want to build each other up.

And one of the things that brings me so much joy, and I know I've seen this happen to you before, is when I see people that have met through that community meet up outside of that community for coffee or get together for a drink or. Or help each other out when they're going through a tough situation or work with each other. And when I see posts like that where I just.

You know, I may not even say anything, I just see something on Instagram where two people I know that have met through the members lounge have got together and they're having coffee and they're supporting each other. That's where the magic is, because that is golden.

As business owners, we can be so lonely and we can get in our own heads and we can convince ourselves that we're terrible and no one cares and no one wants to talk to us. But actually knowing that there's that place and that space where we can go and go and even I do it. I'm having a bad day. This has happened.

And, like, can someone get me out of this moment, even though I'm the person who's supposed to be in charge? Because we've got to lead with vulnerability. So I'm glad you're in there. I'm glad you're a part of it.

And you are a key part in encouraging others as well. It's not just about people encouraging you. I've seen you multiple times give words of encouragement to other people, give feedback.

You're very good at things like detail, understanding, grammar, punctuation. Sometimes you're really good at spotting mistakes other people aren't good at.

We've got People in there that are really good at the techie stuff, like Jesse, who's always there to be like, this is an AI bot. This is a scam. You know, there's such a varied amount of people in there that there's usually someone that can answer your question.

And if there's not someone that can answer your question, there's normally someone who. Someone knows who'll be able to answer your question.

So, yeah, if you're listening to this and you've been considering it for a while, you are very welcome to join myself and Viki inside the Wedding Pro members lounge. I'll put the link in the show notes, come and find out what it's all about.

You know, you can come for a month or you can end up staying for however many years Vicky's been in there. Four years maybe. I don't know. You've been there since day one and it's been a pleasure. Right, Vicky, we've got to bring this conversation to an end.

Otherwise I could literally sit and chat to you here all day. It's been wonderful hearing a bit more about your story.

Thank you for sharing some of your thoughts with everybody, talking about the things that you've learned over the way, and hopefully we got that message across to suppliers. Not to ghost their venue and planners as well, but I always end my podcast with the same question, so I'm going to throw that one to you now.

And it's this. What's one thing you personally wish you'd known sooner in your own business, not.

Trust everybody else's opinions?

I feel like there's a whole story we could go in there behind that, and I don't think it's maybe appropriate for the podcast right now, but absolutely. I think for all of us.

In a world where we're being thrown information and stats and stuff left, right and center, we do have to learn to digest and think. Who do we actually trust? What proof have we got that we can trust them?

And actually, sometimes we have to just go with our own gut instinct because actually we do know better because it's our business and what works for someone else might not be right for us. Is a great piece of advice. Vicky, thank you so much for your time today. If people want to find out more, chat you first.

Further, where's the best places for them to reach out to you?

Stop me on my Instagram your Wedding Friend uk or on Facebook or your Wedding friend or my email. I'm always open to chat to people about weddings. I mean, everywhere.

Amazing. I'll make sure I put all of the links in the show notes and she is truthfully honest.

If you want to chat to Vicky, she would be more than happy to chat to you. So reach out to her.

Encourage her that you enjoyed this podcast episode and maybe you can build a new relationship with Vicky as well as a planner and working at the venue. Vicky, thank you. I hope I get to see you in person for a hug sometime very soon.

Thanks for having me. It'd be great to see you again for another coffee.

I love that conversation with Vicky. Isn't she a diamond? She is so wonderful, so lovely.

And it's been an absolute pleasure to see her develop over the last few years and her confidence levels to grow the way she's realized that she can be completely, unapologetically herself. And the enthusiasm she has for learning, bettering herself and encouraging others is inspiring. Do reach out to her if you want to find out more.

And if you're thinking about coming to Las Vegas and you want to understand how it worked for her, just ask her a question. I'm sure she's more than happy to help. I'll see you next time.