Is a wedding directory listing still worth it — and what actually turns a listing into a booking? Nikita Thorne is joined by Shannon Tarrant, 20+ year wedding industry veteran and founder of Wedding Venue Map in the US, for a UK vs US comparison of how couples search for venues, what makes them inquire, and why chasing more leads isn't the fix venues think it is.

They cover the biggest listing mistakes venues make, why price transparency beats pretty photos, how to spot a genuinely bad lead vs a qualified couple who hit friction, and how AI search is changing venue discovery in both markets.

Connect with Shannon:

Website: https://www.shannontarrant.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshannonexperience/

Advertise with Guides for Brides: https://guidesforbrides.co.uk/advertise

UK Wedding Conference: https://www.ukweddingconference.co.uk/

Wedding venues often assume that getting more enquiries will lead to more bookings – but what if the real problem is what happens after those enquiries come in?

In this episode of The Wedding Venue Sales & Marketing Podcast, Nikita Thorne is joined by wedding sales expert Kelly Mortimer to explore how venues can convert more enquiries, increase average booking value and maximise wedding revenue.

Drawing on more than 25 years’ experience in luxury hospitality and wedding sales, Kelly explores the sales journey from the first website visit through to follow-up and venue viewing. She shares why imagery matters, how buyer behaviour has changed, why high-performing venues follow up more than you might expect, and where venues could unknowingly be losing potential bookings.

If you want to understand where your venue's biggest sales opportunities could be hiding, this episode is packed with practical ideas you can put into action.

Free Wedding Venue Sales Journey Audit

Identify where couples may be dropping out of your sales journey and where you could improve conversion.

Download the free audit: https://guidesforbrides.co.uk/business-information/are-you-losing-wedding-bookings-in-your-sales-journey

Connect with Kelly Mortimer:

Website: https://kellymortimer.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellymortimerweddingsales/

Advertise with Guides for Brides:

https://guidesforbrides.co.uk/advertise

UK Wedding Conference:

https://www.ukweddingconference.co.uk/

Want more enquiries, more bookings and better results from your wedding venue? The Wedding Venue Sales & Marketing Podcast, brought to you by Guides for Brides, is here to help.

Hosted by Nikita Thorne, each episode gets practical about what it takes to market, sell and grow a wedding venue business today — covering sales conversion, SEO, social media, customer experience, pricing, AI and marketing strategy.

Guest episodes open with the Hot Seat (quick-fire takes on the big issues) before moving into the Deep Dive — unpacking the thinking with real strategies and examples you can apply.

Expect fresh perspectives, practical actions and useful resources to help you attract better enquiries, improve conversion, increase booking value and build a more profitable venue business.

New episodes every Monday from 14th September.

Advertise with us: https://guidesforbrides.co.uk/advertise

Join us at the UK Wedding Conference: https://www.ukweddingconference.co.uk/

Follow us: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/gfb_biz/ · LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/guides-for-brides

Subscribe now so you don't miss an episode.