#62: Business Trip! Venue Relationships That Get You Referred with Shannon Tarrant

In this episode of Mind Your Wedding Business, we’re launching a brand-new podcast takeover segment called Business Trip! — where industry experts step into the host seat to interview Kevin Dennis and take a deeper dive into real-world wedding business insights.

For the first Business Trip, Shannon Tarrant, co-founder of Wedding Venue Map, takes over as guest host to tackle one of the biggest “hot topics” in the wedding industry: getting on venue preferred vendor lists and staying on them.

Shannon and Kevin break down why vendors chase these lists so hard, what preferred lists actually mean from a venue’s perspective, and why the real goal isn’t just being “listed”… it’s becoming the vendor the venue team genuinely trusts to deliver every time. They cover what venues notice, how event-day professionalism affects referrals, and why relationships, consistency, and being easy to work with matter more than trying to skip the line.

You’ll also hear practical, actionable ways to build stronger venue partnerships—like doing a site walk before your first event, showing up prepared, collaborating on social media in ways that benefit the venue, and sending the post-event follow-up that almost no one sends (but everyone remembers).

Shannon Tarrant is the co-founder of Wedding Venue Map, a Central Florida–based wedding venue search engine. With nearly two decades in the wedding industry, she’s passionate about connecting couples with trusted local experts and helping vendors build stronger, more effective venue relationships.

Highlights

1. Introducing Business Trip!, the new MYWB takeover segment
2. Why preferred vendor lists feel like “validation” (and what they really are)
3. The biggest mistakes vendors make when trying to get on a list
4. How to actually earn trust with venue teams over time
5. Event-day behavior: professionalism, timelines, tools, and respect
6. Post-event follow-up, feedback, and reviews that help you get referred again
7. Staying relevant: website, socials, and collaborating in a way that benefits venues

Connect with Shannon:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

LinkedIn

Connect with Kevin:

Wedding IQ

Fantasy Sound

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

LinkedIn