Listen to the Podcast About With Love B, Weddings
Podcast Summary
In the most recent episode of Eventful Endeavors, host Shawn Grindle welcomed guest Brenda Chhuor from With Love B, Weddings. Based in the Los Angeles-Orange County area, Brenda specializes in orchestrating dream weddings. Entering the industry nearly 11 years ago, Brenda’s passion sparked whilst coordinating a friend’s wedding. Her talent for connecting with people, alongside an eye for transforming spaces, propelled her into her professional career.
Brenda, a certified wedding and event consultant, provides viewers with unique insight into what her certification process entailed. While she admits it’s not a requirement, it does offer an enhanced understanding of the logistical and business aspects of event planning, alongside budget management and design improvement skills. This certification also offers a fantastic networking platform for industry professionals.
Her business, With Love B, Weddings, initially offered full planning services. However, noticing a trend of couples wanting to take a more active role in their wedding preparations, they restructured and now predominantly provide more flexible event consultation sessions. Brenda’s journey in the wedding industry provides a testament to her devotion to helping couples celebrate their special day in a style that best represents them. She continues to show us that each wedding is not only a significant event for the couple, but a form of art.
In an industry as complicated and multi-faceted as wedding planning, professionals like Brenda bring simplicity and sophistication in equal measure. Advising that other aspiring professionals may find a certification course helpful, Brenda’s story is both motivating and insightful for those interested in stepping into the world of event planning with a focus on weddings.
Learn more about With Love B, Weddings
This interview was provided by Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos
Podcast Transcript
Shawn Grindle (00:21)
All right, all right. Welcome back to another episode of Eventful Endeavors. Today we’re going back to Los Angeles. We’re going to the California region because we’re going to be talking about wedding planning. Today we have Brenda, who is with With Love B, Weddings, who is a wedding planner out in Los Angeles, Orange County area over here. So thank you so much for being here today, Brenda. I appreciate it.
Brenda (00:41)
Yes, thank you so much for having me. It’s fun.
Shawn Grindle (00:45)
So yeah, I always start off the same exact way. I like to just know how people got into this industry. So kind of tell me your story.
Brenda (00:53)
So I started back in 2012, 2013, right around there. And actually my sister was the one that volunteered me as tribute for one of her friend’s wedding. And I had no idea what I was doing, but it kind of just came naturally to me. And from that wedding, I was like, I love this. I was connecting with all sorts of people. It felt really natural to me.
I really liked to see the whole production from the back end versus like as a guest you’re seeing everything as a whole already, right? So I really fell in love with the production side and it was amazing to me to see what certain things put together can really change a specific look or a specific room or…
Those kinds of transitions are the ones that I just was like, my God, this is so amazing, it’s great. So it happened about almost 11 years ago now and I got certified as a certified wedding and event consultant right after and ever since then it’s been great. I mean, we’ve hit a couple of hurdles, but it’s been great so far.
Shawn Grindle (02:12)
That’s interesting. I want to ask you about that because I don’t think it’s come up yet. So you said you got certified in like event consulting. What is that? Because I’ve never heard. I don’t know anything about. I’m not a wedding planner. I don’t know anything about that. Is there a specific certification? What is that?
Brenda (02:21)
Yeah.
You know what, it’s not something that’s necessary, right? But it’s definitely something that helps you really learn the ropes of the back end side, the logistics side, the business side, how to really cater to specific budgets, designs, and then you just really meet different types of people and whoever wants to be in the industry. So it’s…
Shawn Grindle (02:28)
Okay.
Brenda (02:50)
a lot of like networking in that kind of environment also because they’re in the same ministry as you. So honestly, it’s not something that you really need to do, but if you want to excel or if you want to learn a little bit more on the back end side, it’s something that is pretty helpful. I’ve learned a lot from it. I still utilize some of the things that we’ve learned in class. I still keep in touch with some of the people that I’ve.
Shawn Grindle (02:52)
Yeah.
Brenda (03:15)
met through there. So it’s a really great way to really get started if you just don’t know where to go.
Shawn Grindle (03:23)
That’s amazing. I’m glad that exists. Cause I mean, I can just say just from dealing with weddings on my end, like weddings are so complicated. There’s so much going on. Like it’s, it’s so crazy. when you really break it down to all of the things that need to be involved in that day. So, 12 years later, so where are we now? Like how, you know, are you doing, how many weddings do you do a year? Do you like to cap it? Are you doing just full planning? Are you doing partial planning? Where are you kind of at now? in your business.
Brenda (03:31)
There’s a lot. Yeah.
Yeah, so we started off full planning and then we started to kind of step back a little bit from full planning because we’re noticing that a lot of couples, mainly brides, they like to take the lead and really do their own planning, which is great. You know, I think it’s a great way for the brides and grooms to really make their own decisions and kind of guide their own way. And then we’re really there to just hold their hands. So we stuck back from full planning. We do cater to partial planning and
wedding management, which is also just the coordination side. So we really try to do two weddings a month. One is great too, right? It is very labor intensive, but we try to do two to three weddings a month. I try to cap it a little bit just so that I can take a break, my girls, my team can take a break also. So we’re not like trying to book as many as possible.
It’s more of that, you know, each month we’re trying to cap at like two to three. And then we take, you know, a couple of breaks here and there.
Shawn Grindle (04:54)
Right, and that’s good, because you want to make sure you devote the time to everybody and not overdo it. Because I’ve met people who just book so much and then they’re like, I’m not getting back to emails, I’m not responding, and then it gets a little tough. But yeah, that’s interesting though, because I have talked to other wedding planners and some people in the industry about the full planning versus partial. And I have noticed recently a lot of people like the…
Brenda (05:05)
Yeah, yeah.
Shawn Grindle (05:20)
control of their wedding kind of thing. I mean, they still don’t realize how much goes into it. They forget about things that are like, you know, I need chairs, you know, whatever it might be. but, do you want, I wonder why that is. Do you think it’s because people think that if you’re doing full planning, that you don’t get any vision in it or like, cause I mean, we both know that if you’re doing full planning, like you can still be creative and then just have somebody there to hold your hand and help you get the vendors and deal with all that. But I wonder why that,
Brenda (05:47)
You know, everyone kind of has like the idea of what full planning or partial planning is, right? I think with full planning, you definitely have control over every single aspect of the planning process. Partial planning for us, and this is not to say that it’s the same for all planners out there who offer partial planning.
Shawn Grindle (05:50)
like misconception kind of came into place. Does that make sense?
Yeah.
Brenda (06:17)
For partial planning for us, we’re involved, but the couple are also involved. Whereas before, when we catered to full planning, they weren’t as involved because they were just too busy or they just had no idea what to do. So we did a lot of the handholding with full planning. Whereas now with partial planning, we’re like doing minimal handholding and it’s more of a direction. It’s more of a guidance. It’s more of like consultations.
Shawn Grindle (06:38)
Yeah.
Brenda (06:43)
and giving them the right vendors to really consider. And then we do all the legwork with the contracts and the signing and the designs. So it’s more of how much time do couples really have to work on planning their own wedding and what their visions are and if they’re able to do or not versus like they have the idea, but they just need extra guidance. They need extra consultation and they would rather do the…
the bigger part of the process and we’re just there to really guide them if that makes sense.
Shawn Grindle (07:19)
Yeah, yeah, for sure. So how far out from the wedding day do you usually come in? Like is it like three months, four months, six months? I don’t know.
Brenda (07:25)
Yeah, it depends. So like sometimes we’ll get partial planning clients that will reach out to us like six months away from their wedding. They’re like, I can’t do this anymore. You know, like I am. Yeah, they’re like, we’re just too busy. We didn’t realize how much time we had, you know. So sometimes we’ll get those clients. Other times we’ll get clients that are like a year in advance and they just want to do the partial planning because they would want to do the full.
Shawn Grindle (07:36)
Right. Help me.
Yeah.
Brenda (07:53)
the back end work themselves. And then for the wedding management side, I always offer it three months before, two to three months before, that way we get at least a head start and we’re not scrambling for things at the very end, one month before. It used to be one month and then we started to realize that everything was just getting kind of cramped and the couples one month before the wedding date.
that’s probably like the most crucial time for them to focus on getting ready, focus on their seating chart, their guest list, they’re going to get a bunch of questions from, you know, family, friends, where is this going? What’s happening here? What’s your timeline? Blah, blah, blah, right? So instead of doing the one month coordination, we’ve extended it to two to three months before their wedding date, just so that we can start early and they can just really.
focus on getting themselves ready in the three months. So… Mm -hmm.
Shawn Grindle (08:54)
Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, I mean, when you’re a month out, you’re like, at that point, you’re only three weeks away from family coming into town. Like it’s there’s you’re not going to be able to focus all that stuff. So yeah.
Brenda (09:02)
It’s chaotic. It’s so chaotic. I always hear from our couples one month before, I’m over this. I don’t know if this is too much. I’m so done. I just want the wedding to be done with already. Yeah, I know, I get it.
Shawn Grindle (09:10)
Yeah. I’m done. Help. Yeah.
So let me ask you this then, so what would be your number one piece of advice for newly engaged couples who are just starting their wedding planning journey?
Brenda (09:26)
get a planner, right? Get a planner and it’ll definitely save you time from doing all the research from looking for your vendors, looking from your venue, not knowing what budget to look for or to put out, right? So definitely find yourself a planner and if you prefer to do the full planning yourself, perfect. But I would still obviously advise that you have a
coordinator and it’s not a day of coordinating. This is an actual wedding manager where we come in as your point of contact in advance before your wedding day and we came to all the logistics in the back end, all the details that you’re providing, all the setup items and then we lead into the full day. So definitely find yourself a really experienced planner who has a list of
preferred vendors that can help you save time on research. If you don’t want to do that, then get yourself a wedding manager. A wedding manager does the same thing. It’s just that you’re going to be the ones looking for your own vendors. We come in three months and we become the point of contact. And then from there, all you got to do is focus on yourself, your guests, your seating chart, all the final details, focus on that, and then we’ll take care of the rest of you guys. So.
Definitely get a platter.
Shawn Grindle (10:53)
Yeah, yeah, I was very naive when I first got engaged. I wasn’t really in the industry yet. And I was like, I don’t know what I got this. I got a wedding planner learned very quickly. So I’m always an advocate like no, no, no, I don’t make my mistakes. Don’t think you can do it.
Brenda (11:04)
Hahaha!
Yeah. And you know, like a lot of vendors really appreciate planners too and coordinators because we focus on every single thing, person, detail, location, every single thing that goes into play on that one day. We’re that one person. Whereas like other vendors, they’re really focusing on their own items, right? Their own, their own things. And we’re here literally just managing everything below us. So.
Shawn Grindle (11:39)
I’ve noticed like, you know, just in terms of the amount of weddings we do, like we’re very good at what we do. Like we like, we’re good at weddings. We do it all the time, but every once in a while we’ll get kind of like a little bit of feedback from a Brian groom. Something didn’t go right. And we’ll look at it and we’ll realize this wasn’t really our fault. You didn’t have a planner. Like every time we’ve gotten negative feedback about the day, they didn’t have a planner. I was like, that’s not a coincidence. It’s not our fault. Like we’re not wedding planners. Like I can’t help you with that. You know,
Brenda (12:03)
Yeah
See it?
Shawn Grindle (12:08)
So it’s like, we really did, just for fun one day, we like went through like any, not like bad review, but just like, you know, we do feedback cards at the end, like anything that was like, every single one that had something to say, they didn’t have a plan at their wedding. And I was like, that can’t be a coincidence, you know? So.
Brenda (12:21)
See? Yeah, no, I mean, it’s just so important to really have one, right? Like, you just need that one person to be the point of contact for every single thing, right? And…
Shawn Grindle (12:29)
Yeah.
Yes, and I was gonna say, because this is actually a good segue, because I think you mentioned you’re also a Realtor, right? So…
Brenda (12:42)
Mm -hmm.
Shawn Grindle (12:43)
Somebody once told me on this podcast, one of the other wedding planners I talked to was like, they equated being a wedding planner to being a realtor, because they were essentially like, they were like, look, you know, they might be taking a commission, they might be doing this, but they’re ultimately going to try to get you the best deals on things, they’re ultimately going to save you money, they’re going to make the process easier. They basically equated that. So I found it really funny that you’re also a realtor and do wedding planning.
Brenda (13:02)
Yeah.
Shawn Grindle (13:08)
So talk to me a little bit about that. Like, is that, are you 50 -50 with that or that sounds like two very, very big jobs to do at the same time.
Brenda (13:16)
So weddings is obviously my passion, right? It’s something that I’ve been doing for a very, very long time. With real estate, I’ve had my license for a while also, but I didn’t really practice it as much. I did get back into it. And it is more of time management than I usually would put. So I’m not putting a specific percentage to either one of them. It’s more of like, what is priority, right?
Shawn Grindle (13:21)
Sure.
Brenda (13:45)
who needs help the most and what timeline am I working with, right? Is the wedding coming up or do I gotta close on this escrow? Do I have to really write out this transaction, right? So both of them really coincide together. And thing I like about doing both is that it’s so similar to each other that it’s just, it’s different obviously, right? But the process of it, consulting with the clients, guiding them and being that point of contact on both ends.
That’s the similarity of it. And that’s what I’ve gotten used to and really like being that person for clients, right? Whether it’s with real estate or with my couples, the idea of it is to really be their point of contact. And then, you know, I’m the one that’s reaching out to the vendors or the contractors or whatever it is, right? So they really do coincide together. It’s different industries, of course, different hats. So it…
Shawn Grindle (14:30)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Brenda (14:43)
it somehow really worked out the way I kind of thought it would work out, if not maybe a little bit better. And it’s just, it’s been great so far. I haven’t had any issues with it. I haven’t had any problems with time management. I think both have been really great so far. So.
Shawn Grindle (15:08)
Have you ever had one of your, have you ever put one of your couples into a house? You have? That’s so cool. Wow. That’s really cool.
Brenda (15:13)
Yeah, yeah, I put a call. Yeah, yeah, I have. Yeah. And then, yeah, I actually started off as a golf instructor. And then I know, I know. Everyone was like…
Shawn Grindle (15:25)
Wait a minute, I’m learning so many new things. We’re just throwing things about. You are a golf instructor? Well good, because I need lessons, because I am not good. I am very bad, so.
Brenda (15:32)
I was a golf instructor for a while.
Well, I’ll teach you, don’t worry.
Shawn Grindle (15:39)
Yeah, I’m not good at golf. I try. I’m not good.
Brenda (15:42)
Yeah, so I started off as a golf instructor and I’ve had couples come in to learn together as a couple. And then we started talking. I told them I was like, I was a wedding planner. I’m a wedding planner. And then they became a client for a wedding. And then they’re like, you know, they’re in the next step of their their the phase of their relationship. Right. Yeah. So it’s wedding and then moving in together. And I was like, well, you know, I have a license.
Shawn Grindle (15:45)
Wow.
Yeah.
Life, yeah.
Ha ha!
Brenda (16:10)
It went for like one thing to another and I was like…
Shawn Grindle (16:12)
They’re like, if you had told me that our golf instructor was gonna plan our wedding and then get us our first house, that would have been a very wild journey. I love that. That’s so cool.
Brenda (16:22)
It wasn’t even planned out that way. It literally just happened. And I always build this rapport and relationship with my clients and couples. And I’m like, well, I’m an open book, obviously. And I’m here to help you guys. So we just went from one end to another. And I was like, cool. It actually was great. It worked out.
Shawn Grindle (16:25)
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah. Well, and that’s the thing about what we do. I mean, we were, we’re working, I mean, you in two ways, but you know, with weddings, it’s like, you’re working on somebody’s biggest day, probably of their lives, like something they’re going to remember. They’re going like me, my wife watch our wedding video every anniversary. You know, it’s like,
Brenda (16:59)
that’s cute!
Shawn Grindle (17:00)
So we see that, yeah, I know it’s really sappy and cheesy, but we do. So we constantly are reliving that thing and to be a part of it is really cool. And we’re there kind of day of and a little bit prior with conversations, but you’re with these people for months. I still have brides and grims I still communicate with and I see at my shows and they have my cell number and we text every once in a while or message on Instagram.
Brenda (17:25)
Yeah.
Shawn Grindle (17:27)
It’s cool. I guess is just what I’m saying. It’s not really a question. It’s just, you know, I think it’s cool.
Brenda (17:27)
It’s so cool.
No, it’s great that clients, couples still will reach out and they’ll comment on things or the best is obviously when they refer you, right? After years of you working with them, yeah, it’s just the best. And it’s so great to come across very amazing clients who you just created a bond with.
Shawn Grindle (17:39)
Yeah.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah, and they’re always the best ones. So, yeah, there’s a lot of, yeah, and even my wedding planner, I told you I wasn’t gonna have one and then I got one and I’ve attended, we’ve worked with her on many other occasions. We’ve done dueling pianos at her wedding, her events she was on, and then she’s worked like two of my friends’ weddings that I was a guest at. So we see her all the time and it was just like, you know, there’s just a lot of good reasons to get a wedding planner is basically what we’re saying. So.
Brenda (18:17)
Yeah.
It’s great. It’s great. Yeah, totally.
Shawn Grindle (18:25)
So let’s let’s change course a little bit. So I want to talk about some fun stuff. And the first one I have a kind of a two part of part one is what’s the most unique thing you’ve ever seen at a wedding? Something that was like really cool or really specific to this couple that was just fun. And you were like, I love this idea.
Brenda (18:45)
I mean, first and foremost was you guys. No, I’m not even joking. Like, honestly, so Rico and Vance, Rico is my friend from high school and yes, yeah.
Shawn Grindle (18:47)
I’ll stop it. Stop it.
That’s right, I forgot you were Rico’s friend. For the listeners who don’t know, me and Brenda did a wedding, I guess, what, was it two months ago? Three months ago? No, it can’t be that long.
Brenda (19:04)
No, no, no, no, it was in April, end of April. No.
Shawn Grindle (19:07)
Okay, so it wasn’t that long ago. We just did a wedding for Rico and Vance who were incredible, so much fun. But yeah, continue with the story you were telling.
Brenda (19:14)
Yeah. So Rico and I, we go way back and we also went to college together and there was a moment in college where we went to this dueling piano bar in Long Beach. And yes! I like forgot the name but now that you said it I was like yes, Sargent Pappers! Yes!
Shawn Grindle (19:32)
Sergeant Peppers dueling pianos?
I’ve been in the scene for a while, I know Sludge of Peppers. It’s not there anymore, but yeah.
Brenda (19:43)
I know I really saw this out there but it was great and I remember going there with Biko and a couple bar friends and I was like this is so much fun. They were definitely like haggling the guests and it was so fun and you know we were young and we were drinking it was just a great party. So when Biko reached out to me he was like
Shawn Grindle (19:57)
Yeah.
Brenda (20:06)
Hey, we’re gonna have a dueling piano. And I was like, this is so perfect for you. I cannot believe that you thought about this. Like, this is just so great. And then I was even telling him, leading up to that, I was like, I can’t wait for your piano guys. Like, I’m so excited to see how this is. And I’ve never had it before at a wedding, honestly. Like, I’ve seen a lot. And I mean, I’ve seen anything from drag shows to…
Shawn Grindle (20:27)
Yeah.
that’d be fun.
Brenda (20:35)
Yeah, to magicians, just all kinds of different entertainments, acapella singers, right? So we’ve seen quite a bit, but never dueling piano. And when this opportunity came up, because of Reco in advance, I was like, this is great. This is so great. This is gonna be so fun. I’m gonna be singing, I’m gonna be dancing. I know I’m still gonna be working, but this is so great. So honestly,
Shawn Grindle (20:37)
Yeah.
WIP!
Yeah. Sure.
Brenda (21:02)
You guys definitely have topped it of the things that I’ve seen so far. I loved it. So good.
Shawn Grindle (21:08)
Well, you’re too kind, I appreciate it. That was a very fun wedding. I really enjoyed being there, it was a good time. And it ran very smoothly, so good job for you guys. I mean, it was done very well, very easy, and we had a lot of fun at that one. I still have videos of like the end of the night, everybody was just screaming and singing for and on blondes. It was very fun.
Brenda (21:14)
Yeah, it was fun.
Thank you.
Perfect.
Yeah, that the last bit I was like.
Shawn Grindle (21:34)
They wanted that last song and I was like, that’s perfect. I was like, you guys know this is a good last song.
Brenda (21:41)
I was like, can we play one more? I know the rules! And I was the one that asked you!
Shawn Grindle (21:44)
And I was like, we can’t top that. If we played one more, it wouldn’t even be good. We wouldn’t top it, it was too good. So, yeah. Other part of that question, what’s the cringiest thing you’ve ever seen? Or what is the thing that, if you can’t think of a specific thing,
Brenda (21:49)
No!
Yeah, it was good. It was so fun. Loved it.
Mm -hmm.
goodness.
Shawn Grindle (22:10)
What’s the thing that you’ve seen that is just like, please don’t ever do this? Like, you know, whether it be some speech gone wrong or something, you know, that’s gone wrong, something that you were just like, this just got uncomfortable. We’ve all seen it. We’ve all seen things.
Brenda (22:22)
we’ve seen it, yeah. I think one that might’ve come to mind is the, I mean, it’s not cringing. It’s just very time consuming is just however many toasts there are, right? Like we’ve come across a couple of weddings where there’s like five.
Shawn Grindle (22:39)
It’s fine.
Yes.
Brenda (22:50)
toast, six toasts. And you know, if it’s cut to like a paragraph, totally fine. But like, you know, people want to share their stories about the couple. And it’s always nice and it’s always very reminiscing and it’s fun to hear, right? But sometimes it just goes so long that it extends the timeline that I’m like, okay, now I gotta like push things back and…
I have to meet the photographer’s timeline, the videographer’s timeline, catering, all of their contracted times. So it’s not cringing. Those aren’t cringing for sure. It can be. Yeah, totally. But it just is like, you know, when you have more than two toasts, that’s when we kind of like start questioning like, okay, how long are these toasts? How are these people related? Like, right? Like if you’re very close to them, okay, cool. But if you’re just like,
Shawn Grindle (23:19)
Yeah.
No, it can be, it can be.
Brenda (23:49)
I don’t know, a cousin’s cousin or something, right? Like, I don’t know, right? So yeah, so it’s not super cringing, but it’s definitely like something that we are like, that’s too many people talking. No, no, no, no.
Shawn Grindle (23:52)
Right. Not good.
Yeah.
Have you ever had people that wanted to do like open toasts? Like, whoever wants to speak next, I’m like, I’ve had couples ask me to do that and I, as the man with the microphone, I’ve refused. I’ve said to them on the wedding week, I said, we’re not gonna do that. I’m usually very like, if you wanna do something, that’s fine, but I tell them we’re not gonna do that.
Brenda (24:08)
Mm -hmm.
That’s good.
Shawn Grindle (24:26)
You don’t want that. Trust me, you don’t want that. It’s not gonna go good. And what I usually tell them is I say, I want you to think about everybody you have there, everybody. And I want you to picture every single one of those people getting up and saying something. And how many of those do you wish just would sit down? Yeah, we’re not gonna do this. I’m like, it’s not gonna work. It’s not gonna work. It’ll go long and they’re never gonna be good. Because they didn’t prepare anything, it’s a disaster.
Brenda (24:26)
Yeah. Yes.
That’s great. That is so great. No, that’s great. Yeah.
Yeah, and they can be totally drunk and just sloppy. It’s just not great. Yeah. you know what? Going back to the cringing thing is just people getting really sloppy on the dance floor or even before reception, like just over drinking with open bar, right? That’s just a little over the board. And, you know, it’s a wedding, right? Keep it as a wedding, not like a birthday. Right. So.
Shawn Grindle (24:55)
yeah, they usually are.
Nope.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The wedding, I did a wedding, I think it was like two months before I did the one with you, and there was this girl on the dance floor and she was like a plus one. It was not even like a main person, which I don’t do plus ones, I didn’t do plus ones, but she was a plus one. I don’t know if everybody knew her. She was so drunk and she was drinking red wine.
Brenda (25:28)
-huh.
Shawn Grindle (25:46)
She had the red wine on the dance floor and she’s swaying and dancing and the wine is sloshing out of the cup hitting everybody including the bride in her white dress and I was watching this from the piano just
Brenda (25:59)
NOOOO
Shawn Grindle (26:05)
mortified. I was like, no, no. And the bride didn’t notice right away. So I don’t know when she noticed, but she was just still dancing. She was like facing the other direction. I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no. So yeah. So don’t get drunk. I mean, give it a couple of drinks. You can get a little buzz. Don’t, don’t be messy. You know, know yourself. Yeah. Yeah. It’s it’s.
Brenda (26:16)
no.
That’s terrible! See, it’s things like that. Yeah, no.
Yeah, top off at tipsy and that’s it. Like don’t get smashed like that. You know, it’s just not classy at all.
Shawn Grindle (26:34)
It’s not classy. If you want to, if you really want to save it for the after party, go to a bar, do it there. You know, you don’t want to be in the classy stuff. Everybody’s in their suits and then you’ll look like a mess. So, so, okay. so last thing I want to kind of do, before you open up is I like to talk about, just various trends that are going on right now. You know, you’ve been in the industry for 12 years now doing weddings. So obviously from 2012, I mean, hell from 2020 to 2024, things have changed.
Brenda (26:38)
Yes.
Yeah, that’s not good. Not good at all.
yeah.
Shawn Grindle (27:04)
I imagine they’ve changed a lot since then. So are there any trends you can think of like people, other things people are doing now that they didn’t used to do or things that they’re not doing now that they used to do all the time?
Brenda (27:11)
You know one of the trends that I’m really noticing and I actually really love this is the single cake Instead of a two tier three tier cake It’s just a single cake for just the couple and everybody else gets something else whether it’s sheet cake the dessert table Whatever it is
Shawn Grindle (27:25)
yes. Yeah.
Yes.
Brenda (27:38)
And I love, love this idea, this trend, whoever started it, bravo. But it is the cutest thing and I love it because not only are you saving money, but it is so minimalistic and it is so intimate to just the couple themselves that it’s really just their own thing. And, you know, if I’m being honest, there’s a couple of things that I always advise my couples to really be aware of when you’re…
Shawn Grindle (27:38)
Donut wall, whatever. Yeah.
Yeah.
Brenda (28:08)
on a budget or if you’re kind of like going over budget, I always advise them like, hey, your dessert, your cake does not need to feed the equal amount of your guest counts because some of them are going to be leaving early and you’re just going to have a bunch of cake left over that you paid for and 99 % of the time that gets tossed. Cut the cake size in half, whoever has it has it.
Shawn Grindle (28:19)
No.
Brenda (28:35)
But the greatest thing about this is that the cake is just for the couple and the guests gets other things. Dessert, dessert bar, ice cream, whatever it is that they decided to give for the guests, pick and choose what you want. I love this idea, I love this trend. I’m really hoping this trend goes even further, because it is just so, so perfect in so many different ways.
Shawn Grindle (28:52)
I love it.
Yeah. I have never eaten cake at a wedding that I’ve attended. I’ve never done it. I really haven’t. I’ve just never done it. I’m not a big cake person in general, but like, I know by that point I’ve eaten a big dinner, I’m drinking, I just don’t want to shove a giant sweet cake in my mouth. Like, it’s not my thing. Like, I’m like, I’m good. I’m just going to have another, you know, drink and relax, you know?
Brenda (29:10)
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Exactly, exactly. That’s why I think this is a great substitution for just the whole wedding cake itself. I understand the extravagance of the cake, but I’m also like, look, the small thing is the best idea for you guys, especially because it’s just for you. You’re going to take it home anyways, right? And just give everybody else something else that they want versus a wedding cake because they might not like it.
Shawn Grindle (29:27)
Yeah.
I’ve noticed it.
Yeah.
Yep. I mean, it’s truly amazing. And I did want to tell you one thing. I don’t like to talk too much about myself on this podcast because we’re here for you. But at my wedding, speaking of that, we did that. But what we did was when we got engaged, we got engaged and we were in Chile, we were in South America. And we went to this little cafe. It was like the day before we got engaged, so somewhere on that trip. And we had this pie.
Brenda (30:05)
nice.
Shawn Grindle (30:13)
that it was like a pie and it was so good. I’ve never had anything like this in my life. I’m not usually like a big sweets person and I loved it so much. I went back the next day, got it again and I was obsessed with it and the woman, it was just like this small shop. It was like, no, it was a port town on the coast. Nobody was there and this woman made it and I got her like card and I was like, okay, she didn’t have Instagram. It was not that kind of thing.
Brenda (30:17)
Cute.
Shawn Grindle (30:38)
So anyway, we had this in our mind and my wife like was like, well, what if we did that cake? So she like called her and she like paid this woman for her recipe. And like, then we found a cake or to like design it for us. So we had that cake at our wedding, just for us. We did not give it to anybody else. It was just for us. They ate, I don’t know, we had popsicles. I don’t know. but we had it and it was, it was, it was it. They nailed it. I was so, Nope.
Brenda (30:53)
huh.
Wasn’t it great? Like you didn’t have to share that cake. It was just for you guys and everybody else can get whatever they want, right? Like, isn’t that great?
Shawn Grindle (31:08)
Nope.
Yeah, I think my brother came up to me and he was like, that looks good. Can I try a bite of that? I was like, you’re gonna have to pry this from my fingers because you’re not getting any of this. And we actually, every anniversary, we call the same woman and she makes us another cake. So we eat that. Yeah, real, real nerdy, but that’s what we do. So.
Brenda (31:19)
No.
Cute!
No, it’s the best trend. I love it.
Shawn Grindle (31:36)
Yeah, I love it so much too and I think that’s great. Okay, so that’s basically our time. Is there anything else you kind of want to mention about your business, about weddings, anything before we kind of wrap it all up?
Brenda (31:47)
Well, just that we are wedding planners and coordinators. We specialize in wedding management, which is the coordination side. We are all about being the main point of contact for all of our couples. We service all of LA, OC, and we’ve gone up to the Bay Area, San Diego. We started doing some destination weddings. We started in Hawaii. Yeah, I know, I know. I’m trying to go.
Shawn Grindle (32:13)
Yeah.
Brenda (32:16)
you know, all different locations. So, yeah, you know, we definitely want to provide like just the smoothest service for all of our couples. And yeah, that’s us.
Shawn Grindle (32:19)
Yeah.
I love it. I love it. Yeah. And we’ll make sure we link to all your social media, everything so that people know where to find you. And this has been great. So thank you so much for doing this and I hope we get to work together again on a wedding. Cause that was a lot of fun and I’m sure we will. And I look forward to the next time.
Brenda (32:47)
Yeah, thank you so much for having us. It was so great to see you in person live with your wife. It was great. And I know I was dancing and I was singing also. It was just perfect. Loved it so much. I definitely want to see you again in one of my other clients’ couples’ weddings. I’m going to vouch for you guys 100%. I’m going to be like, you guys have to have these people. It was so good.
Shawn Grindle (32:52)
Yeah.
It was a party.
Great.
Likewise. All right, well, thank you so much for doing this. We’ll talk soon. You have a great rest of your day, all right?
Brenda (33:16)
Thank you so much. Have a good one. Bye.
Shawn Grindle (33:18)
Bye, Brenda.
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