This episode explores how planning a wedding can mirror the process of building a business. Sara reflects on her own wedding planning and the unexpected lessons it revealed about vision, values, timing, and simplicity. The conversation is for women entrepreneurs who want to create work that feels intentional rather than rushed or performative. It offers a grounded perspective on designing experiences that are both intuitive and well-structured.
In this episode, we explore:
- How starting early and reverse-engineering a vision reduces stress
- Why clarifying the desired experience matters more than following trends
- The importance of investing in top values rather than spreading resources thin
- What it looks like to do things differently and make them your own
- How simplicity and elegance support sustainable creation
Key takeaways
- Meaningful projects benefit from spacious timelines and advance planning
- Clear values help guide decisions and prevent unnecessary complexity
- Not every option or trend needs to be included to create something impactful
- Personal alignment leads to more coherent and grounded outcomes
- Simplicity allows the most essential elements to stand out
Resources mentioned
- Free Guide: 7 Hidden Ways Your Unresolved Wounds Are Sabotaging Your Business
Episode FAQs
How is wedding planning similar to building a business?
The episode highlights shared principles such as vision-setting, budgeting, prioritization, and intentional design. Both require clarity about values and the experience being created.
Why does starting early matter so much in this approach?
Starting early allows space to refine decisions, reduce nervous system stress, and respond thoughtfully rather than reactively. This applies to launches, programs, and major life events.
What does it mean to design for experience rather than expectations?
Rather than following what is expected or trending, the focus is on how something should feel for the people involved. This applies equally to events, offers, and client work.
How does simplicity support sustainability?
Simplicity reduces overwhelm for both the creator and the participants. When fewer elements are included, energy can be directed toward what matters most.
Who is this episode most relevant for?
This episode is especially helpful for women entrepreneurs designing new offers, launches, or transitions who want their work to reflect their values rather than external pressure.
Read the Full Transcript
In just a few weeks, in early August, I am getting married. This has been a dream of mine since I was a small girl, and now that it’s almost here, I can see how waiting until this stage of my life has been a gift. I’m entering this commitment with greater self-awareness, independence, and a strong sense of sovereignty.
Since we got engaged, I’ve noticed many parallels between planning a wedding and running a business. The skills, mindset, and intentionality are remarkably similar. I want to share five lessons that wedding planning has highlighted about creating anything meaningful, whether it’s a launch, a retreat, or a new season of work.
The first lesson is to start early and reverse engineer your vision. We began planning our wedding over a year in advance. I don’t like to cram, and I need space to breathe, iterate, and refine. We created simple documents outlining what needed to happen month by month and worked backward from the wedding date. This is exactly how I approach launches and content planning. Starting with the end vision creates space for clarity and reduces last-minute stress.
The second lesson is to get clear on the experience you want to create. Early on, we asked what we wanted our wedding to feel like, not what it was supposed to look like. We envisioned an intimate dinner party with close friends and family. In business, this translates to asking what kinds of experiences you enjoy creating and leading, rather than trying to be everywhere or do everything.
The third lesson is to invest in your top values. With a limited budget, we prioritized what mattered most to us. For me, that included my dress, the food, music, dancing, and a champagne toast. In business, this looks like investing in personal development, mentoring, and support that aligns with growth and sustainability.
The fourth lesson is to do it differently and make it yours. We chose options that felt fun, memorable, and easy for us, even if they were unconventional. This mirrors how I design my work by blending elements that aren’t usually combined and giving myself permission to innovate.
The fifth lesson is to anchor everything in simplicity and elegance. Every decision we made was filtered through these values. We looked for ways to reduce excess and ensure each element served a clear purpose. I apply the same philosophy to program design, avoiding unnecessary complexity so that what’s essential can stand out.
Whether you’re planning a wedding or designing something new in your work, the principles are the same. Start early, clarify the experience, invest in what matters, do it your way, and keep it simple and elegant. How you build reflects what you value, and when you honor that, what you create becomes unmistakably yours.
