What happens when you lose the legal right to use your own name? Wedding dress designer Hayley Paige spent nearly five years, and every dollar she had ever earned, fighting to win back her name and her right to design. In this conversation she joins James and Otto to trace the whole arc: the identity crisis of asking "who am I if I'm not a designer?", the businesses she built in the wilderness years, and the surreal comeback of seeing one of her dresses on a real bride during the Super Bowl halftime show.

It's an unusually honest look at the machinery behind the beauty. Hayley shares how creatives can protect their work before it's out in the world, why a strong business structure frees your creativity rather than dilutes it, and how to build a brand on trust that can survive almost anything. For any designer, photographer, or small business owner, it's part cautionary tale, part permission slip to begin again.

In this episode, James sits down with writer and contributing editor Shelby Wax for a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how wedding editorial really works—and what it actually takes to get published.

Shelby shares how her path through Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, and now freelance work shaped her perspective on storytelling, curation, and taste. Together, they unpack what most photographers and planners misunderstand about editorial, why "beautiful" isn't always enough, and how timing, brand alignment, and narrative all play a role in what gets selected.

They also dive into the realities behind submissions—why great weddings get passed on, how SEO and internal goals shape decisions, and what editors are really looking for when they open a gallery.

If you've ever felt confused or frustrated by the editorial process—or wondered how to get your work published—this conversation will reframe it completely and give you a clearer path forward.

Some planners execute a vision. Natalie Kiran Laskowski and Chelsea Leigh Wenner of Kiran + Leigh are the vision.

In this episode of The Business of Luxury Weddings, the co-founders of one of the most quietly compelling destination wedding studios in the country sit down with hosts James Christianson and Otto to talk about what it actually takes to build something with taste — and keep it that way. How they left a firm, launched a brand during a pandemic, and decided early on that they would never compromise on quality, creativity, or each other.

They talk vendor relationships, editorial design, the guest experience as the true measure of luxury, and the kind of partnership that only works when the friendship comes first.

No formulas. No repeats. Just two women who built exactly what they set out to build.