Meet Brian Franklin | Vow, Wedding Speech, and Ceremony Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Franklin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, what role has risk played in your life or career?
There are people who take risks because they’re either delusionally optimistic or they enjoy the thrill of the gamble. I’m neither: I get excited about opportunities, but I am very deliberate about not getting too far ahead of myself. I once had a therapist coin me as “relentlessly hopeful,” which tracks pretty well and to me, is different than optimism.

When we started Vows & Speeches (which helps people write custom vows, wedding speeches, and ceremony scripts), I was looking for a change. I had a political advertising and consulting agency that was solid, but that I didn’t enjoy anymore. The political industry was changing and, well, as many could understand, campaigns weren’t as much fun as they used to be.

In Vows & Speeches, I saw a part of weddings that hadn’t been adequately serviced, and that also fit my (somewhat unusual) skill set and background. Making the jump into a totally new industry was a risk, but you can’t have home runs without big swings. I wasn’t doing it blindly… I studied it, experimented, and by the time the bigger decisions had to be made, it didn’t feel scary. It felt natural. I knew what the risks were, and they were worth the gamble. You do your due diligence, try have enough resources in case something doesn’t go as planned (which always happens), and go see if you can get it done, and be ready to pivot as needed.

What should our readers know about your business?
Vows & Speeches uses phone interviews to help people craft and practice the delivery of highly-personalized wedding vows, wedding speeches, ceremony scripts, and other public speaking events. These are big moments, and finding the right words can be difficult, especially if you have some fear of public speaking or don’t feel confident as a writer. What was surprising, however, is that while every other part of the wedding has professional guidance, these moments traditional did not. That’s what we’re changing.

Our biggest challenge has been to simply get enough people to know it’s available to them. We had a great proof of concept last fall when we were featured in The New York Times’ Sunday edition, which showed very clearly that when people do learn about it, they call us for help. Beyond that, we had predictable challenges: finding the sweet spot with how we priced it, how we talked about it, and whether it was more efficient as a B2C play or a B2B2C play. The wedding industry is incredibly cool – but very relationship oriented (pun intended). You can’t just drop in – you have to build trust.

It’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I love it. We get to talk about love stories and help them build the confidence to say the things they really want to say. It’s taken a bit to dial in, but it’s a great business.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We love comedy, and there’s no better place than Hollywood to find the best comics in the world. Our first stop would usually be the Comedy Store. We also love Venice Beach for both the people watching and the food, but somewhere along the way, we have to take them for a drive through the canyons in Malibu. For me it’s a must see.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have to give a shoutout to my wife and business partner, Nicole, who threw her full weight of support behind Vows & Speeches, despite knowing it might not be easy. No one has been more encouraging (and trusting).

Website: https://vowsandspeeches.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/vowsandspeeches

Facebook: https://facebook.com/vowsandspeeches

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@vowsandspeeches

Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/vowsandspeeches/
The Vows & Speeches Podcast:
https://vowsandspeeches.com/podcast

Image Credits
Dennis Kwan, Filda Konec