A one-day virtual event for wedding venue professionals
Couples are researching longer, comparing more closely, and expecting your website, your emails, and your tours to prove you “get them” before they ever reach out. The venues winning right now aren't working harder. They're working differently.
That's what Venue IQ is built to help you do: meet the new moment in the wedding industry.
The market has shifted
and your strategy needs to shift with it.
Absolutely zero sponsor pitches. You’re here to learn, not be sold to.
No generic small-business advice. You’re a venue, not a DJ or a planner.
We won’t give you a firehose of tactics. Just the ones you need to do business today.
One focused day that helps you answer the questions actually driving your wedding venue bookings:
- Who is our venue for?
- What makes us different?
- How do we sell without feeling gross?
- And is our website helping couples book tours — or quietly losing them?
September 9 | 10:00 AM–5:00 PM ET
Three Sessions.
Zero Filler.
Session 1 – THE KEYNOTE
The New Wedding Couple: How the Market Has Changed – and Who You Should Be Talking To
With Meredith Monday Schwartz, CEO of Here Comes The Guide
The wedding industry has substantively changed since 2020. And even more so since 2025. The middle of the wedding market is hollowing out. Couples are largely splitting into two camps, and the marketing strategies for each are nearly opposite. Meredith walks you through the K-shaped framework, helps you place your venue, and gives you the North Star Question that ends the “should we / shouldn’t we” loop for good.
You’ll walk out knowing
which part of the market you actually serve, and the one positioning sentence that tells the right couples “this is for you.”
Session 2 – THE PANEL
Intuitive Selling Without the ‘Ick' — How to Book Weddings Without Feeling Like a Used Car Salesman
Moderated by Lisa Shields, COO of Here Comes The Guide, with a panel of Here Comes The Guide sales managers
Sales doesn't have to feel gross. The best venue sales pros read the room in 30 seconds, ask better questions, and follow up like a friend instead of a stalker. This panel pulls back the curtain on what they actually do — including the “break-up email” that re-engages ghosting leads.
You’ll walk out WITH
a follow-up cadence that doesn't feel pushy, and a way to handle objections without going defensive.
Session 3 – THE CRITIQUE
Your Website Under the Microscope — What's Working, What's Confusing, and What to Fix This Week
With Jenna Miller, Creative Director, and Sophie Robinson, Customer Relationship Manager
Your website has ONE job: get couples to book a tour. Not tell the whole story. Not make the sale. Just get the tour. Together we'll walk through two real venue websites — one built for value-minded couples, one for luxury-seekers — using the same five-part framework you'll then run on your own site.
You’ll walk out WITH
the framework for a website self-critique with three quick wins you can fix this week.
When you join Venue IQ LIVE, you'll get:
- Full-day live virtual workshop (September 9 • 10am–5pm ET)
- Session recordings — yours to keep with lifetime access
- Worksheets for every session, fillable and not fluffy
- Real-time Q&A with HCTG educators
- Interactive cohort discussions with other venue operators
- 3-month cohort follow-up in a private Facebook group
- Fun extras, including live-only giveaways (because we love a prize!)
- Live-room energy that a replay can't replicate. You'll leave fired up to sell your venue!
Two Ways to Join Us
Choose the one that fits your schedule.
LIVE ZOOM EVENT
$299*
*Early Bird $249 through July 15th!
Live workshop, Sept 9, 10am–5pm ET
Real-time Q&A with the educators
Interactive cohort discussions
3-month cohort follow-up (private FB group)
Session recordings + worksheets
Fun extras, including live-only giveaways
SELF PACED
$125*
*On demand, watch anytime
No live attendance required
All three sessions, recorded full-length
Worksheets to complete independently
Watch on your own schedule
Lifetime access, available after Sept 14, 2026
MOST
POPULAR
Live attendance capped at 100
I’ve been to venue conferences before. What makes this different?
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Venue IQ is venue-only, virtual, and built to be immediately useful. No travel. No hotel costs. No sitting through sessions that were really made for planners, photographers, or vendors. Just one focused day designed to help you make better decisions about your venue’s positioning, sales process, and website.
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Will this work for my venue if it’s non-traditional, corporate, or boutique?
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Yes. Independent venues will feel very seen here, but the frameworks also apply to hotel venues, estate venues, corporate properties, barns, gardens, historic spaces, and nontraditional venues. There’s no one right way — there’s the right way for your venue and your couple. We’ll help you figure out which one that is.
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What if I can’t attend Venue IQ live?
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Choose the Self-Paced ticket. You’ll get the session recordings and fillable worksheets so you can work through the material on your own schedule. And with lifetime access you can really work on your own schedule.
*Session recordings + worksheets will be sent to self-paced participants after September 14, 2026.
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Why attend live instead of self-paced?
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Because something happens in a live room that a recording can't recreate. You'll feel the energy build through real-time sessions & discussions that leave you fired up to go sell your venue again. Self-paced gives you the knowledge; live gives you the momentum (and the renewed enthusiasm!) to actually use it. With just 100 live seats, it's an intimate room — and when they're gone, they're gone.
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Is there a refund policy?
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Live event tickets may be converted to a self-paced ticket before August 15th. The difference in ticket price will be refunded, less processing and credit card fees.
No refunds will be issued after August 15, 2026. (Can't make it live? No worries — all registered attendees will receive access to the event recordings!)
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