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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
29 episodes
Episode 28 How The Right Vendor Team Makes Or Breaks Your Wedding: Aalea from The Booking House
What if your wedding day felt calm, focused, and fun from first look to last dance? We sat down with Aalea, the no-nonsense wedding coordinator at The Booking House, to reveal how great timelines, strong vendor teams, and clear priorities turn ...
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Season 1
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Episode 28
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51:18
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Episode 27 Inside A Year-One Venue: Harmony Forge Inn
A Zillow link, a river view, and a leap of faith—this is the story of how Billy and Kasey took Harmony Forge Inn from a hidden property to a weekend wedding venue couples will remember for years. We open up about the first chaotic weddings, the...
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Season 1
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Episode 27
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57:17
Episode 26 Where Drinks Meet Moments: Megs Winnie Bar
The heartbeat of a great reception isn’t the timeline—it’s the bar that keeps people laughing, mingling, and dancing. We’re joined by Meg, the craft-minded force behind Winnie Bar, to unpack how a thoughtful, well-run bar can transform the enti...
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38:23
Episode 25 Why Hiring Your Planner First Can Save Your Wedding: Blake Events
A planner who never meant to be a planner built a 15-person team and now steers 170+ weddings a year—and she’s here to tell you exactly how. Taryn of Blake Events takes us behind the curtain to show why calm leadership, clear systems, and hones...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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1:01:52
Episode 24 Presence Over Perfection: Rethinking Wedding Photography: Hannah Constein Photography
What if the best wedding photos happen when we stop chasing perfection and start protecting presence? We sit down with photographer Hannah Constein to unpack how a people-first approach shapes the entire day—from the first hello with vendors to...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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1:10:06
Episode 23 From A Basement Of Decor To Full-Service, Custom Rentals: Nittany Valley Events
What if your wedding rentals felt crafted for you instead of copied from a catalog? We sit down with Rob and Aly of Nittany Valley Events to explore how a basement trove of decor grew into a flexible, custom-forward rental company serving coupl...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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49:10
Episode 22 How A Hair Studio Builds Stress-Free Wedding Mornings: Ardor and Sage Weddings
The mood of a wedding starts long before the aisle. It begins in a room full of coffee cups, curling irons, and quiet nerves—and that’s where Jen from Ardor & Sage shines. We invited her to share how a nine-person studio turns hair and make...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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52:27
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
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