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The Preferred List: A Wedding Vendor Podcast
The Preferred List is a podcast that pulls back the curtain on the wedding industry, featuring honest conversations with the pros behind the scenes. From planners to photographers to DJs and florists, we dive into the real stories, lessons, and moments that make weddings unforgettable — and what it really takes to earn a spot on the list.
Episodes
22 episodes
Episode 21 How Wedding Photos Become Family History: Juliana Tomlinson Photography
What if the most “luxurious” thing about your wedding photos isn’t the price tag, but how deeply they make you feel years later? We sit down with photographer and educator Juliana Tomlinson to explore story-first shooting, movement prompts that...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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1:04:47
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Episode 20 Building A Thoughtful Wedding Venue Experience From Scratch: Hazelwood Weddings
If your venue is the backdrop to every photo, shouldn’t it also be the backbone of a calm, guest-friendly celebration? We sit down with Kate from Hazelwood Weddings to trace how a teacher and a finance pro built a modern, non-barn venue that pr...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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55:14
Episode 19 From LA To Pennsylvania, Building A Bridal Beauty Brand: Amanda Ryan Hair and Makeup
Your wedding morning sets the tone for everything that follows, so we brought in Amanda from Amanda Ryan Hair and Makeup to show how soft, relaxed beauty and smart planning can transform chaos into calm. From her LA roots to her Pennsylvania cl...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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36:08
Episode 18 Serve The Day, Then Capture It: Ashley Warren Photography
The best wedding days feel lived-in, not staged—and that starts with the people behind the camera. We sit down with Ashley, a wedding photographer who came to the industry through youth ministry and event planning, to unpack how a service-first...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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1:04:47
Episode 17 From Side Hustle To Story-Driven Wedding Films: Wayfinder Films
A wedding film shouldn’t try to outshine your wedding day. It should take you back there. James sits down with filmmaker Ben Mon of Wayfinder Films to unpack how a slow, intentional path—from nine favors in 2020 to full-time in 2025—shaped a pe...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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56:00
Episode 16 Your Ceremony, Your Voice: The Brofficiant
What if your ceremony felt unmistakably like you—without forcing you to perform? We sit down with Leroy, the “bro” officiant behind Proficient, to unpack how he turns a familiar ceremony structure into a personal, present, and effortless experi...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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40:30
Episode 15 From Nightclubs To Best Night Of Your Life: Mint DJ Events & DJ Alex Nepa
The best wedding parties feel electric yet effortless, and that doesn’t happen by accident. James sits down with DJ Alex Nepa to unpack how a club-trained mixer brings real energy to weddings without sacrificing polish, timing, or taste. From b...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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52:52
Episode 14 Comfort And Craft: Lewisburg Studio by Melo Foto
A single beam of light in a dusty barn changed everything. That’s the moment Melanie realized wedding photography wasn’t just a skill set—it was a calling to protect fleeting minutes, calm anxious rooms, and translate love into images that last...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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50:42
Episode 13 From Family Estate To Dream Venue: The Barn At Silverstone
Some wedding days look effortless; the best ones are engineered that way. We sit with Miranda, owner of The Barn at Silverstone, to unpack how a historic family estate became a nationally recognized, guest-first wedding venue—and what actually ...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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51:32
Episode 12 Choose Presence Over Chaos: Treasured Events and Spruce Weddings and Events
Who’s actually in charge on your wedding day? If the honest answer is “us” or “our photographer,” this conversation will change your plan for the better. We sit with Taylor, an entrepreneur who runs both a planning company and a rentals brand, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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1:10:51
Episode 11 Baking Legacy to Wedding Joy: Gable House Bakery
A wedding cake once flew across the car—and that chaos became the catalyst for smarter structure, better delivery tactics, and a bakery that thrives on both art and systems. We sit down with Nikki of Gable House Bakery to trace a family legacy ...
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54:17
Episode 10 Rethinking Wedding Makeup: Vero Leigh
The morning of a wedding can feel like chaos or calm—and the beauty team often decides which way it goes. James sits down with Veronica, founder of Verily, to trace how a bathroom meltdown sparked a thriving wedding beauty business built on ser...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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47:58
Episode 9 From Hunt Films To Weddings: Strata Wedding Films
A single favor turned into a 13-year career, a stack of Vimeo links and DVDs gave way to story-driven highlights, and somewhere along the line wedding video stopped being an afterthought and started leading the must-book list. We sit down with ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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55:17
Episode 8 This Is Your Story: Gabe McMullen Photography
What makes a wedding photo unforgettable isn’t the trend or the preset—it’s the feeling you had when it was made. We sit down with photographer Gabe to trace his path from a $50 portrait to 250-plus weddings, and we unpack how trust, preparatio...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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1:13:18
Episode 7 Turn Stress Into Confidence: Love It At Stella's
The moment you step onto the platform, everything gets loud: opinions, trends, timelines, prices. So we brought in Angie and Grace from Stella’s to quiet the noise and show how a thoughtful stylist turns stress into confidence and a rack of dre...
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57:30
Episode 6 Art Teacher Turned Live Painter: Hannah Brauckmann Art
A painting can hold a feeling the way a photo can’t, and that’s exactly why we sat down with live wedding painter Hannah to unpack how memories become brushstrokes. From her leap out of the classroom into the aisle, she shares the unfiltered pa...
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1:01:28
Episode 5 Catering Designed Around Your Story: Farmacy Cafe and Catering
What if your wedding menu could tell your story as clearly as your vows? In this episode I sit down with Brian, chef and owner of Pharmacy Cafe & Catering, to explore how custom, on‑site cooking turns food into a living memory—crispy fries ...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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37:53
Episode 4 It All Started at 15: Alexis Brooke Photography
Five minutes into this conversation, you can feel why couples trust Alexis Brooke with their wedding day. She’s the steady hand when timelines wobble, the calm voice when a dress rips or a groomsman loses a shoe, and the storyteller who knows w...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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1:07:52
Episode 3 Control the Controllables: Bethany Cowher Events
Some wedding days look effortless because someone else is quietly carrying the stress. We sat with planner Bethany Cower at Harmony Forge Inn to map the moves that keep families in the moment, timelines tight, and budgets honest—without losing ...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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1:05:25
Episode 2 How a Family Built a Luxury Wedding Venue: Historic Ashland
A stunning property nestled between Lancaster and York counties, Historic Ashland isn't just another wedding venue—it's a sanctuary where couples can truly be present on their most significant day. Owner Leah shares the remarkable journey of tr...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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1:07:29
Episode 1 From Architecture to Wedding Photography: Heather Marie Photography
Heather Leicy shares her journey from architecture to wedding photography, discovering her passion after her own wedding day when she realized a photographer's unique privilege to capture all loved ones gathered in one unrepeatable moment.<...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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46:21