June 4, 2025 • 58 mins
Hi Planners!
In this episode, I sit down with Stacey Moran, the visionary founder of BTS Bride, a wedding content creation company that’s redefining how couples relive their wedding day. With a background in fashion, beauty, and social media marketing, Stacey launched BTS Bride after recognizing a gap in the wedding industry during her own wedding in 2022. Since then, her team has captured over 150 weddings and received accolades from Vogue, The Wall Street Journal, and beyond.
We dive into:
- The origin and evolution of BTS Bride—from supporting vendors to serving couples directly
- What it means to be a behind-the-scenes content creator
- The importance of educating couples and vendors on this emerging category
- Navigating vendor dynamics on the wedding day and collaborating with photographers and videographers
- Key questions planners should ask before hiring a content creator
- The value of capturing organic moments, not just trendy content
- Why I believe a dedicated content creator is becoming a must-have for every wedding
- Stacey’s shift toward balance after rapid growth, and the systems she’s now using to protect her time
If you’re a planner curious about integrating content creators into your vendor team—or a couple wondering if this service is worth the investment—this episode is packed with valuable insights from one of the leaders in the space.
Happy planning!
xo, Heather
Connect with Stacey, BTS Bride
Today’s episode is brought to you by the Planner Life Academy online course.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Heather Hoesch Olsen
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Meet my next guest, Stacey Moran of BTS Bride. With over a decade of experience managing social media for leading brands and celebrities, Stacey was inspired by her passion for visual storytelling to create BTS Bride after noticing a significant gap in the industry during her own wedding in June of 2022. Since then, Stacey and her team of 10 have documented over 150 weddings around the world.
BTS Bride has earned recognition from Vogue and the Wall Street Journal and accolades like 2024 Best Innovator, Best New Wedding Business, and recognition as one of the best wedding content creators around the world. Stacey is an absolute joy and such an innovator, but most of all, I love and appreciate her approach to keep content focused on the couple, their experience, and all while being a team player with other professional vendors.
As a planner, we have a responsibility to ensure our vendors and our team players that they're respectful and most of all that they're serving our couples. In this episode, Stacey gives great insight into the conversations and education surrounding behind the scenes content. She shares great advice on what you might want to ask if you are interviewing a content creator you haven't yet worked with. We talk about why I think there should be a content creator at every wedding.
And Stacey shares what she learned after a few short years that were very busy and very successful, which is a great reminder for all wedding professionals. Please enjoy my conversation with Stacey of BTS Bride.The Planner Life Podcast, your go to resource for wedding planner insights, expertise, and stories tailored just for you. I’m your host, Heather Hoesch Olsen, an experienced wedding planner, decade long educator, and your wedding planning best friend. Join me each week for real talk, real planners, and real experts. For conversations, hot topics, and advice to support you in your wedding planning journey.
Heather Hoesch OlsenHi planners, welcome to today's episode. I am so excited to be having a conversation with Stacey from BTS Bride. Welcome Stacey.
Stacey M.Hello, I'm so excited to be here.
Heather Hoesch OlsenMe too, I feel like this is long overdue and content is such a hot topic right now. So I'm really excited to dive into that. But before we do, please share with us who you are and what you do.
Stacey M.My name is Stacey Moran and I'm the founder and lead wedding content creator of the BTS Bride. We started my company in January of 2023. So we're heading into year three of business, which is so wild to think about. But BTS stands for behind the scenes. And that's really what we specialize in for capturing for our couples of their wedding day.
We're really focused on more of those in between authentic moments that happen organically. And we exclusively capture all of that content with our iPhones. It's really great for somebody that wants to just relive their wedding day instantly through the format of their phone.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt’s so funny because I feel like there's been a couple of different names or descriptions of what it is that you do. I find BTS easier to kind of capture and explain to the client than content creator, because so often content creator, it kind of references like more of an influencer media, that sort of thing. Do you find that you are having to explain that content is BTS or do you think it's implicit in your name? So you probably don't have to explain it as much.
Stacey M.A lot of people will market themselves as exclusively wedding content creator, which that could be a wedding influencer, someone that's creating content around weddings. So I like to say we are behind the scenes content creators that will come to your wedding day and actually capture your moments. Usually I try to educate on that and differentiate ourselves that way.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI think it stands out really well. So before we get into the company that you've built and the massive success you've seen over the last couple of years, I'd love to back up and get a little bit more of your origin story. So who was Stacey as a little girl? What were your interests? What did you study in school? Were there any insights into you would be an entrepreneur making waves with an iPhone later in life?
Stacey M.When I was little, I've always been obsessed with art and photography. Growing up, I just remember dragging my mom to the scrap bookstore. I was obsessed with scrap booking or vacations and making collages. I also had an OG Canon digital camera that I would capture everything with. So from a young age, I've always been obsessed with expressing myself creatively through more visual formats. So, when I went to college, I actually studied fashion marketing and design, and I minored in business. I always thought I would work in fashion, which I did for a little bit at the beginning of my career. But the majority of my career, I worked in beauty and then obviously now in weddings. But yeah, ever since I was younger, I've definitely loved documenting moments, whether it was for myself or my friends or my family. It really does make sense that's what I'm doing now with BTS bride.
Heather Hoesch OlsenAnd where did you go to school?
Stacey M.I went to Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. It's a smaller college, but I think it's one of the most underrated colleges in San Diego. It's right on the water near Sunset Cliffs. So a lot of my business classes were like overlooking the ocean. It was a great school. I really more so fell in love with the marketing classes that I was taking there and really, you know, bringing a brand story to life. And again, through more of like the visual social media and marketing. So yeah, that's what I kind of focused on during college.
Heather Hoesch OlsenAnd what was your first job right out of college?
Stacey M.Right after college, I was working for a creative agency. But even before that, I was interning all throughout college, which I highly recommend. Anyone who's in college right now, definitely intern, work for a brand whose values align with yours that you're potentially interested in. Just because when we're in college, you don't necessarily know exactly what you want to get into, what you're even good at, what you're passionate about. So definitely intern a lot in college.
Stacey M.And my first internship was for a fashion brand that was based in Southern California. And I was the marketing intern, but this was back in like 2014, 2015 when social media wasn't really a thing. So this brand in particular, and a lot of brands weren't even using Instagram or Facebook to market their businesses. And even though I was managing social media for them, it was more so the blog, like longer format copy, and then also their Pinterest. So that was the extent of the social media they were using.
Heather Hoesch OlsenWow, so much has changed in the way that we market our businesses.
Stacey M.It's been so wild to see just the progression of how social media has completely taken over.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo tell us a little bit more about your work experience from that point to today.
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Stacey M.When I graduated college, I worked for a creative agency and it was super interesting because they had a talent division and they also had a social media division. So for the talent division, we manage different bloggers at the time. So they weren't even called influencers yet. And I distinctly remember when my boss was like, I think we're going to start calling bloggers influencers. And all of us were like, what's like, what does that even mean? We were kind of poking fun at it. And now it's so interesting to look at how influencers now have such lucrative businesses and you know, people aspire to be influencers. So with working for this creative agency, I was hired on to be an assistant for the talent division and the social media division. So it was great because I got experience managing blogs, but also social media accounts for the influencers that we were managing.
And then I also worked on the brand side in the social media division, managing their social media accounts, and then also creating content for brands that we managed. So that's really where I got my first taste of all things social media, all things marketing strategy, creating content, and I completely fell in love with doing that for brands and for influencers.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo interesting, so often influencers have a marketing company that's actually doing that for them and they're just creating the content.
Stacey M.So back then, I think because it was so new, the different talent that we managed, they were like, OK, I know that I should be on social media, but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be marketing myself on here. So they would either hire on a creative agency or a marketing assistant to help them even just create the content. So that's what I was doing a lot for the talent. And then on the brand side, I was actually managing the marketing calendars to promote on social media, and then of course to create all the content for them as well.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo useful to what you do now. And also, I feel like that needs to be something that wedding vendors are taught because I feel like that's something we all struggle with. So when you're ready to teach that, you let me know.
Stacey M.That's actually why I started BTS bride to begin with. I initially thought that I was going to be helping wedding vendors with their social media. And if you want, I can kind of jump into that origin story. So I got married in June of 2022. And I found all my vendors through social media, I was absolutely using their Instagrams as portfolios to see if you know, they were the vibe I was looking for. But one thing I noticed is that a lot of them weren't really utilizing social media the way I was doing that for brands and for influencers. And, you know, when you choose your vendors, seeing the behind the scenes, seeing the process, even seeing a glimpse of their personality is so important to why you choose to work with that vendor. And when I was looking at these different Instagram accounts, I was like, they do such beautiful weddings, but the last time they posted was like four months ago. And so in my head, obviously I wasn't thinking of this before my wedding, but after my wedding, I was like, maybe I could start a business that helps wedding vendors with their social media accounts. And so that's why I started BTS bride. But little did I know it would just naturally evolve into working with couples directly to capture more of their behind the scenes moments.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI love that your initial thought was wedding vendors because we absolutely need it. So for your first couple of weddings, were you serving vendors or were you already serving couples?
Stacey M.No, so that's definitely how I got my start is working with planners directly. So I started in January of 2023 and my strategy to kind of get clients to begin with was to reach out to planners and it was tough, I just DMed and I cold emailed. A lot of people were like, no one will want this service. A lot of people were confused.
But there were a few that were like, okay, this sounds cool. Like I have a wedding coming up. You can come along, take content. And that's obviously where I was really able to showcase what we could do. I was doing a lot of like Instagram story takeovers the day after the wedding and just showcasing all of their work. So I wanna say maybe my first five weddings were with planners. And then I started posting more on TikTok and then brides and couples just started to reach out.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI mean, it makes sense to me that planners would need to be the gateway, but also, I think wedding vendors, planners especially, we just get a little bit stuck in our ways and we're not necessarily that open to new ideas. I am glad that couples have pushed this to be now the new normal in the industry because I don't know that vendors would have allowed it. I think it's much better coming from the client and then we have to evolve.
Stacey M.Yes, because at the end of the day, we're there to fulfill our clients needs, what they want, how they want to relive their wedding day. So I am happy that more couples are looking at content creation as a non-negotiable for their wedding.
Heather Hoesch OlsenFrom my view, you were one of the original wedding content creators. Did you have anyone that you were looking at or trying to use for inspiration or did you feel like you were really just paving the way in your own lane?
Stacey M.So when I first thought of wedding content creation and doing this for couples, I didn't really see anybody else in the space doing it. There might've been like one or two people on the East coast, but definitely nobody in Southern California at the time, and really it came from my own struggle after my wedding and just noticing how difficult it was to get all the content from my guests. I was very much so relying on my bridesmaids to capture content for me, just because we didn't have a videographer and working in social media, my husband and I were like, you know, we really just want more of those like organic iPhone videos. But yeah, it was tough because even after the wedding, I think I had like seven different shared iPhone albums with different friend groups. I was frantically texting everybody to add their content in. And in my head, I was like, there needs to be an easier way. And there needs to be a dedicated professional wedding vendor that you could hire on to get this style of content.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt's so smart. I feel like it, when it came on the scene, I think we were a little confused because again, new, unsure, but also it makes so much sense with the way that couples and just all of us really relive our memories from vacations or fun nights. Like we're scrolling through our phones and sometimes that makes it to socials. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it just lives in the albums you're watching. So it makes total sense to me that couples would want this. And I don't love when it's the maid of honor that's then pulled from the emotional parts of the day or aunt Susie who's in the way of everyone. So the piece of having it be someone professional, I think is really key to the success of the overall team.
Stacey M.I might add to that as much as I love my friends, when I got the content back, I was like, this is not, this is terrible. This is like shaky drunk footage.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI think all of us have taken content that way and or received content or I'll have someone on my team be I'll be like, hey, go take content for the day. And it's real bad. Like, and I could have used them doing other things.
Stacey M.There's such a huge difference when there's somebody completely dedicated to creating the content versus somebody that should be enjoying the wedding and then capturing content as an afterthought. So you could really tell the difference in just quality and dedication when there is somebody that is really, really focused on capturing that content for you. Mm hmm.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo as we talked about, it's only been a couple of years, but your business growth has been exponential. What has been the most surprising part about your company's fast growth?
Stacey M.I think the most surprising is just now how many content creators there are since I started. So like I said, in January, 2023, I was like, okay, nobody's doing this. Nobody's marketing themselves as a wedding content creator. And now when I get on Instagram, I think my suggested friends are 40 new content creators. So I think it's awesome that this is just becoming more normal for couples and vendors to hire on as a service for wedding day. But I think that's just been super cool to see that
It's almost been like a movement in the wedding industry that now a lot of people are like, oh, this is something that I would love to do with my career. So, yeah, I think that has been the most surprising in addition to just how quickly our business has grown and how big our team is now.
Heather Hoesch OlsenWhat has been the biggest challenge so far?
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Stacey M.Well, one, I definitely am a perfectionist and being an entrepreneur, being a business owner just forces you to completely have to let go of those perfectionist tendencies. And I think a big part of that is we just have too much on our plate to kind of ruminate on something we might've messed up on something that we should have done better on. I used to really beat myself up over things that I didn't do to my specific standard, I guess. And so that's just something that I've had to let go of as an entrepreneur. So that has been a challenge. I think another challenge has just been navigating this new service in an industry that is a little bit more traditional. Working in fashion and beauty before this, I was like, yeah, social media is the norm. Like every business needs to be using this to promote their business.
And I didn't realize that there would be some pushback from the wedding industry. Cause in my head, I'm like, this is just a normal progression into promoting your business is to use social and to use Instagram and Tik Tok, so I think that has been a challenge, ⁓ not so much now, but definitely for the first year, year and a half, there was a lot of education involved in what we do.
Heather Hoesch OlsenThat leads perfectly into my next question. Because it's still a new vendor category, I feel like I do a terrible job of pitching it to couples. Like I'm not good at explaining it. But from watching your business, it feels like couples understood the value fairly easily. And because I think you're able to show them. So, and you said it a little bit earlier, but how are you pitching it to couples? What are you saying? How do you explain what it is that you do and what they get?
Stacey M.So like you said, one thing that I always share on our consultation calls with our couples is think about how you capture any big life event, whether it's a birthday or even just hanging out with friends or going on date night, you're really capturing those moments with your phone. And that's how we're reliving any significant life event in our digital age that we live in.
So it only makes sense that for a day as big as your wedding day, you would want to capture those moments in that format. And we love working with photographers. We love working with videographers, but I always just tell them, look how different the formats of content we're delivering are. So we're definitely more of the iPhone content, shorter format, more of those quick edits for your video. You're going to get more of that highlight video that's anywhere from 30 minutes and it could be up to two hours.
And it's just a completely different look and feel. And then obviously with a photographer, you're getting your professional photos. I just say for a day as special as your wedding, you're gonna wanna relive it in all these different ways. And it just makes sense because we're always on our phones and that's how we're reliving any big moment in our life. Yeah.
Heather Hoesch OlsenDefinitely. And like we mentioned earlier, there was some backlash to start. It seems like vendors were a little bit of a tougher sell. I know personally, my concerns were ensuring that the content creator doesn't get in the way of photo and video and that they work as a team. I always kind of joke like the photographer's camera gets to go first, the videographer's camera goes second, and then the creator's iPhone goes third.
Heather Hoesch OlsenNow, what have been some of the challenges with photo, video, and planners? Not really understanding your role though, because you still are a professional vendor that's been hired. It's not like you're just the friend tagging along. Have you navigated those concerns of the vendors and the planners that you work
Stacey M.Yeah, so I think communication has just been so crucial in this whole process and really showcasing our work and what we do. Like I said, I have experience from 2015 when I was on set with photographers and videographers, which I think is so crucial and important to tell vendors and tell planners that, you know, we have experience being on set and we kind of know the hierarchy of who gets priority. But with that said as well, we're there for the client and for the couple. And so if the iPhone content is super important to them, then they also need to know that we need to get that shot as well. But we're always telling them that we're going to communicate with the photographer and the videographer and all the other vendors on site with respect. But I think really just being upfront with what we’re there to do and what we’re there to capture and to make sure they know that we're not there to step on their toes in any way.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI think it's really important for the planner to kind of lead that conversation at times to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that if there are concerns, they get addressed, especially when it comes to the timeline, because if content is really important to the couple, I want to make sure there's time for that. But I also can't have it be taken away from your more traditional photo and video, there needs to be enough time for all three. And so I think that's the part that I've been learning is, if we have content in the mix, we need to really discuss the timeline more. Often, I mean, traditionally, I'm just really discussing the timeline with photo, and video is sent the timeline and they just are following along. And so they very rarely get input on the timeline. So then when a third media team was added for planners, we're like, wait, where does that fit in? And so now I think we are needing to loop in the video team and the content team to make sure that it's all a cohesive conversation of what's going to happen when so that no one runs off with the timeline because that's everyone's worst nightmare, especially the planner.
Stacey M.And that's definitely something that we love to have those conversations before the wedding day. So we always tell our couple if they're the ones that hired us, that we would love to connect with their photo, their video team and their planner on like a final run through of the timeline just to make sure there is time for any specific content that they want from us. I will say the majority of our clients I know the trends were very popular in the beginning.
But now I think people are really just wanting the organic moments. They want more of like a timeless look from our content. So if there is a really cool trend that we see that is a little bit more timeless, then we can do it. But I always like to try to focus on those style of videos that will take like less than five minutes to execute just because the whole point of
Why I started BTS bride is to make sure that our couples are present on their wedding day and don't feel like they have to have their phone and take content because we're there to do that. So I always tell them if they want to do trends, like let's try to find some like quick timeless ones. and then also keeping it under like two or so trends, just because if we start to do more of that style of content, ⁓ it is going to take more time from the timeline.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI once worked with someone who you could tell she was very trend focused and hadn't necessarily even talked to the client about it. So we're at the end of getting ready. We're about to go out for a first look and she's like, I have three trends I want to do with the bride. And I was like, sweetie, this is like the worst possible time to suggest that. Second of all, if you don't have the bride's approval, you do not have my approval. And third, this is the time where the bride is the most focused on seeing her person. I do not want her performing for TikTok right now.
Stacey M.That is something that we have a questionnaire that will ask, do you want to do any trends? And if there are, then it absolutely has to be a discussion before wedding day. And it needs to be a discussion with the planner and the photo video team on when the best time is to execute that. Just because like you said, the wedding day goes by so quickly. And it's hard to even find a three minute window to be like, can we do this trend? Or can we finish this trend, especially if it involves bridal party or like a dance or voiceover or anything like that. I always say if you want to do something like that, let's try to do like one or two max, we'll have to figure out the right time to do it. And then also, it's your responsibility to brief your bridal party on any like, choreography or voiceover that they need to do because then if they don't know, then we're not going to spend 20 minutes for them to learn this.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI think we've just lost the focus on what's important if we're spending too many minutes of a wedding day on performative sort of aspects rather than capturing. The whole point really is the behind the scenes, not the creation piece of it, right? To me, the creation piece is the editing post wedding, not like making up stuff on the day of.
Stacey M.Yes. And I always tell my couples the magic really happens with the edits that we create with them. And I think that's why couples gravitate towards our content is because we really focus on capturing the emotions of the day. And when it is to trend focus, you can kind of lose that. So we definitely like to focus on more of the organic moments that unfold that make your wedding day super special and unique to you.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI completely agree. So how can planners best support you during planning and on the wedding day and after?
Stacey M.I always say clear communication. So just sharing any key details upfront. Definitely going over the timeline is really helpful just because if there are any special moments that are must have captures for the couple or traditions or any unique design elements, we love to know that information before just because that already gets like the creative ideas flowing. So
I have had wedding days before where I wasn't fully briefed on those things and I almost felt like I was running around like a squirrel, like, I need to get this, I need to get that. So it's so much better when I know those things ahead of time, because I'm anticipating them versus reacting to them. Even sending a mood board and a design deck, that's really helpful. Again, really gets ideas flowing for us for our edits. Timeline coordination.
Also just the vendor collaboration, making sure we do have a touch point with the photographer and videographer. I know sometimes it's not always necessary, but it really is nice to come up with a game plan. We could literally hop on like a 15 minute call just to introduce each other. But usually it is the planner that will facilitate that just so I'm not like randomly DMing the photographer. But yeah, I think every wedding's different.
(01:04):
Stacey M.Some couples want to be super hands off and are like, you just take the lead and do your thing. But even with those couples, I love to still have a chat with the planner to go over some details ahead of time. And then during the wedding, I think something that I've noticed is because wedding content creation is getting more popular. And of course we want other vendors to be able to get behind the scenes content to promote their businesses and their work. I will say it can get a little bit overwhelming for the couple when every single vendor is also capturing iPhone content in addition to us. So I really lean on the planner ahead of time to maybe just set some guidelines, or at least give the other vendors a heads up that we're gonna be there capturing content. And we're pretty much always open to share our content with other vendors. Of course, the couple is our priority, so it might just take a little bit more time, but we're pretty much open with always sharing our content as long as there's that mutual respect of everyone knowing that we're there for the couple first.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI've been at weddings where it's like everyone has their iPhone out right before guests come in the room. And I get it. We all need to promote our businesses. We're all staring at a blank page every week trying to figure out what content we're going to post. And it does seem that BTS for our individual businesses performs the best. People want to see the behind the scenes. They want to see how these weddings are being created. But at the same time, I think a lot of times planners especially, are less focused on the couple in those moments and more focused on getting their own content. So I guess is it most important that the planner asks you in the beginning, like, hey, will the vendor team be getting this content so that I can tell everyone they could put their phones away? Or how would be the best way to do that so you're not ending up with people kind of getting in the way?
What have been some of the examples that you've experienced on a wedding day that are not going well so that planners listening know that's not a good way to do this?
Stacey M.I am never against individual vendors like capturing their work, especially if it's before the wedding officially starts, like get all the content. Like that's initially what I wanted to do with this business was to help vendors promote their businesses on social media. So I love that more vendors are prioritizing that. Where I struggle with is for when the wedding starts and there's more of these intimate somewhat stressful situations for, you know, the ceremony or the first look. I have had situations where members of the planning team were kind of shooting over our shoulders or getting in shots for like reception reveals. And that's where I struggle with because we will gladly share that content with the planning team or with other vendors. I think it's more so focusing on the client experience and as much as they want the content to our couples, they don't want a million phones pointing at them during those really special moments.
Heather Hoesch OlsenA planner should not have their own content person if it's not previously discussed with the client or really that content person should be following them. And I think there's something that's a little bit of a dis- disrespectful view of content creators, which is, it's just an iPhone. Like you'll get it. And it's like, no, you're also a paid professional hired by the client who has a job to execute. And if people are in your way, you can't do your job just the same way we need to clear catering out for photo and video so they can get room shots. We have to make sure that everyone's getting the time and the space that they need to do the job well and execute for the couple. ⁓ if I was doing my first look and there were a bunch of iPhones in addition to the pro cameras, which already are slightly overwhelming, I would be pissed.
Stacey M.A lot of the time too, the couple isn't aware that that's gonna be happening. So it’s almost a surprise to them. And then in the moment they don't, they're not comfortable telling them, hey, can you get out? I think it's important to communicate with your content creator, ask them, just simply communicate and see if they would be open to sending you the content. I think the majority of content creators are. And then that way you don't feel the need or pressure to have your team capture content when they should be focusing on executing the wedding day.
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Heather Hoesch OlsenSo when it comes to after the wedding, I know you're very quick with turnaround, but what can planners do to support you best after the wedding?
Stacey M.So after the wedding, it's always so helpful to get all the social media vendor tags from everyone that was involved in the wedding day. I can't tell you how many hours honestly I've spent when I don't have that just searching for vendors. And a lot of the times there's multiple rental companies used or tabletop rentals and I'm not necessarily sure who was involved. Having all those vendor tags can save us a lot of time and help us get our content out even quicker. And then really just reposting and sharing and engaging with the content. I think that's something that we should all focus on is when we're all part of this wedding that really does help with reach for content is if people are engaging and also too, if a lot of the planners that I work with potentially want to be collaborators on posts after the wedding. But those things also need to be kind of planned strategically. I know there's been a couple of times where randomly I'll get an invite to collaboration and I'm like, well, you know, I have a whole week's worth of content planned already, so I can't accept. But if they were to have posted that maybe a week later, I could have. So, just communicating if they do want to do any collaboration posts, but those are the main things that would be super helpful from planners after the wedding.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo for many planners listening, they maybe haven't worked with creators yet. so share with us your process if a planner reaches out to you. What are the steps during planning, or I guess what are the steps during the sales process planning and then all the way through deliverables?
Stacey M.So if a planner wants to work with us specifically for a couple, then usually they'll fill out our inquiry form or just email us directly. And then from there, I'll send packages and pricing if we're available. So I'll check if I'm available and if I'm not available, then I'll send over my team's rates. And then from there, usually they'll schedule a call if needed with the planner and the couple, or sometimes it's just with the planner if the couple wants to be pretty hands off. From there, we'll go over just expectations, how many hours they're wanting the content creator on site, what type of content the couple is interested in, and then after that call, I'll send over a proposal. From there, we'll typically hold the wedding date for like two weeks or so just to give them some time to communicate back and forth with their couple.
If they have any changes, then there might be some back and forth there. But once they're ready to book, a lot of the time we love working with planners because they're just the ones handling everything. And it's a lot more streamlined. And then they're kind of coordinating our questionnaire, final timeline leading up to the wedding. Like I said, we could do a call with them and the couple and photo video team if they'd like. That's pretty much it in terms of what they can expect our process before wedding day.
(01:25):
Heather Hoesch OlsenWhat about the process for the client, wedding day and then after? So I know you have the questionnaire and sometimes you'll have a call with a client. I probably would always push for a call with a client just so they understand your role because it is, I think, a little bit different. But then what can they expect? We know couples wake up the next morning and they're like, I want to see everything. So what are your deliverables looking like and what's the speed of that?
Stacey M.We deliver all of the unedited content the next day, usually by 4 p.m. local time. We'll send all of the unedited content. And with our edits, so when I first started, we would deliver everything by 4 p.m. as well. But just with us wanting to be a little bit more intentional and thoughtful with our edits we're pushing for like 48 hours or so, which is still a very quick turnaround. But we're going through thousands of videos and photos for you that we capture. And especially after a long wedding day, I've just noticed that my edits are usually better. And there's more creative storytelling behind it when I at least have a day to go through everything without the stress of this needs to be delivered in four hours after I ended this wedding. Usually the edits are anywhere from 48 to 72 hours.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt's so fast and awesome. Now you mentioned in their photos. So how often are you capturing photos versus video clips?
Stacey M.We capture about 85 % iPhone video and about 15 % iPhone photo. We do have a couple clients that prefer more iPhone photos to look back on and we're always flexible with their preference. But really, I try to push that our focus is those behind the scenes video moments.
Heather Hoesch OlsenHave you had any pushback with photographers that you're taking photos?
Stacey M.So that is definitely something that I'm very aware of. I haven't had a photographer push back to us specifically, but I'm always aware of capturing over their shoulder, especially if they've really taken the time to creative direct and pose the couple. I really respect them for that because that's not something that we set up with the couple. And I know that it takes a lot of that creative energy and direction. So we'll capture more of those behind the scenes images and get the iPhone format. But I try not to post those and act like that was my own. If anything, I will absolutely tag the photographer and even put in our vendor credits, like creative direction, put the photographer's tag, just so people know that was their work. I know that can be a little bit of a tricky subject too.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI always try to tell if it's a new content creator that I haven't worked with, I just say, if at all possible, have your stills be when the photographer is not around so that you really truly are capturing the moments in between and you're videoing any time they're shooting so that it's always the opposite and then the couple's getting everything. And then you're not competing because I do think that it's a little bit tricky. And I understand the photographer's perspective on that. They are the lead photographer to your point, they are posing usually and directing all of it. And so it is important that they get that kind of first piece of it in the credit. But I think the couples love having those little moments captured behind the scenes that are not just video. I do think they want photo also, but it needs to maybe be with a mindfulness of the moments that the main photographer isn't shooting. I always like it when it's the couple and kind of having moments, just the two of them, but while they're waiting for the next thing, it's like either pre-ceremony, but the photographer's out shooting the ceremony. It's anytime they're gone out of the room, there tends to be really sweet moments because the camera's off. And so I always tell my clients, that's when you want the content covering you the most, I think, is because you're kind of relaxed and it really truly feels like just a friend in the room with you rather than the professional cameras. There's something to be said, I think, the way people kind of shy to the big cameras, but they don't necessarily remember that a phone is on them because we're kind of all used to phones being on us at all times.
Stacey M.It feels a little bit more natural. I feel like too, it does get tricky because I know there are some content creators that have like digital cameras or adding film. And that's why we really love to focus on iPhone content. One, I think it is just a blurred line when we're adding on more professional camera footage.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt does, which is so silly, but that's just where we're at.
Stacey M.And then again, like you said, it's the photographer's creative work when they're posing and directing. And a lot of the times if we are shooting on digital cameras and then you're delivering that the next day, the couples will most likely post that right away. So I and my team try to be very mindful of that. And that's why we don't use digital cameras or add on any film or anything out of respect for the photography teams.
Heather Hoesch OlsenCorrect me if I'm wrong. It seems like most of your socials, it’s almost exclusively video, I don't know that I've ever really seen you post a photo
Stacey M.Occasionally we will do some carousels from a wedding, but really it is all video. We are very much focused on those video moments.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI love it. So building a team seemed like a very natural progression, but how are you ensuring that the product is the same?
Stacey M.What's so great about my team is that working in social media for almost a decade now, every single person on my team has been someone that was already in my network that I've worked with, or they were a referral from somebody that I've already worked with just because as you know, a wedding day can be such a high stress day, you need to be able to read the room of what our couples need. There's been multiple times where I've walked into a bridal suite when we first arrive and I could just tell, okay, like she needs a little bit less energy right now. She needs some calmness, but then I've also walked into rooms where I'm like, she could use a little bit more hype for me, more energy. So I always look out for that. And I think it's so important to look for that quality in addition to obviously capturing amazing content. But I always say that it's a little bit easier to teach more of the technical skills of content creation versus the personality and being able to read the room on wedding day. It’s been so great in terms of building the team just because it has been people that I've already worked with. And a lot of them reached out to me, which was nice. I try not to ever poach my friends as much as I would love to, but a lot of the people have reached out to me and it's great because it's a great side hustle opportunity. A lot of the people on my team still have full-time careers, but they're able to do like one to two weddings on weekends and they love it because it's a creative outlet for them.
Heather Hoesch OlsenThat's great. I personally think there should be a content creator on every single wedding. But like any vendor, it's really important to hire the right one and pair the right vendor with the client and their needs. So for planners listening, what should planners be looking for? Since this is still kind of a new category. It's kind of difficult to tell someone's professionalism and ability to read the room through just their work on socials. So what sort of intake questions or kind of insight might we be able to get if it's hard to tell and we haven't worked with them yet?
Stacey M.If you are aligned with their overall style and editing, I mean, just looking at their social media and seeing how they capture content. If that resonates with you and you're interested in working with them, then a call, preferably a video call just so you can kind of see how they are and you know, virtually before officially hiring them on for wedding day is super important. I always say don't be afraid to ask about very specific scenarios that you know, come up on wedding day and just asking them how they would handle it. I've had some planners ask me that before and I love those questions because I feel like it really just showcases on the spot how you would react in a high stress situation. So don't be afraid to kind of ask those specific scenarios. Ask what they plan to wear. I feel like that's a big part of, you know, showing up on a wedding day and being professional is how you present yourself. Don't be afraid to ask what they're gonna wear, ask what equipment they use. So are they gonna have backup chargers? Do they have a backup phone? You can tell a lot about how professional a content creator is just based on the equipment that they have. If they're like, I just have this one phone and even ask what model phone they have. I think those are great indicators to know that they're professional and they understand the quality of content that they'll be capturing on wedding day.
Heather Hoesch OlsenThank you. I think that's great insight. And I think for planners, especially, it's really on us to build the best possible vendor team. so, like you said, so many content creators have come out of the woodworks and started companies over the last couple of years. It feels like now the options are endless. And so when I do email my favorites and they're already booked, I'm like, okay, then I'm going to move to this group that I don't know. But I think those are all really good questions. I don't know that I ever would have kind of done a role playing scenario of problem solving day of stuff. And now I think that's just great advice in vendors in general. I love that. I love that.
Stacey M.Especially if you haven't worked with them before, I think those questions are really important. And even just asking what they do to deliver content, I think is really telling as well.
Heather Hoesch OlsenHow should they deliver it?
Stacey M.I personally deliver all of our content through Google Drive. It just maintains the quality of the content that we capture. We capture everything in 4K. And if they're delivering even with a shared iPhone album, which I know a lot of people still do, it drastically lowers the quality of the videos. This is more of a technical thing, but it diminishes the quality to like 720 pixels. And that will actually make the video super blurry. So I know it's easier to do shared iPhone albums, but with Google Drive, they know how to maintain that quality to give you the best videos possible.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt should be Google Drive or a Dropbox sort of thing.
(01:46):
Stacey M.It could be Dropbox, even WeTransfer. I don't think there's a specific way to organize all the content just because we are delivering anywhere from 800 to over 1000 videos and photos. And that's definitely feedback that we've gotten before from couples is that it's almost overwhelming how much content they get. So I try to organize it really well so that it's easy to view everything, to download everything, and I've just seen that Google Drive is the best place to do that.
Heather Hoesch OlsenOkay. So we've also talked about this before. I'm very pro content creators being hired by the planner. If the client doesn't invest in one so that planners can show the value of their services, the behind the scenes of their work. I have personally hired you to do this exact thing. I have one video that I repost over and over all the time, I think anyone listening has probably seen it and it's me running around on a wedding day doing a hundred different things. And it was just so helpful even for someone doing this. I've been doing this for 21 years. I mean, coordination is not my bread and butter by any means, but I think a lot of times people don't even really understand what we do on a wedding day. And so even just a couple seconds of you showing me doing all the things. And I think you were maybe there for three or four hours, you weren't even there that long. We got three really wonderful edited videos, a ton of ones I've never looked through unedited, which I really need to go do.
What can planners be doing to make sure that they're getting that behind the scenes? And so I think now that we do have clients hiring more, is there a way to add on? Should we be asking you, hey, can you come earlier or can you get some planner specific stuff and can I get some edits from that? What would that cost? Or is it better that those are really saved for the ones where the client hasn't hired them and we should only have ours? What's your advice there?
Stacey M.So if a couple already has a dedicated content creator that they've hired on, I think it would be very beneficial for the planner just to reach out and see if they'd be open to capturing some content for them. There might be an additional cost there, if it's outside of the hours that they're contracted for, for the couple, but I feel like a lot of content creators would love to do that. A lot of the times when I'm on site and I, if I have time, I'm capturing content of the other vendors regardless. So yeah, I think it would be beneficial to ask them and then also post wedding, if they got any dedicated content of you, you could ask if you could pay for additional edits that are more focused on them and their behind the scenes. But if the couple doesn't have a dedicated content creator, then I would absolutely see if you could hire somebody to usually once the wedding starts, I think that's what I did for you is I was there for the first three hours of the wedding, we were able to get so much content. So it is really helpful to have somebody there dedicated kind of just following you around in action, showcasing what you do for your couples.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI kind of just said, I just do you and just show me. I didn't really give you much insight. But if someone maybe doesn't have as much experience and is being hired on by a planner, should the planner be giving them a couple hey, here are the key things I want to be showing to make the most of that investment?
Stacey M.Absolutely. Even if you have some inspiration videos that you've come across that you really love, any unique moments that are happening for that wedding, it's always helpful to know that beforehand. I always love giving a shot list for anything. It just gives me peace of mind. So yeah, I would absolutely do that.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo let's just quickly talk about TikTok. I feel like as a 40 year old who's been in business for 20 plus years, I struggle to even understand and navigate TikTok. Should as a wedding vendor, should I be promoting on TikTok? Is that where you're getting your business or are you seeing that Instagram done well is sufficient?
Stacey M.So I will say that I get way more quality leads through Instagram. And when I was first starting my business, I definitely use TikTok more just because I didn't have as much wedding content to share as I do now. So I was doing a lot more like talking to camera, educational style videos on TikTok that did really well. But now for the content that we have that's from weddings that are a little bit more inspirational, those tend to do so much better on Instagram. So it's not too overwhelming, especially if you're just getting started with posting consistently on social focus on one platform. And I would say Instagram has more qualified leads for me. Focus on that one platform and then you could repurpose the content you're creating for Instagram and post on TikTok. That's kind of my strategy now. Not the best, but I know that I would feel super overwhelmed as a business owner if I had to create two different styles of content every week for two different platforms.
Heather Hoesch OlsenThat's kind of the answer I wanted without knowing it. Thank you so much. I don't want to go on TikTok. I just want to repost.
So thank you, Stacey, so much for your time.
You know, it's always interesting to watch people come into the wedding industry and kind of learn very quickly how hard it is, how you give your heart and your soul and many hours on your feet. And it's easy to overcommit and be burnt out, kind of lose yourself in this. And you've been really honest about how quickly you've grown and how it's been really challenging, whether that's commitment or energy or perfectionism. So how are you kind of shifting and refocusing this year?
Stacey M.I think I might've mentioned this before we started recording, but starting the business in January of 2023, of course, I wasn't sure, if it would take off as it has. So I was saying yes to everything. And with that, I took on so many weddings last year in 2024. And I think it was anywhere from three to five weddings a month, which is every single weekend.
I was traveling a lot and by the end of last year, I felt completely exhausted and burnt out. I wasn't focusing on my relationships or my health. I didn't work out all last year and it just made me realize that it's so important to prioritize balance in your life. And I know that you're never going to achieve perfect balance, but even just staying consistent with daily things that you know can take you away from your phone, can take you away from your email.
I was definitely one of those people that was waking up and the second I woke up, I was checking my email. I was checking social media. And so just being intentional about blocking out even days where you're like, okay, today is not an email checking day. I'll get through my inbox two days out of the week. I've really had to set those boundaries in place. But it's hard as an entrepreneur because you're passionate about what you're doing and you love what you're doing. And I had to actually say no to a lot of weddings at the beginning of this year, even though we were getting inquiries, which is a great place to be. But I knew that myself and even my team needed that break. And so I had to actively say no for things that I really wanted to do. But I knew that I want to do this for the long, long haul. And we only have so much energy to give. And I want to still show up for my friendships and my relationships and personal things other than this business. But that comes with actually intentionally making that space. It's not just going to happen. And a lot of people have told me that if you don't do that, then usually at the most inopportune time, your body will decide to do it for you. So I think that's really important for entrepreneurs, especially working in the wedding industry. It's the hardest thing I've ever done.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt's just so much.
Stacey M.It's a lot, it's long hours. The longest wedding that I've ever done where I was capturing was 16 hours and I had to recover for two weeks and I was horizontal for like five days after that.
Heather Hoesch OlsenPlanners especially, we have the longest days and the longest weeks, especially if it's a really long weekend. And I just think that it's such good advice that you're sharing that, you really have to pause and stop and be intentional. And so what are some of the things that you're doing to kind of buy back your time? What systems are you implementing? What tools are you using to make sure that you actually have the time for yourself?
Stacey M.This year we've implemented Dubsado into all of our backend processes. I’ve done my two hour intensive training to kind of integrate and migrate everything over because I was doing everything manually through my Gmail. That was like my task list and Google Drive and all of that was creating my own contracts and invoices and everything was just very manual. And I knew that if we wanted to scale and set a strong foundation for the long term, we would need to have a better CRM system in place. Dubsado has been one. I actually have an assistant that helps with booking travel for the team. She manages the inquiries inbox. So delegating a little bit more and not feeling like I need to have a tight hold and grip on every single part of the business.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo good. Well, thank you, Stacey, so much for sharing your story and your insight. For all of you planners listening, go make sure that you are getting content on your weddings from the professional. Thank you, Stacey, so much. Be well. Talk soon. Bye.
Stacey M.Thank you, bye.
Thanks so much for tuning into the Planner Life Podcast. Be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Then head over to plannerlifeacademy.com for show notes, additional resources, discount codes, and so much more. To join the conversation or submit questions for an upcoming episode, be sure to follow @plannerlifepodcast and @plannerlifeacdemy on Instagram. Until next week, happy planning!
Heather Hoesch Olsen
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Meet my next guest, Stacey Moran of BTS Bride. With over a decade of experience managing social media for leading brands and celebrities, Stacey was inspired by her passion for visual storytelling to create BTS Bride after noticing a significant gap in the industry during her own wedding in June of 2022. Since then, Stacey and her team of 10 have documented over 150 weddings around the world.
BTS Bride has earned recognition from Vogue and the Wall Street Journal and accolades like 2024 Best Innovator, Best New Wedding Business, and recognition as one of the best wedding content creators around the world. Stacey is an absolute joy and such an innovator, but most of all, I love and appreciate her approach to keep content focused on the couple, their experience, and all while being a team player with other professional vendors.
As a planner, we have a responsibility to ensure our vendors and our team players that they're respectful and most of all that they're serving our couples. In this episode, Stacey gives great insight into the conversations and education surrounding behind the scenes content. She shares great advice on what you might want to ask if you are interviewing a content creator you haven't yet worked with. We talk about why I think there should be a content creator at every wedding.
And Stacey shares what she learned after a few short years that were very busy and very successful, which is a great reminder for all wedding professionals. Please enjoy my conversation with Stacey of BTS Bride.The Planner Life Podcast, your go to resource for wedding planner insights, expertise, and stories tailored just for you. I’m your host, Heather Hoesch Olsen, an experienced wedding planner, decade long educator, and your wedding planning best friend. Join me each week for real talk, real planners, and real experts. For conversations, hot topics, and advice to support you in your wedding planning journey.
Heather Hoesch OlsenHi planners, welcome to today's episode. I am so excited to be having a conversation with Stacey from BTS Bride. Welcome Stacey.
Stacey M.Hello, I'm so excited to be here.
Heather Hoesch OlsenMe too, I feel like this is long overdue and content is such a hot topic right now. So I'm really excited to dive into that. But before we do, please share with us who you are and what you do.
Stacey M.My name is Stacey Moran and I'm the founder and lead wedding content creator of the BTS Bride. We started my company in January of 2023. So we're heading into year three of business, which is so wild to think about. But BTS stands for behind the scenes. And that's really what we specialize in for capturing for our couples of their wedding day.
We're really focused on more of those in between authentic moments that happen organically. And we exclusively capture all of that content with our iPhones. It's really great for somebody that wants to just relive their wedding day instantly through the format of their phone.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt’s so funny because I feel like there's been a couple of different names or descriptions of what it is that you do. I find BTS easier to kind of capture and explain to the client than content creator, because so often content creator, it kind of references like more of an influencer media, that sort of thing. Do you find that you are having to explain that content is BTS or do you think it's implicit in your name? So you probably don't have to explain it as much.
Stacey M.A lot of people will market themselves as exclusively wedding content creator, which that could be a wedding influencer, someone that's creating content around weddings. So I like to say we are behind the scenes content creators that will come to your wedding day and actually capture your moments. Usually I try to educate on that and differentiate ourselves that way.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI think it stands out really well. So before we get into the company that you've built and the massive success you've seen over the last couple of years, I'd love to back up and get a little bit more of your origin story. So who was Stacey as a little girl? What were your interests? What did you study in school? Were there any insights into you would be an entrepreneur making waves with an iPhone later in life?
Stacey M.When I was little, I've always been obsessed with art and photography. Growing up, I just remember dragging my mom to the scrap bookstore. I was obsessed with scrap booking or vacations and making collages. I also had an OG Canon digital camera that I would capture everything with. So from a young age, I've always been obsessed with expressing myself creatively through more visual formats. So, when I went to college, I actually studied fashion marketing and design, and I minored in business. I always thought I would work in fashion, which I did for a little bit at the beginning of my career. But the majority of my career, I worked in beauty and then obviously now in weddings. But yeah, ever since I was younger, I've definitely loved documenting moments, whether it was for myself or my friends or my family. It really does make sense that's what I'm doing now with BTS bride.
Heather Hoesch OlsenAnd where did you go to school?
Stacey M.I went to Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. It's a smaller college, but I think it's one of the most underrated colleges in San Diego. It's right on the water near Sunset Cliffs. So a lot of my business classes were like overlooking the ocean. It was a great school. I really more so fell in love with the marketing classes that I was taking there and really, you know, bringing a brand story to life. And again, through more of like the visual social media and marketing. So yeah, that's what I kind of focused on during college.
Heather Hoesch OlsenAnd what was your first job right out of college?
Stacey M.Right after college, I was working for a creative agency. But even before that, I was interning all throughout college, which I highly recommend. Anyone who's in college right now, definitely intern, work for a brand whose values align with yours that you're potentially interested in. Just because when we're in college, you don't necessarily know exactly what you want to get into, what you're even good at, what you're passionate about. So definitely intern a lot in college.
Stacey M.And my first internship was for a fashion brand that was based in Southern California. And I was the marketing intern, but this was back in like 2014, 2015 when social media wasn't really a thing. So this brand in particular, and a lot of brands weren't even using Instagram or Facebook to market their businesses. And even though I was managing social media for them, it was more so the blog, like longer format copy, and then also their Pinterest. So that was the extent of the social media they were using.
Heather Hoesch OlsenWow, so much has changed in the way that we market our businesses.
Stacey M.It's been so wild to see just the progression of how social media has completely taken over.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo tell us a little bit more about your work experience from that point to today.
(00:22):
Stacey M.When I graduated college, I worked for a creative agency and it was super interesting because they had a talent division and they also had a social media division. So for the talent division, we manage different bloggers at the time. So they weren't even called influencers yet. And I distinctly remember when my boss was like, I think we're going to start calling bloggers influencers. And all of us were like, what's like, what does that even mean? We were kind of poking fun at it. And now it's so interesting to look at how influencers now have such lucrative businesses and you know, people aspire to be influencers. So with working for this creative agency, I was hired on to be an assistant for the talent division and the social media division. So it was great because I got experience managing blogs, but also social media accounts for the influencers that we were managing.
And then I also worked on the brand side in the social media division, managing their social media accounts, and then also creating content for brands that we managed. So that's really where I got my first taste of all things social media, all things marketing strategy, creating content, and I completely fell in love with doing that for brands and for influencers.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo interesting, so often influencers have a marketing company that's actually doing that for them and they're just creating the content.
Stacey M.So back then, I think because it was so new, the different talent that we managed, they were like, OK, I know that I should be on social media, but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to be marketing myself on here. So they would either hire on a creative agency or a marketing assistant to help them even just create the content. So that's what I was doing a lot for the talent. And then on the brand side, I was actually managing the marketing calendars to promote on social media, and then of course to create all the content for them as well.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo useful to what you do now. And also, I feel like that needs to be something that wedding vendors are taught because I feel like that's something we all struggle with. So when you're ready to teach that, you let me know.
Stacey M.That's actually why I started BTS bride to begin with. I initially thought that I was going to be helping wedding vendors with their social media. And if you want, I can kind of jump into that origin story. So I got married in June of 2022. And I found all my vendors through social media, I was absolutely using their Instagrams as portfolios to see if you know, they were the vibe I was looking for. But one thing I noticed is that a lot of them weren't really utilizing social media the way I was doing that for brands and for influencers. And, you know, when you choose your vendors, seeing the behind the scenes, seeing the process, even seeing a glimpse of their personality is so important to why you choose to work with that vendor. And when I was looking at these different Instagram accounts, I was like, they do such beautiful weddings, but the last time they posted was like four months ago. And so in my head, obviously I wasn't thinking of this before my wedding, but after my wedding, I was like, maybe I could start a business that helps wedding vendors with their social media accounts. And so that's why I started BTS bride. But little did I know it would just naturally evolve into working with couples directly to capture more of their behind the scenes moments.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI love that your initial thought was wedding vendors because we absolutely need it. So for your first couple of weddings, were you serving vendors or were you already serving couples?
Stacey M.No, so that's definitely how I got my start is working with planners directly. So I started in January of 2023 and my strategy to kind of get clients to begin with was to reach out to planners and it was tough, I just DMed and I cold emailed. A lot of people were like, no one will want this service. A lot of people were confused.
But there were a few that were like, okay, this sounds cool. Like I have a wedding coming up. You can come along, take content. And that's obviously where I was really able to showcase what we could do. I was doing a lot of like Instagram story takeovers the day after the wedding and just showcasing all of their work. So I wanna say maybe my first five weddings were with planners. And then I started posting more on TikTok and then brides and couples just started to reach out.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI mean, it makes sense to me that planners would need to be the gateway, but also, I think wedding vendors, planners especially, we just get a little bit stuck in our ways and we're not necessarily that open to new ideas. I am glad that couples have pushed this to be now the new normal in the industry because I don't know that vendors would have allowed it. I think it's much better coming from the client and then we have to evolve.
Stacey M.Yes, because at the end of the day, we're there to fulfill our clients needs, what they want, how they want to relive their wedding day. So I am happy that more couples are looking at content creation as a non-negotiable for their wedding.
Heather Hoesch OlsenFrom my view, you were one of the original wedding content creators. Did you have anyone that you were looking at or trying to use for inspiration or did you feel like you were really just paving the way in your own lane?
Stacey M.So when I first thought of wedding content creation and doing this for couples, I didn't really see anybody else in the space doing it. There might've been like one or two people on the East coast, but definitely nobody in Southern California at the time, and really it came from my own struggle after my wedding and just noticing how difficult it was to get all the content from my guests. I was very much so relying on my bridesmaids to capture content for me, just because we didn't have a videographer and working in social media, my husband and I were like, you know, we really just want more of those like organic iPhone videos. But yeah, it was tough because even after the wedding, I think I had like seven different shared iPhone albums with different friend groups. I was frantically texting everybody to add their content in. And in my head, I was like, there needs to be an easier way. And there needs to be a dedicated professional wedding vendor that you could hire on to get this style of content.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt's so smart. I feel like it, when it came on the scene, I think we were a little confused because again, new, unsure, but also it makes so much sense with the way that couples and just all of us really relive our memories from vacations or fun nights. Like we're scrolling through our phones and sometimes that makes it to socials. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it just lives in the albums you're watching. So it makes total sense to me that couples would want this. And I don't love when it's the maid of honor that's then pulled from the emotional parts of the day or aunt Susie who's in the way of everyone. So the piece of having it be someone professional, I think is really key to the success of the overall team.
Stacey M.I might add to that as much as I love my friends, when I got the content back, I was like, this is not, this is terrible. This is like shaky drunk footage.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI think all of us have taken content that way and or received content or I'll have someone on my team be I'll be like, hey, go take content for the day. And it's real bad. Like, and I could have used them doing other things.
Stacey M.There's such a huge difference when there's somebody completely dedicated to creating the content versus somebody that should be enjoying the wedding and then capturing content as an afterthought. So you could really tell the difference in just quality and dedication when there is somebody that is really, really focused on capturing that content for you. Mm hmm.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo as we talked about, it's only been a couple of years, but your business growth has been exponential. What has been the most surprising part about your company's fast growth?
Stacey M.I think the most surprising is just now how many content creators there are since I started. So like I said, in January, 2023, I was like, okay, nobody's doing this. Nobody's marketing themselves as a wedding content creator. And now when I get on Instagram, I think my suggested friends are 40 new content creators. So I think it's awesome that this is just becoming more normal for couples and vendors to hire on as a service for wedding day. But I think that's just been super cool to see that
It's almost been like a movement in the wedding industry that now a lot of people are like, oh, this is something that I would love to do with my career. So, yeah, I think that has been the most surprising in addition to just how quickly our business has grown and how big our team is now.
Heather Hoesch OlsenWhat has been the biggest challenge so far?
(00:43):
Stacey M.Well, one, I definitely am a perfectionist and being an entrepreneur, being a business owner just forces you to completely have to let go of those perfectionist tendencies. And I think a big part of that is we just have too much on our plate to kind of ruminate on something we might've messed up on something that we should have done better on. I used to really beat myself up over things that I didn't do to my specific standard, I guess. And so that's just something that I've had to let go of as an entrepreneur. So that has been a challenge. I think another challenge has just been navigating this new service in an industry that is a little bit more traditional. Working in fashion and beauty before this, I was like, yeah, social media is the norm. Like every business needs to be using this to promote their business.
And I didn't realize that there would be some pushback from the wedding industry. Cause in my head, I'm like, this is just a normal progression into promoting your business is to use social and to use Instagram and Tik Tok, so I think that has been a challenge, ⁓ not so much now, but definitely for the first year, year and a half, there was a lot of education involved in what we do.
Heather Hoesch OlsenThat leads perfectly into my next question. Because it's still a new vendor category, I feel like I do a terrible job of pitching it to couples. Like I'm not good at explaining it. But from watching your business, it feels like couples understood the value fairly easily. And because I think you're able to show them. So, and you said it a little bit earlier, but how are you pitching it to couples? What are you saying? How do you explain what it is that you do and what they get?
Stacey M.So like you said, one thing that I always share on our consultation calls with our couples is think about how you capture any big life event, whether it's a birthday or even just hanging out with friends or going on date night, you're really capturing those moments with your phone. And that's how we're reliving any significant life event in our digital age that we live in.
So it only makes sense that for a day as big as your wedding day, you would want to capture those moments in that format. And we love working with photographers. We love working with videographers, but I always just tell them, look how different the formats of content we're delivering are. So we're definitely more of the iPhone content, shorter format, more of those quick edits for your video. You're going to get more of that highlight video that's anywhere from 30 minutes and it could be up to two hours.
And it's just a completely different look and feel. And then obviously with a photographer, you're getting your professional photos. I just say for a day as special as your wedding, you're gonna wanna relive it in all these different ways. And it just makes sense because we're always on our phones and that's how we're reliving any big moment in our life. Yeah.
Heather Hoesch OlsenDefinitely. And like we mentioned earlier, there was some backlash to start. It seems like vendors were a little bit of a tougher sell. I know personally, my concerns were ensuring that the content creator doesn't get in the way of photo and video and that they work as a team. I always kind of joke like the photographer's camera gets to go first, the videographer's camera goes second, and then the creator's iPhone goes third.
Heather Hoesch OlsenNow, what have been some of the challenges with photo, video, and planners? Not really understanding your role though, because you still are a professional vendor that's been hired. It's not like you're just the friend tagging along. Have you navigated those concerns of the vendors and the planners that you work
Stacey M.Yeah, so I think communication has just been so crucial in this whole process and really showcasing our work and what we do. Like I said, I have experience from 2015 when I was on set with photographers and videographers, which I think is so crucial and important to tell vendors and tell planners that, you know, we have experience being on set and we kind of know the hierarchy of who gets priority. But with that said as well, we're there for the client and for the couple. And so if the iPhone content is super important to them, then they also need to know that we need to get that shot as well. But we're always telling them that we're going to communicate with the photographer and the videographer and all the other vendors on site with respect. But I think really just being upfront with what we’re there to do and what we’re there to capture and to make sure they know that we're not there to step on their toes in any way.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI think it's really important for the planner to kind of lead that conversation at times to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that if there are concerns, they get addressed, especially when it comes to the timeline, because if content is really important to the couple, I want to make sure there's time for that. But I also can't have it be taken away from your more traditional photo and video, there needs to be enough time for all three. And so I think that's the part that I've been learning is, if we have content in the mix, we need to really discuss the timeline more. Often, I mean, traditionally, I'm just really discussing the timeline with photo, and video is sent the timeline and they just are following along. And so they very rarely get input on the timeline. So then when a third media team was added for planners, we're like, wait, where does that fit in? And so now I think we are needing to loop in the video team and the content team to make sure that it's all a cohesive conversation of what's going to happen when so that no one runs off with the timeline because that's everyone's worst nightmare, especially the planner.
Stacey M.And that's definitely something that we love to have those conversations before the wedding day. So we always tell our couple if they're the ones that hired us, that we would love to connect with their photo, their video team and their planner on like a final run through of the timeline just to make sure there is time for any specific content that they want from us. I will say the majority of our clients I know the trends were very popular in the beginning.
But now I think people are really just wanting the organic moments. They want more of like a timeless look from our content. So if there is a really cool trend that we see that is a little bit more timeless, then we can do it. But I always like to try to focus on those style of videos that will take like less than five minutes to execute just because the whole point of
Why I started BTS bride is to make sure that our couples are present on their wedding day and don't feel like they have to have their phone and take content because we're there to do that. So I always tell them if they want to do trends, like let's try to find some like quick timeless ones. and then also keeping it under like two or so trends, just because if we start to do more of that style of content, ⁓ it is going to take more time from the timeline.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI once worked with someone who you could tell she was very trend focused and hadn't necessarily even talked to the client about it. So we're at the end of getting ready. We're about to go out for a first look and she's like, I have three trends I want to do with the bride. And I was like, sweetie, this is like the worst possible time to suggest that. Second of all, if you don't have the bride's approval, you do not have my approval. And third, this is the time where the bride is the most focused on seeing her person. I do not want her performing for TikTok right now.
Stacey M.That is something that we have a questionnaire that will ask, do you want to do any trends? And if there are, then it absolutely has to be a discussion before wedding day. And it needs to be a discussion with the planner and the photo video team on when the best time is to execute that. Just because like you said, the wedding day goes by so quickly. And it's hard to even find a three minute window to be like, can we do this trend? Or can we finish this trend, especially if it involves bridal party or like a dance or voiceover or anything like that. I always say if you want to do something like that, let's try to do like one or two max, we'll have to figure out the right time to do it. And then also, it's your responsibility to brief your bridal party on any like, choreography or voiceover that they need to do because then if they don't know, then we're not going to spend 20 minutes for them to learn this.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI think we've just lost the focus on what's important if we're spending too many minutes of a wedding day on performative sort of aspects rather than capturing. The whole point really is the behind the scenes, not the creation piece of it, right? To me, the creation piece is the editing post wedding, not like making up stuff on the day of.
Stacey M.Yes. And I always tell my couples the magic really happens with the edits that we create with them. And I think that's why couples gravitate towards our content is because we really focus on capturing the emotions of the day. And when it is to trend focus, you can kind of lose that. So we definitely like to focus on more of the organic moments that unfold that make your wedding day super special and unique to you.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI completely agree. So how can planners best support you during planning and on the wedding day and after?
Stacey M.I always say clear communication. So just sharing any key details upfront. Definitely going over the timeline is really helpful just because if there are any special moments that are must have captures for the couple or traditions or any unique design elements, we love to know that information before just because that already gets like the creative ideas flowing. So
I have had wedding days before where I wasn't fully briefed on those things and I almost felt like I was running around like a squirrel, like, I need to get this, I need to get that. So it's so much better when I know those things ahead of time, because I'm anticipating them versus reacting to them. Even sending a mood board and a design deck, that's really helpful. Again, really gets ideas flowing for us for our edits. Timeline coordination.
Also just the vendor collaboration, making sure we do have a touch point with the photographer and videographer. I know sometimes it's not always necessary, but it really is nice to come up with a game plan. We could literally hop on like a 15 minute call just to introduce each other. But usually it is the planner that will facilitate that just so I'm not like randomly DMing the photographer. But yeah, I think every wedding's different.
(01:04):
Stacey M.Some couples want to be super hands off and are like, you just take the lead and do your thing. But even with those couples, I love to still have a chat with the planner to go over some details ahead of time. And then during the wedding, I think something that I've noticed is because wedding content creation is getting more popular. And of course we want other vendors to be able to get behind the scenes content to promote their businesses and their work. I will say it can get a little bit overwhelming for the couple when every single vendor is also capturing iPhone content in addition to us. So I really lean on the planner ahead of time to maybe just set some guidelines, or at least give the other vendors a heads up that we're gonna be there capturing content. And we're pretty much always open to share our content with other vendors. Of course, the couple is our priority, so it might just take a little bit more time, but we're pretty much open with always sharing our content as long as there's that mutual respect of everyone knowing that we're there for the couple first.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI've been at weddings where it's like everyone has their iPhone out right before guests come in the room. And I get it. We all need to promote our businesses. We're all staring at a blank page every week trying to figure out what content we're going to post. And it does seem that BTS for our individual businesses performs the best. People want to see the behind the scenes. They want to see how these weddings are being created. But at the same time, I think a lot of times planners especially, are less focused on the couple in those moments and more focused on getting their own content. So I guess is it most important that the planner asks you in the beginning, like, hey, will the vendor team be getting this content so that I can tell everyone they could put their phones away? Or how would be the best way to do that so you're not ending up with people kind of getting in the way?
What have been some of the examples that you've experienced on a wedding day that are not going well so that planners listening know that's not a good way to do this?
Stacey M.I am never against individual vendors like capturing their work, especially if it's before the wedding officially starts, like get all the content. Like that's initially what I wanted to do with this business was to help vendors promote their businesses on social media. So I love that more vendors are prioritizing that. Where I struggle with is for when the wedding starts and there's more of these intimate somewhat stressful situations for, you know, the ceremony or the first look. I have had situations where members of the planning team were kind of shooting over our shoulders or getting in shots for like reception reveals. And that's where I struggle with because we will gladly share that content with the planning team or with other vendors. I think it's more so focusing on the client experience and as much as they want the content to our couples, they don't want a million phones pointing at them during those really special moments.
Heather Hoesch OlsenA planner should not have their own content person if it's not previously discussed with the client or really that content person should be following them. And I think there's something that's a little bit of a dis- disrespectful view of content creators, which is, it's just an iPhone. Like you'll get it. And it's like, no, you're also a paid professional hired by the client who has a job to execute. And if people are in your way, you can't do your job just the same way we need to clear catering out for photo and video so they can get room shots. We have to make sure that everyone's getting the time and the space that they need to do the job well and execute for the couple. ⁓ if I was doing my first look and there were a bunch of iPhones in addition to the pro cameras, which already are slightly overwhelming, I would be pissed.
Stacey M.A lot of the time too, the couple isn't aware that that's gonna be happening. So it’s almost a surprise to them. And then in the moment they don't, they're not comfortable telling them, hey, can you get out? I think it's important to communicate with your content creator, ask them, just simply communicate and see if they would be open to sending you the content. I think the majority of content creators are. And then that way you don't feel the need or pressure to have your team capture content when they should be focusing on executing the wedding day.
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Heather Hoesch OlsenSo when it comes to after the wedding, I know you're very quick with turnaround, but what can planners do to support you best after the wedding?
Stacey M.So after the wedding, it's always so helpful to get all the social media vendor tags from everyone that was involved in the wedding day. I can't tell you how many hours honestly I've spent when I don't have that just searching for vendors. And a lot of the times there's multiple rental companies used or tabletop rentals and I'm not necessarily sure who was involved. Having all those vendor tags can save us a lot of time and help us get our content out even quicker. And then really just reposting and sharing and engaging with the content. I think that's something that we should all focus on is when we're all part of this wedding that really does help with reach for content is if people are engaging and also too, if a lot of the planners that I work with potentially want to be collaborators on posts after the wedding. But those things also need to be kind of planned strategically. I know there's been a couple of times where randomly I'll get an invite to collaboration and I'm like, well, you know, I have a whole week's worth of content planned already, so I can't accept. But if they were to have posted that maybe a week later, I could have. So, just communicating if they do want to do any collaboration posts, but those are the main things that would be super helpful from planners after the wedding.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo for many planners listening, they maybe haven't worked with creators yet. so share with us your process if a planner reaches out to you. What are the steps during planning, or I guess what are the steps during the sales process planning and then all the way through deliverables?
Stacey M.So if a planner wants to work with us specifically for a couple, then usually they'll fill out our inquiry form or just email us directly. And then from there, I'll send packages and pricing if we're available. So I'll check if I'm available and if I'm not available, then I'll send over my team's rates. And then from there, usually they'll schedule a call if needed with the planner and the couple, or sometimes it's just with the planner if the couple wants to be pretty hands off. From there, we'll go over just expectations, how many hours they're wanting the content creator on site, what type of content the couple is interested in, and then after that call, I'll send over a proposal. From there, we'll typically hold the wedding date for like two weeks or so just to give them some time to communicate back and forth with their couple.
If they have any changes, then there might be some back and forth there. But once they're ready to book, a lot of the time we love working with planners because they're just the ones handling everything. And it's a lot more streamlined. And then they're kind of coordinating our questionnaire, final timeline leading up to the wedding. Like I said, we could do a call with them and the couple and photo video team if they'd like. That's pretty much it in terms of what they can expect our process before wedding day.
(01:25):
Heather Hoesch OlsenWhat about the process for the client, wedding day and then after? So I know you have the questionnaire and sometimes you'll have a call with a client. I probably would always push for a call with a client just so they understand your role because it is, I think, a little bit different. But then what can they expect? We know couples wake up the next morning and they're like, I want to see everything. So what are your deliverables looking like and what's the speed of that?
Stacey M.We deliver all of the unedited content the next day, usually by 4 p.m. local time. We'll send all of the unedited content. And with our edits, so when I first started, we would deliver everything by 4 p.m. as well. But just with us wanting to be a little bit more intentional and thoughtful with our edits we're pushing for like 48 hours or so, which is still a very quick turnaround. But we're going through thousands of videos and photos for you that we capture. And especially after a long wedding day, I've just noticed that my edits are usually better. And there's more creative storytelling behind it when I at least have a day to go through everything without the stress of this needs to be delivered in four hours after I ended this wedding. Usually the edits are anywhere from 48 to 72 hours.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt's so fast and awesome. Now you mentioned in their photos. So how often are you capturing photos versus video clips?
Stacey M.We capture about 85 % iPhone video and about 15 % iPhone photo. We do have a couple clients that prefer more iPhone photos to look back on and we're always flexible with their preference. But really, I try to push that our focus is those behind the scenes video moments.
Heather Hoesch OlsenHave you had any pushback with photographers that you're taking photos?
Stacey M.So that is definitely something that I'm very aware of. I haven't had a photographer push back to us specifically, but I'm always aware of capturing over their shoulder, especially if they've really taken the time to creative direct and pose the couple. I really respect them for that because that's not something that we set up with the couple. And I know that it takes a lot of that creative energy and direction. So we'll capture more of those behind the scenes images and get the iPhone format. But I try not to post those and act like that was my own. If anything, I will absolutely tag the photographer and even put in our vendor credits, like creative direction, put the photographer's tag, just so people know that was their work. I know that can be a little bit of a tricky subject too.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI always try to tell if it's a new content creator that I haven't worked with, I just say, if at all possible, have your stills be when the photographer is not around so that you really truly are capturing the moments in between and you're videoing any time they're shooting so that it's always the opposite and then the couple's getting everything. And then you're not competing because I do think that it's a little bit tricky. And I understand the photographer's perspective on that. They are the lead photographer to your point, they are posing usually and directing all of it. And so it is important that they get that kind of first piece of it in the credit. But I think the couples love having those little moments captured behind the scenes that are not just video. I do think they want photo also, but it needs to maybe be with a mindfulness of the moments that the main photographer isn't shooting. I always like it when it's the couple and kind of having moments, just the two of them, but while they're waiting for the next thing, it's like either pre-ceremony, but the photographer's out shooting the ceremony. It's anytime they're gone out of the room, there tends to be really sweet moments because the camera's off. And so I always tell my clients, that's when you want the content covering you the most, I think, is because you're kind of relaxed and it really truly feels like just a friend in the room with you rather than the professional cameras. There's something to be said, I think, the way people kind of shy to the big cameras, but they don't necessarily remember that a phone is on them because we're kind of all used to phones being on us at all times.
Stacey M.It feels a little bit more natural. I feel like too, it does get tricky because I know there are some content creators that have like digital cameras or adding film. And that's why we really love to focus on iPhone content. One, I think it is just a blurred line when we're adding on more professional camera footage.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt does, which is so silly, but that's just where we're at.
Stacey M.And then again, like you said, it's the photographer's creative work when they're posing and directing. And a lot of the times if we are shooting on digital cameras and then you're delivering that the next day, the couples will most likely post that right away. So I and my team try to be very mindful of that. And that's why we don't use digital cameras or add on any film or anything out of respect for the photography teams.
Heather Hoesch OlsenCorrect me if I'm wrong. It seems like most of your socials, it’s almost exclusively video, I don't know that I've ever really seen you post a photo
Stacey M.Occasionally we will do some carousels from a wedding, but really it is all video. We are very much focused on those video moments.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI love it. So building a team seemed like a very natural progression, but how are you ensuring that the product is the same?
Stacey M.What's so great about my team is that working in social media for almost a decade now, every single person on my team has been someone that was already in my network that I've worked with, or they were a referral from somebody that I've already worked with just because as you know, a wedding day can be such a high stress day, you need to be able to read the room of what our couples need. There's been multiple times where I've walked into a bridal suite when we first arrive and I could just tell, okay, like she needs a little bit less energy right now. She needs some calmness, but then I've also walked into rooms where I'm like, she could use a little bit more hype for me, more energy. So I always look out for that. And I think it's so important to look for that quality in addition to obviously capturing amazing content. But I always say that it's a little bit easier to teach more of the technical skills of content creation versus the personality and being able to read the room on wedding day. It’s been so great in terms of building the team just because it has been people that I've already worked with. And a lot of them reached out to me, which was nice. I try not to ever poach my friends as much as I would love to, but a lot of the people have reached out to me and it's great because it's a great side hustle opportunity. A lot of the people on my team still have full-time careers, but they're able to do like one to two weddings on weekends and they love it because it's a creative outlet for them.
Heather Hoesch OlsenThat's great. I personally think there should be a content creator on every single wedding. But like any vendor, it's really important to hire the right one and pair the right vendor with the client and their needs. So for planners listening, what should planners be looking for? Since this is still kind of a new category. It's kind of difficult to tell someone's professionalism and ability to read the room through just their work on socials. So what sort of intake questions or kind of insight might we be able to get if it's hard to tell and we haven't worked with them yet?
Stacey M.If you are aligned with their overall style and editing, I mean, just looking at their social media and seeing how they capture content. If that resonates with you and you're interested in working with them, then a call, preferably a video call just so you can kind of see how they are and you know, virtually before officially hiring them on for wedding day is super important. I always say don't be afraid to ask about very specific scenarios that you know, come up on wedding day and just asking them how they would handle it. I've had some planners ask me that before and I love those questions because I feel like it really just showcases on the spot how you would react in a high stress situation. So don't be afraid to kind of ask those specific scenarios. Ask what they plan to wear. I feel like that's a big part of, you know, showing up on a wedding day and being professional is how you present yourself. Don't be afraid to ask what they're gonna wear, ask what equipment they use. So are they gonna have backup chargers? Do they have a backup phone? You can tell a lot about how professional a content creator is just based on the equipment that they have. If they're like, I just have this one phone and even ask what model phone they have. I think those are great indicators to know that they're professional and they understand the quality of content that they'll be capturing on wedding day.
Heather Hoesch OlsenThank you. I think that's great insight. And I think for planners, especially, it's really on us to build the best possible vendor team. so, like you said, so many content creators have come out of the woodworks and started companies over the last couple of years. It feels like now the options are endless. And so when I do email my favorites and they're already booked, I'm like, okay, then I'm going to move to this group that I don't know. But I think those are all really good questions. I don't know that I ever would have kind of done a role playing scenario of problem solving day of stuff. And now I think that's just great advice in vendors in general. I love that. I love that.
Stacey M.Especially if you haven't worked with them before, I think those questions are really important. And even just asking what they do to deliver content, I think is really telling as well.
Heather Hoesch OlsenHow should they deliver it?
Stacey M.I personally deliver all of our content through Google Drive. It just maintains the quality of the content that we capture. We capture everything in 4K. And if they're delivering even with a shared iPhone album, which I know a lot of people still do, it drastically lowers the quality of the videos. This is more of a technical thing, but it diminishes the quality to like 720 pixels. And that will actually make the video super blurry. So I know it's easier to do shared iPhone albums, but with Google Drive, they know how to maintain that quality to give you the best videos possible.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt should be Google Drive or a Dropbox sort of thing.
(01:46):
Stacey M.It could be Dropbox, even WeTransfer. I don't think there's a specific way to organize all the content just because we are delivering anywhere from 800 to over 1000 videos and photos. And that's definitely feedback that we've gotten before from couples is that it's almost overwhelming how much content they get. So I try to organize it really well so that it's easy to view everything, to download everything, and I've just seen that Google Drive is the best place to do that.
Heather Hoesch OlsenOkay. So we've also talked about this before. I'm very pro content creators being hired by the planner. If the client doesn't invest in one so that planners can show the value of their services, the behind the scenes of their work. I have personally hired you to do this exact thing. I have one video that I repost over and over all the time, I think anyone listening has probably seen it and it's me running around on a wedding day doing a hundred different things. And it was just so helpful even for someone doing this. I've been doing this for 21 years. I mean, coordination is not my bread and butter by any means, but I think a lot of times people don't even really understand what we do on a wedding day. And so even just a couple seconds of you showing me doing all the things. And I think you were maybe there for three or four hours, you weren't even there that long. We got three really wonderful edited videos, a ton of ones I've never looked through unedited, which I really need to go do.
What can planners be doing to make sure that they're getting that behind the scenes? And so I think now that we do have clients hiring more, is there a way to add on? Should we be asking you, hey, can you come earlier or can you get some planner specific stuff and can I get some edits from that? What would that cost? Or is it better that those are really saved for the ones where the client hasn't hired them and we should only have ours? What's your advice there?
Stacey M.So if a couple already has a dedicated content creator that they've hired on, I think it would be very beneficial for the planner just to reach out and see if they'd be open to capturing some content for them. There might be an additional cost there, if it's outside of the hours that they're contracted for, for the couple, but I feel like a lot of content creators would love to do that. A lot of the times when I'm on site and I, if I have time, I'm capturing content of the other vendors regardless. So yeah, I think it would be beneficial to ask them and then also post wedding, if they got any dedicated content of you, you could ask if you could pay for additional edits that are more focused on them and their behind the scenes. But if the couple doesn't have a dedicated content creator, then I would absolutely see if you could hire somebody to usually once the wedding starts, I think that's what I did for you is I was there for the first three hours of the wedding, we were able to get so much content. So it is really helpful to have somebody there dedicated kind of just following you around in action, showcasing what you do for your couples.
Heather Hoesch OlsenI kind of just said, I just do you and just show me. I didn't really give you much insight. But if someone maybe doesn't have as much experience and is being hired on by a planner, should the planner be giving them a couple hey, here are the key things I want to be showing to make the most of that investment?
Stacey M.Absolutely. Even if you have some inspiration videos that you've come across that you really love, any unique moments that are happening for that wedding, it's always helpful to know that beforehand. I always love giving a shot list for anything. It just gives me peace of mind. So yeah, I would absolutely do that.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo let's just quickly talk about TikTok. I feel like as a 40 year old who's been in business for 20 plus years, I struggle to even understand and navigate TikTok. Should as a wedding vendor, should I be promoting on TikTok? Is that where you're getting your business or are you seeing that Instagram done well is sufficient?
Stacey M.So I will say that I get way more quality leads through Instagram. And when I was first starting my business, I definitely use TikTok more just because I didn't have as much wedding content to share as I do now. So I was doing a lot more like talking to camera, educational style videos on TikTok that did really well. But now for the content that we have that's from weddings that are a little bit more inspirational, those tend to do so much better on Instagram. So it's not too overwhelming, especially if you're just getting started with posting consistently on social focus on one platform. And I would say Instagram has more qualified leads for me. Focus on that one platform and then you could repurpose the content you're creating for Instagram and post on TikTok. That's kind of my strategy now. Not the best, but I know that I would feel super overwhelmed as a business owner if I had to create two different styles of content every week for two different platforms.
Heather Hoesch OlsenThat's kind of the answer I wanted without knowing it. Thank you so much. I don't want to go on TikTok. I just want to repost.
So thank you, Stacey, so much for your time.
You know, it's always interesting to watch people come into the wedding industry and kind of learn very quickly how hard it is, how you give your heart and your soul and many hours on your feet. And it's easy to overcommit and be burnt out, kind of lose yourself in this. And you've been really honest about how quickly you've grown and how it's been really challenging, whether that's commitment or energy or perfectionism. So how are you kind of shifting and refocusing this year?
Stacey M.I think I might've mentioned this before we started recording, but starting the business in January of 2023, of course, I wasn't sure, if it would take off as it has. So I was saying yes to everything. And with that, I took on so many weddings last year in 2024. And I think it was anywhere from three to five weddings a month, which is every single weekend.
I was traveling a lot and by the end of last year, I felt completely exhausted and burnt out. I wasn't focusing on my relationships or my health. I didn't work out all last year and it just made me realize that it's so important to prioritize balance in your life. And I know that you're never going to achieve perfect balance, but even just staying consistent with daily things that you know can take you away from your phone, can take you away from your email.
I was definitely one of those people that was waking up and the second I woke up, I was checking my email. I was checking social media. And so just being intentional about blocking out even days where you're like, okay, today is not an email checking day. I'll get through my inbox two days out of the week. I've really had to set those boundaries in place. But it's hard as an entrepreneur because you're passionate about what you're doing and you love what you're doing. And I had to actually say no to a lot of weddings at the beginning of this year, even though we were getting inquiries, which is a great place to be. But I knew that myself and even my team needed that break. And so I had to actively say no for things that I really wanted to do. But I knew that I want to do this for the long, long haul. And we only have so much energy to give. And I want to still show up for my friendships and my relationships and personal things other than this business. But that comes with actually intentionally making that space. It's not just going to happen. And a lot of people have told me that if you don't do that, then usually at the most inopportune time, your body will decide to do it for you. So I think that's really important for entrepreneurs, especially working in the wedding industry. It's the hardest thing I've ever done.
Heather Hoesch OlsenIt's just so much.
Stacey M.It's a lot, it's long hours. The longest wedding that I've ever done where I was capturing was 16 hours and I had to recover for two weeks and I was horizontal for like five days after that.
Heather Hoesch OlsenPlanners especially, we have the longest days and the longest weeks, especially if it's a really long weekend. And I just think that it's such good advice that you're sharing that, you really have to pause and stop and be intentional. And so what are some of the things that you're doing to kind of buy back your time? What systems are you implementing? What tools are you using to make sure that you actually have the time for yourself?
Stacey M.This year we've implemented Dubsado into all of our backend processes. I’ve done my two hour intensive training to kind of integrate and migrate everything over because I was doing everything manually through my Gmail. That was like my task list and Google Drive and all of that was creating my own contracts and invoices and everything was just very manual. And I knew that if we wanted to scale and set a strong foundation for the long term, we would need to have a better CRM system in place. Dubsado has been one. I actually have an assistant that helps with booking travel for the team. She manages the inquiries inbox. So delegating a little bit more and not feeling like I need to have a tight hold and grip on every single part of the business.
Heather Hoesch OlsenSo good. Well, thank you, Stacey, so much for sharing your story and your insight. For all of you planners listening, go make sure that you are getting content on your weddings from the professional. Thank you, Stacey, so much. Be well. Talk soon. Bye.
Stacey M.Thank you, bye.
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