In this episode of Now That I’m Engaged, How Do I Get Married?, Kevin Dennis and August Yocher sit down with Nora Culley Tuck of Engaged with Nora to break down one of the biggest challenges couples face today: the disconnect between wedding inspiration and reality.

With social media constantly showcasing highlight reels of luxury weddings, Nora shares how easy it is for couples to fall in love with ideas that don’t reflect the true time, cost, and coordination behind them. She explains why inspiration without context can quickly lead to overwhelm and how to shift your mindset before it impacts your planning experience.

The conversation dives into how to use inspiration more intentionally, why looking beyond weddings can lead to more meaningful design, and how to build a vendor team that brings your vision to life in a realistic, personalized way. Nora also shares practical tips on communicating your vision clearly, avoiding comparison, and focusing on what actually matters to you as a couple.

You’ll also hear an honest look at where expectations often need to shift, especially when it comes to large-scale design elements like hanging installations, and why understanding the “why” behind your choices is key to creating a wedding that feels authentic, not just trendy.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by Pinterest boards or unsure how to turn inspiration into something real, this episode will help you refocus, simplify your approach, and create a wedding that truly reflects you.

Nora Culley Tuck is the visionary behind planning firm Engaged With Nora. After launching in 2020, the company has grown to a team of 25 planners specializing in bold, authentic, and chic events with an experience-driven approach. Nora’s background in theatre, bridal attire, hotel blocking, catering, venue management, and design gives her a unique perspective that helps her team create weddings that stand out while staying true to each couple.

Highlights

• The disconnect between Pinterest inspiration and real wedding logistics

• Why social media shows a highlight reel, not the full picture

• How to use inspiration without becoming overwhelmed

• Why your wedding should be inspired by your life, not other weddings

• The importance of building the right vendor team early

• How to clearly communicate your vision to vendors

• Why hanging installations often come with unexpected costs

• How to avoid comparison and focus on your own priorities

• Why trends don’t equal timeless and what actually does

• The mindset shift that leads to a more meaningful wedding experience

Connect with Nora:

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Connect with Kevin & August:

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LinkedIn

All right, folks, welcome to another episode of Now That I'm Gauge, How Do I Get Married? And we're here with Nora Culley today. So Nora, thank you for being here with us. We're going to be talking about the disconnect between inspiration and reality. But before we do, Nora, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how we got you here today?

Yeah, thanks so much for having me again today, guys. I really appreciate it. ⁓ Yeah, I'm Nora Culley-Tuck. I'm the owner and creative director of Engaged with Nora. We are a full service wedding planning firm based out of Cleveland, Ohio that specializes in bold and authentic events. So we typically are the people that if you come to us with a crazy idea, we say, bet, let's do it. And we get it done for you.

Of course.

Bet

I love that. All right, so we're going to dive in. So what does the disconnect between inspiration and reality actually look like when couples start planning their wedding?

Yeah, this is the biggest struggle I see these days as a planner is couples come to us with an idea of what they want for their wedding. But then when we actually get into the weeds of the time commitment, the financial commitment and the work that's going to go into the day, they tend to have a bit of a breakdown and they can't understand why it's not as easy as it looks on the Internet.

Mm-hmm.

I mean, couples these days are inundated with TikToks and Instagram and Pinterest and inspiration coming from all over the world. And they don't necessarily understand the work that goes into it and what that might mean for them in terms of planning.

Mm-hmm.

Well, and it's funny you said time commitment and that's something I would not have even thought about, but yes, to do something beautiful takes time. yeah.

F.

It does, yeah.

And my job as a planner is of course to take a lot of that work off their shoulders and make it as little of a time commitment as possible. But especially when you're trying to do something that is so unique to who you are as a couple, I have to consult with you. It's a collaboration. I sit in meetings with clients all day asking them questions. And sometimes it's things that they haven't thought about.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Then we go and we do the legwork for them, but there are certain things that we can't do. I can't make a guest list for you. I can't do your seating chart for you. Trust me, you're not gonna like where I place your grandma if we do the seating chart for you. You know, there's still things that couples have to do even when they are working with a full service planner.

Mm-hmm.

I still have PSD from the seating chart when I got married. Yeah, I do. It was the worst thing. It was really the most fights we had through the planning of the wedding and the most stress. Because you got so many different people pulling you so many different ways, and you got this person that doesn't like that person. It's the worst anyway.

Yeah, you always say that.

Yeah.

all the time. Making the guest list and the seating chart are quite literally the two worst tasks while planning. And unfortunately there's something I cannot do for you. I'm like, you know, emailing people and doing timelines and doing floor plans and mood boards and design decks and visual guides, all of that takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of expertise, but nothing is as bad as those two tasks.

Mm-hmm.

The worst.

Yeah!

Well, I am really glad that we're talking about this disconnect today, because I feel like, and Kevin, let me know if you agree. I feel like it's kind of been a sub theme a lot lately. Like it keeps coming up in conversation. The fact that, I mean, you know, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, it's just showing couples so many images, so many videos of these beautiful weddings. And we keep saying it's coming without information. It's coming without a price tag. And I'm glad that we're kind of just focusing on this.

Yeah.

specifically today and kind of digging deeper into this issue because it just, it keeps coming up for us. But why do you think couples get so caught up in the inspiration? Like on Pinterest, on Instagram, on TikTok, like before they even start discussing logistics or budgeting?

Well, I think it's really easy. I think that's what the entire marketing world is wishing for. All of us in the industry, we use social media platforms and all of that to promote our own work, and we're showing our best work. There are plenty of weddings I've done that are not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen or not the most expensive thing you've ever seen, but from a marketing strategy, that's not going to push me to the clients that I want and the types of weddings I want.

It's fine. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Right? So you're seeing the absolute highlight reel of not just the weddings themselves, but of weddings in general. So when couples are on Pinterest and they're putting in outdoor wedding inspiration, they're not seeing realistic outdoor wedding inspiration. They're seeing the top outdoor weddings that had been produced in the last 10 years. So that's where the disconnect starts is because they're not seeing the full picture.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

And so when you're being fed the same type of inspiration over and over and over again, that becomes the expectation.

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm sure that's a little bit of a... Yeah, just a reality check, absolutely when you start the planning.

Yeah

Absolutely.

And it's heartbreaking because, you know, my sales director, Casey, gets on a call with people and in their inquiry, they tell us all these amazing things and on paper, it's a perfect client. And then when we actually get into the bones of the event and what it's going to cost, we see the life drain out of their eyes. What do you mean It's going to cost that much. It's like for what you're telling us you want, that's what it's going to cost.

Yeah, yeah.

Mmmhmm.

Yeah,

well, I mean, it can be a little bit misleading. with that said, how can couples use inspiration in a way that's helpful instead of overwhelming or misleading?

This is what.

Yeah, so I think where people need to look is actually not at wedding inspiration for their weddings. They need to pull from other sources. Because if you talk to any great planner or designer, they're not getting inspiration from other weddings. They're getting inspiration from their couples, from their story, the art that they buy, the restaurants that they go to, the places they travel.

Mmm

Mmm.

the fashion brands that they buy, what their home looks like, what architecture styles they look like or they like. So that's where the inspiration starts and that's where the creative process takes them and builds it into the wedding world. So instead of looking at, know, Pinterest and searching in wedding, if you know that you want an outdoor event, start looking at the outdoors or start looking at.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah?

rental companies and what inventory they have because every rental company either has their pricing online or has a downloadable pricing list that you can look at. So I think it's about focusing on the vibe first and then getting more and more specific because I think what people do is they see a ceremony and they're like, I want this ceremony. That ceremony has $20,000 worth of hydrangeas. That ceremony has a custom built stage.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

that ceremony has wishbone chairs that cost 20 to $25 a piece. So instead of looking at one image and saying, is what I want, pull a bunch of images with the vibe that you're going for, and then let the professionals guide you on what you can afford within your price range.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, and I like that because as you were saying that I was thinking back to some of the cool weddings that we've done and it's all been because of something they liked, you know, whether it's travel movies, you know, like you mentioned fashion, any of that kind of stuff there's but pulling from the couple and their story, I think that's more meaningful and then it's going to make it their wedding, not like everybody else's wedding that's on the internet.

Mm-hmm.

And I think, you know, there's this trend on TikTok right now where they're like, is your wedding chartreuse and burgundy? Because apparently every wedding in 2026 is chartreuse and burgundy. And I'm looking at books and I'm yeah, apparently that's like the thing, right? Like everybody wants like Amaranthus and Anthurium with silver. And I'm looking at my client list for the year and I'm like, I don't have a single chartreuse and burgundy wedding on the books.

You

Really?

Yeah!

But that's because we're not following the trends of what's happening on the internet and what's being fed to us. We are truly pulling from an authentic place of inspiration within our couples. So, you know, I did a chartreuse wedding in 2024 because the groom was a pro tennis player. So we pulled that color from tennis and pulled that into the design. It became our hero color.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

you

And then now two years later, that's the trending color.

You started the trend, Nora.

I'm not going to say I started the trend, but I will definitely say we're going to

You get trendsetter!

have a good time.

No, but I do feel in the long run, it's just best for everybody and for the couple, like above all else, because you're being genuine, you're being authentic, you're getting a wedding that actually feels like you, and is that not the goal all along, so.

Okay.

Yeah, and that's how you make your wedding timeless. Like I think people think that a timeless wedding is like something that is classic. Yeah, it's classic and beautiful. That's not a timeless wedding. Trust me, a wedding from the 90s that was all white still looks like a wedding from the 90s, right? But when it's really, exactly.

Mmm.

Classic. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, the

poof of the dress and the... Yeah.

When it's rooted in intention and authenticity, that's when a wedding becomes timeless because you're going to look back on your wedding and you're not going to say that was so 2026. You're going to say that was so us.

Yeah.

Yeah,

that's perfect. So at what point do you think couples should shift from collecting all these ideas online, collecting the inspiration, to actually start making decisions on things?

Yeah, I think, yeah, absolutely. Once you have the inspiration gathered, you know what vibe you want. I think that's when you really need to start building the team. And the team is the single most important thing that you can do when planning a wedding. I tell people all the time, like, I could plan a gorgeous wedding, but if we don't have the right people in the right places, you're not gonna have a gorgeous, fantastic, seamless wedding.

Mm.

Mmm.

Mm-hmm.

⁓ so what I always suggest is basically giving your inspiration to the people that you're working with or that you're potentially working with and see what they do with it. Right? Like if a vendor takes things at face value and they go, okay, great. Check, check, check. Here's what it's going to cost. They're probably not the right vendor for you. A good vendor takes the inspiration.

Mmm.

adds to it, puts their own flair on it, and then pitches it back to you with the price point that works best for you. And so I always say, look at the vendors that are not all their weddings look the same. If a florist on their Instagram, every wedding looks the same, that means that your wedding is going to look like every other wedding on their feed.

Mm-hmm.

But if you look through a florist Instagram and you're seeing variety, not only in colors, but types of flowers, sizes of events, ⁓ know, vessels, things like vases, candles, things like that. If you see a variety within them, then when you give them your inspiration, they're going to take it and make it even better than what you could imagine it could be.

Mm-hmm.

Good stuff. All right, you were talking a little bit about trends earlier. So how do you help couples translate inspiration into something that feels true to them and not just a trend?

Yeah, I mean it is, I'm anti-trend. i mean, if you, I'm anti-trend. think it's.

Yeah!

We can tell by what

you said earlier.

Yeah, well, I think it's just, I mean, I've been anti trend my whole life. So like, this is nothing new. But sometimes we kind of have to like break the mentality of our clients when it comes to that. Because again, you're being fed the same things that everybody else is. I always say like, if you pull up my Pinterest, and you pull up like the average wedding, like couple getting married, their Pinterest, and we type in the same thing, you're going to see two drastically different

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Pinterest pages because mine is so tuned into my specific Style and needs and what I'm searching the algorithm is pushing me things that it's not pushing the average couple if you put in Chartreuse and burgundy wedding you're gonna be fed the same exact thing that every other couple that puts that in is being fed

Mm-hmm.

So that's when your wedding starts to look the same as everybody else's. And when you're spending this much money on a wedding, because weddings, you know, they've never been more expensive per person ever. And that's for a reason. You're getting a much more high quality event than you were 20 years ago. But if you're spending that amount of money, don't you want it to feel like you and not feel like at the same wedding that everybody's going to over and over and over again?

Yeah.

No.

Yeah.

So if you're trying to avoid trends, I always say come back to your preferences. So we often use restaurants and hotels as inspiration for our design because those are permanent designs, right? A wedding you throw up for a day, you pull it down in a day. And when you go to a wedding, you can usually tell that it's thrown up in a day and taken down in a day.

Yeah.

When you walk into a hotel or a restaurant, that is residential design. That is design that's supposed to last for 10, 20, 30 years. So we often use that as inspiration for our design because we want that sense of permanence. ⁓ And it could be something very, very simple. Like ⁓ we have a wedding coming up next month that ⁓ they love the bachelor mansion. what? Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

Mmm.

wow. Okay.

It's so

good!

It was such a it's

such a unique reference right like it came from the groom which was like even more surprising right like what's your home interiors and architecture do you like he's like I really love the bachelor mansion and we're like okay okay okay I think we can find something here right so you know we looked at hundreds of images of that mansion

Yeah, right. It really is.

Mm-hmm.

That

is more surprising.

Ugh.

Yeah.

and took so many little details. The wedding is not going to look like the bachelor mansion, but the details have a source of inspiration and it creates a cohesion throughout the design where it's like the essence of that is in this event, right?

No, yeah.

No, but-

Yeah. Did

they do roses for the flowers?

Oh no, actually not at all.

⁓

I was thinking the same thing, August. That's funny. Please. Or give all the guests a rose as they walk in.

I thought it was like... Yeah... YEAH!

You know, honestly, I might be able to convince them to do that now that you said it, but we use the courtyard, right? So like we have a limo, so we have tile patterns throughout the entire design. We're bringing in trees ⁓ as the height and to give that garden feel to things. So, and there's a bit of like a Tuscan kind of Hacienda feel to some of the design, but if you didn't know that was the inspiration,

Yeah.

yeah.

Hmm

Okay.

Waa- WAAAA-

you would never see it, right? But that groom is gonna walk in and be like, ⁓ my God, the trees. And it's gonna mean something to him, right?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, for sure.

Wow,

that's... yeah, so unique. Really cool. And yeah, there's not going to be another wedding like that because it's just so specific and unique to them. That's so, so cool. I love that.

Thanks

how can couples communicate their vision clearly to vendors? Because I know that might be a little hard without relying solely on Pinterest board. What other methods can they use?

Sure. I mean, we use Canva every single day. It's magic. As somebody who grew up in the Photoshop and design age, Canva is a game changer. So I think it's also pinpointing the direction, right? Like if you need more than five to eight images to convey what you're going for, you are too all over the place, right?

⁓ canva's good.

⁓

Canva's my fave, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

Like five to eight images is really all you need to convey the message. So.

Yeah, because a

lot of times you see these Pinterest boards and there's 50 to 100, you know. And my favorite is, I had one time, I'm sorry to interrupt, it made me, I can't stop thinking about this one bride. I want everything she wanted pink, but everything in her Pinterest board was lavender. And I'm like, and I was like, hey, I was like, hey.

Yes!

Maybe you like lavender.

Yeah, no and I said something

and the mom goes I told you it was just like this whole moment. Anyway, sorry Yeah

That's a real thing.

We as a team, have you ever played the game Hughes and Clues?

No, I am not.

Love that game. Love

it. Yeah

So

it's a game where you basically have to describe a color without saying the color and people have to guess which specific shade on the board you're talking about, right? And it's great for designers because ⁓ what I consider peach might be very different from what somebody else considers peach, right? So when we're not talking about primary colors or we're talking about shades of colors,

Mm-hmm.

What I think when you describe a color is very different from what you might be thinking. And so that kind of clarity is really important. Oftentimes when we're pulling inspiration photos or when a client gives us inspiration, which to be honest, we don't really accept inspiration because we do that for you. ⁓ But a lot of times if you come to a vendor with inspiration, they should be asking you, what do you like about this photo?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm.

Because when I look at a photo of a centerpiece, I may be looking at shape or texture or color or size. When you look at that picture, you might be focusing on, I just like that the table's Right? And then there's this disconnect in the communication. And the last thing we want is for our couple to show up on a wedding day and be underwhelmed or disappointed by what they see. Right?

Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So it's about being very, very specific and clear about what you are looking for and what you like.

Yeah.

And it's funny that you say that because we've been getting a lot of the same photo lately for drapery in the ceiling, but everyone has a different kind of definition of what it looks like or what it means. You know what saying? So it's kind of really interesting that you say that because everyone is pulling something totally different out of it. It's insane.

Mm-hmm.

mean, draping is a great example too, right? Because it's so stylistic. So like, do they like that it feels heavy? Do they like that it feels textured? Do they like that it feels like massive coverage? Like, is that what they're looking for? So, you know, when we look at it as images as professionals, we're seeing something different because we have a very, very trained eye, a very specific eye that deals with these things all the time versus a client is just usually picking it because they like it.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Hmm.

Yeah.

And sometimes they can't even describe what they like about it. They just are like, I like it. And then it's up to you to determine how to approach that, right?

Yeah.

and how

to pull out what they like.

Yeah, like asking

the right questions, like truly dissecting the photo too, so.

Yeah, I see it a lot in floral too. well, like, I have so many florist friends are like, I just had a bride send me 10 bouquet inspiration photos. And they're like, and not one of them looks like another. This one has roses and is quite tight. This one has orchids and is cascading. The color palette is similar maybe across all of these.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

⁓ wow.

But I have no idea where to take this because I'm seeing 10 different styles of bouquet and they're seeing

Yeah.

⁓ that's so crazy. Yeah.

It's like a riddle. Like, how do you? ⁓

It

is.

That's insane. All right. So what's the one area of the wedding where couples should expect to adjust their expectations the most, think?

I think when it comes to hanging installations. Yeah, yeah, I just had to have this conversation with a 2027 client of mine because she's, her venue is a giant warehouse. The ceilings are 35 feet tall and there are no rigging points besides the top trusses that are 35 feet high.

⁓ thank you. Preach.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

in

the air. Yeah.

So anytime we do a hanging installation in that space, it is a minimum of $20,000. Minimum, because we have to rent in a scissor lift, we have to bring in additional trusses and chain those in, and we have to have the actual structure on a motor.

Wow.

Wow.

Lift. Yep.

Yep.

so that they can lower it down so that the florists can work on it with the real floral and work on it throughout the day and then be able to raise it before we go into the actual run of show. And I think, you know, if you look at all of these amazing weddings on Pinterest, so many of them showcase hanging elements of some kind, draping, chandeliers, floral.

Yep.

⁓ Sculpture is becoming a big thing that we're seeing a lot too. Yeah, it's so cool. I want more of that. It's much easier process. But anytime you are rigging or suspending something, the amount of work, the amount of materials and the amount of time it takes to do that is significant. So that's where I usually see the biggest like, you know, stomach drop is when I tell someone like, yeah, that's...

Yeah.

Hehehehe

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's a $50,000 floral installation that you're looking at there.

Yeah, and it's funny because we work, we do a lot of the rigging and stuff at a couple of the venues and people will come with these crazy photos sometimes and I'm like, go, how much budget do we have? Because you're looking at 20 to $40,000 minimum to start the conversation with what you're asking for and they like look at you like you're crazy and it just, you know, and I wish that some of these photos would come with a price tag, you know.

Mm-hmm.

I know it's so hard. you know, toggle the line between transparency and pricing online versus like keeping the idea alive. Right. So like, you know, and especially when you're working with high profile clients, the last thing they want is for people to know just how much money they spent on their wedding. You know, like I find that the more money you spend,

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yeah.

Hmm.

or the more money a client spends, the less they want people to know what they spent. Because yeah, it's like that stealth wealth thing, right? They don't want people to know that they have this kind of liquidity and that they're spending on these type of, not frivolous, but things. Frivolous at certain point, right? And so, you know, I'm always like, should I share?

No, for sure.

Yeah, yeah.

Hmm.

It is though, it's not a... yeah.

Yeah

a budget, like should I share photos of a wedding and what they spend? But then the importance of that, know, discretion for my client is more important than being treated. Right? So it's an interesting game. I, know, with this client I was talking about with the floral insulation, I linked photo of floral insulation from a previous client and what it cost.

Mm-hmm.

for sure, for sure.

I did five examples and I said this is the range we're looking at. So what do you feel comfortable with? Exactly. Exactly. Is this worth it to you?

Yeah.

Or do you even feel comfortable? Yeah.

Yeah, for sure.

Yeah, yeah, I feel like that's why we always talk about like figuring out your priorities and vendors first and before we even start that conversation. But I always feel like budget on both ends is just like a very taboo, not taboo, but like you said, it's a very interesting game that both sides have to play. ⁓

Well, then

real quick, when you talk about the budget, there'll be people that will not spend on design, but then go get a photographer that's $20,000, know, because everyone has something that's different and important to them as well.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Absolutely. mean, with my clients, we start with design first. And I know that's not really the approach that a lot of other planners and designers go with. But for me, I need to know the entire vision. I need to know the framework of everything before I can understand what we're spending on things, right? If food and beverage is not on your top priority, but your linens are, which strangely sometimes that is the case.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

No, yeah.

Yeah, no,

I get it, I do.

You know, I'm not going to have you spend $30,000 on a caterer when I can find you different caterer that's maybe $20,000 for the same stuff. And then we have an extra $10,000 to work with on the things that you actually care about. So for me, I have to know the overall picture. I need to know the scope of work before I can even do a budget.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

That makes a whole lot of sense.

Yeah. So how do you think couples can avoid comparison when they're constantly seeing other weddings online, then they're just getting flushed with inspiration at all times?

Yeah, so I think that that also goes down to priorities, right? What is important about this event? I have so many couples that come to me and they're like, we just want a great party. Like we just want people dancing until midnight. We want this to be like the best night of their lives. ⁓ So why are we spending this money on things that your guests don't care about? Right? Like

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

your guests don't care about the centerpiece that's in front of them. If anything, actually they're annoyed by the centerpiece. So why would we sink $50,000 into floral? That makes no sense, right? And I think that's where you can kind of alleviate the comparison, right? Because when I look at a wedding and I see, you know, an insane installation of some kind,

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

and my client is like, well, I can't afford that. And like, you don't need to afford that. That's not what you care about. So why are we comparing your wedding to somebody else's wedding when your priorities are entirely different? And then I think just rooting back into who you are and what you like, you know?

Yeah.

Just because Sofia Richie Grange had a pretty much all-white wedding with roses and orchids doesn't mean that your wedding that had cool Ikebana, antherium arrangements is any less important. They're just different.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. Yeah.

No, you should want different. You should want

Mm-hmm.

it

to be uniquely yours.

Yeah, I agree. All right. So AI, we haven't touched on it, but AI, we're starting to get this. you made me think about it when you were talking about like all the hanging stuff and what things cost. like we had a bride come to us that had like this massive chandelier hanging over the dance floor, but it was at an outdoor venue. I'm just like, and we're like, no.

Suspended in animation.

Yeah.

But the fact

that it was driving me nuts is that I couldn't understand, I couldn't get the planner to understand that that can't happen without having like a big crane like at the wedding that just holding this thing up. There's nothing to suspend this massive thing to, you know. There's ways to do smaller things and you know there's ways to do stuff but this was a massive like 12 foot round chandelier kind of thing and I'm like this is all doctored up in AI. This is not real.

You know, I'm going to give you the red carpet to talk about design in the world of AI. How about that? I mean, that could be a whole podcast that we talk about. mean, so.

Yeah.

It totally could. I don't use AI for visuals at all, right? Like even when we're doing mock-ups for clients, I have a 3D rendering software that we use that can show people what the space is going to look like. And then we also like do hand drawn renderings, mock-ups, things like that. Because to me, what's the point of showing you something that can't happen or that is going to...

Yeah.

That, yeah.

significantly higher and then you're disappointed, So under promise, over deliver kind of concept, right? But yeah, I think AI is very dangerous in the terms of expectations. ⁓ think, you know, luckily with Pinterest specifically, if an image has been AI modified, it does notate that. But that is not on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Google. None of those have that.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

So I think it's also using a bit of common sense. I think, I know that's a lot.

Yeah.

No, but back to

the chandelier floating in the center of a lawn, know, like it's the...

Alright.

If you

look close enough, you can tell. And I feel some people just don't take enough time to really examine a photo. I'm like, guys, it's, you can tell.

Well,

it's because they're using too much photo inspiration, right? So that goes back to that five to eight images. If you're pulling a hundred images, then you're not really looking and dissecting a hundred images. No one has time for that. You're scrolling and you're saving and you're scrolling and you're saving and you're scrolling and you're saving. So if you really get intentional with where your inspiration lands, you're probably not going to be attracted to the AI images because they're not going to feel achievable.

Yeah.

there.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

So I'm back and forth on it. I think it's a really great tool. Do I love using ChatGPT to help with like, hey, make this email sound nicer? Absolutely. Absolutely. But in terms of visuals, I think it's a really dangerous game.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I agree. it just, because it gives unreal, well, but it's just unrealistic expectations. And I think that's where, and then unfortunately, couples today, some of them just don't have that. Like you said, just taking the time to dissect the photo, having a little common sense about what is in the building. Like you were talking about 35 foot ceilings. Yeah, that's a whole lot of work to get stuff rigged in there, where it's different.

A slippery slope.

lot of the ceilings we deal with are only 19 feet off the, you know, so it's a little bit easier to do what we need to rig and all that kind of stuff. crazy, crazy world we live in today.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Fighting though. I mean, the possibilities are there and I love the imagination and but yeah, I think you also need to when someone tells you this is not possible, you need to accept that it's not possible.

Yeah

Yeah. Yeah. Or I always, I always go, how much money do you have? That was my... Yeah.

Yeah. All right.

Yeah, because I mean anything's possible with enough money, that's true.

Totally,

absolutely. Yeah, you're gonna bring in a crane to suspend a chandelier and then you gotta drape that whole crane so that it doesn't lean in all your photos. Sure, but that's probably what $100,000 to do just that. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

If that, not more. Yep.

Yeah. Okay, so to wrap up, if you could give every engaged couple just one mindset shift when it comes to planning their wedding, what would it be?

think it goes back to inspiration. If you're going to do one thing at the beginning of your process, it's not to look at other weddings. Stop looking at other weddings. Look at yourself. Look at yourself. Because you will be 10 times happier with the outcome when it feels authentic to who you are, rather than just doing what everybody else is doing online.

Mm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

look inside.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. And when you say it went.

which I'm sure

is so hard to do.

Yes, you have to be so self-aware to do that.

Yeah, but I, but

I, when you say that, I think back at some of the cool weddings we've done. It's all been inspired by their love of this or their like of that, you know, whatever it is. And it's always, you know, and they play into that inspiration and go, you know, it just, yeah, it's like life is better when they do that. So.

Yeah, and you'll never be upset 20 or 30 years down the line. Everybody who has a chartreuse and burgundy wedding this year in 30 years is be like, I don't even like chartreuse. Why did I do that? And I also think people get caught up in the color game. Colors are an effect. They are not the inspiration. you start, yeah, if you start with color, you're pigeonholing yourself.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

I know. Bye.

Nah.

Ooh, that's interesting.

and you're not allowing the event to breathe.

Yeah.

See, I totally would have

started with color.

Yeah, it's the biggest pitfall. Oftentimes, if a couple comes to us and they say, I want this specific color at my wedding, all my inspiration has drained. I'm like, man, now I got to work with this color. I usually find that to be a much more difficult process because I now have boundaries that I have to work within instead of pulling something that then the colors are a side effect of.

Hmmmm

Yeah.

Yeah, makes complete

sense.

Yeah, like the Bachelor Mansion. I can pull 30 different colors from Bachelor Mansion. Yeah. ⁓

Yeah.

easy. And mood.

I feel like the bachelor mansion is more about moody. It's the mood and the feeling you got when you. Yeah, yeah. So.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah,

Totally.

Tuscan

like you were saying. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, but if they said to me, want, you know, an orange wedding, I'd be like, huh, okay, what is orange? What is orange? what am I? Yeah, right. And like what colors go with orange? And instead of pulling from something that's already kind of built for me.

I want yellow. Give me yellow.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Well,

or it's an orange wedding, not in like fall. Like fall would be to me more of an orange, but we're in spring or we're in a total different time. anyway, yeah, we're not.

Correct. It's so funny,

Mm-hmm.

like was just watching some reality show, now I can't think of it. And they were like, what are your wedding colors? And it's like, why is that the first question? What are your wedding colors? What? What are you talking about? It should say, what is the vibe of your wedding? What is your inspiration coming from? Or what is the direction you're taking your wedding? Because color is so limiting. And people have very, very strong opinions on color too.

No!

Yeah.

Yeah.

their inspiration, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

⁓ very.

And

Yeah.

yeah, and when you choose two colors, then you start feeling like you have everything has to be those two colors. So like if your wedding is peach and blue, you're like, well, I got to do a peach napkin and blue linens. And I got to have a peach and blue menu card and I have to have peach flowers with blue vessels. And my bridesmaids have to be in blue and then they have to have peach bouquets. Like it turns into this matchy matchy lack of depth.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Hmm.

in the design.

Yeah.

Yeah. Well, not to get too into it, but is it hard to, like, keep a cohesive color palette if you aren't limiting yourself to color? Like, do things start to feel a little...or it goes together well? It's not too mismatchy.

When the vibe is aligned, the colors all make sense.

Yeah. Okay, okay, cool. That's

so interesting.

Got so many Nora quotes coming out of this podcast. Yes, the vibe is alive.

like

Yeah, I know all these like little like golden nuggets just Yeah

I agree clips for you, right?

I know.

Yeah,

a thousand percent!

All right, Nora, we can't thank you enough for being here today. Where can our guests find you?

Yeah, check me out at Engaged with Nora. I'm on Instagram, TikTok. You can also find us at our website, EngagediwthNora.com. We work with couples all over the world and we also offer virtual design packages. So if you can't hire us in to come to your town, we can at least help you through the design process. So look forward to meeting you all.

I love that.

All right. And we'll have all of Nora's information in the show notes and we'll get you out there. Don't forget to hit the Subscribe button when you're out there, And then send us your stories or questions to podcast at fantasysound.com. We'll be happy to answer them here on the podcast. Nora, we can't thank you enough for being here today. All right. Bye, everyone.

Thank you so much.

Bye.