Episode #36: My Kids Interview Me: Wedding Planning FAQs with Hannah

In this episode of More Than Just a Wedding, Jennifer Starr is joined by her daughter, Hannah Starr, for a fun and honest FAQ-style conversation about wedding planning, traditions, and what truly matters on a couple’s wedding day.

Hannah leads the episode by asking Jennifer a series of curated questions ranging from the biggest mistakes couples make when planning, to the pressure of trends, to the emotional meaning behind a wedding day.

Jennifer shares her perspective as a wedding planner with years of experience, breaking down why so many couples unintentionally start in the wrong place, and what foundation should come first before diving into vendors, design, or details.

They also talk about:

•  Why weather stress is often overblown (especially in Arizona) 
•  How personalized weddings really come together 
•  The most meaningful part of a wedding day experience 
•  Why traditions should be optional, not rules 
•  How couples can avoid a “Pinterest wedding” that doesn’t feel like them 
•  The importance of defining 3 clear priorities before planning anything 

The episode closes with a heartfelt reflection from Hannah on what the phrase “More Than Just a Wedding” means to her—highlighting that weddings are not just events, but the beginning of a new chapter in life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

I'm your host, Jennifer Starr, and this is More Than Just a Wedding, the podcast where we celebrate real people, real moments, and respective budgets. Let's make wedding planning feel a little more human.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

All right. Welcome back, everyone, to the More Than Just Wedding Podcast. I'm Jennifer Starr. I'm your host. Today we have my beautiful daughter, Hannah Starr. Hello. Joining us. So she's actually my eldest child by a handful of seconds.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

But you are um the last one in this little summer sequence of coming on the podcast. So thank you.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Of course. I welcome you on here.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Oh, yeah. This is your second time on the podcast. Yes. First time on video, but second time on the podcast. Yeah. Welcome back.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Thank y'all. Excited.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

All right. Miss Hannah Starr has taken a list of questions and chosen her top 10 to 12. Yeah. 10. 10. Okay. Do not know what she's going to ask me. And we're just going to do a little FAQ round and see how we do.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

Sound good? Sounds good. All right. Okay. First question. What's the biggest mistake couples make when they start planning?

SPEAKER_02 1:18

Oh. Biggest mistake. Oh my goodness. Okay. I'm very passionate about this particular part of the process right now. It's actually, I've created a new program called the Wedding Launchpad because this is such a hard part of the process. When couples get started, they just get so excited, and rightfully so, they don't know, they don't know what to do. So they immediately start doing, you name it, all the things before they have established their budget, before they have established their guest count, before they have established the desired, you know, time of the year that they would like to get married, they don't have their foundation set and they immediately start jumping into reaching out to vendors or shopping for the gown or you know, buying all the things. And I'm particularly passionate right now about getting our couples set with again the foundation of what they need to build on top of. So I think the question is the biggest mistakes is that they don't start off with what they need in order to move forward.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

All right. Next, what's one thing couples worry about that almost never ends up mattering?

SPEAKER_02 2:37

The weather. At least here in Arizona. Weather, uh, thankfully, doesn't tend to be a big issue for us. We have a lot of predictable weather, and that's why a lot of our destination couples come to Arizona for that reason. That being said, once in a while we do get tossed a doozy of a weekend, and we have to be prepared for that. But I would say weather is probably one thing that couples stress about quite a bit.

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Okay. How do you take someone's ideas and turn them into a real wedding? I love that part of it.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

You listen, you get to know them, you ask lots of questions, and then you figure out ways to artistically showcase who they are and what they love to do and what their story is. So it's just uh it's a process of getting to know them and then building their story and their design with all of those things in mind.

SPEAKER_01 3:39

Okay. What's the weirdest request a couple has ever made? The weirdest request. Oh goodness.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

First of all, I love a weird request. I love something that's off the beaten path that hasn't been done before. For a while there's been a trend with bringing animals to weddings. Oh yeah. We've had llamas, we've had the little uh beer burrows. Um, we've of course had family animals. I mean, I wouldn't call that weird. A friend of mine has an elephant coming to a wedding pretty soon. Uh or no, no, no, it's a camel. It's a camel coming to her wedding. Sounds different, unique, right? Um I don't know. I guess I guess weird kind of insinuates like a negative term, maybe. And I love anything that's unique and hasn't been done before. So you've got me stumped on that one. If I think of anything, I'll I'll circle back.

SPEAKER_01 4:53

Okay. All right. What do you hope your clients feel on their wedding day?

SPEAKER_02 4:59

Just all the love in the world that they deserve to feel. Just having everyone they love being the same place at the same time. There's no greater feeling than that. So I just hope that they can surrender enough with the plans to just fully feel that once in a lifetime warmth.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

It's it's very special. Okay. Sting, if you could give every engaged couple one piece of advice, what would it be?

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Start with your priorities. Talk to each other as a couple and really prioritize what matters the most to you. Write them down and put them in your wedding binder and look at them and remember what those priorities are. Sometimes the priority is we don't want to be limited on our guest count. We want to be able to invite anybody and everyone. And that's a beautiful priority, but we have to make sure that your budget is going to work. And so if you want to have a really large guest count, we have to make sure that all the other choices that you make, the financial choices, can still support that priority. Maybe the priority is just really incredible food and beverage, like the culinary experience is everything. So with that in mind, chances are that's going to be expensive, very high-end experience. So we need to prioritize that. And maybe that limits the guest count. Maybe you don't want to do a big band dance for. Maybe it's more of an intimate dinner party with just exceptional food. So I think again, prioritizing and knowing, and maybe it's not the same for both of you. Maybe one of you has something, another has, you know, something different, but knowing what those priorities are, pick three of them, no more than three, and stay true to those throughout the planning process.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Agreed. Okay. What's one wedding tradition couples should feel free to skip?

SPEAKER_02 7:08

A wedding tradition, couples should honestly, they should feel free to skip any tradition that doesn't feel right to them. A long time ago, receiving lines were something that everyone did, but they've sort of gone away because they take a lot of time. I still will have parents that they don't love that there's not a receiving line because to them it's the way that the couple can show thankfulness and graciousness to the guests. But we've developed other ways to do that that feels a little bit more modern and fun. Some of my couples do not want to throw a bouquet. Some do not want to do, you know, a garter toss. Some want both of their parents to walk them down the aisle. Some don't want to have a bridal party. I mean, there are no, there are no rules. It should be a reflection of what feels comfortable to the two of you. So throw out all the traditions if you want.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Perfect. Okay. What makes a wedding feel really them instead of just Pinteresty?

SPEAKER_02 8:09

Oh, well, really them is honoring the two of you. I'm not a big fan of trends because trends fade fast. Um doesn't mean if you like a trend, you can't do it. Of course you can, but it it should feel like the two of you. It should kind of mimic what it feels like when you walk into your home or you know, uh when you walk into your closet, the color tones that speak to you, the style that speaks to you, it should feel like you. What's something I do that reminds you of yourself? Something that you do that reminds me of myself? Yes. Oh goodness, something Hannah does.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Hmm.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Well, Hannah is who I want to be when I grow up. In some ways. Hannah's a very well-put-together little human and very organized and very timely. She has the cleanest room in the entire house. I hate to admit this publicly, but I do think you get those qualities from your dad. I think what you get from me is you love that I'm a traditionalist. I love to have family traditions that we do every year, every holiday. And I think over time those feel like home to you. And now you've reached a point where you've helped take on the planning of some of those traditions and the decorating for the holidays and um, you know, the things we do for our special family meals and dinners and celebrations. I think that you love tradition. That reminds me of me. Yeah. All right, Hannah Jane. The name of this podcast is more than just a wedding. And we always conclude each episode by asking our guests, what do those words mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 10:13

I think it means I feel like it's more why it's more than just a wedding, because it's it's uh bringing a new chapter in your life and it's gonna come with so much more adventures and joy and laughter, and it's that's why it's more than just a wedding, because it's gonna shape your life in a way. Very well said, my love. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 10:43

All right, you did it. Thank you for joining me. I love you. I love you too. Will you come back again? Absolutely. All right, you heard it from her, everyone. Thanks for listening, thanks for watching, and thanks for being a part of this podcast. We appreciate you being here.

unknown 10:59

Bye.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

You've been listening to more than just a wedding with Jennifer Starr. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow and share it with a friend. Until next time, real people, real moments, respected budgets.