Candice (00:39.628)

All right, Lindsay, welcome to the show.

Lindsey Kleidman (00:44.41)

Thank you so much for having me, Candice. I'm so unbelievably thankful for you having me and all the support you've shown me. So truly thank you so much.

Candice (00:53.806)

my gosh, I cannot wait to chat with you about your business and all the things that have led you to this stage in your business. You're an exciting moment in your career and in your life. And I'm just so thrilled that you said yes to be a guest on our Behind the Brand episode. But before we get started, I have a couple of serious questions I need to ask you about the Valley. I know you're watching the Valley. We have to talk about this.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:14.106)

Yes.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:18.49)

I was like, how fast is it gonna be until we jump into Bravo? Which is really what this needs to become is our Bravo podcast.

Candice (01:25.211)

I think maybe you and I should have a side Bravo podcast just for fun.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:30.596)

Bravo, bravo, effing bravo. Like, let's do it.

Candice (01:32.142)

Lindsay and I have connected on so many different things, but Bravo is definitely one of those things. And one year she was my secret Santa. And as my gift, she bought me a video from Vicky Gumbelson telling me that I'm the baddest boss bitch and that my people love me. And it was honestly, I could cry just thinking about how amazing it was.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:46.977)

Hahaha

Lindsey Kleidman (01:56.406)

And then you got me the behind the in the sir parking lot. So honestly, it's it the feelings are mutual and we like it's our love language to each other.

Candice (02:01.454)

Yes. Yeah, we were actually Secret Santa's over each other and I had bought Lindsay a fun sweatshirt that was like, I'd rather be in the back alley of Sir right now. Big Vanderpump friends. In the back. Yeah, in the back alley of Sir. Just like ripping cigs and hating our life.

Lindsey Kleidman (02:14.69)

That's where I'm in that's where I'm envisioning us right now our safe space Yes Exactly talking some shit Totally

Candice (02:27.726)

We couldn't be farther from the back alley. It's all right now. I have to be honest Yeah, we're definitely not there but I I really so I just want your overall opinion on the valley right now Do you how are you loving this season of the show?

Lindsey Kleidman (02:43.298)

So honestly, it's like anything that's gonna feed me these people I'm excited about. It's like, I don't care how produced or made up the storylines are. I'm just like, I'm here for it. Like seeing Sheena Shay on my screen again, a little lala. I'm just like, yes, there's been no time because I think I told you, but I just rewatched the entire VPR and I was like, it was so, yeah, like start to finish. I was so upset when it was finished. And then when...

Candice (03:05.632)

You did?

Lindsey Kleidman (03:12.964)

you know, and then it was like the Valley was just like feeding my addiction. And like seeing Jax be like the same piece of shit that he's always been. It's just like, it's honestly like was heartwarming. I was like, nothing's changed. You know what I mean? Like we're in the same, and Kristin Doty, you know how I feel about her. Like I literally icon. So it was fun. It's been fun. I mean, like I said, some of it's a little overproduced. Some of it's like a little made up, but to me it's all, it's all beautiful.

Candice (03:21.481)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (03:26.442)

No. my God.

Candice (03:37.486)

Yeah.

Candice (03:41.856)

yeah, listen, I was in the Valley Reddit early this morning dropping comments in threads. So I feel you, I can't wait to watch last night's episode. Jason and I are obsessed with the show and I agree. It's like, these people are like home to me. It's actually comforting to me to sit down and to have this playing in the background, especially when I'm stressed. It's like the ultimate de-stressor for me.

Lindsey Kleidman (03:45.697)

Hahaha

Lindsey Kleidman (03:51.396)

Me too.

Lindsey Kleidman (04:06.832)

Totally, like when I have other people who are like screaming women and I'm like, no, that's like my comfort. That's like home to me. Yeah, like I just sit back, relax and let just it all wash over me. 100%.

Candice (04:14.584)

Yeah. Yeah.

Candice (04:21.59)

yeah, that's my Xanax. That is my Xanax is Jack Taylor in a cocaine fueled rage.

Lindsey Kleidman (04:27.248)

I know, I was like, I couldn't believe that we finally, like it was finally said, cause then I had, when I was watching VPR again, I was going back and I was like, well yeah, it's not about the pasta. We all know what it's really about.

Candice (04:38.094)

Yeah

Yeah. All right. So let us know if you think that Lindsay and I should have our own Bravo podcast. And maybe that's something we can work on in Q4 together. If you're interested, we could sit here and talk about Bravo all day. And I promise you that we won't because we are here to talk about Lindsay and her incredible business and how she is building a brand that is as iconic as Kristen Doty and one that is

Lindsey Kleidman (04:51.564)

Totally.

Lindsey Kleidman (05:07.728)

Ha

Candice (05:11.052)

people are have noticed and are continuing to notice in the industry and what I love most about these interviews is we always learn something new about how somebody is growing a business and it's so inspiring. So I would love to begin our interview where we begin all of these with the question of

What inspired you to start your business in the wedding industry? Take us back a little bit and give us a little bit of some heritage of your brand and how you started.

Lindsey Kleidman (05:43.087)

I'm gonna take you back 10 years. I'm gonna take you back to 2015. Okay? So it actually was my own wedding journey that started my wildflower journey. Basically when I got engaged, I said to my mom, I want to hire a wedding planner. And she said, no, you're not. We can do it ourselves. And bless her heart, because if it wasn't for her, I don't know if I would have found this path that

Have found myself on so basically my mom and I started planning the wedding to my wedding together And I had just found that it was like hitting all of the things that I loved to do I actually was a teacher while I was doing this and I realized that there was a lot of similar skill sets Even though it may look different on paper, but I had to be

had to be organized, had to be creative, I had to manage different people. And so I found that that was really easily transferable to my own experience. And I was having so much fun kind of finding the details and parts of the wedding that felt right to me.

Felt like a lot of people at that time were kind of going off this very particular blueprint. Like, this is how you plan a wedding. This is what you include. And I was like, well, I don't want to do that. I want to do what feels right to me and Ryan and reflects our story. So I like fully leaned in. I found so much joy in that. And then actually at the same time, my older sister got engaged and she had the complete opposite experience of me. So she started planning and she was

overwhelmed. She couldn't find vendors that she liked. She couldn't figure out her vision and she's like, well, you're having so much fun with your planning. You can do mine. And I got married in the summer under a tent in Rhode Island and she was having like an industrial Brooklyn wedding. And I was like, okay, like let's, I'm going to take it on. I'm going to take this on. And I found myself planning not only my wedding, but her wedding, bachelorette parties.

Lindsey Kleidman (07:56.688)

Showers all these kind of like auxiliary events and I was just in my lane and I always thought and I I was like if I can make her happy who if you have a sister Is the hardest client to please because there's no politeness. There's no holding back They're gonna tell you whether you know, it's stupid or there's just like no Like I said no politeness level with a sister. So I found that

Candice (08:07.64)

Mm-hmm.

Lindsey Kleidman (08:25.424)

when I started presenting her ideas and finding vendors and going on these meetings with her, like her floral meeting and her venue walkthrough, she felt more calm. She felt like she was supported. And I just thought, wow, like maybe there's more to this here. And so after that, after we both got married in 2016, I joked that 2017 turned into my internship year.

because all my friends started getting here and again, they were like, you had so much fun, your wedding was so different, it really spoke to who you and Ryan were, helped me do things. So I started finding vendors for them or helping them with design and I really just found so much joy in that and kind of on the flip as I was not finding joy in my real job, I again was like, maybe there's something to this beyond just helping friends and doing little dinner parties here and there.

so I started to explore that.

Candice (09:25.688)

my god, it's the tail as old as time and I never ever get tired of hearing it. In fact, I always I get a little upset with sometimes when wedding vendors, especially planners are like, a bride planned her wedding and now she thinks she can be a wedding planner and it's like, well, actually, yes, that is pretty much how most people get into.

Lindsey Kleidman (09:38.266)

Totally.

Candice (09:44.162)

this kind of work is that you experience it as the customer first and it ignites something in you. I think it's so wonderful and it's such an important part of your journey.

Lindsey Kleidman (09:55.216)

Totally, again, like I mentioned, I was teaching and I wasn't happy in my job and I really found that I was a person who...

Candice (10:00.109)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (10:02.84)

You know, I was like, I can't do this for 30 years. I was already kind of looking for an out. And I remember being like, do I want to go, you know, culinary was something I maybe had wanted to explore. I kept everything that I wanted to maybe explore was something in hospitality. I realized that it was like working with people who had a passion, who wanted an experience. And like you said, when I had my own wedding, it just ignited something in me. And, you know, in my, in my pretend world, I always said I wanted to be a Broadway

Candice (10:05.208)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (10:32.754)

director and create these like immersive worlds and with like music and it's you actually an analogy I use when in my inquiry call when I explain to my potential clients like I am your one-night Broadway director and you know, we hire your Orchestra and the costume designers and all that but really like that's what I got finally a sense to do is like I created this world I got to think about the music and what people were wearing and what linens and all of this

Candice (10:46.564)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (11:02.032)

these details that were, but this time it was reflective of me. And I thought, why can't other people have this experience? Why do people feel like they have to kind of follow this lockstep of this is what a wedding looks like and this is what I have to do. And I thought, but why? It didn't make sense to me. And I thought, maybe I'm the one to bring it to the masses. Exactly.

Candice (11:06.317)

Right.

Yeah.

Candice (11:24.142)

You're gonna be the change we need. And look where we are now. I love that. Take me back to your first wedding. And I don't mean your wedding, your sister's wedding or your friend's wedding. I mean the first wedding that somebody literally gave you money for a stranger was like, hell yeah, I want this girl planning my wedding. Take us back to that. What was it like?

Lindsey Kleidman (11:35.478)

my gosh.

Yes.

Lindsey Kleidman (11:49.978)

So that was 2019. It's funny, I was thinking about how much they paid for that. And I was like, did I actually pay them to hire me? Like, what did that even look like? But it was myself and one other person working the wedding, which is so funny, because now I probably have five to six coordinators with me on a wedding. It was at a country club in Connecticut. It was around 80 people. And I remember...

Candice (11:52.43)

Mm-hmm.

Lindsey Kleidman (12:17.04)

getting these opportunities for like little design moments. like I bought, remember those hedge walls that were like everywhere for like two or three years? like somehow we, she wanted this, it was a cheese board wall. That was her seating chart. And I remember like trying to find this hedge wall thinking, oh, I'm gonna keep this in my own inventory. A lot of lessons I've learned about buying things. And I'm like, will I ever actually use this again?

Candice (12:26.157)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (12:46.02)

But having these moments where I got to infuse a little bit of a design and I was like, my gosh, this is so fun. But it was, it actually went pretty well considering it was our first one. I remember the biggest takeaway from this wedding was the dad of the groom got hammered. Like actually to a point where I like don't know if I've ever experienced someone so drunk at a wedding before.

Candice (13:12.651)

Wow.

Lindsey Kleidman (13:13.796)

and where he was like in the bathroom throwing up. And I remember we were like, my God, what did we do? Like it's the father of the groom. We don't want this to impact the bride. We don't want her to find out. And we somehow snuck him out of the venue, put him in a taxi and like got him off the premise and no one knew. And I was like, okay, like maybe we can do this, you know? And I always said, I'm like, if I can handle a classroom of 16 year old boys,

Candice (13:17.055)

no.

Candice (13:23.18)

Yeah.

Candice (13:34.081)

Wow.

Candice (13:42.903)

Yes.

Lindsey Kleidman (13:43.022)

And like drunk fathers are like nothing. You know what I mean? So I thought it was like a good first foyer into like handling people and kind of like the insane challenges and things that pop up that you would never even anticipate. So that was my big takeaway from that wedding was I got to infuse some design elements that was really exciting. And I realized that it was more than just the coordination piece that I liked and the timelines.

Candice (13:46.743)

Yeah.

Candice (13:59.053)

Yeah.

Candice (14:09.41)

right.

Lindsey Kleidman (14:11.972)

but also like the handling of people and how to manage people correctly because it's, know, ultimately you want this couple to have, you know, the time of their life and the day they will never forget, but not have it be that they're not forgetting it because their dad was sick in the bathroom, you know? And so also that guest experience as well. So a lot of takeaways from that.

Candice (14:30.038)

Right? No, totally. Yeah. A lot of... Yeah. It's very rewarding when you can solve problems behind the scenes for your clients and they never know. I mean, wedding planners walk around every day with all these awesome things they've done that they just can't brag about because it would compromise their client relationship or it's just not something that people are gonna give you a gold star for.

but you freaking deserve it. And those are one of those moments. I've, yeah. It's a teacher in you. It's the teacher. Yeah. Well, your business has evolved since that moment and it evolved during our time working together. And it has recently even evolved again. And it's so great to see wedding pros, planners who are elevating their business and

Lindsey Kleidman (14:58.97)

Totally. I love a gold star too, you know what I mean? 100%, 100%.

Lindsey Kleidman (15:15.714)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (15:26.104)

feeling confident and comfortable to keep evolving rather than kind of staying stuck in a certain type of business model or even just aesthetically brand wise. We're gonna talk about your recent rebrand and the pretty big shift you made. I was kind of shocked and I was your coach and I was like, wow, I wanna know more about that. But before we go into what's recent, I'd love to hang out in the past for just a little bit longer.

Lindsey Kleidman (15:44.514)

I know.

Candice (15:52.802)

And one question I have for you is what's a strategy or a decision that you made early on that you think has contributed most to your growth as you sit here today? Like what do you think is the one of those things that you did early that was a big catalyst for you?

Lindsey Kleidman (16:11.642)

So kind of what I was saying with the first wedding, I had this taste of design and I found that, you know, if I was going to be moving away from this job that I thought, I'm gonna be here for 30 years, it's like, I wanted to do something that I was passionate about. I didn't wanna coast, I didn't wanna do something that I was like, if I'm making this big jump, what is it for? And so what I found was I needed to showcase.

what the wildflower design is all about. And so I really leaned in to style shoots. I invested probably a lot of money. I did a lot of anthropology returns and Amazon returns, Cring and Barrel. I just, this was before I had like, I know, don't tag those people. You know, this was before I had relationships with rental companies. So I was just scrappy, but I was intentional.

Candice (16:52.622)

You might be blacklisted. You might be blacklisted from a couple stores.

Lindsey Kleidman (17:09.516)

I wanted to show people what it was to have a wildflower design. So I went out and I made connections with vendors. I stalked people on Instagram to find real models because I wanted to have that authentic love on camera and not have it feel like two models who didn't know each other. So I really leaned into styled shoots because I felt like...

people weren't hiring me for design yet. They were gonna hire me for coordination. I was new on the scene. And so in order to get people to hire me for design, I needed to put that out there and show what I was all about and how I was different from this sea of other Connecticut, New York, New England planners who again were kind of producing, at least again, back in the day.

Candice (17:58.286)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (18:02.796)

in 2019 ish, we're kind of showing the same thing over and over again. And to me, I was like, I love color. I love texture. I want these like layered experiences. And I want to be able to show that so then maybe I can generate my ideal client. They can find me versus me trying to convince people just by word of mouth. I needed to like kind of

Candice (18:07.619)

Yep.

Candice (18:28.898)

Yep.

Lindsey Kleidman (18:30.094)

put my money where my mouth was and say like here it was. So my first, you know, wanted first five rows of Instagram are honestly all like styled shoots that I curated. And I was able to like that first 2019 wedding, think a lot of, lot of their ability to trust me and do some design was because they kind of saw what I was able to. And actually that florist that I worked on that first wedding with was the florist I had my first styled shoot with. So what I also realized was that

Candice (18:51.192)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (19:00.208)

with styled shoots, was actually starting to curate a community. In a community that can be really isolating and really scary to navigate and people, it's very different now. People are so friendly. Instagram is such a great tool to connect with people, but I feel like 2018, 19, 20, it was still kind of in its first iterations. So it really just helped me form real relationships that I was able to then

kind of partner with and start to bring along with me on the journey.

Candice (19:34.432)

Yeah, I.

I so appreciate this. As a coach, I hear all the time the question of like, well, how can I get better clients? How can I get clients who are going to value my creativity, my design ideas? What do I need to do? And this is planners, imitation designers, floral designers, even photographers. And it's like, you have to show them what you're capable of. You have to go out there and produce the things that you want somebody to pay you to produce to show them what you're made of. And I wish more people

did styled shoots, even though some people give them a bad rap, but I think they are single-handedly one of the easiest ways for you to advance and show people what you're made of. And I love that you made that decision. And you can trace successes that you had directly from those experiences that you created for your brand. A side quest question here, where do you think your confidence in design came from at that time? Because so many planners tell me,

Lindsey Kleidman (20:34.424)

Okay.

Candice (20:36.368)

Like they're not confident, like they lack confidence. They're not a designer. They didn't go to school for this. And you probably had all those feelings too, but in spite of it, you persevered and you had a bit of audacity here. So where do you think that came from? Maybe it was delusion, which is fine, but yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (20:51.832)

You got it. 100 % delusion. I think for me, it was somewhat innate. You know, I always liked interior design and, you know, not that I necessarily had good fashion, but like, I love picking out other outfits. So I've always been drawn to those things. So I think it was just starting to see things in a different, through a different lens and trial and error and

Candice (21:09.218)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (21:20.322)

you know, putting things together that, excited me and I was not going to hold back. So I think a lot of it was, you know, and I, tried to, I was going to say in addition to style shoots, a lot of what a tactic that helped me was also education. You know, I found you very early on in my, in my, journey. And I think that really, you know, kind of style shoots and Candace.

You know, I started with you a planners clay book, but that really started to give me the Building blocks to get to where I wanted to go but in terms of style and design honestly, I think it was just Kind of what was within me and again like just willing to take big swings with color and texture and just you know again like I think my wedding just kind of untapped this Portal inside me that I didn't really know I had

Candice (22:09.101)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (22:19.362)

when it started, it just kind of didn't stop. But delusion definitely helps.

Candice (22:24.142)

It does. helps in the first one or two. You're like, I can totally do this. And then you're like, what the fuck did I get myself into? And that's completely fine. It happens to all of us. But there's one really important lesson here that I see. it's, and you've heard me say this before, but it's like action creates clarity. So you became more confident as a designer because you gave yourself the experience to be one and through every styled shoot that you organized or you were a part of and through everything that you've got your hands on.

Lindsey Kleidman (22:42.298)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (22:54.156)

you either got affirmation that you knew what you were doing, like in Planner's Playbook or in WPI, but you also understood the assignment more because you did it. You took big swings, like you said, which is such a great phrase. And those big swings allowed you to understand like what to do next. Had you not taken that big swing, you probably would have been like, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not confident. But the confidence came through the action you took.

And that's something that I think, yeah, a lot of people don't, like they don't realize that you've got to start somewhere. And that's part of what this series is about. It's like, we all have a very similar origin story. It's how we take big swings and it's some of the decisions that we make that help to push us forward. Could you pinpoint maybe a moment in your career where you felt like your brand had finally made it in the industry? Like,

Lindsey Kleidman (23:21.498)

Totally.

Lindsey Kleidman (23:47.898)

Yeah.

Candice (23:48.16)

when you look back, maybe even to yesterday, maybe that day was yesterday, I don't know, but was there ever a moment where you're like, holy shit, like, I think I'm like, I'm making it.

Lindsey Kleidman (23:51.024)

you

Lindsey Kleidman (24:01.306)

So it's so funny you say that because I don't think I've made it. Other than when Candice asked me to be on her podcast, I was like, okay, done, close up shop. It's not getting better than this. But I think if I have the mindset of I made it, that my hustle mentality, I don't wanna lose that. I think that it's really pushed me. I think that it has kept me going in terms of

What's next? What can I do better? What can I learn more? So to kind of what you said, I've had a lot of holy shit moments versus I made it moments. Especially I keep referencing, but you know, I came from a job where this all started where I was like, this is gonna be like a fun side hustle. And so the fact that I'm now doing this full time, I've left my, you know, I had a 401k, I had a pension.

I benefits like all the things that boomers like drill into your mind that that's what success is. You know, in my early thirties, I was like, okay, I'm leaving that all behind and I'm going to go now just start this really new but scary but amazing thing. So a few of those holy shit moments was definitely when I moved to percentage pricing again. And that came from a lot of

Candice (25:00.344)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (25:22.704)

talking with you and building up my confidence and really understanding. But I worked 30 weddings in 2022. A lot of them were coordination or designing coordination. And I say it was like the year that I left money on the floor. And it was right after, you know, was still dealing with like the COVID spillout. And I was so burnt out. I had just had my daughter and I kind of felt like I walked away with not a lot. Not that like the weddings weren't great and my couples weren't great, but

I felt like I definitely didn't have boundaries and I gave my clients everything and I was like, what do I have to show for it? And I feel like it was probably in one of your, what are they called? When we had the, I'm gonna need to cut this and go back, but what are the things that we used to call where we would go together and like, we would like talk it out?

Candice (26:18.636)

Like our hot seeds or like, yeah, yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (26:19.746)

Hot seat, thank you, okay. But in your hot seat, I remember like bitching one day and it was like a band came in for four hours and we like tripled the amount that I did. And I was like, I worked not only a year and a half on this wedding, but then, you know, a 16 hour day and I'm walking with, you know, it's funny now and I'm not saying it's not a lot of money, but I probably walked with like $7,500.

on a $250,000 wedding and I'm like, what am I doing? So when I booked my first percentage and then didn't have to justify it and the client was just like, yeah, okay, that totally makes sense. And then actually made money off of it. I was like, whoa, this is really cool. And I can't believe, you know, I can't believe I hadn't done it sooner. So that was definitely a holy shit moment.

Candice (27:04.404)

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (27:15.586)

Also, there was a few weddings in 2023 where I definitely worked with bigger budgets. They really allowed me to stretch my creative wings and bring on vendors that I feel like actually neared the type of events I wanted to produce. So I thought that was really exciting because it finally allowed me to really show the full scope of what I was able to offer.

Candice (27:36.024)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (27:45.104)

And also just like when I had my daughter, I realized that I needed to start to establish boundaries because before I had my daughter, I was just working nonstop. I worked from, you know, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. with Bravo on in the background, on my couch. And I kind of let a lot of my own personal relationships burn. And once I realized, oh, I'm actually in control of this.

I am my own boss. was, I said, was like institutionalized as a teacher, right? Like they told me when I could leave at the end of the day, they told me when I could go to the bathroom. and I had no autonomy. And once I really finally realized, and it honestly took me a few years working for myself, that I was my own boss. and owning that, that was a real Holy shit moment. Like last year I was able to take off the month of December and

do all these like fun holiday Christmassy things with my daughter that I didn't get to do the years prior because I was just working straight through the holidays because no one told me that I got to decide to take off those weeks, right? So when I was making meetings, I was making meetings all the time. And so when I finally realized that I was the controller of my fate, that was a big holy shit moment for me.

Candice (29:10.604)

Yeah, absolutely. You know, there's nothing sweeter than being paid a lot of money to do the job that you love and for somebody to fully trust in that and to have that moment where a big client says yes without hesitation and you realize, wow, it is that easy. I remember listening to a podcast episode or something and the speaker said the difference between somebody who charges, you know, $10,000

Lindsey Kleidman (29:17.7)

Hahaha

Candice (29:40.48)

and $100,000 is just a zero. That's the difference. And there's a confidence in what $100,000 gives you versus 10,000. And when you recognize that, really the difference between somebody who's being paid more than you is just they're asking for it. It's not that they're more talented than you. It's not that they have some secret you don't have, but it's just that they've asked for it and they've figured out how to.

how to ask for it to get people to say yes, that lights a fire under you. And then also too, yeah, being able to recognize that you started your business because you wanted to do things differently and that you are actually the person who gets to decide when you work, how you work, who you work with, the type of work that you get to do. And, you sometimes we have to be reminded of that. So I hope somebody listening is like, yeah, actually, Lindsay, that is such an important point, especially during wedding season,

Lindsey Kleidman (30:10.49)

Totally.

Candice (30:34.48)

everybody listening is probably already exhausted and it's only July. So, imagine how you might feel towards the end of the season. You deserve to take a break and to make your own schedule. brand, yeah, your brand has undergone a pretty major shift and a rebrand in the last 60 days. You completely rebranded your business and you kind of went from a very whimsical amongst the wildflowers kind

Lindsey Kleidman (30:46.678)

Absolutely.

Candice (31:04.4)

of brand vibe with kind of hand drawn elements that had this beautiful, was beautiful, I loved your brand to something that is way more in your face, personality, colorful brand. And it's so exciting, but it's quite a different shift. And so I would love for you to share a little bit more about what sparked that decision in you.

Lindsey Kleidman (31:04.431)

Yeah.

Candice (31:31.548)

and some things that you learned along the way in the process.

Lindsey Kleidman (31:35.888)

Totally. A lot of the things that I learned truly came from, I promise I'm not kissing your ass, but like from WPI and Planner's Playbook about it really aligned with, and it goes back to your ideal client, right? So kind of couple things that sparked it was as I was moving through and working with clients, I realized that when I was growing up and as beautiful as this

Candice (31:42.696)

Lindsey Kleidman (32:03.844)

brand was and I was proud of, know, I spent a lot of money on that website and all the things and spent a lot of time with that, with the copy and making sure it was reflective of the type of experience I wanted to give. realized it was talking about the process and not necessarily me. And it took me a long time to feel comfortable enough to say you're hiring Wildflower.

you're hiring Lindsay. And I was very much like scared to show myself, even though I'm like, here I am, you know me, I'm like unapologetically myself for some reason that wasn't, I was scared to put that out there on my website, on Instagram. I was kind of letting my design and the experience speak for itself versus, Hey, like this is who you're getting to work with. And through

Candice (32:47.394)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (33:00.42)

those hot seats that we had with you. And I remember I'd always come in, you know, when we had to let something go, it was a lot of times things about myself that I had to let go, honestly, through therapy, through having my daughter and wanting her to like have the confidence to just be herself unapologetically in the world. was like, I need to lead by example. And when people work with Wildflower, you're working with Lindsay. I always say I'm like part of what makes

wildflower difference is me and what I bring to the table for you. And if they're not getting that off the bat, then I might be leaving money on the table, missing out on my ideal clients. And so I realized I needed to realign because again, I wasn't booking as beautiful as the weddings that I was getting to book and as great as some of my couples were.

I didn't feel like they were really like hitting my heartstrings of the type of weddings I wanted to do. As much as I love a whimsical soft wedding and I never wanna say like I wouldn't do that because I've definitely done that this year, but I wanted something loud, I wanted bright, I wanted color and I was honestly watching some of my colleagues get that and I was like, why aren't I getting that? And then I clicked on my website and I was like, that's why.

Candice (34:26.349)

Yup.

Lindsey Kleidman (34:26.422)

It's because I'm giving soft. It's because I'm giving and I I'm all about a little whimsy, know, but I didn't want that to be my entire brand. So I realized that I needed to put myself out there. I needed to show people this is what who Lindsay is because when you get me on my inquiry call, you know, I always say I give them the energy. I want them to know off the gate that this is who you're working with.

This is who's going to be with you through the process. And this is who is showing up to, who's showing up on your wedding day. And I am excited. I'm your hype person. I am your confidant. I always joke, I'm going to be in a throuple with you because that's how close we're going to get. And I realized that that wasn't in my marketing and it wasn't on my website. And whether it is because, you know, I'm middish thirties now and I'm just now,

finally really comfortable with who I am and I don't feel ashamed or about that. like, I gotta put that out there. got, people have to see this is who they're getting and I wanted my brand and the colors and the patterns and the layers to reflect, to really reflect that. So I just kind of went for it and I found a web designer who

Candice (35:44.938)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (35:50.444)

matched my energy. She's a little younger. So I also felt like that was really helpful because obviously, you know, my clientele is getting younger and not, you know, necessarily in my age bracket. Yes. Exactly. Keep me young girl. You know what I mean? Like, so that was really helpful. And

Candice (36:02.092)

We need Gen Zers. We need Gen Zers on the team to help us millennials figure out how to not be millennial.

Lindsey Kleidman (36:15.97)

Also like not using the same person that everyone was using in Connecticut and New York. So I wanted to stand out and she really helped me find my voice and also find, know, it's funny because my website now is like stripes and flowers and bright colors. And it's funny, if you go in my closet or look in my interior of my house, it's stripes and flowers. And I'm like,

Candice (36:19.832)

Sure.

Candice (36:34.839)

Yeah.

Candice (36:40.834)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (36:41.68)

You know, and I like, it was so difficult for me to find that, but like through working with her and pushing me and asking me certain questions, just like I hope to do with my clients, she really helped me find what felt truly authentic to the type of experience and website and all of that, that I wanted to get. So I'm so excited. It felt like the longest experience because I started and I didn't know what I wanted and I had to find the right copy.

Candice (36:57.585)

that's so great.

Lindsey Kleidman (37:09.968)

writer and all of those things but once I found it and everything clicked it just was like full speed ahead and Kind of putting that in the out in the world was truly so exciting and seeing people react to it It was awesome because a lot of the reaction was this is so you and I haven't seen this before and I think a lot of times as wedding planners we think we need to be to mirror and soft and kind of like

Candice (37:34.711)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (37:37.916)

not loud and proud and who we are. And I want people to know like, when you're working with me, I'm going to be loud. I'm going to advocate for you. You are my people. But also I come with a design perspective and I'm not afraid to push them. But it's also not about me. It's about what they want. But I want them to know I will push them to the limit so that their wedding is next level. And it's

Candice (37:53.58)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (38:06.38)

won't be, it'll be unforgettable, just like how I feel. Hopefully my brand is now to other people.

Candice (38:14.519)

Yeah.

You brought up something so important and it's that we evolve over time, our aesthetic, our personality, we mature and ripen and richen in how we see the world through our experiences. And when we start our business in our 20s, we're so much different in our 30s and wait until you get into your 40s, you'll be even different, more different. And I imagine your 50s is where you're just like, fuck you, I don't care, you But you,

Lindsey Kleidman (38:41.538)

Exactly!

Candice (38:45.412)

things do change and it's wonderful when you can recognize that you have changed or that you've gotten more comfortable in who you've always been and you desire to be able to mirror that in the work that you do.

Lindsey Kleidman (38:55.056)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (38:59.97)

I also think when we start a business, try to, we think we have to fit a mold. So we design a brand or pick a business name or write copy and have packages and services and things that are what other people are doing because if they're doing it, that must be how we're supposed to be doing it.

Lindsey Kleidman (39:18.732)

Absolutely.

Candice (39:18.796)

And what ends up happening is, like, we're wearing somebody else's business, somebody else's personality, and it might not even actually be profitable or good because they copied it from someone else. And you do reach a stage in your business where you're like, hmm.

I did that, it got me here. So thank you for that brand, that message, those clients, but I'm understanding myself better. And I realized that in the next era of my business, I can't blend in with everybody else. can't be the wedding planner you expect.

because then nobody is gonna really, I'm not gonna stand out, nobody's gonna hire me, I'm gonna be forgettable. Or I'm gonna get clients who are like, okay, can I pay you $2,000 and can you do all this work for me? So it's such an important lesson to learn. And it took you time to get there and I'm sure you don't regret any stage of your business journey because it kind of is a building block into where Wildflower has gone today.

Lindsey Kleidman (40:20.25)

Totally, and you know, because I hadn't done, I didn't go to school for this, I didn't go to school for business, I didn't go to school for design, it was like the hard knocks, you know? Like I needed to go out there, I needed trial and error, I need a lot of where I am today is because I went through other things and was like, I don't want to do that, you know? I only do full weddings and weekends now because I realized I didn't like feeling

Candice (40:30.423)

Yeah.

Candice (40:41.059)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (40:48.162)

like a factory. I didn't like doing 30 weddings in a year. Partly, you know, one, I had my daughter and I was like, I'd like to see you grow up and not work every weekend. And I also wanted to have a deeper connection and relationship with my couples. And I was like, how can I give that to them and also ask for more money?

Candice (40:49.443)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (41:11.062)

If I'm spreading myself so thin, how am I actually going to have meetings with you? How am I going to give you a full experience and not feel burnt out with design ideas if I have, you know, 30 other couples to service? So I started to after 2022, I did 16 weddings in 2023 and I was still like, there was like a few designing coordinations in there. I realized I was like, I'm not going to do a wedding that doesn't have like my design in there. and then my

2024 and now 2025, I'm only doing full service and I wouldn't have gotten there if I didn't put myself in those earlier positions and say, okay, I don't wanna do that. This doesn't fit the lifestyle that I wanna create for myself. And again, it was understanding that I got to be the maker and decider of what my life looked like and I wanted to be around for holidays. I wanted to...

Candice (41:54.678)

Right?

Lindsey Kleidman (42:05.262)

be able to go to her dance recital and things like that. And I wasn't going to be able to do that if I spreading myself so thin and it to whose benefit, you know, it was, I was burnt out. I felt like my clients weren't going to get the full experience with me and my family was going to suffer. So I learned a lot along the way. I learned how to say no, which was a huge lesson for me because I definitely started off almost like my first three years was like, yes, yes, yes.

Candice (42:12.278)

Mm-hmm. Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (42:31.536)

I'm going to take that opportunity. I'm going to do that style shoot. I'm going to go to that event. And when I started to say no and really pick and choose the things I wanted to participate in and put my name towards and who I wanted to connect with, there was such a power in that as well. That really ended up, I think, benefiting me and pushing me further than the yes.

Candice (42:54.954)

Yeah, yeah, I remember us even having a private conversation about that. I think you said, what do you think if I said no to this? You know, do you think that's okay? And I was like, yeah, girl, you've earned the right to not be at everything or not have to put your name on everything. But all those yeses led to a place where you could turn down opportunities or be more disconcerting about clients, the style of shoots you participate in, conferences you go to.

Lindsey Kleidman (43:09.615)

Yep.

Candice (43:24.576)

or host and we'll get into that in a second. But those yeses brought you to this awareness and understanding. when we start a business, have to hustle. We have to say yes to stuff. Sometimes I think the industry gets things a little backwards where we're like bounding ourselves out of business and people who are just starting are like putting up all these boundaries and they're like, no, I'm not going to do that. And I'm like, girl, you're not going to get any work if you just say,

Lindsey Kleidman (43:37.903)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (43:53.936)

Totally.

Candice (43:54.633)

know everything you you have to put yourself out there

Lindsey Kleidman (43:58.492)

yeah, and it's funny because people say the power of no. But I was like, I lived by the power of yes for so long and that really did service me well. And I think it pushed me to have opportunities. I think it got the wildflower design out there so people started to associate a certain look with what I was able to produce. I was able to make connections within the industry. And then it's like, once you get to a certain point, then you can say, okay.

Candice (44:04.896)

Yes.

Lindsey Kleidman (44:27.94)

What do I, how can I control this a little more? What do I really wanna be connected to? I found that like, if I was doing a style shoot, I didn't necessarily wanna partner with someone because I wanted to be the sole decider. And I found, know, I'm like, maybe I don't need to do this because I don't need this person to particularly prop me up. Like maybe I'm there already and I just kinda had to own a lot of that more. So yeah, I think that there's definitely a power to yes.

When you first start out, it helps you hustle, it helps you make those connections, but eventually you can start to put up those boundaries. But don't do it too soon because you're gonna miss out on things that are gonna get you to a certain stage.

Candice (45:09.58)

Yeah, I definitely agree. have to be disconcerting, but don't turn down opportunities that will get you to the next era of your business. And this is a great tee up in talking about Camp Wildflower. So not only have you completely rebranded and changed the messaging of your entire business and your marketing, you've gone from being more demure, more whimsical, and softer into being bold and aesthetic driven and louder but

but not loud in a bad way, like loud in the best way possible. And you've also launched this experience for the wedding industry to come together called Camp Wildflower. And that was really audacious and super bold of you to do. And I would love for you to share a little bit more. Well, first, just tell us what Camp Wildflower is. And then I have some questions to ask you about how it came about.

Lindsey Kleidman (46:04.428)

Awesome. So camp is a creative retreat for event and wedding pros and really just a chance to disconnect from the world around you. It's not your typical networking event. I don't want to hear how is your season going, even though we might get into that on a deeper level, but it's really a chance for people to kind of reconnect with your inner child, to be creative, to

get some self care to make real deep, meaningful connections with a community that can, in a job, in an industry that can feel very lonely and isolating. And I felt like, to kind of go back a little bit, I was going to a lot of networking events in 2023 and 2024. was like, I wanna expand my circle. I wanna put myself out there, which was all great. But what I found was,

is I was basically going to the same event in a different outfit, in a different theme, and it was the same questions being asked. It was like, you know, little cheese cubes, and how's your season going? how many weddings do you have? And I was like, if I have to small talk one more person, I'm gonna...

Candice (47:03.49)

Yep.

Lindsey Kleidman (47:20.228)

kill myself, like it's just not fun. And then I get in my car and I'm like, what weird thing did I bring up? Because I'm sure I wanted to trauma bond with someone and they're like, who are you again? And I just was like, this is not how I want to connect with people. Like how are people supposed to walk away and have real connections with people if we're not giving them the space and the opportunity to do so. And I remember I had a conversation with you and we were kind of talking about

Candice (47:25.838)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (47:48.08)

where my business was going. And we talked about kind of creating an event that was about connections and being a tastemaker and how to kind of bring Wildflower to the next level. fast, or rewind to the winter of 2024, was in the Catskills. I had just done a venue tour and I left and there was this super cool venue that literally, literally reminded me of camp as a kid. And I was a big,

Camp kid that was like what I did every summer from probably the age of five to eighteen. I was a camper I was a CIT counselor a lifeguard, you know the whole the whole thing. It was such a part of my own history and I remember getting so much Freedom

In camp, was able to, had my first love at camp. I have real friendships that I still have to this day from camp. I was able to explore these like creative sides to myself, whether it was through arts and crafts or, you know, a show that we did. And as I'm driving home in the snow, thinking about camp, and like I said, like I kind of pretend I'm like a Broadway director. So I started like creating all these like worlds in my head and I'm like, why can't we do this for us?

And you know, I was still kind of twinkling in the world of styled shoots. I thought, know, styled shoots often you're creating these beautiful moments, but you never get to live in them. We're always there to photograph them and design them. But like, when do we as wedding pros actually get to experience it themselves? So I was like, all right, to hell with styled shoots, I'm done. I kind of finally owned the fact that I was getting the clients that I could show.

my design through their weddings. didn't have to curate them anymore. And rather I wanted to curate an experience for wedding pros to actually be able to like rip through the photograph, be in the beautiful design, but also create an experience that allowed these deeper connections. And to have fun. Like when do we get to, we're in a job that's about being creative. And like obviously, know, planners get to.

Candice (49:59.5)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (50:03.406)

design, but we're also dealing with timelines and we're all dealing with marketing. it's like the, sometimes the business of it all doesn't allow us to stretch our creative selves and photographers and videographers, like their jobs are literally to create art and as much as they are, I'm sure they're also being inundated with, my gosh, I have to post on Instagram and all the, you like I said, all the business parts of our job, I think sometimes overcrowd the fun part of it.

And so I wanted to kind of give everyone the opportunity to find their inner child again and really get to have fun. When do people just get to have fun, be silly? You know, I always say like when I'm at a wedding, like I'm watching the dance party and I'm maybe like moving on the side, but like, I'm like, when do I get to dance? When do I get to go full out? And so I wanted to give wedding pros that opportunity just to let loose, have fun, get to experience the beauty themselves and

That can then beautifully translate into the real world. When we're finding our vendors, then we get to work with real friends. And how fun is that? That we get to then do something that we love together with people we love. So that was kind of the goal in all of this was to create the space for people to have fun and make real meaningful connections.

Candice (51:27.47)

Well, when you pitched this idea to me, I was like, this is a gold mine. And I don't mean like Lindsay is printing money off of this experience. What I mean, not yet. And when she starts, we'll definitely have her back to talk about that.

Lindsey Kleidman (51:35.152)

Not yet, hopefully.

Yeah

Candice (51:41.676)

But it was an idea that I don't think too many people have considered. as wedding pros, mean, wedding weekends are like going to camp. I used to tell my clients all the time when we planning a wedding weekend, I'm like, this is going to be so special that you're curating an entire weekend experience. It's going to be like your guests are coming together and going to camp and making friends, lifelong friends they've never met before. It's just an amazing experience. But when do we ever really get to experience that minus

Lindsey Kleidman (52:02.618)

Totally.

Candice (52:10.314)

the education overload. So people do it, but they do it and you're in this, you know, room listening to somebody talk and there's slide decks and there's, you know, mixers and there's like all these things that are great. Don't get me wrong. Absolutely great.

Lindsey Kleidman (52:26.362)

Totally.

Candice (52:27.64)

But what if we removed the big education piece out of it and we focused on fun and on play? There's actually a great book on play. It's called Play and it talks about how as adults we lose a sense of curiosity, of playfulness, obviously because we have bills to pay and like taxes to pay and like all this crazy shit we gotta do. So we lose what we had as a child, which is just the freedom to imagine and to play. But play is like such an integral part.

Lindsey Kleidman (52:49.444)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (52:57.806)

of develop continuing to develop as a human and it's essential in like regulating your nervous system and learning how to have relationships and being inspired. And I love that really the mission behind camp is for fun, like for the sake of it, for no agenda outside of playing and having fun.

Lindsey Kleidman (53:18.542)

Yep.

And also like what you said is that there's not necessarily like how to market to Gen Z, right? And like these educational moments, but there's time curated in camp for, you know, we gather around a bonfire. had this for when we did winter camp, one of the first things we did the first night was called bitching in bonfires because...

Candice (53:27.373)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (53:43.862)

I'm a New Yorker. I like to get negative sometimes. And I'm like, okay, in order for the positive to come in, we got to like rid ourselves of the bad. And so we all wrote down like horror stories from the past year and we burned it in the bonfire. But as we were doing that, we were sharing and we were learning from each other and we were saying, I'm never going to do that. So even though there wasn't formal education, there was this natural occurrence that happened where we learned from each other.

Candice (53:46.732)

you

Lindsey Kleidman (54:12.084)

And we were able to say, I felt I've dealt with that before or, how like when that happened, what did you do? And so it wasn't like, here's the topic and we're going to talk about this. was giving us the actual space to do that in a natural, authentic way versus here's the topic. Here's the doc, the slide deck, you know, and like, here's a breakout group. And not to say that there is not value in that, but I think that there are.

way more qualified people to do that. And there's those spaces are taken up and they're doing a great job. I wanted to bring something different. I wanted it, like you said, I wanted it to feel fun. You know how I love skincare and spa. So I wanted there to be an element of self care and giving you, I always feel like when I've gone to things, I'm like, they say there's going to be free time, but like, where's the free time. And so I also wanted people just to like be able to relax and

Candice (54:50.039)

Yeah.

Candice (55:06.23)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (55:10.68)

If you want to go take a call or do some work on your laptop in your room, you can do that. But if you also want to hang out with some gals and chit chat about Bravo or how your season is going, you can do that too. I'm not going to force things on you. I'm not going to force you to participate. You participate in what you want. You come as you are. There's no dress, you know, there, the one dress code we had was there was a PJ party, you know, but it was like, you want to wear flannels?

Candice (55:32.887)

Yes.

Candice (55:37.645)

Yep.

Lindsey Kleidman (55:39.844)

You want to wear an oversized shirt? You want to wear silky PJs with a fun print? You do, you girl. Like there is no, we wanted you to be comfy. I'm someone who is, I'm a lady of leisure. You know, like I like to be comfy. You know how I like to be comfy. Yes. And so when someone was like, okay, here's another networking event where I have to wear heels. Like I'm like, don't make me wear an underwall. Yes.

Candice (55:54.362)

You rock a hoodie like Noah's business, yes.

Candice (56:04.534)

Right? Or rent the runway and I know spending hundreds of dollars and it's, it's, and it can, and there's nothing wrong with that. I love getting dressed up and sometimes the only, the,

Lindsey Kleidman (56:09.902)

Yes.

Lindsey Kleidman (56:14.65)

Totally, once in a while, I'm totally down, but it felt like at least in the New England area, was rinse and repeat, copy paste, like the same kind of thing. And I was like, okay, I don't, can I wear this dress and keep the tag on and get it back? Like, again, don't tell these stores. But I just was like, also, I didn't feel like it was me. And I, you know, I am an extroverted introvert, right? I...

Candice (56:21.964)

Sure.

Candice (56:25.41)

Right.

Candice (56:30.594)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (56:40.898)

I would like text my friends, what are you wearing? my gosh, I was just like the amount of stress I was putting on myself to like go to a networking event and make sure I was like dressed appropriately just didn't seem to match them the experience that I took away from it. So I wanted people to be like.

Candice (56:48.727)

Right.

Candice (56:54.828)

Yep.

Lindsey Kleidman (56:57.296)

A lot of the feedback I got from my campers from Winter Camp was I love that I just got to shop in my own closet. I didn't have to go and buy a whole new wardrobe. It was flannels and comfy, you know, sweatpants. you know, the activities matched that so they really could just not worry about this part. It was like the inside. was the connection. It was the fun that they were going to have to look forward to versus I have to buy this dress. I have to buy these shoes, you know, and

Again, like that's a lot to do with me and what is important to me. So I really wanted to push that onto people and make it feel like come as you are. This is not about, you know, like being the hottest chick in the room, even though there were some girls who showed up campers chic and it was so fun to see. there were some people who just, yeah, I was, it was so fun to see, but it was also like, that's not what this is about. It was just about like showing up, being open, making new friends and like so many of

Candice (57:36.13)

Yep.

Candice (57:44.718)

Love that for them. That's part of it. Yeah, exactly.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (57:57.284)

the girls left the first winter camp and they're now like doing lunch. They are working weddings together. There's all these like natural things that are happening as like a ripple effect from camp that's so beautiful to see, which I love.

Candice (58:12.941)

Yeah.

Yeah. And that is so gratifying as an event producer, that ripple effect to see relationships formed, partnerships, opportunities be created. What I, if I had to sum up camp in a way, I would say it's the best part of going to a conference. Meaning like it's the part that you didn't realize you were going to love the most. thought the speakers and the fancy dinners and all these things were going to be why you went, but you recognize that the late night chats in the lobby, the chats with your roommate.

Lindsey Kleidman (58:30.576)

Mm-hmm.

Candice (58:43.76)

those moments where people fully relax, their hair down, they let any pretensions go, and they just meet you wherever they're at on a human level. Those are the things that you walk away from things like Engage or other conferences. You leave and you're like, that's what really filled up my cup. Sure, I learned a lot, I was inspired, but what filled up my cup were those moments that weren't on the official agenda. And camp really fills, it really beautifully.

Lindsey Kleidman (58:53.422)

I love that.

Candice (59:13.24)

creates a space where that is the space that you get to experience are those in between moments at a conference that you like you never have enough time. You're like, I wish I could have sat on the beach longer. I wish I could have had that late night, you know, conversation for much longer. Well, you get two or three days at camp where that is the whole premise of it. And that's what's so beautiful about intimate retreats and the camp experience. And you have another camp coming up.

Lindsey Kleidman (59:26.521)

Yep.

Candice (59:41.548)

really soon actually, it's in July. So it's this month, it's happening. And so for somebody listening, who's like, girl, put me on a plane, get me, get my bags packed. Like I wanna make pasta, I wanna hike, I wanna sit in a pool, I wanna do nothing, I wanna enjoy good food and good wine. Tell me about summer camp, cause you did winter, which is like all the wintery fun stuff that we're all obsessed with, but now it's summertime.

Lindsey Kleidman (59:43.438)

Yes. Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:00:07.268)

Yep.

Candice (01:00:10.092)

So what's summer camp all about?

Lindsey Kleidman (01:00:12.208)

So summer camp is what I realized it's like I'm a frolicker of the field, right? Like I'm a sun lover. I love the pool. And obviously like camp is usually made for the summer. So I wanted to give people that opportunity to especially mid season, take a breath, step back, reconnect with themselves, reconnect with humans and.

give your brain and body a little break. So this time around, it's a little longer than winter camp. It's July 21st to the 24th. It's in the Catskills at Kinoza Hall, which is super cute. It's on a lake. They have a spa. They have a pool. There's a lot of things like I'm looking at a venue. I want a certain infrastructure. They have hiking trails. So the plan is we're going to have a fun welcome pool party.

with lot of like cocktails and delicious bites. DJ by the pool. We're gonna be having a boat day. So we're gonna get like a pontoon boat. We're gonna have a banana boat. So have like some lakeside fun. There's horseback riding available. There's going to be a lot of hands-on activities. So if you wanna sip and paint by the lake, you can do that. If you wanna, you know, you gotta have some Thai diet at camp.

So a lot of like those fun arts and crafts activities we'll be having during the day. We're going to have like a grill out for lunch, picnics so you can really enjoy the property. They have a movement studio. So there's going to be some fun yoga classes, aerial yoga, power yoga, kind of like whatever level fits you. You have a few opportunities. And then...

Candice (01:01:49.952)

Love it.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:02:00.59)

What I have now decided is like the end night of camp is gonna be a PJ party. So we have a live band coming to have a kick-ass end of camp celebration, some delicious dinners, and really just an opportunity, like I said, to reconnect with nature. I think that does something for your soul, especially when we're all in very customer-facing

Candice (01:02:25.983)

yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:02:30.082)

jobs and we're being drained constantly. So it gives just a chance to reconnect with yourself, reconnect with nature and reconnect with your community and then head into the second half of your season feeling rejuvenated and just kind of ready to kick some ass.

Candice (01:02:48.938)

Yeah, you don't have to be from New England to come to camp. So this is open to anybody. And I think something that you should know about the people who come to camp is Lindsay attracts people like Lindsay. So the previous campers are people just like Lindsay, they're people who are fun, who are family oriented, heart centered, maybe love a little bit of Bravo, who don't take things so seriously, but who are also very driven and have really a

Lindsey Kleidman (01:03:03.984)

Yeah.

Candice (01:03:18.832)

established amazing businesses and they are just like you they want even midseason to be able to be like I'm putting my out of office on and I am going to a business event where I can pour into myself meet new people have Experiences that will make me a better photographer a better florist a better planner So Lindsay attracts is like a magnet. She attracts people who are just like her So if you're thinking I would love to go to this but like who's gonna be at it?

let me just tell you, Lindsay is gonna be added, people like Lindsay, which is so important to surround yourself with people who can push you and inspire you, but also create a safe place for you to bitch about something that's on your mind or to burn your negative client experience from last year and to help you make a friendship bracelet, because those are all things that we should be doing together.

Give us some information. We'll put the details about camp in the show notes, but you have just a handful of spots left. So if somebody is really interested in this, they should go and check it out if there are still spots available based on the time of recording this just a couple of days before it airs.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:04:24.816)

you

Lindsey Kleidman (01:04:38.234)

Sorry, Candace, my internet is being stupid. Sorry, what was the question again?

Candice (01:04:41.686)

Okay, sure. The question was, so tell us a little bit about, like I said, you just have maybe just a few spots left and how can they basically go and register is what I want you to answer.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:04:56.73)

Sorry, I'm sorry, say that one more time. My internet is deciding to crap out in pure Lindsay fashion.

Candice (01:04:59.096)

Sure, no worries, no worries. I asked you to just let us know, to confirm that there's just a handful of spots left and that if they're interested, they should go and register. So just basically say, yes, there's just a few spots left. And if you want to join us at camp, go to, and all the details about camper on the page, basically.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:05:23.48)

Yes, there's definitely a few spots left. It's really for all type of wedding vendors. So it's not just planners. have florists coming, hair and makeup, photographers, videographers. It's really like for everyone. And that's another thing I found that a lot of the conferences were geared towards a particular group of people. And I wanted this to be everyone's invited. So

There's spots available. There's an array of different options. You could come for the full retreat. You can come for one day, two days. You can do a solo room. You can share a room. And yes, if you go on the website, basically you scroll all the way down. It has all the fun activities. It has the options. You just click join now and then it will send you right to like where you can sign up.

Candice (01:06:03.735)

Love that.

Candice (01:06:16.056)

I love it. And if you have any questions about camp, if you want to know more about summer camp or if you're interested in other camp experiences, just reach out to Lindsay on Instagram or email her. I know she'd be more than happy to answer your questions for you and I'll point you in the right direction as to what type of experience might make the most sense for you.

And I'm just really happy that you ran with this idea because this was a pretty, this was very bold and audacious to create an experience for the industry, which can be very harsh critic and the amount of stress and pressure to put together an event like this is pretty big. I mean, I don't think anybody can deny that.

But it is so aligned with your core values, who you are, how you want to show up, that I can say that while there might be stressful parts of planning, you seem super like ready to plan even the next camp. You love doing this. It's super aligned and it feels effortless and easy. And I just think that's so awesome and exciting for you. And I'm excited for not only for people to experience this, but for you to learn from it and for you to

continue to create experiences for people to connect.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:07:27.46)

Well, thank you for that. And again, I feel like you really gave me the confidence to do it. You know, I've been kind of muttering about of what to do. And I think I just needed a, I love events. I love weddings. And what I also found with weddings is I love a lot of the auxiliary events, know, like cleaning the pickleball tournament and the welcome party that has a theme and.

I wanted, I basically was just like, I need to manifest this more for myself. And so I found that by giving myself camp, it gave me another outlet to be creative because I still get to create beautiful tablescapes and fun experiences, but now rather than for clients, they're for my community. And, you know, it's about bringing us together and then them experiencing the beauty and the fun that wildflower is and

You know, then they can leave and say, that's what a wildflower experience is. Like I felt the love and the effort that Lindsay put in to this event because that's what I'm all about. want, whether it's a camper or a couple or a guest to leave something that I create and just feel that love, feel the hundred million percent effort that I put into it so that everyone has a fun time.

Candice (01:08:46.358)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, well, that's the definition of a wildflower event. A design looks as good as it feels, and everybody feels supported and taken care of and feels the energy and the positivity that was put into the design, the logistics, the curation. Everything is super intentional. It matters. It's meaningful. It's thoughtful. I love that.

All right, final question. then we've got to unfortunately wrap up. I mean, I could talk to you like all day long about all these things. My podcast editor is going to be like 45 minutes, Candace, keep them to 45 minutes. All right, so final question. And this is one that we try to ask every guest who comes on behind the brand. In your opinion, what makes an iconic brand in the wedding industry that people recognize? What do you think the ingredients are?

Lindsey Kleidman (01:09:13.466)

Forever.

Sorry, sorry.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:09:38.052)

I love that. So I think a few things. think, and again, something you've taught is being top of mind, being relevant, and especially for a designer, you know, for something that I wanna do is like pushing boundaries and bringing new ideas. You know, we all see the same Pinterest images. We see a lot of the same people doing the same things, maybe the same color palettes. And I think...

An iconic brand is someone who's not afraid to push the boundaries and put new ideas out into the universe. And sometimes that's a big swing and maybe it's a miss, but you're willing to.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:10:22.19)

you're willing to take that leap and really try for something and go for the fences. I also think it's a signature experience. think that whether it is the experience that I'm bringing, my team is making you feel, but...

The look of a certain the look of a wedding but it's about intentionality, right? I want them to I'm not just like pulling things off the wall I always say I lead with purpose and meaning and so for me I think that if you're consistent with that that will start to you know, go beyond the Instagram pages you'll feel that

Candice (01:11:05.911)

Yeah.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:11:07.46)

people will feel that, your clients will feel that, the vendor community will feel that. And I think being authentic, I think you have to be who you are, you have to let your freak flag fly, you can't be afraid because again, we're in such a sea of there's a million planners, there's a million photographers, know, and we're all offering somewhat the same service, but it's about who's behind the brand. It's about...

Candice (01:11:32.312)

Right.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:11:33.146)

who's giving you that service. And I think if you can lead with that, and again, this took me a little while to own who I am, but I think that's what makes me different, right? It's me. I'm who your planner is and what I bring to it is different from the next guy down the road. So I think if you are comfortable and not afraid to put yourself out there, that will read to the people and the masses.

Candice (01:12:00.704)

Mm-hmm.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:12:01.462)

your people will find you and even if they're not your people, they will respect the fact that you're willing to be who you are and stand by that.

Candice (01:12:06.912)

Yep.

Candice (01:12:12.502)

Yeah, my God, the best advice ever. I love it. Take big swings. Be yourself. I love it. Be the person behind the brand because that's what people, that's what we connect with is each other. Not a logo, not a perfectly polished website. Although those things do offer credibility and they are interesting, but being who you are. Lindsay, this has been such a great conversation. I'm so proud of you.

and all the incredible, big, bold, audacious, awesome things that you're doing, keep doing what you're doing. It's not only working, but you are inspiring and creating shifts, and there's a ripple effect, not just in this conversation, but in all the work that you're doing. And it matters, it's so meaningful. You're inspiring so many people, and I'm so freaking proud of you. You're welcome.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:13:04.872)

Thank you so much, Candice. Again, I feel like I wouldn't be where I was if I didn't have someone, like you're the wind beneath my wings. know, like you need people in your corner. Yes, baby. You need people, you know, this is, like I said, can be a lonely job. It can be isolating. You've got to find your people and I'm...

Candice (01:13:14.894)

I am girl. I'm your Bette Midler.

Candice (01:13:23.39)

it can.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:13:26.154)

so lucky to have found you because I feel like you've really like been the engine and kind of pushed me when I second guessed myself or, and you know, that happens a lot where you're, am I doing this right? But you kept me going and I'm so thankful. So thank you.

Candice (01:13:41.856)

Well, it is my absolute pleasure and an absolute dream to be in your corner. So thanks for inviting me into it. I never take it for granted. And I loved coaching you and I just love seeing what you're doing. And I'm always going to be your coach. So you can't ever get rid of me, even if you try. I'm like Jax. No, I'm like Jax Taylor. I'm always going to be on your screens. There's just nothing you can ever do about it. I won't go away. I'm no, I'm not Jax. I'm Sheena Shay. I will always make it into the camera. I always be there.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:13:51.312)

ever.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:13:57.866)

Never would want to.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:14:04.464)

It's what I like to hear.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:14:09.711)

You're golden, baby. You're never going anywhere. Yeah. Yes.

Candice (01:14:12.646)

yeah, good as gold. All right. And on that note, Lindsay, thank you so much for your time today. It was so great to hear your story. And I know people are leaving inspired, but also feeling deeply seen and understood because their journeys and they're probably feeling some of the same things that you've gone through in your business. I will put all the details about camp in the show notes. So what you'll see is details about camp. And of course, Lindsay,

below. I'm encouraging you if you're looking for connection community and you want to do it and you don't want to go to learn something you don't want to go and be overwhelmed with more shit you're doing wrong or more things you could be doing better but instead you want your cup to be filled and you want the best kind of connection. I'm going to encourage you to check out camp.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:14:48.312)

You

Candice (01:14:57.462)

all listed in the show notes and of course on our blog. Lindsay, thank you so much. Friends, thanks for listening to today's episode. In last week's episode, I said that we were taking a break, but really now we're taking a break. So you won't hear from me for a couple of weeks, but I'll be back towards the end of summer with some great episodes. So I'll see you then. And I wanna remind you as always, there's so much power in your purpose and I'll see you next time.

Lindsey Kleidman (01:15:09.836)

No.