Woop! It's Wednesday which means one important thing - the next interview in my Gin and Magic YouTube series championing strong creative women is live! Straight from my home to your eyes + ears, this week featuring the super lovely and talented Jen Siomacco from Catalyst Wed Co, the US-based equality minded wedding publication.
As soon as I met Jen at (Un)Convention a few years ago I knew she was someone I had to get to know better. Luckily fate threw us together a few times that first year and since then we've been fans of each other across the ocean.
This was a juicy topic and the longest chat I've had to edit so far because Jen was so open with her wisdom and insights!
Jen talked about how Catalyst Wed Co continues to evolve it's all inclusive mission to include all, what exactly intersectional feminism is (and why it's OK to ask), as well as how to deliver value to your audience. Jen knows a lot, and I loved how she was so open about her knowledge. Of course we also talked about the fantasy dinner party, and just wait until you hear her story about Gloria Steinem! So grab a cuppa and watch along as we delve into a fantastic chat. I think you'll find yourself nodding along.
Enjoy and please don’t forget to hit like + subscribe if you enjoy the Gin & Magic videos 🙂
Jen's bio:
Jen Siomacco is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Catalyst Wedding Co. She works to mesh together her love of feminism, love stories, accessibility, equality, and design into the Catalyst brand. When she’s not traveling the country working to make the wedding industry a more inclusive place, she’s writing on her couch and snuggled up with her husband and SUPER lazy cats.
We'll be back once again next week with the next interview for Gin & Magic strong women series! But in the meantime, check out some of the other videos on Gin & Magic here.
Yay! It’s Wednesday which can only mean one thing - the next interview in my Gin and Magic YouTube series championing strong creative women is live! Straight from my home to your eyes + ears, this week featuring the amazing Beth from Bridebook the UK’s no 1 wedding planning app, frankly the bubbliest person I’ve met in the wedding industry (and coming from me that’s saying something - lol) Beth is an absolute ray of light on all things wedding business and general hilarity.
I wanted to get her on the show because I think she’s got a lot of useful knowledge to share with wedding business owners in her role as Head of Community at Bridebook.
Beth talks about what it takes to succeed in this ever changing marketplace, why she wants to Meryl Streep, Chris Hemsworth and Nova Reid in a room, and why jetskis are life. So grab a cuppa and watch along as we delve into a fantastic chat and giggles! Don’t forget to watch until after the end credits because we had to put this outtake in - it’s too funny! All topped off of course with a G&T!
Enjoy and please don’t forget to hit like + subscribe if you enjoy the Gin & Magic videos 🙂
Beth's official bio:
I am Bethany Wright, Head of Community at Bridebook.co.uk. A true northerner, originally from Manchester - I have a love for gravy, Oasis and building communities. My love for community fuels my day to day role at Bridebook, as I channel the importance of connecting with suppliers and learning from each other. In my spare time, you can find me reading Harry Potter, singing Tina Turner on karaoke or stuffing food in my face.
A little more about Bridebook...
Bridebook.co.uk is the No.1 wedding planning app used by over 120,000 couples across the UK. That’s 1 in 2 weddings planned through our platform. Couples use Bridebook to search for and book their wedding venues and suppliers and help them to plan their unforgettable wedding without any of the stress or fuss.
Bridebook Business supports this by offering a free listing service for dedicated and qualified wedding industry professionals. Our goal is to connect couples with their trusted wedding dream team and to help venues & suppliers across the country grow and market their business successfully. To join the Bridebook Business Community head to business.bridebook.co.uk and create your free business account and profile today.
We'll be back once again next week with the next interview for Gin & Magic strong women series! But in the meantime, check out some of the other videos on Gin & Magic here.
Today I have a fantastic guest to share with you - Vicky Shilling of the Flourishing Pantry. Vicky is an award winning blogger and coaches wellness entrepreneurs with great success.
I had the great delight of meeting Vicky from the Flourishing Pantry last year when she was cohosting a supper club with Charlotte Argyrou who we’ve also had on the show and you can watch here. As soon as I met Vicky last year I instantly wanted to know more about her and her story.
Watch the video as Vicky talks candidly about how she started her blog, how she has evolved since its birth, and where her business is heading next. It's pretty bloody exciting tbh!
What I really enjoyed about Vicky’s story is her openness and willingness to evolve - a great key to success - and recognising the value in that ability whilst at the same time prioritising self care, always.
Vicky's official bio:
Vicky Shilling is a coach helping wellness industry entrepreneurs turn their business ideas into reality. She is also the award-winning blogger behind The Flourishing Pantry and co-founder of women’s wellness retreat brand The Reset.Â
The Flourishing Pantry is Vicky's hub for everything healthy entrepreneur. She shares recipes, discoveries, tips and interviews to inspire and help people running their own businesses stay healthy in body and mind while they build their brands.
If you like what you see, don’t forget to give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and hit subscribe if you don’t want to miss out on any future videos.
We'll be back once again next week with the next interview for Gin & Magic strong women series! But in the meantime, check out some of the other videos on Gin & Magic here.
I’m absolutely delighted to be joined by one of my oldest clients today Fiona Kelly a fantastic wedding photographer based in London. Oldest, I hasten, to add not in terms of her age but because we have now been working together for five years! So it’s safe to say we know each other pretty well. I wanted to get her on the show because I think she’s very inspiring to other photographers indeed anyone making that transition from 9-5 to self employed along with being a Mum and wife.
Fee’s straightforward approach has always appealed and I think you’ll enjoy it too. So grab a cuppa and watch along as we delve into her business, what she believes it takes to make a success of running your own business all topped off with a gin and tonic at the end of course!
What I particularly loved about speaking with Fiona is her absolute willingness to recognise that we cannot do everything on our own and that everything is a work in progress. We talked about valuing your time, outsourcing and the balancing act of mum/boss life.
Editing this video was challenging because Fee had so many nuggets of wisdom, but you're going to get so much from watching this!
Fiona's official bio:
Hi, I'm Fiona and I'm a photographer. My love of photography and my photographic style has grown over a number of years. I started my career as a graphic designer and photographic art director working for fashion and lifestyle brands. My photography business began 9 years ago and from the start my style has been influenced by my background in design. I find inspiration in the small things; light, nature, design and people.
My work covers weddings, portraits and commercial photography. I find real pleasure in getting to know the people I work with and I'm passionate about creating beautiful, natural photographs.Â
When photographing weddings my style is relaxed and informal, creating beautiful, natural and vibrantly modern images that have a touch of romance and lots of fun. I capture the fun, laughter, emotion and beauty of a wedding day and create a relaxed atmosphere so you don’t even know you are having your photo taken…even when it’s time for couples photos!
It's been a huge pleasure to have my photography featured in Wedding, Wedding Flowers, You & Your Wedding magazines and on 100 Layer Cake, Junebug, Rock My Wedding, Love My Dress, Bridal Musings, B.Loved, Whimsical Wonderland Weddings and Festival Brides.Â
For my commercial work I bring the same relaxed approach and style. With every shoot I am focussed on showcasing the brand and the personality behind it, as well as the products. I am telling the story of a business and showing clients exactly why they should work with you."
If you like what you see, don’t forget to give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and hit subscribe if you don’t want to miss out on any future videos.
We'll be back once again next week with the next interview for Gin & Magic strong women series! But in the meantime, check out some of the other videos on Gin & Magic here.
Well hello there and welcome to this week's show where I am simply thrilled to be joined by the fantastic Aleisha McCormack of The Bridechilla Podcast, the most listened to wedding podcast in the world!
What I particularly loved about speaking with Aleisha is not only how she continues to think outside of the box with making money from her podcast, but her great passion for what she does. She is a TV producer by day and so this could technically be described as her side hustle but she gives every spare iota of dedication and passion to making it work.
Chatting with Aleisha basically made me lol from start to finish. In fact, when editing this video down to the 30 minute format, it was very challenging because I didn't want to cut any of the funny bits out!
In this chat, Aleisha talks about how she makes money from her podcast, how she listens to her community and uses that to fuel her passion and how she aims to get more work/life balance.
Aleisha's official bio:
Aleisha McCormack is a comedian, TV producer, and author. She is the founder and host of most listened to wedding podcast ever, The Bridechilla Podcast and author of The Bridechilla Wedding Planning Guides.
Bridechilla inspires and supports couples to plan their wedding without losing their sanity. Â Having now produced over 370+ episodes of the hit podcast and built a community of free-thinking Bridechillas from all over the world, Aleisha is delighted and surprised that what she started has become a movement and is excited to see the brand and movement grow.
If you like what you see, don’t forget to give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and hit subscribe if you don’t want to miss out on any future videos.
Thanks again Aleisha, it was an absolute hoot to find out more about how you run your business.
We'll be back once again next week with the next interview for Gin & Magic strong women series! But in the meantime, check out some of the other videos on Gin & Magic here.
Well hello! Welcome to the show where I'm chatting with Soniamarie Palmer, who runs two businesses - Soniamarie Loves a wedding planning business here in the UK, and Event HR using her 19 years of corporate experience to support wedding and event businesses manage their people. This woman is ON IT!
So many people switch off when it comes to paying attention to business stuff like managing finances, HR, Legal support and yes, even SEO. But these are vital areas to invest in if you want your business to grow. What I particularly enjoyed is how Soniamarie uses her natural confidence to really bring out the best in her brides and her people management skills, she is completely unapologetic about being herself, and I love that.
Chatting with Soniamarie, her passion really comes across, as she says “People are her passion because without people, there is no business.” She’s incredible open and honest, and is hugely supportive of us all treating our businesses like businesses rather than expensive hobbies (which let’s face it, does happen!)
In this chat, Sonia talks about supporting businesses to get the most of their people, how reducing stress is totally possible and how to use Instagram as a B2B business which can be quite tricky.
Sonia also shared how she starts off each day with a key question (you’re going to love this one, because I did!) how she achieves her goals and how her two businesses of wedding planning and event HR support each other to grow.
Sonia's official bio:
Soniamarie is an entrepreneur who owns and runs two successful businesses in Human Resources and Wedding Planning. Event HR is a HR consultancy providing services to the wedding & event industry and, Soniamarie Loves is a wedding & event planning business. Â She has worked in HR for over 19 years up to senior level for both private and public sector companies across 5 industries in the UK and USA. Over the last six years, she has worked solely for herself running the HR consultancy while also turning her passion for wedding and event planning from what was initially a 7 year, into a paid hobby into a successful business in the last 3 years. Â She holds a BA Hons in Human Resource Management, an Level 7 Advanced Professional Diploma in Employment Law, is CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel Development) qualified with membership and is a Professional Member of the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners.
If you like what you see, don’t forget to give me a thumbs up, leave a comment and hit subscribe if you don’t want to miss out on any future videos.
Thanks again Soniamarie, it was so much fun to chat with you and find out more about how you run your business.
We'll be back once again like the renegade master next week with the next female entrepreneur interview for Gin & Magic! But in the meantime, check out some of the other videos on Gin & Magic here.
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