Why We Built VOW — And What We’re Here to Do

Let’s be honest: we’ve all been to the corner of the internet where wedding planning lives, and it’s… a lot. Endless Pinterest boards, checklists that assume every couple is the same, and vendor content that feels more like a sales pitch than a real conversation.

We wanted something different. So we built it.

VOW — Voices On Weddings — started the way most good things do: friends sit down to talk, one goes off on a tangent, and next thing you know, you are hours into a conversation on every topic under the sun.

We could talk for hours about the good and the bad of weddings… and that’s exactly what we did.

By the end of that conversation, we realized we all had the same problem with the wedding industry: there’s too much info out there, yet it feels like no one is really connecting and helping people understand it all. So we decided to do something about it.

The three of us have spent years working weddings from the inside. Claire’s a wedding photographer who’s witnessed some of the most tender, unguarded moments a person will ever have. James brings a photographer’s and videographer’s eye sharpened by years in high-level media production. Rayna is a Certified Wedding Planner with more than two decades of experience standing beside couples on some of the most meaningful days of their lives.

Between the three of us, we’ve cried happy tears in getting-ready rooms, problem-solved through every kind of vendor emergency, and watched countless couples say “I do” in ways that were entirely, beautifully their own.

We’ve seen what the wedding industry looks like from behind the curtain. And we think couples — and vendors — deserve to see it too.

So, we set out to bring out voices together, share the good, the bad, and the beautiful, and the ugly, and create a community that cuts through all the complication and straight to the heart of the industry.

---

That’s what VOW is.

VOW is a space where we’ll pull back the curtain on this industry. It’s a podcast where we’ll have real, candid conversations with fellow vendors, engaged couples, and everyone in between. It’s a blog where we can share the things we actually want you to know — not the watered-down, play-it-safe version, but the raw, honest truth.

Our vows to you are simple: to showcase every kind of love, to be honest and funny and kind, to lift up all voices, and to be a resource for everyone — no matter who you are, who you’re marrying, or what your wedding looks like.

Because weddings aren’t one-size-fits-all. And the advice, education, and community around them shouldn’t be either.

---

We’re based right here in Omaha, Nebraska, and we’re proud of this wedding community. There are incredibly talented vendors in this city doing meaningful, creative work — and couples who deserve to find them. VOW exists to connect those dots: through vendor spotlights, behind-the-scenes films, real conversations on the podcast, and content on the blog that actually helps.

If you’re planning a wedding, we want to be a resource you actually trust. If you’re a vendor in this industry, we want to be a platform that amplifies your voice and celebrates your work.

And if you just love weddings as much as we do? Pull up a chair. There’s plenty of room here.

Welcome to VOW.

— Claire, James & Rayna

---

Find us at vowomaha.com | Listen to the VOW Omaha Podcast | Follow along: @clairekatan.creative / @lathropweddingco / @debyrayna