Experience, Boundaries, and Bold Choices: My Conversation on Persephone Says

Destination Weddings
Written By Reagan Prechter

When Persephone invited me onto her Persephone Says Podcast, we joked it was really part two of an ongoing conversation. We’ve connected so naturally—about the industry, about motherhood, about the weight of this work and the joy inside it—that it only made sense to keep talking.

What we landed on wasn’t surface-level “tips and tricks.” It was the kind of honest back-and-forth that gets into why we do this job, what’s broken in the wedding industry, and how we can start reshaping it.

The Myth of Perfection

When people look at Reagan Events, they see polish. What they don’t always see are the years it took to get here—or the personal storms that shaped me as a business owner. When I came back to Charleston pregnant with my second child, mid-divorce, and essentially rebuilding my business from scratch, there was no safety net. I took client meetings six days postpartum because survival required it.

Looking back, I see that season as defining: it taught me grit, resourcefulness, and how to keep moving no matter what. And it also taught me that appearances of perfection in this industry don’t tell the whole story.

Generation Shifts and Trust

We spoke about the rise of Gen Z clients—intelligent, intentional, but often caught between wanting to honor the money their parents are investing and overcomplicating the process in the name of transparency.

Here’s the truth: sophisticated service isn’t about receipts for every email. It’s about trust. Just as a bartender doesn’t narrate the polishing of each glass before handing you a cocktail, my role is to deliver the experience, not involve you in every hidden step. Over-communication has its place—but so does confidence in the final product.

Saying No with Intention

This industry is full of temptation to say yes—yes to the wrong clients, yes to timelines that don’t make sense, yes to budgets that don’t align. But every yes is a no to something else, often something better.

One of the hardest but wisest choices I make each year is to decline clients planning more than 18 months out. Why? Because historically, the couples who book last-minute have the resources and decisiveness that allow us to design extraordinary events. Holding space for them is a risk, but it’s one that consistently pays off.

Picking Up the Pieces

Persephone asked me about taking over events after clients have fired other planners—a reality we don’t discuss enough. Too often, people don’t realize experience matters until they’re deep in a mess. And while stepping into those situations requires unraveling and rebuilding, it also gives me a chance to restore trust. Sometimes the simplest acts—getting contracts signed, putting structure back in place—are the greatest relief.

Influencers, Visibility, and Boundaries

We didn’t shy away from the complicated topic of influencers. There’s value in reach, of course, but clarity matters more than ever. I’ve learned that protecting your boundaries—in contracts, in negotiations, and in your own mindset—preserves your ability to serve at the highest level. Sometimes that means reframing a tough situation: seeing it not as being underpaid, but as investing in exposure that money alone couldn’t buy.

What Matters Most

At the end of the day, anyone can make a room pretty. What endures are the relationships, the lifelong connections with clients who come back years later with gratitude, or who recommend me in passing to a stranger at the gym. Those are the things that remind me why I do this work.

Persephone and I closed our conversation with laughter, with candor, and with the sense that we’re both willing to question the industry and keep raising the bar. Because the truth is: sophisticated service requires boldness—sometimes in design, sometimes in boundaries, sometimes in simply saying no.

If you would like to talk with us about planning your next event, CLICK HERE


Want more behind-the-scenes stories, trends, and inspiration?

Reagan Prechter
Next

Designing a Seamless Guest Journey in Multi-Day Destination Weddings