Latest / Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney / Why Budget-Savvy Doesn't Mean Cheap with Jessica Bishop

Transcript

Why Budget-Savvy Doesn't Mean Cheap with Jessica Bishop · Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney

0:00
Jessica: When you're working with professionals.
0:01
Yeah, I do think any sort of like transparency and sharing that information
0:05
is for the benefit of everyone.
0:07
At the end of the day, it causes less confusion, less misconceptions, and
0:11
it just like level sets expectations.
0:14
I think too, for couples, which, you know, ultimately benefits the vendors
0:17
at the end of the day when they're not having to explain to their couples, like.
0:21
Oh, what you're asking for is actually really expensive and the
0:24
budget you have is not realistic.
0:26
So yeah, a thousand percent.
0:28
I'm just like, make everything transparent all the time.
0:31
. Becca: I'm Becca Pountney wedding business marketing expert,
0:35
speaker and blogger, and you are listening to the Wedding Pros
0:38
who are Ready to Grow Podcast.
0:41
I'm here to share with you actionable tips, strategies and real life
0:44
examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.
0:48
If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion
0:51
and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business doing what you
0:55
love, then you're in the right place.
0:57
Let's get going with today's episode.
1:00
Today I'm chatting with Jessica Bishop, founder of The Budget Savvy Bride.
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Her site is the number one online resource to help couples plan a wedding
1:08
they're proud of and can actually afford.
1:10
She shares practical tips, expert advice, free principles, and
1:14
approachable advice for her couples.
1:16
Now I know many of you are already hearing the word budget and freaking
1:19
out, but I think this is a sector of the industry that we need to think more about.
1:23
So listen up and let's see where this conversation takes us,
1:26
Jessica, welcome to the podcast.
1:29
Jessica: Hey, Becca.
1:29
Thanks so much for having me.
1:31
I'm super excited to be here.
1:32
Becca: I am thrilled to have you.
1:34
I know that as we're recording you're in Mexico, which is a whole lot more
1:38
sunny than it is here in the UK.
1:40
So I'm a little bit jealous.
1:44
Jessica: Yeah, I can't complain for sure.
1:46
It's beautiful, beautiful here in sunny Mexico.
1:48
Becca: It does look amazing.
1:50
Now, before we get into this whole budget bride sector, I would love for us to just
1:55
hear a bit more about your story because I think it helps put things into context
1:59
when we understand where people come from.
2:01
So how did you end up?
2:03
With this site, The Budget savvy Bride.
2:06
Jessica: Yeah.
2:06
Oh gosh, the origin story.
2:08
Here we go.
2:09
So I was engaged in planning my own wedding back in 2008, which
2:14
as anyone listening knows was about the time the recession was
2:19
kicking off in the United States.
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I was freshly out of college.
2:23
My, my fiance and I at the time were both working jobs, very entry level positions.
2:28
And Of course, with the state of the economy in the U.
2:32
S.
2:33
Our families weren't really in a position to help us a lot with our wedding budget.
2:38
And so we really had to look at things and decide, you know, how
2:42
are we going to plan this wedding?
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This is the wedding that we want.
2:45
How are we going to get creative and make this happen so we can include all of the
2:49
people we love and want to celebrate with?
2:51
And so I actually started the blog kind of as a personal journal or diary of
2:56
sorts at the time, just to document my ideas and my process as I was going.
3:01
And it grew really organically.
3:03
I think a lot of people were in similar positions during that time because of, you
3:07
know, just the greater overall economic.
3:09
state and we're looking for creative ways to pull things off on a budget.
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And so that's really how it started.
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And, you know, that's been over 15 years ago.
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Now the site has evolved in so many ways, you know, within that first
3:22
year, it pivoted to be more of a resource to help couples all across.
3:27
The country and beyond find ways to plan a wedding that they're proud of
3:31
and do it on a budget they can actually
3:33
afford.
3:34
Becca: Amazing.
3:34
So basically out of your own experience came this wedding blog.
3:38
And I think that's often the case for so many people with their businesses
3:41
as well within the wedding industry that they plan their own wedding and
3:44
then they're like, Oh, I'm going to become a florist or a cake maker.
3:47
So I love that.
3:47
Now you said that you've evolved over 15 years.
3:50
So if we were to go to the budget savvy bride.
3:53
website of today.
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What are we, what are we seeing now?
3:57
Where have you evolved to?
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Jessica: Yeah, absolutely.
3:59
Well, there's so much more than just a blog and it's not, you know, obviously
4:03
just my personal story anymore that, that is part sunsetted a long time ago.
4:08
But what we really aim to do is introduce couples to resources and services
4:14
that can help them, you know, pull off the look that they're hoping to
4:18
get on whatever budget is they have.
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And that's included.
4:22
basically developing a whole gallery of real weddings.
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So we have couples who submit their weddings to us where they share, you
4:29
know, their actual budget breakdown.
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So a couple, you know, other couples who are currently planning can see, Oh,
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I'm planning a wedding in this state.
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This is my budget.
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They can see examples of weddings in their area.
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at different price points and see how other couples were able to
4:45
pull it off on a similar budget.
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So that's especially helpful for couples who might be working with a smaller than
4:50
what's considered average budget, right?
4:52
But across the board, like price transparency is something we're
4:56
really, really passionate about.
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I'm personally really passionate about it.
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And so that's one thing that we really aim to do at Budget Savvy Bride.
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We also have a whole collection of free printables.
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And so if, you know, couples want to utilize those for their wedding
5:10
stationary, or, you know, we have everything from, you know, the save the
5:14
date to the thank you card after the wedding to the menus, to the table numbers
5:18
that all cohesively work together and they're all customizable through canvas.
5:22
So we've provided like a lot of really great resources like that.
5:25
In addition.
5:27
To our wedding deals section, which is almost like a
5:30
wedding specific coupon site.
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So couples can visit that area of the budget savvy bride.
5:36
com slash wedding deals to find discounts on everything they need
5:40
from invitations to bridesmaids dresses, to flowers, to gifts.
5:44
It's everything you might need for your wedding and even stuff after
5:47
like beauty products or you know, gift items or things like that.
5:51
So we've really aimed to just provide a ton of value and
5:54
resources for free to our couples.
5:56
And the last remaining piece of that puzzle has been To try to connect
6:01
them with the vendors who can bring their wedding vision to life.
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And so that's been our most recent addition of our budget savvy evolution
6:09
over the years, I guess you could say, is our recently launched
6:12
vendor directory, which we're calling the savvy wedding guide.
6:15
And that's a place where, you know, vendors can list their services and our.
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audience of millions of couples a year that visit thebudgetsaviebride.
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com will be able to browse and find local pros in their area.
6:28
So that was like the final piece of the puzzle that we've finally been
6:32
able to bring to life on our site.
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So yeah, it's a lot.
6:35
We got a lot going on.
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Becca: You have got a lot going on and I'm sure in another 15 years that
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evolution will have continued and there'll be more to come from you as well.
6:44
Now I want to address the elephant in the room straight away, because as I hear you
6:49
talk, I get really excited from a bride or a groom perspective because I'm like, I
6:54
can see how people are going to love that.
6:56
I love how people are planning their wedding.
6:58
This is going to be really exciting.
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But on the other hand, I can already hear the pushback from the listeners who
7:04
are obviously wedding pros and wedding venues listening to this podcast going,
7:09
no, I don't want to devalue my work.
7:12
When you're talking about budget, are you talking about cheap?
7:15
So can you kind of dispel some of those myths for me?
7:18
Jessica: Absolutely.
7:19
Well, I think it's a common misconception.
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You know, people hear that word budget and they automatically assume that that
7:25
means low budget or cheap to your point.
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But one thing we really want to emphasize in our brand and all of our
7:32
messaging and all the stuff that we put out there is that being budget savvy
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is not necessarily about being cheap.
7:38
We're finding the lowest cost option.
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It's about.
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Being smart with your money.
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It's about being resourceful and making efficient financial choices without, you
7:48
know, compromising on quality or value.
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I think every person can relate to wanting to get the most for their
7:54
money, whatever they're spending.
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And it's not about, you know, cutting corners or devaluing anything in any way.
8:01
It's about prioritizing what matters most to the couple and, you know, optimizing
8:07
their spending in the areas that.
8:09
Maybe isn't as important to them.
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And, you know, it's all about making informed decisions.
8:15
to get the most value for your money across the board.
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And so I think that's something that like, I really want to dispel is the
8:23
fact that, you know, budget savvy, especially isn't, isn't about being cheap.
8:27
It's about being wise, being smart.
8:29
Becca: And I think when we start to think about it a bit more, a
8:31
lot of us fall into that category.
8:33
We have a website here.
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I don't know if it's available in the U S called the money saving
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expert, which again is all about spending your money wisely and, you
8:41
know, making sure you're on the best.
8:43
energy deal and all those kind of things.
8:44
And we all love that, but it doesn't mean that we don't have the money to spend.
8:48
It just means that we're looking for the best way to spend our money.
8:52
So would you say your clients fall more into that category?
8:55
And do you have like an average, do you know how much they're
8:57
averagely spending on their weddings?
8:59
Jessica: If they're coming to you at the budget savvy bride,
9:01
we don't have any like strict data on, you know, what.
9:05
What is the average budget of our audience because we do get so
9:10
many visitors throughout the year.
9:12
We don't have like traditional accounts for couples, like maybe
9:15
some of the bigger wedding media brands like the knot or wedding wire.
9:20
So we don't have like that, that specific of data about our couples, but I think
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it kind of runs the gamut, right?
9:27
Like we definitely feature weddings on a wide variety of budgets and
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we're open to featuring weddings on larger than what's considered average,
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which right now in the U S they're saying is around the 30, 000 mark.
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But again, like, I think it's just so helpful to see.
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What, what, where that money goes and like how couples are breaking down
9:51
their budgets no matter the size of it.
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And I think that transparency like helps everyone at the end of the day.
9:57
Becca: Absolutely.
9:58
Now again, I can hear my listeners shouting at us through their podcast
10:02
because I have a lot of conversations.
10:05
with various vendors, various venues where they're saying, I want
10:08
to break into the luxury market.
10:10
I want to go for the bigger budgets.
10:11
I want the high spend high value couples.
10:15
Yet we are talking about a completely different sector of the
10:17
market, which I don't think that we should necessarily neglect, right?
10:22
Because it's a huge part of it.
10:25
So how can people serve your couples without undervaluing
10:30
their services as a whole?
10:32
Jessica: Yeah, I think it's so interesting because obviously you and
10:34
I just met at Wedding MBA and a lot of conversations were taking place there
10:39
about, you know, how do you drive like incremental revenue or incremental sales
10:44
and filling up your calendar beyond just those like prime Saturday dates.
10:48
And I think there's a lot of options to vary the sort of packages or services
10:55
that you're offering to meet couples at various budget brackets per se, right?
11:02
And so I think it's all about kind of thinking, you know, What, what can
11:06
you offer maybe, you know, considering your hourly rate, like, could you
11:10
offer a smaller package for a few, fewer number of hours to sue, you
11:15
know, maybe like a smaller budget client, you can still provide them
11:18
with the same level of experience.
11:20
You know, if you're a photographer, like you're just doing your work for a shorter
11:24
number of hours, things like that, you know, if you're a wedding planner, like.
11:28
Could you potentially offer wedding consulting services or any sort
11:32
of virtual offerings instead of like a full service package?
11:35
There's all sorts of things that you can do.
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It's all about like, how do you fit that into like your personal situation, like
11:42
your, your profit margins, like thinking all of those things through, obviously.
11:47
But then also getting in front of couples in places where they're actively planning.
11:52
And so that was one of the big, you know, goals for us with launching
11:57
the Savvy Wedding Guide is we have, like I mentioned, millions
12:00
of couples visiting the site every year and they're actively shopping.
12:04
Like we, we have tons of affiliate partnerships.
12:06
We're seeing them actively.
12:08
You know, buying the products and services virtually that we're recommending.
12:12
And we see that in our affiliate data.
12:14
And so we really feel like that same principle is going to apply
12:18
with the vendor directory as well.
12:19
And so we know that our audience are looking for those resources to
12:24
bring their wedding dreams to life.
12:26
And we wanted to provide them with an avenue to connect with
12:30
those, those wedding service providers on a local level as well.
12:34
And, you know, obviously there are other platforms out there besides ours.
12:37
So it's just knowing like where else you can get in front of those.
12:41
Folks, obviously social is such a big thing and there's, there's so
12:46
many opportunities to, to do that on a, on a budget, like limited
12:50
budget as well as a business owner.
12:53
Becca: So we're not saying then that we need to slash our prices.
12:57
We're not saying we've gotta do these huge big Black Friday discounts.
13:01
People who listen will know.
13:02
I have a saying that says Disney never discount.
13:04
So we're not saying that we need to do discounts, but what
13:06
we do need to do is we need to.
13:08
Find ways to strip back some of our offers to the basic to reach those price points.
13:12
So it would be okay to come out with a package and only offer
13:16
it on our off peak dates or only offer it midweek, for example.
13:19
Jessica: Absolutely.
13:20
I think that's such a tremendous like idea and being able to offer something to those
13:25
couples who are looking for something.
13:27
They, they still want to work with you.
13:29
They still like resonate with your brand and your service offerings, being able to
13:34
provide like a package that is suited for.
13:37
Those dates that maybe aren't prime and those are going to be like just
13:40
added value for you and your business, you know, is it is a great win for
13:44
both sides at the end of the day.
13:46
Becca: And as we're having this discussion, I've just had two
13:49
scenarios that have come to mind, which I've suddenly thought, actually,
13:52
this fits in exactly to what you're saying in this sector of the market.
13:55
So one of them is a cake client I had a few years ago, and she
13:59
offered really luxury wedding cake.
14:01
really beautifully designed bespoke cakes.
14:04
But she also saw that there was this market for people that were going to the
14:07
supermarket and buying supermarket cakes.
14:10
So they obviously didn't have the budget for her bespoke collection.
14:13
So what she did is she bought out something called her simple collection,
14:16
which was very basic, two tier white iced cake with two choices
14:21
of flavors that she could whip up really quickly, but was better than
14:25
the mass produced supermarket brand.
14:28
And she price matched it.
14:29
And all she said was, you know, if you have this option, This is how it comes.
14:33
Like it comes with this flavor or this flavor with this no decoration, no
14:36
bespoke elements, no nothing, but it's better than the supermarket brand.
14:40
And I love the idea because she's not taken away from her bespoke high level
14:45
clients, but she's kind of found that gap in the market, which is slightly better
14:49
than what the big supermarkets are doing.
14:51
Jessica: Yeah,
14:51
I love that so much.
14:53
And it really allows.
14:54
It's her to like meet the needs of the customers who, you know,
14:58
still want to work with her.
15:00
And you know, again, not to harp on price transparency, like too, too much,
15:06
but I just think it's a big problem, honestly, in the wedding industry
15:10
is the lack of price transparency.
15:12
And I think vendors are doing themselves a disservice at the end of the day,
15:16
as well as the couples who are looking to hire them because today's couples.
15:22
are price conscious, you know, the millennial generation and Gen Z's, we're
15:28
having a tough time in this economy.
15:30
I mean, let's be real.
15:30
Right.
15:31
And so we're looking at, you know, want to, we want to have all the
15:35
information available to us to help us make the best decisions.
15:38
And for couples, you know, they, if they can't find pricing information on your
15:43
website, that's like putting up a barrier.
15:45
Not to mention it's, it's not allowing you as the vendor to pre qualify the
15:51
couples before you even meet with them.
15:54
So you're, you're going to waste potentially your own time and the
15:58
couple's time by meeting with couples who can't actually afford to work with you.
16:01
If you're not giving them some sort of idea of the investment that it
16:05
would be to work with you before they inquire and book a meeting.
16:10
Becca: Absolutely.
16:11
And I am 100 percent with you.
16:13
I always say that we need to have prices on our website.
16:16
In fact, back in episode 90 of the podcast, I recorded a whole episode
16:20
called should I put prices on my website?
16:23
And of course the answer was yes, you absolutely should because we're living
16:26
in an age where, you know, you, even if you go on Uber to order a taxi, it comes
16:31
up with like four different taxi types.
16:33
different prices.
16:34
You know, do you want the green one?
16:35
Do you want the XL one?
16:36
Do you want this one?
16:37
And we can see exactly how much every journey costs gone are the days where
16:41
we jump in a cab in London and we don't know how much it's going to
16:44
cost till we get out the other end.
16:45
We need to know now we want to make decisions.
16:47
Jessica: Yes, I would totally agree with that.
16:50
Like I can't remember the last time I just blindly jumped into a taxi in any
16:53
city not knowing how long it was going to take me to get there and what I was
16:58
potentially going to be paying because.
17:00
That could be a big financial mistake at the end of the day these days.
17:04
So yeah, I think, you know, to your point, the, the Uber or Lyft, I don't
17:09
know if they have Lyft in the UK, but I know in the UK, a Lyft is an
17:13
elevator, not a rideshare service.
17:15
So, but yeah, even, even in the States people might compare, you
17:19
know, Uber to Lyft prices before deciding which one to jump into.
17:23
So, but yes, I, I do think the, the price transparency conversation is
17:27
such an important one and I'm not sure where, where in the industry
17:32
it's been, you know, suggested to keep that information a secret, but
17:36
it seems like the wrong move to me.
17:38
Becca: Yeah.
17:38
And I think it's that same thing, isn't it?
17:40
It's an evolution, just like taxis.
17:42
You know, it was 10 years ago, normal for me to get in a taxi in
17:45
London to say, I want to go here.
17:47
And you just watch the price clock up as you went along.
17:50
And it was kind of a bit of a gamble, a bit of a guess of what it was going to be.
17:52
And that was normal.
17:54
But now those black cabs are having to evolve with the times because
17:57
that's not what we're used to anymore.
17:58
And it's the same with wedding couples, maybe not putting your
18:01
prices work 10 years ago when there was less options, but right now.
18:05
doesn't work anymore.
18:06
So we need prices.
18:07
So when it comes to your couples then, what are they looking for from pricing?
18:11
What, have you got some ideas, some examples that you could give people
18:15
of how they should display their prices or the kind of things your
18:18
couple's looking for for prices?
18:19
Jessica: Yeah, absolutely.
18:20
I think You know, obviously it depends so much from vendor type to vendor type.
18:25
Everyone's business model is a bit different and your profit
18:28
margins and the way everything is structured is a bit different.
18:31
But I think at a, at a very minimum, having either like an average
18:36
investment or starting investment, starting prices is always appreciated
18:42
because again, it prequalifies.
18:46
You know, those couples, you know, that a couple is not going to make the effort
18:49
to inquire and book a meeting with you.
18:52
If they already know you're out of their price point.
18:54
And this is something that I just don't know if like a lot of vendors
18:57
are considering if that information isn't readily available and they fall
19:01
in love with you completely based on your portfolio and they decide to book a
19:04
meeting and then in that meeting they see.
19:07
the numbers, you know, that have been kind of held back until that point.
19:11
That's, that's, that can be triggering, you know, that can be like a source of
19:16
embarrassment if you realize that it is far beyond your realm of possibility
19:22
when it comes to the finances.
19:24
And so it's an awkward situation.
19:26
And then, you know, we hear so often about, Couples ghosting their wedding
19:30
vendors after having these meetings after getting information via email.
19:34
And I just want to pose the question, like, have you ever stopped to
19:37
consider that maybe they don't want to admit, or maybe they might feel
19:41
slightly embarrassed that they can't financially afford to work with you.
19:46
And so again, having this information, even just a baseline, Publicly available
19:53
that they don't have to, you know, inquire or go back and forth via email to get this
19:58
basic information will just help avoid, you know, wasting your time, wasting their
20:03
time, helping them not to feel, you know, embarrassed when they have to, you know,
20:07
remove themselves from the conversation.
20:09
So it's just something to think about, I think.
20:12
Becca: I'd love to ask you a little bit more about one of the features of your
20:14
site, because I'm just sparking some ideas as we're having this conversation.
20:18
So you, you mentioned about having the real weddings and how you're
20:22
showing kind of the breakdown of costs on those weddings, or how much
20:25
that budget was, like, practically, how are you breaking that down?
20:29
Do you just say this?
20:30
This wedding cost 10, 000 or are you saying the flowers were this
20:33
much, the cake was this much?
20:34
Jessica: Oh, they, they give us like a line by line breakdown.
20:37
So it, we try to get as granular as possible.
20:40
Obviously everyone's situations are a little bit different.
20:43
You know, sometimes we do have couples who maybe.
20:45
Got a special discount from somebody or got an item for free from a
20:49
family member, things like that.
20:50
But what we really tried to do is standardize it as much as possible.
20:54
So yeah, they'll share what they spent on their photography, what
20:57
they spent on their venue, what they spent on their catering.
20:59
You know, sometimes these These costs are kind of like all commingled, especially
21:04
if they're working with like an all inclusive venue or something like that.
21:07
But to the best of our ability, we try to break it down as granularly
21:10
as possible so that you can see exactly like what percentages of
21:14
the budget are going to which area.
21:17
And so that is something that you can see on all of our real wedding features.
21:20
It has like little percent, it's like a little chart.
21:23
underneath like the total budget.
21:25
And then there's like a chart with the percentages for each
21:28
area and it lists them all out.
21:29
So I think it's interesting.
21:32
And obviously we don't have like as huge of a data set as like the not, you
21:36
know, we are of super small business.
21:39
You know, I'm very proud to have, you know, started this.
21:42
this accidental business and, and be here 15 years later and running it
21:47
as a small business all this time.
21:48
So I think at the end of the day, our goal is always just to provide
21:53
information and transparency and value, you know, not just to couples now,
21:58
but also to the vendor's side as well.
22:00
Becca: I think what you're doing is amazing.
22:02
And I think we need to start a revolution.
22:04
So bear with me on this, Jessica, but this is what I think needs to happen.
22:08
I think we need to start normalizing having pricing ideas on styled shoots,
22:14
because one of the biggest things that I see in the industry, when
22:18
couples get married, and I talked about this at the national wedding
22:21
show, is they go on Pinterest and they have a completely unrealistic
22:25
expectation of what something costs.
22:27
So when I did this talk, I put up a picture of this beautiful floral
22:30
arrangement on Pinterest and said to the audience, okay, guess how much this cost.
22:35
And then I gave them the quote that I'd got from some real life florists and they
22:39
were floored because they had absolutely no idea how much a fresh flower costs.
22:44
And in the industry, we are pumping out style shoots, left, right, and center.
22:47
And I love them to pieces.
22:49
I think they're a great way to showcase our products.
22:52
But, why don't we start doing a rough price breakdown at the
22:56
bottom of the styled shoot?
22:57
Like, to create this look, this would cost you this much for the venue, this
23:00
much for the cake, this much for the flowers, this much for the photographer.
23:04
Like, how great would that be if people started talking about
23:06
that?
23:06
Jessica: A thousand percent.
23:07
I think it's something that trips couples up so much in the process
23:12
because they see these styled shoots that are, you know, kind of positioned
23:17
as if they are real weddings.
23:19
And, you know, to the everyday consumer, they might not know the concept of having
23:24
like a styled shoot just for inspiration.
23:27
And they might assume.
23:28
And I think a lot of times, you know, there has been trends obviously
23:33
over the years of things being.
23:35
a bit more like almost like it looks handcrafted.
23:38
It looks DIY.
23:39
It looks boho or whatever, but there are professionals
23:42
behind putting that together.
23:44
And that doesn't come cheap.
23:45
Obviously, if you want to take the time and effort to do it yourself,
23:49
there are ways to do things for less.
23:51
But when you're working with professionals, yeah, I do think.
23:55
any, any sort of like transparency and sharing that information is
23:59
for the benefit of everyone at the end of the day, it causes less
24:02
confusion, less misconceptions.
24:04
And it just like level sets expectations, I think too, for couples, which, which
24:10
You know, ultimately benefits the vendors at the end of the day when
24:13
they're not having to explain to their couples, like, Oh, what you're asking
24:17
for is actually really expensive and the budget you have is not realistic.
24:21
So yeah, a thousand percent.
24:23
I'm just like, make everything transparent all the time.
24:26
Becca: I love it.
24:27
Let's start the revolution here.
24:28
And if you're listening to this, you've got a style shoot and you are
24:31
up for doing this and being some of the first people to actually put your
24:35
shoot out there and put the pricing breakdown on it, reach out because I
24:39
would a hundred percent feature it.
24:41
I'm sure Jessica would be interested in talking more about it too.
24:43
So yeah, be that person that's brave enough to say, this is our inspiration
24:47
shoe, and this is roughly how much it would cost you to have these services.
24:50
Because not only is that transparent.
24:53
But I think that could also be a really great marketing tool for you
24:56
to actually put your prices out there.
24:57
And so someone can see that incredible cake in that incredible
25:00
setting and then come to you and say, yeah, I want the same as that.
25:03
And I can afford it.
25:04
Cause you've told me how much it was going to cost.
25:06
Jessica: Yes.
25:06
I mean, how much more.
25:08
Like, just seamless and satisfying is it to know that a couple is coming to
25:13
you because they have seen your pricing, they already know they can afford you and
25:17
they have enthusiastically reached out to work with you knowing all of the details.
25:22
And then there's not that friction, there's not that back and forth.
25:26
And you're both entering into this agreement or this arrangement with
25:31
like eyes open, you know, like that's a beautiful thing that I mean, trust
25:36
and transparency and communication in any relationship is so important,
25:40
especially in business, especially in weddings on such an emotional day.
25:43
So Yeah.
25:45
I'm all, I'm all for the revolution of price transparency on everything.
25:49
Becca: Fabulous.
25:50
I can't wait to hear who takes up the challenge and goes to do it first.
25:53
Cause I know that someone listening absolutely will.
25:56
Now we talked a lot about budget savvy couples and, and how we can talk to
26:01
them and what they're looking for.
26:02
But I know another side that you're really passionate about
26:05
is from the vendor perspective.
26:07
And budget savvy marketing for the wedding pro.
26:11
So have you got any tips, any thoughts about where wedding pros listening
26:16
should spend their marketing budget or how they should become more
26:19
budget savvy when it comes to that?
26:21
Jessica: Yeah.
26:22
Well, I think Obviously, there are some big mainstream media platforms
26:27
that charge a pretty penny to advertise and you, it might feel
26:32
like a big financial risk, right?
26:34
To spend that kind of money and not know what kind of ROI you're going to get.
26:38
And so one thing I really love is the idea of like working
26:41
with more niche publications.
26:43
Of course, I'm a little bit biased on this.
26:45
Because I run a niche publication, but you know, we've really aimed to make our
26:49
rates incredibly affordable in comparison.
26:52
And we want it to be like.
26:54
a no brainer for vendors to join us and have that extra potential place to
27:00
become visible for less than the cost of, you know, a coffee or two a month.
27:05
And so that is definitely one way if you are looking for, you know, affordable
27:10
paid opportunities, but there's so many.
27:12
free things you can do to promote your business.
27:15
You know, I think that a lot of vendors don't take enough advantage
27:19
of, you know, submitting their work to publications to be featured.
27:24
You know, I know some publications do charge for real wedding
27:27
submissions these days.
27:28
I think that's crazy.
27:31
We, we never have, never will.
27:33
And we publish vendors, whether or not they want to choose to
27:36
participate in our directory.
27:38
But it's a great free way to get exposure and to get your work in front of the
27:42
couples who are actively planning.
27:44
So definitely taking advantage of submissions.
27:47
Also, networking with your fellow vendors in your local area.
27:52
You know, I'm a big proponent of affiliate relationships.
27:55
Most of mine do occur online versus offline.
27:59
But it's something you can definitely set up with people in your local area as well.
28:05
Additionally, I think another thing that vendors can take advantage of is
28:08
opportunities like being a guest on a podcast, sharing your expertise with,
28:14
you know, magazine or blog editors.
28:16
I don't know if your listeners might be familiar with some of these
28:19
platforms, but sites like HARO, which stands for help a reporter out.
28:24
Or quoted, which is not spelled properly, it's Q W O T E D are both great
28:30
resources where journalists or editors from different magazines or newspapers
28:35
will put out queries about you know, subjects that they are writing about.
28:40
And granted, there's not a ton of wedding stuff all the time, but you
28:44
can get, you know, opportunities to share your expertise.
28:48
and have it featured in major media.
28:50
And so I think those are some great examples of opportunities that
28:54
are, you know, completely free for vendors to take advantage of.
28:58
Becca: Yeah.
28:58
And you're so right.
28:58
So often it's just that people just don't make the most of these opportunities.
29:02
So I'm always saying to people, submit me real weddings for vicinity
29:06
weddings, which is my local wedding blog, or submit me styled shoes
29:10
or submit me this, but they just.
29:12
Don't.
29:13
And I don't know whether people are afraid of getting a no or whether
29:16
they just don't have time, but yeah, make the most of these opportunities.
29:20
Jessica: It's definitely, I'm sure a bit of a bandwidth issue, right?
29:24
Because when your primary business is serving the couples
29:28
who you're working with, right?
29:30
The marketing side of things can feel really daunting.
29:34
And so having options at your fingertips that are a little bit
29:38
like lower lift, you know, I think.
29:41
Even if, even if it involves like a small monthly payment to be
29:44
listed on, on a, you know, vendor directory or a website, the SEO value
29:50
of that can be really tremendous.
29:52
You know, and you just, you never know, you know, at the end
29:55
of the day, time is money too.
29:56
And so sometimes if you don't have the time to spend marketing your business, it
30:00
makes sense to pay a little bit of money.
30:02
It's all about figuring out the best options for you and your business.
30:06
Becca: Love it.
30:06
So if people are listening and they're thinking, I really like this concept,
30:09
I, I've got loads of ideas about this part of the market and how I could reach
30:14
some of these budget savvy couples.
30:16
What are ways both maybe paid and free that they could work with you?
30:21
And do you accept applications from people in the UK or just in North America?
30:26
Jessica: Well, we're happy to feature real weddings on our website.
30:29
site from all across the world.
30:30
There's definitely like a big push for destination weddings.
30:34
And so I think those are always really, you know, helpful to see.
30:38
So we're definitely open to featuring, you know, weddings
30:41
from all, all across the world.
30:43
And that's completely free.
30:45
There's no, you know, like cost involved and submitting on our platform.
30:49
As for our vendor directory to get started, we are focusing mostly on
30:54
the United States just to get started.
30:56
It's been a true labor of love building this project.
30:59
We completely self funded and bootstrapped the development.
31:03
It took.
31:04
about two years, which is a really long time.
31:07
But you know, we're hoping that if the U.
31:09
S.
31:09
market goes well, we could expand into other territories as well.
31:13
So that would be really great, especially because my partner
31:17
in life and business is British.
31:19
So yeah, we'll see.
31:21
We'll see what the future holds where that is
31:23
concerned.
31:23
Becca: Well, I'm sure there's some people over here as well
31:26
that have got some great.
31:27
Real weddings or photo shoots from London or from parts of the UK that the
31:31
American audience would absolutely love.
31:33
And I keep hearing, and I don't know whether you have a thought on this, I keep
31:37
hearing that people in America think that the wedding industry is a lot cheaper.
31:41
It's a lot cheaper to get married in the UK.
31:43
Don't know if you have any thoughts on that.
31:44
Jessica: I haven't heard a whole lot about that.
31:46
I've heard a lot about the, especially being an American who has considered
31:51
potentially tying the knot in the UK.
31:53
I've heard that there are quite some complicated I guess civil and legal things
31:58
you have to jump, hoops, you have to jump through to get married over there.
32:02
The whole registrar situation and all of that.
32:06
It's very different from what I, from what I can tell based on the,
32:09
the US situation, but yeah, I'm not sure if I'm, I'm not sure that
32:14
I've heard that that weddings are particularly less expensive over there.
32:20
Is that true?
32:21
Should I be sending all of our American readers to get married in the UK?
32:26
Becca: Well, that's what I've been hearing.
32:27
And I was having conversations when I was out at Wedding MBA in Las Vegas
32:31
with various vendors who were saying, you know, like the, the prices that
32:35
vendors charge in the UK is so much less than they are in the U S and therefore
32:39
it's a really attractive market.
32:40
So this is definitely something I want to find out more about.
32:43
And I need to find someone to have the conversation with on this podcast.
32:46
So watch this space.
32:47
And if you hear anything on the subject, let me know.
32:50
But yeah, maybe you should be sending them all to have a destination wedding
32:52
over here in the UK because they love it.
32:55
Now that we've got the crown and Downton Abbey and all Bridgerton,
32:58
all those shows, there's definitely a love for the English wedding.
33:02
Jessica: Absolutely.
33:03
And I mean, you can't beat Just the beautiful, like, green countryside.
33:09
Now that I've spent some time over there over the last few years, I mean, it is,
33:12
there are some really stunning venues and just beautiful scenery, which I love
33:17
because You don't need as much decorations if it's just a beautiful natural setting.
33:22
So
33:23
Becca: absolutely.
33:23
So yeah, definitely some opportunities for you listening.
33:26
If you're based in the UK to reach out to Jessica, see if there's
33:29
ways that you can work together.
33:30
And if you're a us listener, then go and check out that new directory
33:33
as well, because I think there's some great opportunities there too.
33:36
I've loved this conversation.
33:38
Time has got away with us.
33:40
So we are going to have to draw it to a close.
33:42
But I always end the podcast with the same question, which is this, what's
33:46
one thing you personally wish you'd known sooner in your own business?
33:50
Jessica: I think the biggest thing is just a, I can't do everything.
33:55
I tried for a very long time to do it all.
33:58
And I did until I nearly burnt myself out completely.
34:01
And so really, truly the value of.
34:04
Good help building a good team and, you know, fostering, you know, those
34:09
relationships to grow together, I would say is, is the biggest lesson that I
34:15
wish I had learned sooner in business.
34:18
Becca: Yeah, absolutely.
34:20
Jessica, it's been so great having you on the podcast.
34:22
If people want to find you on social media, on your website, where's
34:25
the best place for them to do that?
34:28
Jessica: Yeah, absolutely.
34:29
We've definitely got, you know, social presence on all the major platforms,
34:32
Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.
34:34
I refuse to call it X Twitter, TikTok, all those places.
34:39
But really our primary home is the budget savvy bride.
34:42
com, which is where all the good, good stuff is.
34:45
And as well, we also have a podcast called the bouquet toss podcast that
34:50
helps couples decide what to keep and what to toss from their wedding day plans.
34:55
So check that out as well.
34:56
Becca: I love it.
34:57
And just a word of warning to the listeners, if you go to budgetsavvybride.
35:01
com, like I did earlier today before recording this, you will get lost in
35:05
a rabbit hole because there's so much great stuff on there and you start
35:09
clicking and clicking and then you find yourself, you've been on there for ages.
35:12
So that is a word of warning, but do go and check it out because
35:14
there's loads of great resources.
35:16
Jessica, it's been so fun talking to you.
35:18
I'm sure we'll talk again and do more together in the future.
35:21
Thank you for your time and being here today.
35:23
Jessica: Of course.
35:23
Thank you so much for having me.
35:24
It was fun.
35:25
Becca: I love that conversation with Jessica.
35:27
I don't know what you thought about it at home.
35:29
As I said at the beginning, maybe it was a controversial topic for some of you as
35:33
we started the podcast, but I hope that it's changed your perception and you're
35:36
starting to realize that Budget doesn't necessarily mean low, cheap, but actually
35:42
being budget savvy can be a good thing.
35:44
And it sparked a lot of ideas for me and I hope it sparks a lot of ideas
35:47
for you too about how you can reach that sector of the market and hopefully
35:51
make more money for your own business.
35:53
I'll see you next time.