Why The Usual Wedding Marketing Advice Has Not Worked for You

In this episode we’ll cover:

• Why the usual wedding marketing advice doesn’t work for most wedding pros
• How to avoid marketing tactics that waste your time and energy
• The real reason you’re not booking more weddings despite being “visible”
• What needs to happen before advertising will actually convert
• How to shift from reacting to inquiries to attracting your ideal clients consistently
• The mindset shift that leads to more control and better bookings
• Why copying what others do in wedding marketing won’t get you the results you want
• How the Book More Weddings Summit helps you finally build a strategy that works

Why The Usual Wedding Marketing Advice Has Not Worked for You

00:00 – Heidi Thompson
If you’re feeling too busy to even think about marketing, this episode is for you. Today, I’m sharing the number one mistake I see wedding pros make when they feel overwhelmed. And no, it’s not that you’re lazy or not doing enough Bar from it, you’re probably doing a ton. But if you’re still not seeing consistent bookings, there’s likely one critical shift that hasn’t clicked yet. Let’s talk about what’s really keeping you stuck and a smarter way forward.

00:35 – Intro
In a world where wedding professionals are struggling to market and grow their businesses, one podcast brings together top experts and actionable strategies to help you build the wedding business of your dreams. This is the Evolve your Wedding Business Podcast. Here is your host, Heidi Thompson.

01:11 – Heidi Thompson
Hey there, welcome to the podcast. I’m your host, Heidi Thompson, and I am here to help you book more weddings with couples you love working with and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard it. I just don’t have time right now. I’ll work on my marketing when things calm down. I need to catch up before I can get strategic. And listen, I get it. You’re juggling a lot. You’ve got clients and inquiries and timelines and late night emails and then you know your whole life you’re supposed to have outside of your business.

01:46 – Heidi Thompson
But here’s the thing, this pattern, it’s keeping you on a hamster wheel, because when marketing feels like something you’ll get to when you can, you never actually feel caught up enough to do it. Well. You stay in this cycle of feast or famine, always behind and wondering why this business that you love feels so incredibly exhausting. That’s why we need to talk about the mistake behind this cycle and what to do instead. Cycle and what to do instead. Here’s the real mistake Believing that you are just one time block away from finally getting your marketing under control. The truth is, you’ve already spent time. You’re currently spending time probably a lot of time on marketing that isn’t working, things like posting to platforms that don’t bring you bookings, tweaking your website endlessly because you’re convinced there’s something wrong with it, or pouring hours into strategies that someone somewhere told you to do but aren’t actually aligned with what works for your business.

I hear this all the time, especially when wedding pros ask me should I be advertising on the Knot? Should I be advertising on WeddingWire? Is Zola better? Am I missing a platform, the platform where my dream clients actually are? And if you’ve ever wondered that you’re not alone, that exact question came up again and again in a recent survey I ran. But here’s what I want you to know the platform isn’t the problem. The lack of a real plan is you don’t need more time. You actually need to stop doing what isn’t working and double down on what does work. I talk about this all the time inside the Wedding Business Collective. It’s one of our common ideas, ethos that we keep coming back to. When you have a marketing plan that’s tailored to your business and your goals, you get to stop guessing.

Marketing gets to stop feeling like you’re playing the lottery. You get to free up time by making intentional choices. You don’t need to be on every single platform or chase every new trend. Just focus on the pieces that actually move the needle for you and know that that may be different than what moves the needle for someone else. That’s what we’re going to help you figure out inside of the Book More Wedding Summit. It’s not about adding more to your plate. It’s about finally knowing what to take off so you can get better results from the things you keep on your plate.

04:59 – Heidi Thompson
I want you to start with simplicity. The most effective marketing systems are not complex. They are consistent and they’re focused. You don’t need five, ten different platforms. You just need to consistently show up with a clear and focused message, like I talked about in the last episode, on the one or two channels your dream clients actually use. You can batch and automate where it makes sense too. This doesn’t mean setting up 50 email funnels or learning 12 new tech tools. It might be as simple as writing one really good inquiry follow-up email that saves you hours each month and actually converts better because you’re not flying by the seat of your pants.

05:54 – Heidi Thompson
Then I want you to prioritize message over movement. I have talked about this for years, but it has never been more important. When your message is clear, your value, your offer, how you’re different, why someone should work with you instead of someone else. Every marketing effort gets so much easier. You get to stop guessing and you start speaking directly to the people who are already looking for someone like you.

06:30 – Heidi Thompson
This is the stuff that we are covering inside of the Book More Wedding Summit, with more than 45 experts showing you what is working in 2025 and how to actually implement it. And if you haven’t grabbed your free ticket yet, you definitely want to do that. Registration is open right now. The summit is free to attend and it runs August 18th through the 22nd and, like I said, it features more than 45 incredible speakers across five tracks. So, whether you are brand new or you’re 15, 20, 30 years in, you will find exactly what you need. If you have ever been stuck in that, I’ll figure this whole marketing thing out later.

07:21 – Heidi Thompson
Loop. This is your moment to shift that. You do not need more time. You need the right guidance and we have it waiting for you inside of the summit. So head to bookmoreweddingssummit.com. It’s also in the show notes and if this episode hit home, shoot me a DM. I am evolveyourweddingbusiness over on Instagram and pretty much everywhere else, but I would love to hear what landed for you. What are you struggling with? So I can point you to a few sessions that I think are going to be especially helpful for busy pros like yourself who want to get more bookings, better results, without burnout. So let me end with this you are doing more than enough. Let’s make sure the work you are doing actually moves the needle. I’ll see you next time.

Links & Resources:

The Wedding Business Collective
Book More Weddings Summit (get your free ticket!)
Get your Ghosted Lead Booking Wizard
Marketing Strategy for Wedding Planners: Get More Clients in Less Time
Why You’re Still Not Booking Weddings Even Though You’re Doing Everything Right

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