S3E2: Capturing All Your Details with PS Cobia Photography

DJ Josh is big on making your wedding YOUR wedding. How else would you be able to make it a Highlight!? Pevee Cobia from PS Cobia Photography has a similar philosophy! Her goal is to be totally invested in you as a couple and be 1000% there to capture all the moments that will tell your story as it unfolds.

In addition to talking all things wedding, Josh and Pevee also chatted about the difference in cultural dynamics between the US and Asia, how their spouses help balance them out, and (for their fellow wedding pros) defining your why in your goal for income (or do you REALLY need to hit six figures???).

All that and more are discussed in this week's episode.

Make sure to click that subscribe button, so you don't miss an episode. And if you haven't left a review, DJ Josh would appreciate it! He might even read it on a future podcast! To reach DJ Josh, email him at  josh@highlightweddingsandevents.com.

The intro and outro for this Highlight Weddings & Events Podcast were both edited and produced by DropHouse Voiceover Production Studio and Tony Tee Neto, Voiceover Artist & Audio Producer. For more info on branding elements, editing, and post-production services, visit http://drophouse.com.

The song used for the intro and outro for this episode is Crush by https://audiohub.com License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)  

Transcript

[00:00:00] Josh Woeckener: This is season three, episode two of Make Your Wedding a Highlight. My name is Josh Woeckener from Highlight Weddings and Events. My guest today is Pevee Cobia from PS Cobia Photography. 

[00:00:11] Tony "Tee" Neto: If you're getting ready to or already in the process of planning your wedding, you've come to the right place. DJ Josh, owner of Highlight Weddings and Events, interviews other local 30A wedding pros to offer insight about how to make your wedding a highlight.

[00:00:28] Josh Woeckener: Hello again. Thanks for checking out the podcast. Again, my name is Josh Woeckener from Highlight Weddings and Events, and I have an awesome guest today. Her name is Pevee Cobia from PS Cobia Photography. How are you doing today, Pevee? 

[00:00:40] Pevee Cobia: I'm doing so good. Thank you so much for having me on, Josh. 

[00:00:43] Josh Woeckener: Oh, my pleasure. My pleasure. And the awesome thing is yes, we have been following each other on Instagram for like months now, I think, right? 

[00:00:53] Pevee Cobia: Yeah. For quite a while. 

[00:00:54] Josh Woeckener: But we actually met IRL. At the WIPA Northwest Florida town hall, which is really awesome. I enjoyed it cause we haven't had like a wedding professional networking event in, over a year, I think.

[00:01:09] Pevee Cobia: Yeah. Ages. I had so much fun over there. I just love talking to people in general. This past year has really put a damper on all of us. And so getting to actually meet people in real life, talk to people, and just networking in general, so much fun.

[00:01:23] Josh Woeckener: I'm not a huge fan of networking per se, but I definitely wanted to interact with wedding professionals outside of the event context. you don't really have a ton of downtime to be like, "Hey, how's it going? How are the kids?" Whatever is going on in life kinda thing. 

[00:01:39] Pevee Cobia: No, absolutely. I'm kind of the same way. I'm networking is one thing, but it's just getting to know people on another level. I just, I love that part. So 

[00:01:47] Josh Woeckener: Yeah. Okay. If you don't mind, would you let the listeners know who you are and how did you get to this point in your career?

[00:01:53] Pevee Cobia: Absolutely. Okay. So everybody, my name is Pevee Cobia, and I'm a fine-art wedding, destination photographer. And I am located along 30A. And how did I get here? I was always a dreamer and observer all my life. I remember sitting in my car just watching the clouds for 30 minutes after I would get home from high school. And I swear, my dad would look at me like I was crazy. I was that person that would sit in the grass and look at the blades of grass and looking at all the details of everything. Yeah, I was a complete nerd and weirdo growing up, but. I feel like that was just my creativity and myself. 

But, I learned how to work a camera and about 2008. I was an avid traveler and photographed a ton of landscapes whenever I would travel. That was my thing. Whenever I would travel, I would make sure that we had some time to get some shots of these epic locations. Love that part. And I. was that girl with the good camera, for headshots or family stuff.

And it just grew from there. 

[00:02:52] Josh Woeckener: And back in the late two thousands cameras weren't as affordable as they are now. 

[00:02:59] Pevee Cobia: Yeah. I started off with just a little DSLR, $500 camera. But it was complex for me, cause I was using this little point and shoot before that, 

[00:03:08] Josh Woeckener: Oh man. Yeah. Back in the day where you had to wait until your film got developed before you could tell if it was a good picture or not

[00:03:16] Pevee Cobia: Oh, yeah, the little Walmart. I miss those. 

[00:03:20] Josh Woeckener: It was just, that was part of the experience of "Oh, man. I wonder how my picture turned out. Or even forgetting like the pictures told. Cause only had 24 on a roll, but they were only like a dollar or something like that. So you could just get a whole bunch of them. 

[00:03:33] Pevee Cobia: Yes, I miss that. So freaking much.

[00:03:36] Josh Woeckener: Yeah, that was fun. Oh, the good old days. 

[00:03:39] Pevee Cobia: I actually have a camera coming in today and it's an old 35 millimeter camera where you load the film and everything.

You know, I've been shooting film for a while, but I've been wanting a camera to bring with me as I travel where I literally just point and shoot it. And I'm not overly thinking it, "Is the composition good?" Or whatever. I just want to be more in the moment. And yeah, I got myself a little pocket, 35 millimeter film camera. 

[00:04:04] Josh Woeckener: Nice. 

[00:04:05] Pevee Cobia: So I'm excited about that. 

[00:04:06] Josh Woeckener: Cool. You mentioned that you were the girl with the good camera. How did you get into doing wedding photography? 

[00:04:15] Pevee Cobia: So I actually had a friend who married Caleb and I, and they had a daughter who was getting married and they reached out to me while I was on vacation. And They pitched me and said, "Hey, you know, my daughter's getting married. She could only feel her so much. We know that you love photography. What do you think about shooting her wedding?" And for my first thoughts is "Oh, hell no. That is just too much. That is just too intimidating. That is a person's wedding day. I don't like that pressure on myself. Just a lot of self doubt." And mainly because it's just, imposter syndrome thinking you can't do it right. And yeah, I was just so intimidated, but then I voiced it over to my husband and my father-in-law. 

And my husband, he's always been a supporter. He's actually wanted me to quit my job and go into photography like way long ago. But, I was always very doubtful and I've always been a secure person that wanted stability. And I voiced this over to my father-in-law, which, a second voice is really, what does it, and I remember him telling me, he was just like, "Pevee, just buy the equipment. You will never regret it. And so I did. Like I was just so into the business expenses and the cost of cameras and all that stuff, like good quality cameras, I was just so doubtful. But hearing him say that really helped me a lot. 

[00:05:29] Josh Woeckener: How much did you end up having to spend to start in wedding photography?

[00:05:35] Pevee Cobia: I would say roughly, maybe around five grand. Yeah. Yeah, that's just the equipment I'm thinking, just like some good lenses and a good body. Of course, I feel it's grown so much from there, but just to start off, I feel like I shelled out about five or six grand.

[00:05:52] Josh Woeckener: and I can understand why you would be hesitant because you haven't really done a business plan or thought through any of the business formation stuff which, if you're not an entrepreneur, that's so much work in it of itself and just going for it is always scary.

But I've learned that you're ready when you think you are. 

[00:06:12] Pevee Cobia: Right. No, exactly. And I would say the business aspect, like it's not that hard, it's just actually doing it and doing your research on what to do for it because they don't teach this stuff in school, 

[00:06:22] Josh Woeckener: But the cool thing is is

We have the internet, you can learn pretty much anything you need to know. 

[00:06:27] Pevee Cobia: Absolutely. And that's exactly what I did. 

[00:06:30] Josh Woeckener: And you just have to be comfortable with good enough, which is very hard. 

[00:06:32] Pevee Cobia: Oh my gosh, yes. It doesn't start off. Perfect. Never starts off. Perfect. 

[00:06:37] Josh Woeckener: No, at all. It's like with anything when I started this podcast, my first episodes I cringe when I listened to them actually. But they're still out there on the internet, but like with anything. When you start, you're going to suck, but you're going to get better as you do it. And that's the cool thing about doing something creative, either being a wedding photographer or as a DJ MC. For me is you will kind of being outside of yourself and watching your progression is cool because you can always progress more and add more like just artistry or applying new different principles in that kind of stuff to what you do. 

[00:07:17] Pevee Cobia: 1000 freaking percent. I know when I first started, I was very, proud of myself for the stuff that I was doing. " Oh, this is pretty good. Awesome. I did a great job." And of course five years later I was like, "Dang, that sucks." But, you know what? That was a start. 

[00:07:31] Josh Woeckener: Yeah, 

[00:07:32] Pevee Cobia: You know? Just getting there and actually doing it is the biggest thing. And that's what I definitely tell people who are wanting to start something, anything, it doesn't matter. Just get the process started.

And yeah, I love that you said that it's just never perfect because it never is. But the fact that you're starting it, gives you motivation and revs the engine up to get things going. 

[00:07:51] Josh Woeckener: So what excites you about being a part of a couple's wedding event team? 

[00:07:55] Pevee Cobia: I will say my favorite part for sure is being able to tell their story. Like that's the cheesiest thing that anybody can ever say, and I'm sure every photographer videographer will ever say, but it's so true. I love telling their story. And I feel like every couple has their own story. They can have the same colors as my couple last week. They could even have the same venue that I shot at last week, but their story is completely different. And that 1000% is my favorite part of this job and learning who the clients are and what their story is together and putting the pieces together to create gallery and photographic storyline is definitely my favorite thing.

[00:08:35] Josh Woeckener: Yeah. I enjoy that as well. But partly, it is a selfish reason because if I did the same wedding every weekend, it would get really boring for me for one. one of my goals when I'm part of a wedding is I want their guests, when they leave or when they think back to Scott and Margaret's wedding, I want them to be like, "That was totally them." Everything about that night, whether it's the decor, whether it's the songs that they picked for the different formal dances or the open dancing. I want it to be something that fits into their story. So I don't think that's cheesy at all.

And I think that couples want that as part of their wedding. 

[00:09:14] Pevee Cobia: As far as one of my favorite things is doing like the detailed photos and it's not just the invitation details, which I definitely do love. 

[00:09:21] Josh Woeckener: You do very well by the way. You're flat lays are on point. 

[00:09:25] Pevee Cobia: Thank you so much. I love putting together, like their little pieces that they've gathered throughout the year of planning their wedding, whether it be their florals or their invitations, their colors. Like next year I have a wedding with a woman pilot in the Navy. And so she wants, yeah, she wants to get like F 16, figurines put like in the flat lays and stuff just to make it more them. And I love that so much.

But along with flat lays, I love telling the story of the surrounding too. If you're getting married over in seaside, I want to get all those little details. I want to capture pictures of the beach, captures the pictures of your favorite spots and little things that make seaside. And so I love all of that. 

[00:10:04] Josh Woeckener: Okay and that kind of ties into my next question. So how do you make a couples engagement and wedding experience a highlight? 

[00:10:11] Pevee Cobia: Okay. So I'm definitely there for them a hundred percent. And I want to say that I'm a really laid back person and personable. I hope that's like a humble brag. Like I'm not trying to reset myself in any way, but. super laid back and I get that feedback a lot from my clients. They just say you're pretty professional.

Like you're really professional, but you're just so chill. left that because I want my couples to be extremely comfortable around me. And that's when I captured like the magic. That's what I captured them being their truest self is whenever they're comfortable around me, comfortable with everything that's going on.

 But As far as experience goes, I want them know that they have full access to me and knowledge in the industry. And I give them like full details of everything. I send them emails on tips for outfit choices, engagement sessions, and how to make their sessions stand out. I send them a full 30 page document when they hired me and have wedding advice on timelines on how to make their day run smoothly. Just setting up for the day, I just want to make sure that they know that I'm there for them. And I have to send some gifts here and there as if they know that I'm thinking about them and appreciate them for having me there and having their trust in me.

[00:11:15] Josh Woeckener: What I've found is there are typically two different types of wedding professionals. There are the take charge, this is how things are going to be. And then there are the laid back, like tai Chi where they just go with the flow.

Of the events. And there isn't a lot of in-between, if that makes sense. You're either one or the other. I'm very much for instance, the timeline is not written in stone. If we have to move things that I'm completely fine with that because I would much rather stick with the moment that we are currently experiencing and then just let the next moment happen naturally. Instead of seeing the timeline as, "Oh, this is how it's going to happen. So we're just gonna go to the next thing as soon as possible. But everybody has their own style and it works for them. And I actually do appreciate if there's a coordinator or another wedding professional, who is very much " Hey, we need to do it like this because I can totally adapt to them in that energy. And it doesn't really throw me off 

[00:12:18] Pevee Cobia: I will say I am type a on the inside and laid back on the outside. Does that make sense? 

[00:12:24] Josh Woeckener: No. That doesn't make any sense at all. Why do you think that is? 

[00:12:27] Pevee Cobia: I'm very OCD when it comes to things I'm very OCD. I like things a certain way and whatnot, but I'm able to go with the flow and go with how things are going, like I just want things to be chill and calm on the outside, I guess. I want everybody to feel calm and relaxed. Inside I'm like, "Okay, so we're running 20 minutes late. I can hold it back. 

[00:12:55] Josh Woeckener: Huh. Are you FIlipino? 

[00:12:58] Pevee Cobia: I am. 

[00:12:58] Josh Woeckener: Ah, yes. My wife is Filipino as well. She does the, I think that person's Filipino, like even when we're watching a show, she'll be like that person's Filipino and she'll look them up on Google.

But the reason why I asked that is because. In Filipino culture it's not direct in terms of how they interact with people. They don't want to embarrass themselves or somebody else.

That might have something to do with why you're OCD on the inside of your ear more go with the flow on the outside. When COVID happened last year, Rhoda was like, "Ah, man. I really want to visit my parents." Cause they're in their seventies. And she wants to be able to spend more time. And she was like, yeah, I'm going to go there like every other month that dah, and then COVID happened. we were talking to her parents and her mom was like, "Oh, you guys don't have to really come if you don't want to." and I didn't think anything of it. They live in Milledgeville, Georgia. So they're about six hours away. And so I didn't really think any of it. And in my head, I was like, oh man, we could totally surprise them. It'd be great. That, duh. And then we talked to them again a week later and they said the same thing.

And I was like, " Babe, I know you really want to visit them. But they really don't want us to come just because they repeated it again. Still very polite. It was basically don't freaking come. because of the whole COVID thing. And I totally understood it. We actually got to see them a month ago for the first time. That was nice. 

[00:14:19] Pevee Cobia: That totally makes sense though, because see I'm an anneagram 2. And I know that has to do a lot with my culture. I'm a people pleaser. And like that has a lot to do with, our culture as Asians and everything. not just Filipinos in general. It's just we don't want to. We want to make people comfortable. We don't want to make ourselves look bad or thing, and so it's yeah. Trying to appease the people. 

[00:14:40] Josh Woeckener: And also the expectation that what you do impacts your family, or it reflects on your family and your parents and your grandparents.

And yeah. So the interesting thing between the Asian culture and the American culture Americans very much like your individual, you do what you want. Whereas with the Asian culture, it's, if you do this thing, you're going to reap all these other repercussions. The dynamic from where you're from and your family is just very interesting.

I'm actually an anneagram three. I think, yeah. And Rhoda is a seven. She's very much about all the experiences. And stuff. 

[00:15:21] Pevee Cobia: I would say my husband is definitely off set me on that for sure, because he's always been that person doesn't give a shit about what people think, he does his own thing.

Like he's an individual person, and I appreciate that so much because I've never had that. I've always been a person that always cared about what other people thought always cared about, what people thought of me, what people think about what's around me or whatever. And so it's just, yeah, it's definitely helped me a lot being married to him. 

[00:15:48] Josh Woeckener: Yeah. we were trying to figure out who I was and I kept getting numbers that I was like, that does not sound like me. So we finally decided I was a three and apparently three and seven is like the perfect. complimented each other.

Just from how we are interacting wise, she's very much pushes and then I reign her in. I'm not emotional at all. I'm very even keeled and she can be a little bit more emotional, but the good thing is she'll get me to do things where I would probably be like, "Meh. I'll get to it later. It's not a big deal."

[00:16:21] Pevee Cobia: That's so funny. That's the exact same, like I'll, I'm actually very, again, very emotional. And so he does the same thing and we were just talking about this last night, is that I am very much of person that loves to travel, loves to experience things and stuff too. And so I get him out of his shell because he was very much of a homebody. He can care less, but yet, he's a very personable person. If you see him out and he's around people, like he's not, I wouldn't say life's the party, but he's not shy. He will talk to anybody, but he likes his routine in his home. And I do too. I'm very much of a routine person, but I like to go out and travel. That's my thing. I love to go and see the world. And I want him, especially like my son I want him to experience things and see different cultures and see how different things are in different areas of the country and appreciate, where we are, what we have 

[00:17:05] Josh Woeckener: Yeah. Rhoda's the same way.

 We were supposed to go to Scandinavia in July of last year and that didn't happen, obviously because of COVID. And she's been like, "I want to go places. I want to do things." I'm like, "Baby, we gotta wait, unfortunately. So speaking of COVID everyone has a unique experience dealing and adapting to COVID, but yours had an impact on you and how you run your business.

Can you share more about that? 

[00:17:31] Pevee Cobia: Absolutely. I feel like everybody has a long answer to this, honestly. I dunno COVID was such a weird time, but I feel like Florida being Florida, everybody was coming down here, to elope and have weddings because they were like, " Screw it. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of all this. Let's just go down somewhere where we can get married, plus they have beaches. Why not?" So I actually was insanely busy last year. It was great. 

And so I came out in the green last year, which is, a very fortunate thing to be in, especially during that time. There were so many people where they had to shut down their businesses or, had to take out loans or whatever to sustain their life. But we were not in that position, which I'm so grateful for. With the unknowns of last year or like anything that came in 2021, I was saying yes to. I was just like, "You get a car. You get a car. Yes. Yes. You get a session. Course I'll do that wedding. I don't care. I have three sessions, three weddings that weekend. It's fine. I'll do it." And so yeah, I had zero boundaries on myself this year and I wouldn't say I regret it. It was very much of a learning, process. And I also said yes to everything because my husband actually got into nursing school last year.

He's quit his day job which he was a teacher. And so that left everything on me. And as a creative, That's a hard pill to swallow, it's not like I have the stability of like possible job that I had, so yeah, of course I said yes to everything, but I will say the money was amazing, but oh my gosh, I was running on empty this past spring.

And I'm sure you saw on my Instagram, like I was just shooting weddings. Like every other day. 

[00:19:06] Josh Woeckener: You were very busy. I was super impressed. 

[00:19:08] Pevee Cobia: I worked all week, all month, editing, meeting deadlines and emails, but like barely see my family. It definitely killed me. definitely had to make some changes with myself in general. And a lot of that. I feel hit me in may, like right after the spring, because it just hit me so hard with how busy I was. And so in may, I actually went to a business retreat with my mastermind group that I'm, I've been doing this year. And it brought me back to my foundation and what it made me realize, my why. And not only my wild, why am I doing this? But like the why and my number. 

And every beginning of the year I put down a goal of how much I would like to bring in. But I never really thought about why I chose that number. I just said, okay, I want this much because I do. That's going to make me successful.

 I feel like we all choose six figures. Like we want to hit that six figure mark, because. We all want to be successful and making six figures makes us look like we're being successful in our business. So one goal was to surpass my income and my previous job in healthcare.

And I did that. After that, like I just wanted to reach more. You always hear people say that more isn't the answer, but it's hard to see that when you're growing a business and you want to be deemed as like a successful business owner like through your numbers. why is that? Why is that? 

But I realized that the more and the numbers doesn't equal happiness for me. And yeah, like happiness to me is time with my family and finding balance between that and love my job. So that really. This past spring really hit me hard and really had me setting my boundaries. 

[00:20:45] Josh Woeckener: Yeah. It's funny when you talk about a successful business.

I think a lot of times, and this is just life in general, we just pick something that we think everybody else either wants to go for or oh yeah, I'll totally impress these people, but. You don't really look at it from what makes sense for you, because yeah. And the cool thing about it, it's a success, as you can define it, how ever you want. For some people, if they don't have a family, yet success for them could be being extremely busy and working their butt off. And then having a week where they just go somewhere on vacation or for you, like you said, success is being able to have the time to budget to be able to spend with your family and still do what you love. And I think that focusing just on the number it's empty when you hit it.

It's oh, I made it yay. Now then it's like, when a dog chases a car, when the dog gets to the car, it's. Now, what do I do?

[00:21:55] Pevee Cobia: You hear that time and time again. I listen to so many business podcasts and whatever, and they all talk about that, but it's just it doesn't really hit home until you actually do it yourself. You're like, all right, so that really, wasn't my big goal, like why do I feel so empty after, that? Like, okay. I did it. Now what? It definitely, made me realize a whole lot this past year. And so definitely just restructuring things and setting boundaries for myself to make myself truly happy in all aspects and not just monetary wise. 

[00:22:28] Josh Woeckener: Another thing that will help is if you have not just, okay, what do I want to do this year, but where am I trying to get in five or 10 years?

Because then you can be like, okay, I want to get to this point. So, how do I get there? So you have, it's more of a, stepping stone to that place. And the cool thing about it is that you can have that as your initial goal, but then as you're working toward it, you'd be like, oh, maybe I don't necessarily want to go in that direction and you can pivot and reorient yourself.

But if you're only, focused on that one year, it feels like a long time when you're in the middle of it, but once you get to the end of the year, then you're like, okay, now what now? What am I going to do? So it makes it hard. 

[00:23:09] Pevee Cobia: Absolutely. having a plan is everything.

And just knowing why you're doing it. And that's where I was going to talk into next. What, like I talked about the why in your number, and it was a concept that I got from my friends, Ty Pentecost from the retreat that I went to and it just hit me really hard and not just me, it hit everybody pretty hard because it's.

We just keep on saying yes to all these things, but it's just like, why are we doing it? We have to say yes to all these things, and so she talked about the why in your number and calculating how much you need per month. This isn't just bills. Like this is your goals, say you want to buy a house in two years and say, how much the house that you were budgeting for is $300,000 $300,000 broken down 20% down payment is 60,000. And when you break that down per month, it's 2,500 extra a month you need to save up for that down payment, you know? And so just really getting down to the nitty gritty and seeing exactly why you want to make this much money really puts it down and I don't know, like just really hits home with like, why are you even doing this in the first place?

If you say like you have that 2,500 for that down payment for the household, plus you save for tuition, plus you save for your actual bills and then you stop at that number. And you're like, okay, I made that much. All right. I don't have to say yes to that. I don't have to say yes to that next wedding. That's where I feel like setting the boundaries because, it's just really changed the way I look at everything. 

[00:24:30] Josh Woeckener: Well, and another thing that helps that at least not saying yes to everything is figuring out what your ideal situation is in terms of for instance photography: what kind of weddings do you want to be a part of? What kind of brides do you enjoy working with? And then you can filter whether or not you say yes to that person by having that initial discovery meeting or conversation. And if it's somebody who you're like, "I really don't think I'm the right fit for them. You can say that. Yes. if you recognize that you're not going to be a good fit for them, it's beneficial for you because you're not having to subject yourself to a situation where you're not going to do your best and also is a benefit to them because then they are freed up to actually find the right photographer for them.

So it's good for everybody. 

[00:25:22] Pevee Cobia: Absolutely. I, 1000% agree. It just makes it so that you're more selective on your client. And at the same time, it's just being more selective so that you can put more of your time and energy into them, versus, doing a million other things, I definitely found that this past year. And so I'm really excited. 

I've only been, I would say I've been off for the past, like month from weddings. I've been shooting sessions and everything, but then like about the past month, then off from weddings. And I see my friends photographing weddings and I'm like, "oh my God, I miss it." It's. So weird. I'm like, "oh my gosh, I want to shoot a wedding!"

 But I don't know, like I'm so excited about this fall because I have less. But then to me, less is more where I get to really put my time and energy into them and focus on them more. So I'm really excited. 

[00:26:10] Josh Woeckener: You get to recharge and I will admit I'm not very good at resting.

Um, There's another DJ that I'm friends with on Instagram. He's actually Tony T Neto. He's with S C E event group. He is the busiest wedding DJ I've ever met. Not only does he do deejaying, but he also did the voiceover for the podcast. He does voiceover work. He does a whole bunch of stuff.

But I think the people that are successful, it's hard for us to not do anything because there's always things that we can do whether it's in what we do as a craft: whether photography or deejaying, or just in our business Like I need to work on marketing stuff and I should tweak my website. But my wife really enjoys spending time with me. It's one of those things where you have to be fine with good enough. Or just getting to where everything is taken care of as the best you can right then. And then get back to it when you have more free time.

Cause we only have, yeah, we only have 24 hours in the day, unfortunately. 

[00:27:20] Pevee Cobia: am so bad about not letting myself relax and not think about everything else. Like I'm always trying to be productive if there's 10 minutes in the day, I'm like, "what can I do? Oh, I can fold clothes. Maybe I'll do that. Like I'm always thinking about something to do productive. It doesn't have to be business-wise. It could be anything. Even when I play with my child, I'm playing with them and the next, like five minutes, I'm like, oh, I could wash dishes. And it's terrible. Like, I really need to shut that off and really be in the moment and be present because it's so hard to do. And I feel like That's a lot to do with us being American. 

[00:27:53] Josh Woeckener: Well, it has to do for me, it's like technology because anybody can reach you whenever, because of everything's connected, so there's that. It's just the temptation to be on social media, I think for, as a business owner, it's oh I can take care of this thing while we're watching a show, not really paying attention to the show or that you're not getting that quality time. Because you're off doing something else. 

[00:28:16] Pevee Cobia: Oh yeah, those distractions are huge. And I have to actively tell myself just leave your phone on the charger and don't look at it, take this hour off of any kind of technology. Cause I'm the same way. Scrolling Instagram for hours. And what does that do for yourself?

[00:28:30] Josh Woeckener: Yeah I think I do more stories than scrolling, just cause you don't have swipe or anything. You could just, they just run. Anyway, so PV, thank you so much for sharing about yourself as a wedding professional. Would you mind answering some personal questions? 

[00:28:45] Pevee Cobia: I don't mind it. 

[00:28:46] Josh Woeckener: First question is, what did you want to be when you grew up? 

[00:28:49] Pevee Cobia: I wanted to be a pediatrician. 

[00:28:51] Josh Woeckener: Nice. Why? 

[00:28:52] Pevee Cobia: I wanted to be a pediatrician because I grew up with my mom babysitting kids when I was little, so I loved babies. That was my, I love babies. I still do. The baby stage is like one of my favorite stages. And yeah, I grew up wanting to do that. Veered off from doing that because I realized that pediatricians. I feel like there's a lot that the problem is more of the parents than the children. And so I didn't want to tough to deal with that, but I went into healthcare for a little bit. Anyways, I did something. 

[00:29:21] Josh Woeckener: What is one piece of advice you would give a newlywed couple? 

[00:29:24] Pevee Cobia: One piece of advice. Newlywed couple. I would say to really enjoy that engagement period, don't rush into the whole wedding planning thing, because there's a lot. And one of the myths it's so much, it's so much.

And my biggest advice for any couple though, once they start planning is to hire a planner, they will save your life.

[00:29:45] Josh Woeckener: Yes, they will. 

[00:29:46] Pevee Cobia: The thing is that people don't understand like, oh, there's a lot of money, but you know what? They have so much knowledge in things that they will actually save you money in the end. 

[00:29:56] Josh Woeckener: And time and effort and yes.

Yes. You are preaching. 

[00:30:03] Pevee Cobia: Just hire the planner. From my own experience, like I hired a planner for my wedding and it was like, I didn't have to, lift a finger on my wedding day, which is what you want. 

[00:30:11] Josh Woeckener: Yep. One of my other goals for a wedding is that I want the bride and the groom to be guests at their wedding so they can just enjoy it and remember the memories and not have to be like, oh, we need to fix that thing. Because then they get pulled out of the moments and they're yeah. It's just, yeah. 

Okay. Anyway, Pevee, how can a couple reach out to you to start the conversation in possibly having you be a part of their wedding event team? 

[00:30:42] Pevee Cobia: You can reach me at pscobia.com and I would say the platform that you could reach me at the best is Instagram, you can DM me or you can email me and yeah.

Hit me up. 

[00:30:54] Josh Woeckener: Okay. What's the Instagram handle? 

[00:30:57] Pevee Cobia: @pscobia. 

[00:30:58] Josh Woeckener: And then what would be a good email address? 

[00:31:02] Pevee Cobia: PScobia@gmail.com. 

[00:31:05] Josh Woeckener: All right. Pevee, thanks so much for stopping by and chatting with me today. I really enjoyed the conversation. 

[00:31:11] Pevee Cobia: Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure and I really appreciate you for reaching out and having this conversation with me today.

[00:31:19] Josh Woeckener: I look forward to catching up with you on September 15th, which is the next WIPA meeting. And for all you wedding pros out there wipa.org to find out more information about how you can join. Here's all the couples that are in the process of planning their weddings and here's to making those weddings a highlight. 

[00:31:42] Tony "Tee" Neto: Thanks for stopping by and checking out the podcast. If you like what you've heard, please subscribe and leave a review. It'll help other couples just like you find it for more resources, including our helpful blog check, highlight weddings and events.com. Highlight weddings and events.com and make your wedding highlight.