Listen to the Podcast About Kimberlys Ever After Planning
Podcast Summary
In this insightful episode of Eventful Endeavors with Shawn Grindle, Kimberly Gottuso shares her fascinating journey on how she came to establish the admired wedding planning service, Kimberly’s Ever After Planning.
The Southern Californian business owner’s love story, starting with a right swipe on Tinder to an unforgettable engagement at Disney, significantly contributed to her venture into the industry. This fairy tale, however, got twisted into a nightmare due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With her wedding canceled just two weeks ahead, Kimberly, much to her dismay, was left with the consequent disappointments of subsequent postponements, bridal party changes, and multiple date shifts.
This challenging period, marked with feelings of loneliness and a lack of understanding from others, became a catalyst for Kimberly’s Ever After Planning. It awakened the empathetic entrepreneur in Kimberly, who didn’t want brides to go through what she experienced. From then on, Kimberly embarked on her mission to support brides on their special day, ensuring that their wedding journey is all about the joy of the occasion, without the headache of dealing with logistics.
Whether as a day of coordinator or a wedding planner, Kimberly’s Ever After Planning offers personalized, dedicated assistance to couples, making each wedding feel as unique and special as the couples themselves. Kimberly’s relatable narrative resonates with anyone who desires a stress-free wedding and authentic, dependable wedding planning.
Recognized for her undeniable admiration towards Disney, she is constantly questioned if she plans mainly Disney weddings. To find out more about Kimberly’s Ever After Planning experiences, tune into the episode ‘Eventful Endeavors with Shawn Grindle’.
Learn more about Kimberlys Ever After Planning
This interview was provided by Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos
Podcast Transcript
Shawn (00:25)
All right, welcome back to another episode of Eventful Endeavors. Today we are back in Southern California. We’re gonna be talking wedding planning. I’m here with Kimberly, who is the creative force and business owner of Kimberly’s Ever After Planning, a wedding planning service in Southern California. So first of all, thank you for being here, Kimberly.
Kimberly (00:44)
Thank you so much for having me.
Shawn (00:46)
So I always start out the same way with everybody, which is just kind of asking how you got into the industry. Tell us your back story, how it all began.
Kimberly (00:55)
Oh my goodness. it’s a story. So, well, my now husband and I, met through Tinder. We both swiped right back in 2015. We had our first date at Disney, because why not? And then we got engaged. So fast forward to 2019, we got engaged at Disney. We, it’s not in front of the castle. We actually were at one of the gazebos that they actually use, you know, for ceremonies, but I didn’t know that, know that back then.
Shawn (01:04)
Love
Kimberly (01:24)
We were supposed to get married March 29th of 2020, but then we had COVID. My wedding was canceled two weeks before it was supposed to happen. And Disney just charged us the final balance. And, you know, there was supposed to just be the two week curve, right? So, you know, they said, do you want to have a refund? Do you want to just wait? I’m like, I’m not planning my wedding again. So for all those couples out there, you know, once you get to that two week mark, you do not want to start over.
Shawn (01:28)
Eww.
Kimberly (01:54)
So I postponed my wedding seven times and it was like, you know, I moved it to May and then another date in May, cause it was just supposed to be two weeks. I mean, if you go back in time to 2020, no toilet paper. And we were just like, is this gonna, you know, get better? And eventually I stopped telling people when the date was because I had to keep changing it. And you know, my grandma even said, you know, would you just be like the first one, you know, to get married
Shawn (01:58)
Ugh.
Kimberly (02:22)
wedding vendors know you have to book, everyone has to align, everyone has to have those dates. And finally, January 22nd, 2022, date doesn’t mean anything to me. It was just a date Disney could do. And I kept all my same vendors. That was super important to me. my photographer, videographer, hair and makeup, all the same that was supposed to happen in 2020. I might’ve had a new bridal party, because people did show their true colors during COVID.
Shawn (02:28)
Yeah.
Sure.
Kimberly (02:52)
We and so well, it was in through that, know, of postponing and planning and not having a great support system with my bridal party. I had a new bridal party. I made new friends during Covid. And I just realized I didn’t want brides to experience what I experienced, which was a lot of loneliness and not people understanding. Just get married at the courthouse. I don’t know how many times that was told to me. And then even at my wedding, I kind of did like a very nice like screw you guys, because I was just like
this day that everyone is loving right now, this is what I was waiting for. Cause otherwise it’s more of a Valoranul if you go to the courthouse. And I wanted to say I got legally married at Disneyland. So, you know, I really try to give that support that I know what it’s like to be a bride and the fact that no one cares about your wedding the way you do, except for me, cause I want to be your either your day of coordinator, your wedding planner. And I try to just bring that, you know, authentic, like I really do care.
It’s not just another wedding, but that’s my story in that show.
Shawn (03:54)
Yeah, I like it because you’ve been through it. So should you do a lot of Disney weddings now? Like you plan a lot of Disney weddings? Do you mostly do Disney weddings? Like, you know, because obviously you’re a big Disney fan.
Kimberly (04:06)
I’m huge Disney fan and you know being a past Disney bride, I do love assisting you know a lot of times Disney brides are very like type A and they might not feel like they need a full wedding planner so I’ve done and it’s all through word of mouth and referrals but you know I do just as many Disney weddings as I do non Disney weddings like I’ve done weddings on Huntington Beach all the way to Arizona and Flagstaff
And those are really fun because of course most Disney brides want, and I know this because I was one, want that happily ever after fairy tale. They come in on that carriage. I even had a Disney bride. She was really fun and she came in on a fire truck. Like Disney had a fire truck picked for her. Yeah, so there’s fun things Disney can do. However, Huntington Beach where we met, I mean, we had some fun stuff, like, I don’t know, dueling piano players. mean,
Shawn (04:49)
Really? that’s cool.
Yeah, that was fun.
Kimberly (05:01)
You know, so there is a lot of fun with outside of Disney weddings. So I try to just do it all and just make brides feel that they can be the center of attention for one
Shawn (05:12)
Right. So you kind of got in this into the post COVID world, which is interesting. So talk to a lot of people who were like doing wedding planning prior to this and then how that changed and whatnot. So it’s interesting you getting into it kind of after all this. So let me ask you this, What’s the most, you know, in starting to plan other people’s weddings, what’s the thing that surprised you the most about doing that job or the thing that you found the most interesting once you kind of got into that world?
Kimberly (05:36)
coming from just, I’m a bride, I planned my wedding and I want to do this for other people. So again, I didn’t have a planner. know, Disney does provide you with somebody but it wasn’t like a full planning planner. There is a side to wedding planning that I never knew and that was like, you become a therapist, you handle. I mean, I would say I was thinking about this other day, the planning research aspect is maybe a third of it. The other two thirds are just,
Shawn (05:57)
Yeah.
Kimberly (06:06)
human interaction, caring about what that bride and groom have to say, maybe incorporating the groom more. I mean, I had a call and say, my gosh, like I was previously married, but my divorce papers never went through. I’m still legally married. What do I do? I can’t provide legal advice, but I can be there and just say, you know what, if, you know, obviously get a lawyer, maybe go that route.
But we don’t tell anyone, let’s just make this a vow commitment ceremony. I’ve had brides, my gosh, someone just died. This wedding’s not gonna be the same without grandma. Okay, let’s think this through, how can we honor them?
For me for sure it was just calming them down. I’ve had brides just call me crying just Kim if it wasn’t for you I would have canceled my wedding by now it’s really just so my goal is when I talk to my couples is I want them to be just as excited as obviously as me but I want them to be more excited about their day.
from when they started that call to the end of that call. So if they come to me and they’re not very excited, they’re having a bad day and I don’t wanna have my wedding anymore, I’m gonna get you excited. It’s gonna be you. You really do feel like you’re the Kim Kardashian or somebody you have like cameras following you. If you feel like a celebrity for a day and I try to put them in that mindset and a lot of times maybe the bride’s mom can’t do that or the maid of honor can’t do that. You always think, are they jealous
do they wanna be the center of attention? I show up, I’m in all black, unless there’s a theme and the bride specifically says, hey, come in dapper style or something. But I really try to give the brides what I didn’t have, which was that support, sorry. And I just want them to have a good experience. Sorry, I get really emotional on this, because I didn’t have
Shawn (07:55)
and you’re good.
Yeah. I love that. I mean, I love that you care so much. I think that’s, you know, I think having that kind of passion about it is what makes that relationship between, you know, having a wedding planner so important because you have somebody who’s done this with, they’ve seen it all. I’ve done this with tons of brides, tons of, I know this industry, I know what can work. So you can, it’s hard when you’re just talking to a family member because they’re going to just kind of tell you what you want to hear.
Kimberly (08:05)
So.
Right.
Shawn (08:29)
But like when you have somebody in the industry, they’re like, here’s how we’re going to get through this. I have a plan for you. so I love that. Yeah. I think that’s fantastic. So let me ask you this then. So What’s your first piece of advice you would give a couple who’s newly engaged other than like get a wedding planner? Because obviously we all know that they’re on. Yeah.
Kimberly (08:29)
Right.
Yeah, there’s definitely that emotion side. Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, you know, and then just going with that is, you know, communication is key. So please establish that budget because sometimes I’ll get a couple and they’re like, we don’t know what we’re doing. And I’m just like, do you have an overall wedding budget? And then out of that overall wedding budget, do you have a number in mind for your wedding planner? Because a lot of times people don’t realize exactly everything. I always, you know, and it’s also hard as a wedding planner trying to establish your pricing too. Because every
Every couple’s different. Every couple might need more research, less research. Some brides are way more involved, but let’s say, you you ask me, Kim, you know, I’m looking for a wedding planner and I say, okay, let’s just draw out a number of $7 ,500. And you’re like, holy moly, 7 ,500, like for what? And if you think about the average person spends maybe 500 hours planning a wedding. So you take that 7 ,500, that’s 15 bucks an hour.
And that’s not including the fact that I’m also there as your day of coordinator as well on that day. So when you break it into like, oh, you’re only 15 bucks an hour, you know, and I’m one of those planners where I always say, I don’t wanna add more stress, so I always offer like payment plans. I’ve had brides where they just signed the contract and they might be far out. And then when we get to that one year mark, they might give me maybe 20 % of a deposit, but.
Again, I’m not here to make the couple’s lives more stressful. It’s more just always having that communication. Make sure you have that budget established. Are we able to go a little over budget if you’re into flowers? mean, always, I always say, you can text me, email me anytime. And if I’m asleep, I’ll get to you normally within the next business day.
Shawn (10:34)
Yeah, I love that. I mean, I think that’s so important because I went into my wedding so naive. I got married. So I had just for your background, we were gonna get married in 2022. We were June of 2020. So we also postponed. We weren’t right on the cusp like you were. That’s rough because you almost were able to probably have it. But you know, we were like, oh, we’ll get married and the whole wedding will be $10 ,000. And we were like, yeah, that’ll be a thing.
Kimberly (10:54)
Yeah.
actually have a couple that just came at me with a tent and we’re doing our best. is, think, you know, we’ve both really been working with, you know, my connections with vendors. Cause of course I, a planner, I established relationships, but I think it’s going to be closer to 15 ,000 and they’re perfectly fine with that. They knew there would, there’d be some wiggle room, but I, it’s like 200 people. So I was, like, I’m going to take this on like, yes. You know, of course it is, you know, a religious wedding. they had, you know, a very cost effective.
Shawn (11:12)
Sure. Yeah.
That’s a lot.
Kimberly (11:28)
ceremony location. So all that plays into it. But I hear you, you think 10 grand.
Shawn (11:34)
Let me ask this. Do you do a lot of full planning or do you do a lot of partial planning? What’s your main thing? What are you mostly doing?
Kimberly (11:44)
Great question. Right now. So when I first started just a few years ago, everything, you know, full planning and I was just taking on all these couples and figuring out how to, and this is my full job. Cause I actually had someone ask me like, I’m getting married on a Wednesday. Are you going to be available? I’m like, yes. Like if I will be there, I, this, is my job. You know, I, you know, I used to work at Starbucks. I used to work at Disney too, but you know, all those things and then COVID happened and I’m just jumping in as a wedding planner.
So it’s it’s primarily full planning and just day of because so if you were to take and again, Disney is amazing. Disney gives you, you know, a planner and they really help you. You know, they ask you, for example, you know, hey, Sean, what do you and your fiance like, what do you what are you thinking? And then they expect you to, you know, respond. Sometimes you’re like, well, Disney, like what do you have to offer? And that’s where I come in. You know, maybe I can help, you know,
jog your memory, or with what you would like. But Day of has been very popular right now. And I don’t know if it has to do with with COVID or just bribes and, you know, budget and then just really wanting someone to be there on that day, establishing that timeline. I always say, you know, your Day of is there for you. It’s not like a venue coordinator where they are there representing the venue.
I’ve had it where the DJ was two hours early and lost. And while I’m trying to set up and do a hundred things, I will be out there. I will go get that DJ. them to, your venue coordinator is not gonna do that. I am all about the couple, their experience. And again, just that communication. That was my major in college. So I think that’s just, goes into everything, but primarily full planning and then.
day of if there’s a couple that’s like, know, Kim, I’ve already, I already know my venue. I already have my photographer. And you know, every couple is different. So sometimes I just create a quote. I’m like, you know, what’s your budget? What’s your, know, let’s find, let’s find a win -win, especially if we’re a good match. I’m not for everybody. I am, I love couples that want kind of to feel that center of attention, maybe that fairy tale.
It could be a modern fairy tale. I just did a wedding and there was just pink flowers everywhere and she looked like Barbie. was fabulous. But you know, if you know, if we’re not connecting or it does not hurt my feelings, just let me know. Hey, Kim, thanks for your time. You know, and it goes both ways. There are some couples where I’m like, my gosh, they’re amazing. I want to be a part of their day so bad. And you know, they’re, you know, you won’t. It’s a relationship, you
Shawn (14:27)
And it’s like that with a lot of vendors. I I always tell people when I make call, like when I talk to new leads that come in or brides or grooms that are looking to get married, I always, I started looking at it a while back where it’s like, I don’t feel like I’m auditioning myself. always just, I’m like, you’re auditioning for me. Like, do I want to work with you guys? are we vibing? Is this going to be cool? And then usually it’s like, yeah, okay. I like you guys. This will be fun. And the same with me. Like if it’s not the thing.
Kimberly (14:48)
Yeah.
Shawn (14:55)
I don’t wanna do it, you don’t wanna do it, like, I’m not gonna force you to do it, just to book it, you know what I mean? Yeah.
Kimberly (14:58)
Yeah, no hard feelings. And I know something very popular. It’s like, you you send your pricing and they ghost you. And it’s like, there’s nothing wrong saying, hey, thanks, but no thanks. Sometimes it hurts because I might feel like we’re vibing. They might be like, I’m not vibing with, I mean, who knows? Yeah.
Shawn (15:15)
Yeah, I’m putting it out there for anybody who listens to this, brides and grooms I don’t mind if you email me and say, I’m sorry, you’re too expensive for me, or I’m sorry, we’re gonna go a different direction. I’m not going to be upset. I’m not even going to pressure you to change your mind. I’m like, okay, cool. Like I’m not hurt by it, you know? But just answer, because otherwise I’m gonna keep emailing, because it’s on my list to do. I’m like, yeah, I’m like, now I wanna know.
Kimberly (15:25)
Right?
Yep.
I know because you get attached a little bit especially if you had like a call with them.
Shawn (15:43)
Yeah, I just wanna know, I just wanna know, just tell me. So yeah, I do love that. It’s the thing that happens all the time. I do wanna try a little bit, and correct me if I’m wrong here, I’m just going off of memory here, but when I worked at that wedding with you, I think it was your husband actually who does photo as well. So do you guys kinda sometimes do like this package thing where you also bring in photo? And I know you mentioned you have a 360 photo booth.
Kimberly (16:11)
Yes, that is you. So we, you know, it’s funny because I kind of started again, I got married to my husband. So that is part of the story. And he kind of became my main assistant, you know, kind of a thing. And we’re now like this husband and wife team. I do have other assistants that are amazing.
Shawn (16:11)
So talk a little bit about that stuff.
Kimberly (16:29)
but now we have a 360 photo booth. again, I don’t really have packages where that’s immediately included. I always, you know, bring that up like, hey, just so you know, we have this photo booth. And the whole reason I got it was because I got a quote, I think it was for a three, I’m pretty sure it was a 360 photo booth for like $2 just for the reception. I don’t remember what that came with. I don’t know what style. And I was just, and I’m sure there are some couples that can totally afford it.
But I do not want my couple spending that much when I could totally do it for like a fraction of that. And it’ll be my husband running it. have props. have, mean, you if it’s a Disney wedding, we have Mickey ears. it’s a not well, I mean, you can still love Disney and want the Mickey ears, but we have wigs. We I mean, we have signs. I mean, it’s really fun. my biggest goal is not to be like a one stop shop,
to get these couples and find ways to save them money and then maybe put that money towards something they really love. Like maybe like that really nice pair of shoes that they, you know, we’re going to put that money towards, you know, a really expensive photo booth. Now they can get that maybe that Jimmy Choo pair. I mean, who knows? You never know. But saving saving my couples money, I love it. And then allocating it to maybe more flowers, who knows, whatever they want. It always comes back to them anyway.
Shawn (17:42)
Yeah, I like
Somebody, yeah, somebody mentioned to me, I think it was one of the wedding planners I chatted with on here who equated like real estate to wedding planning. They’re like, look, if you’re gonna buy a house, you’re gonna need a realtor. They might cost a little money, but at the end of the day, they’re gonna hopefully save you money elsewhere. You know what I mean? So it’s like, I was like, it’s probably true. know, they’ll get better deals on vendors. You won’t get ripped off, because they’re gonna know what these things should cost.
And yeah, $2 ,500 for a 360 photo. If I’m not judging whoever charged that, if they can sell it, that’s great. I can tell you straight up, I paid a fraction of that. I had one at my wedding and it was not that much.
Kimberly (18:23)
No, I
Right, right. And it’s funny because I do have my real estate license for California, but I don’t practice. But it was just funny that you said that. like, hey, I totally get your reference.
Shawn (18:36)
There you go. Yeah. And that’s, you’re not the only one. There’s so many wedding planners I’ve talked to who were like in real estate and I’ll do this. And I’m like, there’s something there where it’s so similar. Cause it’s the same thing. You build relationships with people. Yeah.
Kimberly (18:47)
customer service. It’s, you know, it will when you think again, buying a house in California, I live in an apartment, you really paint that picture. And I feel like that’s what planners do. And then if you’re doing full planning, I am with my couple for sometimes a year, maybe over a year. And you really, you know, you always hear that joke where it’s like, you might be a wedding planner, if all your friends are either vendors or your brides, you know, and that’s what I strive for is, is getting that connection and that trust
you know, all the way up to executing their day and making sure they are, you know, that center of attention. They’re having the best day ever. And I always say, I know I did my job. If I can turn to them at the end and say, are you ready to, you want that Vow or No? And they’re like, yes, I want the Vow or No. They’re not saying they’re going to do it, but that they’re having such a wonderful time that they’re like, I could totally do this again.
Shawn (19:40)
Cool, I like it. I have two questions I like to ask. These are just kind of fun questions. They’re just for me, they’re just for me. The first one is, what’s the most unique thing you’ve seen at a wedding? Like something that you’re like, that was really, really cool. Like I know the one we did had like, was it Bossa Nova dancers or something? Like, is that what you’re gonna say?
Kimberly (19:45)
Okay.
All
Well, that’s literally the first thing I thought of was they were a fun couple. You know, they’ve each been married before. so the second wedding. And I find when couples have been married before, they know what they liked and they know what they didn’t like. You know, not just the spouse that they had, but, know, like just elements of their wedding. And yes, they came out. One of the first things we booked were bossa nova dancers
Shawn (20:05)
Yeah.
Yeah, that was cool.
Kimberly (20:26)
had never done that before and I found a great company to book and it was and you were there because guess what they wanted dueling piano players and I well and it was funny because I used to go to a place in Claremont called you know piano piano and I’m like would they do it and of course you know that that’s just my non planner brain because I’m like this is where I go and you know and it was a blast dueling pianos
Shawn (20:35)
They had everything,
Kimberly (20:53)
Bossa Nova dancers, I’ve had a wedding that had mariachi, know, like just the music and, but of course, if you want to ask, you know, me the Disney answer, I mean, I had a bride, my God, she had so much fun. She took her guests and they went into the park to see the fireworks and they had, you know, a designated station. Also, if your budget can allow, you can do a ride buyout. I mean, we’re talking money, but I
Shawn (21:05)
Yeah.
What, like you just ride the Pirates of the Caribbean with your bottle party all day or something?
Kimberly (21:23)
So let’s say you’re coming at me, you’re like, Kim, I love this Disneyland idea. And there’s a huge difference between Disneyland and Disney World. And I’ve done a little Disney World, but my heart’s with Disneyland, that’s my home park. So you can, for a nice chunk of change, rent out Pirates of the Caribbean. After park hours, you will be escorted with Disney. You would book all that through Disney Fairytale Weddings, and you would get that ride for an hour.
Shawn (21:31)
Sure.
sure.
Kimberly (21:52)
and you could write it as many times as you want. Yep, it’s really cool. My husband and weren’t blessed with that experience, but you could even do like world of color and have your designated section. So again, that’s the Disney answer. And again, I’ve seen the Mariachi Band at Disney as well. So again, I don’t like totally focusing on Disney. That’s just, I do love
Shawn (22:11)
Yeah.
Kimberly (22:17)
But mean, dueling piano, I know I keep going back to it, dueling piano. mean, if there is something where you’re like, know, Kim, this is our story, you know, can we incorporate fireworks? You know what, there are venues that have fireworks. It doesn’t have to be a Disney wedding. You know, beach, I love beach weddings. Those are so fun because a lot of times you don’t have to have your wedding on the beach, but the venue will take you down to the beach with your photographer and videographer and you’ll get your photos that way.
Shawn (22:17)
Of course, yeah.
Yeah.
Kimberly (22:46)
But to me, still the bossa nova dancers, because that was just something I had not done before. And of course, dueling pianos, you and your wife nailed it. And I saw some of the footage from the videographer and the photographers, and everyone had a good time. And so the reason we had you guys, and I didn’t know it was going to be you, was because the groom did not like to dance. They did not want to first dance, no father, and again, they’re older couple.
Shawn (22:50)
Very cool.
was fun.
Right.
Kimberly (23:14)
and they wanted to get their guests excited. And I mean, I think they were on the dance floor while you were playing sweet Caroline at one point, know, touching, you
Shawn (23:22)
Well, that’s a fine point. They told us they were like, they don’t really want to dance. So we weren’t trying to dance them. And then I think it might’ve been you or somebody came up to me was like, they want to dance. I was like, all right. Now then we started playing party music. was like, they didn’t want to dance. All right.
Kimberly (23:31)
I know.
And that’s, that’s huge. I mean, it’s, it’s knowing vendors and I’m very big on this. So again, if you’re a past couple that had a wedding, you have planners that are like, this is our timeline and we’re sticking to it. I’m not that planner. I’m like, this is your rough draft. Cause I’ve had a bride that was like, Kim, we had the shoe game listed. I love the shoe game, but they, she was like, I just want to dance. I’m over this. I’m over the formalities. I just want. Yeah. And you know, I work with the DJ and we cut it, but
Shawn (23:57)
Cut
Kimberly (24:03)
You know, and I love, yeah.
Shawn (24:04)
Yeah, we cut our dollar dance in the middle of our wedding. We were supposed to do it and I was like, that thing’s gonna take 20 minutes. Can we just start partying? Let’s go. And my wife was like, yeah, let’s go.
Kimberly (24:10)
Yeah. And that’s a thing. That is a thing. I love, gosh, and I know the question was like, what unique things, but to me, I did a wedding in LA. They jumped the broom because that was their culture. I’ve been to a payback ceremony. I’m working a wedding in a week or two and they’re doing a tea ceremony because that’s their culture. And I’m learning so many things.
That’s not my culture, so I didn’t do it, but gosh, I can appreciate so, so much more from, you know, other cultures just being a wedding planner and what they normally do at a wedding. That’s so much fun, especially when they put on that red dress, you know, and they do their fun ceremony. and you learn why they’re doing what they’re doing. You know, it’s glass.
Shawn (24:57)
I know, it’s so much fun. But then my other part of this question, and this is my actual favorite question, is what’s the, you got any pops to mind like horror stories or cringiest thing you’ve ever seen or something that’s gone wrong that you’re like, Or if you can’t think of that, then something you recommend no couples should ever do. One of those kind of things. We’ve all seen some
Kimberly (25:02)
yeah.
And again, yeah.
And you know, it’s funny. I’m always just the big believer, whatever the couple wants, let’s give it to them, you know, kind of a thing. But for me as a planner, I always hold my breath during the cake cutting because I know how much that bride spent on hair and makeup. And I don’t know if couples talk about it. My husband and I, talked about before, no smashing of the cake. But there are couples that are all for, I had a wedding where the bride, I don’t know.
to my mother it might be cringy, to me it wasn’t. She wanted, gosh, I’m trying to think of it. There was a specific type of beer or something in her hand at all times. And I loved that because that was unique for her. So I made sure she had her drink of choice at all times where my mom of a different generation is like, really? She wants that in all her photos. And I’m like, yep, that’s her. That’s what makes her unique. they took shots before their first dance, they took shots.
Like, no, I saw one, it was a father daughter, they did shots. And it was like, right before their first dance, and it was just very comical. Again, that’s not cringey, but depending on your generation, maybe it is. But the cake, I love it. And I’m all about, and again, I love the traditions. I just spoke with the bride yesterday, we were talking about the garter toss. She’s like, I’m not into that. And I’m like, so you don’t want to lap dance in front of your family and friends?
Shawn (26:28)
I think it’s funny, I would love that.
Kimberly (26:41)
But you know what, my husband was all for it. He didn’t quite give me a lap dance, but you know, my DJ was awesome. And he’s like, you know, Kim’s dad, father of the bride, if you want to leave the room, now’s your moment. And it was a big joke. And you know, but as far as cringy, but I’ll tell you from a planner’s, and this might be a photographer too. And again, this is just my biggest pet peeve is when the photographers, videographers are about to go into the reception room or the ceremony, whatever it is, and guests are trying to save their seat with their purses.
Shawn (26:51)
Yeah
Kimberly (27:12)
And these couples are spending so much money and they might be all about those detailed photos. So for me, it’s not, again, it’s not about me, but if I know my couple and photos are their number one, they don’t want to see Aunt Sue’s purse. Especially if there’s a seating chart too, like we will make sure you get a seat at your assigned spot. But to me from a planner’s perspective, it’s those little things. And again, I just go back to what the couple wanted. If the couple doesn’t care, I don’t care.
Shawn (27:12)
yeah.
Kimberly (27:40)
You know, if they’re like, you know, my guests can come save spots, then awesome. You know, but, you know, those to me are like the pie in the face, the cake in the face. Man. Yeah, because the hair makeup is not cheap. That is and I think I, you know, again, everything’s what Instagram and reels now, but they’re like, that could be a red flag if they don’t talk about it. And the husband, I mean, I’ve read on Reddit, there are some stories.
Shawn (27:46)
love
Right, the cake in the face, yeah. Especially if you don’t talk about it, then it could be awkward.
Kimberly (28:10)
Sometimes the marriages don’t last. mean, I don’t know, but you it comes back to communication. Yep.
Shawn (28:13)
All because of the cake in the face, man. You gotta talk about it. Yeah. Cool. Well, listen, we’re about wrapped up here. So is there anything else before we call it quits that you want to say? Anything about your company? Anything you want to give a shout out to? Whatever it might be before we kind of wrap it all
Kimberly (28:29)
Yeah, so I think that the biggest thing, the biggest question I get is why should I hire a wedding planner when the venue has a wedding planner? And I think I said this already, just the wedding planner from your venue is all about the venue. They’re not gonna be 100 % focused on you. They’re not gonna be 100% focused on your guests. They are primarily concerned with the venue and what you have contracted with them.
And like I said, am there, you know, and I’ll, you know, I’ve held bribes hands through everything. I have bribes that are very type A and they’re like, no Kim, we already got our guest book. We don’t need help finding, you know, guest books and all that stuff. And, just mainly really look into the differences between a venue planner, venue coordinator versus an outside one. And that goes to Disney bribes too. It’s always nice having someone that’s gone through it, you know, and of course to make sure they’re insured.
Shawn (29:22)
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. That needs to be a thing for sure.
Kimberly (29:23)
You know, you want to make sure your vendors are insured. You know, just that, you know, and I will say certain venues have different standards as you’re calling out to the vendors out there with their minimums. Some minimums are a lot higher than others. But yeah, I would just say, you know, and for anyone who’s thinking about being a wedding planner, yes, the research is part of it, but please like think about the couple’s experience
you know how that could affect you. mean, there are times where I’m like, I need a margarita after this call because the bride just went on and on about all these things that were like heavy on her heart and her shoulders and I’m taking them off of her. And then what do I do with that emotion? And yeah, I go get a margarita, you know, it’s just as long as they feel better. But yeah, and I don’t just do Disney weddings. That was another thing I wanted to say love Disney weddings, but I do love. Yeah. Well, maybe you’re about renewal might
Shawn (30:00)
Yeah.
Yep. Some go get a margarita with the bride. Yeah. Yeah, we didn’t do a Disney wedding. Ours wasn’t Disney. Ours was everything, though, but it was everything. You never know. You never know. But anyway, yes, listen, thank you for doing this again. I appreciate it. This was awesome. And, you know, we’ll definitely link to all your stuff, websites, everything so people know where to find you. But
Kimberly (30:21)
Sean? I’m just kidding.
What?
Thank you. Thank you so much. I had fun. I get back to my coffee.
Shawn (30:37)
Yeah, this was great. Thank you, Kimberly. I loved when we worked together that wedding. Yeah, I hope we get to work together again soon. Yes, I’m gonna get back to mine as well. thank you. You got it. Have a great rest of your day, all right?
Kimberly (30:44)
Definitely, definitely. Thank you so much for having me. I had so much fun. Thanks. You too. Thank
Shawn (30:52)
Bye.
Be the first to leave a review.
