welcome to the podcast

Weddings For Real has officially rebranded to
For Real: Life, Leadership, and Unlearning

After 7 years and 300+ episodes, the podcast has evolved... because so have you! What started as a show for wedding pros has  has evolved into a bold, no-BS space for high-achievers to unpack identity shifts, quiet the inner critic, set boundaries that stick, and navigate the messy (but powerful) moments of growth and change.  

For Real is still hosted by Megan Gillikin, and it’s here to meet you in this next chapter as a whole human, not just a business owner.

Click the button below to check out the latest For Real episodes, or scroll down to dive into the archive of Weddings For Real, featuring 300+ episodes on client experience, team building, social media, SEO, branding, and the real-life lessons of entrepreneurship in the wedding industry.

For Real Podcast
wedding industry podcast
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300+ Episodes

5 star reviews

Over 250+ five star reviews

Podcast downloads

350,000 Downloads

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290

10 Life Hacks for Squirrel Brain Entrepreneurs


239

219

279

What You Need To Know About Growth + Burnout (Part 1)


Use This Strategy For Standing Out In A Crowded Market


5 Truths Every Business Owner Needs To Hear

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CHECK OUT OUR RECENT EPISODES

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

17: Top 5 Wedding Movies, and How They Relate to Real Weddings

This week, Megan brings on her husband Jason Gillikin, and they discuss the Top 5 Wedding Movies of All Time, and how they relate to real weddings that Megan has worked.

Top movie candidates include:

Wedding Crashers

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (fun fact, produced by Tom Hanks!)

Meet the Parents

27 Dresses

Bridesmaids (with the dreamy Jon Hamm)

The Princess Bride

Father of the Bride

The Wedding Planner (with its 15% Rotten Tomatoes score!)

My Best Friend’s Wedding

The Wedding Singer

Tune in to find out which is our #1 wedding movie of all time.

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

16: Wedding Planners and Venues Working Together in Harmony, with Nicole Smith of Vision Events

Nicole Smith, owner of wedding planning company Vision Events and former venue coordinator at The Sanderling Resort in the Outer Banks and the Marriott in Chapel Hill, comes on Weddings for Real to talk about how wedding planners and venues can work together in harmony.  Megan worked as a venue coordinator as well, so the two of them talked about several issues that come up that sometimes make the process much more difficult

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

14: How to Work Best with a Wedding Planner, with Elana Walker

Elana Walker has built up her empire in the Raleigh NC market. It started with her wedding planning company Elana Walker Events back in 2009, and has expanded to her inspiration blog Southern Noir Weddings, her Masterclass for wedding industry vendors, her month-of coordination company Carolina Fete, and she even co-authored a book…she really does it all. It seems like she never stops and always has ideas on how to improve and expand that empire.

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

13: Sister Entrepreneurs Courtney and Dana on Building a Wedding Venue

Courtney Hopper and Dana Kadwell are sisters and serial entrepreneurs in the Raleigh wedding industry.  In this show, you’ll get a sense of what that means to really be an entrepreneur.  Courtney and Dana were willing to sell everything and go for it, knowing that their visions for their businesses would work. 

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

12: Writing the Book of Wedding Stories with Wedding Photographer James Walters

James Walters of Walters and Walters Photography has been in the wedding industry for 16 years, and he has some crazy stories to tell.  So he did!  

In 2013 he came out with the book, Accessory to Marriage: A Chronicle of Outrageousness from My Life as a Wedding Photographer.

In today’s episode, James talks about some of his favorite stories from the book and his code language when it comes to weddings, like who “Fluffy” and “Triple D” are.

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

11: Top 5 Destination Wedding Tips with Photographer Mikkel Paige

Mikkel Paige is a wedding photographer and travel blogger, and she came on the show to give her Top 5 Destination Wedding Tips!

They are:

Destination Weddings can be Stressful! If you’re getting married and you need to be in control, a destination wedding may not be for you, because there is so much you CANNOT control.

Look Closely at your Contracts. A photographer might be included, but is that photographer right for you? And what if it’s not? Can you get a discount off of your package?

Review the Laws of your Destination. Are you allowed to get married there? Are there different rules based on the country’s laws on religion or gay marriage?

Don’t Forget Sunscreen! If you’re golfing or lounging or drinking or whatever before the wedding, use sunscreen. You don’t want the sunglasses or bikini straps showing in your pictures!

Consider the Weather. If you’re getting married on the east coast, a sunset ceremony is probably not going to happen for you. And if it’s windy that day, you can’t force pictures by the beach.

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Megan Gillikin Megan Gillikin

10: Honeyfund CEO Sara Margulis on Her Wedding, Shark Tank, Target, Millennials, and Budget Hacks

Shark Tank Winner Sara Margulis comes on the show to talk about her wedding to her Honeyfund partner Josh Margulis, how they came up with the business idea for Honeyfund, the company’s big break of being on Martha Stewart Weddings, the Something Wonderful Platform, the new partnership with Target, millennials, and some amazing vacations and excursions that they’ve taken.

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Our podcast has evolved into For Real, a show for women who are navigating leadership, identity shifts, emotional intelligence, and the messy middle of growth.

If you feel your story or expertise aligns with those themes, we’d love to hear from you.