What Is A Wedding Fashion Stylist and Do You Need One For Your Wedding? with Kati Kons
Wedding attire plays a bigger role in your day than you might think—but most couples don’t realize they have more options than just picking a dress or suit off the rack.
In this episode of Now That I'm Engaged, How Do I Get Married?, Kati Kons, a queer wedding fashion stylist, joins us to break down what a wedding fashion stylist actually does, how they differ from a bridal consultant, and why this service might be the missing piece in your planning process. With an emphasis on authenticity, inclusivity, and personal expression, Kati shares how to go beyond tradition and create a wedding look that truly feels like you.
From mood boards and sourcing to navigating custom attire and avoiding common styling mistakes, this episode is packed with insight on how your fashion choices can elevate not only your confidence but your entire day.
Highlights:
- What a wedding fashion stylist actually does (and doesn’t do)
- The difference between bridal shop stylists and independent stylists
- How to express your identity and personal style through wedding attire
- Why your wardrobe should align with the vibe of your day
- How to avoid costly mistakes when ordering non-traditional outfits
- The surprising reason many couples default to tradition—and why you don’t have to
- How fashion choices impact your photos, energy, and guest experience
Whether you’re rocking a suit, dress, pantsuit, or something in between, this episode will help you walk into your wedding feeling confident, comfortable, and completely yourself.
Connect with Kati:
Connect with Kevin & August:
Transcript
All right, folks, welcome to another episode of Now That I'm Gauge, How Do I Get Married? And we're here with Katie, who's a wedding stylist. So Katie, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Kati Kons (:Hi, I'm a queer wedding fashion stylist and also fashion stylist. I say that I'm a queer wedding fashion stylist because I primarily serve queer folks getting married because there's no process for finding your wedding attire when it's non-traditional wedding attire and also it's not in the mainstream so it's harder to find. ⁓ And I also do some personal styling on the side as well.
I do a lot of different things, but I love, love, love weddings. And I have a spa spot as many do for the wedding industry.
Kevin Dennis (:She just got married last weekend. So we're going to get into that at some point as well. So congratulations. All right. So let's start off. Can you explain to us what is a wedding fashion stylist and what do they do?
Kati Kons (:Thanks.
Yes. So
this is an interesting answer is because there is a lot of different names for this type of thing and not a lot of people that do this type of thing. There's bridal stylists of the world. Of course, there's bridal stylists that work in shops and help you find your wedding dresses and whatnot. But there are independent bridal stylists that also help you find your wedding attire outside of a shop. And they, it's a very small field of people, but it does exist.
And wedding wardrobe stylist, wedding fashion stylist, bridal stylist, they all fall into this category of helping people find their wedding attire. I coin it wedding fashion stylist because I think bridal is a little bit exclusive to feminine identifying people and traditionally feminine identifying people. And so I just name it wedding fashion styling to be a little bit more inclusive. ⁓ But basically it's
going to the ends of the earth to make you look and feel your breasts on your wedding day.
Kevin Dennis (:love that.
August Yocher (:That's great. Okay, so I'm really excited to dive into this because I really want to know, ⁓ is there a certain way when you're talking with a nearly wed, which I saw that was one of the terms you coined when you sent over your little bio about yourself, but is there a way that you can help them kind of express their personality through their fashion and also make them feel very confident and comfortable on the day up?
Kati Kons (:Yeah, I think wedding attire in general is especially limiting because it's so traditional. ⁓ mean, weddings itself, by definition, are rooted in tradition, right? A wedding is a tradition. ⁓ And so it's hard to separate the tradition from the wedding, especially the tradition from the wedding attire. But the important thing to realize is that people don't
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
they are.
Kati Kons (:Identify with tradition always and so what do you do when you don't identify with that tradition or you don't buy with it? What have you ⁓ and? What I often tell people is Go with what is most comfortable to you What your personal style is on a day-to-day basis and go with an elevated version of yourself something that feels way more special and more on Something you wouldn't be able to achieve on a day-to-day basis
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:to make it feel special to you. It doesn't have to be white. It doesn't have to be whatever. can be like sparkles and glittery. can be lace. It doesn't have to be lace. It can be whatever you want to make it feel special, but also make it feel like you is the most important thing ⁓ because it, like a wedding is so personal and unique to you that it is one of the most important things I think that goes into a wedding to like make you feel.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:good that day and smile right. And you know, it really affects how good you smile is how confident you feel.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
August Yocher (:No, that's so true. That's so true. And I also wanted to ask, so when you're in the process, like, do you typically look at their current wardrobe and see kind of how to elevate that, like you were saying? Or do couples usually come with something in mind and they have an inspiration board and then you kind of source pieces from that point?
Kevin Dennis (:I love that.
Yeah, they.
Kati Kons (:as you probably anticipated, the answer is a little bit of both. ⁓ I asked every one of my clients, be it personal styling or wedding styling to give me two mood boards. And one is like a ideal fashion, ⁓ that if they had to wear for the rest of their life, they would be happy wearing. And so that's like their aspirational personal style. I think personal style is, is stagnant. I do think it's aspirational. I don't think we ever really achieve it. I think we're always looking for it. ⁓
August Yocher (:Mmm.
Kati Kons (:So it's something that they're aspiring to. So it's not necessarily what they wear on a day-to-day basis, but what they would feel comfortable in for sure. And then the second mood board is ⁓ things that pull on your inspiration and your heartstrings like art and music and architecture and ⁓ literature or sculptures, literally anything that isn't fashion ⁓ to see where the creative brain lies.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:Right? And see what are your values and what is influencing you and what like makes you feel like you. Right? And so the idea here is like, how is my job is to help translate the like super abstract art forms into that personal style and see if there's a disconnect in what they identify versus what I would identify.
⁓ But that's just what they put together. I would put together a separate mood board, even if they came to me with a mood board of what they had in mind. And my mood board would be based upon what their ideal fashion would be. It would be like an elevated version of that. It would have inspiration from like fashion history. And it would also be like pushing their comfort zone a little bit to get them to feel more confident than they are today, if that makes sense.
August Yocher (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:And I don't mean push the boundaries in a way of like making them uncomfortable in any way, but just like helping them understand that we can do a little bit more. We can go outside our comfort zone and still feel good about ourselves.
August Yocher (:no, yes.
Kevin Dennis (:And you. Yeah, and you mentioned a disconnect, is it? Do your clients normally have a disconnect when they're going through that process?
August Yocher (:I love that, it's like yeah, you can pull this off.
Kati Kons (:⁓ it's just totally depends on the person. I, ⁓ for example, had a client give me a mood board of the fashion inspiration that they like loved. ⁓ but the fashion inspiration mood board was so well thought out that I didn't make them do a second one because I literally got everything that I needed from that first mood board.
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
wow.
Kati Kons (:because they picked their fashion influences based upon their influences in the industry that they work in. They very much picked their fashion influences based upon their values. It was really, really interesting. So sometimes there's a really good alignment in what people's creative side, and I think it just depends on how in touch with your creative side you are, but sometimes there is a bit of a disconnect where...
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
Yeah.
Kati Kons (:People love rainbow and colors and bright and joy and all this stuff, but they wear black all day, every day. And that you see actually way more often than you think. ⁓ Black is a very big, like black and other dark colors in everyday is like a very big crutch for personal style, I think.
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah. Well, in the wedding. Yeah, I'm going to say most everyone wants us to wear black, so we just blend in in the background. Yeah.
August Yocher (:and us in the wedding industry.
Kati Kons (:Yeah. Well, and
for if you're getting married, if it's your wedding, I feel like white, can often be a crutch as well, because people like default to wearing white or wearing, ⁓ if their partner's wearing white, wearing some type of contrasting color, right? And I just don't think people take the creative freedom as seriously as they could, you know, so many possibilities.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm. Yeah.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:So.
August Yocher (:I mean, it's true.
There's no rules. like Kevin and I, like we say this all the time on the podcast is that more often than not, people are kind of straying away from the traditional now. I mean, we haven't really gotten to it with fashion yet. So that is really exciting that you're here and we can dive into this a little bit more. But when it comes to formalities, favors, decorations, like a lot of people are going more non-traditional. But but I like hearing that because it's like, OK, I'm giving you permission to, you know,
go a little crazy and do something outside of the norm.
Kati Kons (:Yeah, I mean, two things that I think about that is ⁓ one thing that I think is super important is that like the wedding attire industry is very much of a different vibe than the fashion industry is in general. The fashion industry is very innovative, very forward looking, very pushing the boundaries, trying to do the next thing, trying to do what everyone's not doing. And I feel like the wedding attire
sector of the wedding industry is completely the opposite. Not entirely, but it has got a really, really big lag in that people aren't pushing the boundaries and people are doing the tried and true methods over and over and over again. And the little innovations that they're making in the fashion part of weddings is like...
relative to the fashion industry, nonexistent. So it's kind of insane. And so that's the first thing is it's just like the wedding attire industry is so different than actual fashion industry. The second thing is that I think is really important to understand is I view formal attire as like a very different landscape than other people do in that I don't think formal attire is like
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kati Kons (:black tie, white tie, semi-formal, whatever those little, I don't even know what they mean to be honest, that's a secret. I am a fashion stylist, I don't know what those things mean. ⁓ And the reason for that is because I don't really believe in that type of formal attire because it only exists in heteronormative wedding spaces. We literally, outside of that, if you were to go to like a gala,
Kevin Dennis (:hahahaha
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:you would have just so many different standards. Like if you're walking the red carpet, your standards are entirely different and there are no rules. And if you're only comfortable in the t-shirt and shorts, you can wear a t-shirt and shorts. It just has to be like a Louis Vuitton branded, like rhinestone encrusted outfit. You know what I'm saying? Like it has to be high-end, it has to be high fashion. And high fashion is the standard for celebrities on the red carpet. So why at our...
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Kati Kons (:everyday person's red carpet moment, which is their wedding. Why is that moment a different definition of formal, which is suits and dresses and tradition and patriarchy and white supremacy and all these things that we just like fail to unpack. I just think it's like a really interesting problem that we don't really address in the wedding industry.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Yeah, and you're very true on that.
August Yocher (:No.
interesting though, why do you have like a theory on why you think that is? Like why in like you know just the normal fashion industry we do kind of break out of that norm and we're not afraid to try new things? Why is it weddings that it has this like grip on that like we can't get out of?
Kati Kons (:Um, I think the reason is not to do with the fashion industry, but rather the wedding industry. And I think it's because the traditions that are, uh, anchoring the wedding industry are like religious in nature. And I think with religion comes like a lot of rules with what you wear, um, in like more, more, uh, interpretations in terms of what is okay and what is not okay. And I think the institution of marriage.
August Yocher (:That's true, yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:comes from a religious place. And so when it comes from a religious place where there are rules, I think it's hard to break apart from that, like tradition. Whereas fashion, there's no institution with it. You know what I mean?
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:And there's a trend in the wedding industry to be non-traditional, the traditions are starting to go away. And are you seeing that in the fashion side of the wedding industry as well? Like, are some of those traditions going away or no? OK.
Kati Kons (:A little bit.
I want to say a little because I know on the like wedding weekend, you're seeing less of the like little white dresses and you're seeing more of like pants outfits on the weekends. But still during the ceremony, it's much the same. ⁓ So like a yes and no situation. ⁓ Things, things are not
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:changing as much. I made a video on TikTok once and then someone got mad at me for it so I deleted it. But that's the internet for you. was just, I said, but I was basically just talking about how, or was making pokey fun of all the people on TikTok that say they're having a non-traditional wedding and then they go and wear a white dress, Vivian Westwood, what everyone's wearing. Kali Allahav, what have you.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah, very true.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:⁓ whatever brand that everyone's like fawning over this season. Wedding dress is the same cookie cutter dress, same silhouette, same everything. And it's just like, why is fashion like the exception to the rule? I don't know. I don't get it. And then my-
Kevin Dennis (:Veroing.
Mm.
August Yocher (:Like if every other
piece is non-traditional but fashion is the one consistent, like does that really make it non-traditional?
Kati Kons (:Yeah.
Yeah, and the criticism is not of the people making those decisions. It's like, why is a culture, are we not calling like that out more? Like, why are we not raising an issue at that? I don't know. Someone wears a colorful wedding dress to their own wedding and everyone's like raising eyebrows. You know, it's weird. It's...
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Yeah.
But so I was just on Bradchilla. I was telling you before we got on this morning, we were doing a whole thing on pop culture and how it influences the wedding industry and all that kind of stuff. And one of the things that came up is that they were talking about outfit changes. So I'm wondering, are couples then keeping it a little bit more traditional for the ceremony and then changing to, a fun, more their style outfit for the reception? OK.
Kati Kons (:Yes, absolutely.
So like the trend of like multiple outfit changes is definitely becoming more popular now. And what I meant when I said earlier is that we're seeing more like pants and outfits is that I feel like in the last five years, maybe if there was an outfit change, we would see like ⁓ a short white dress or even just like a more relaxed white dress.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:And now I feel like in the past year or two, we're seeing more and more pants, outfits, separates, more like innovation in that space. But like I said, not in the ceremony situation, ⁓ which is really interesting that you bring it up because I feel like adhering to the like traditional norms of like conservative modest attire for the ceremony. And then also
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:five minutes later at the after party wearing like a body suit is really funny. It's just like entirely wild and it's just, it is just another reason why I question why we do what we do, you know?
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah, well and then last summer there was a trend which was blowing up and I haven't seen in a few months but like the the couple was leaving in like matching sweatsuits you know like they got yeah and it's I thought that was kind of a fun way to get out of the you know like why do you need to wear that big clunky dress or you know be with the tie all night you know like all that
Kati Kons (:yeah, I that.
Yeah, I do have
a bone to pick with people is because I post somebody asked ⁓ on my social media recently, they were like, ⁓ well, if you wouldn't put someone in a suit and a dress because they don't feel that their gender identifies with that type of expression, what would you put that in? Like, what are the other options? Right. And I get that question a lot because people just like don't have examples. There isn't pop culture examples of that.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:in a day-to-day setting. ⁓ And so I just like made a video going through a bunch of one designer's work. It was just one designer too. One of the designs was a dress that was also a hoodie. And it like a mini dress, but it was like a silk organza hoodie. And it was like super high-end looking. It was like super high-end looking, but of course it was like the shape of a hoodie.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
no way. That's cool.
August Yocher (:Haha
kind of flowy looking. Yeah.
Kati Kons (:And so somebody was like, why would you put sweatpants in this slideshow? And I was like, what if that's the only thing you're comfortable in? Also, that's still my fashion.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah. Yeah.
August Yocher (:So you're what's wrong with this equation here.
Kevin Dennis (:Yes.
Kati Kons (:I was like, you know, like
drawstrings don't have a place in formal settings. And I was like, my, I was, I, I don't know. It would do is very shocking to me how rigid people and how seriously people take these social norms that are literally made up. They're just things that we make up.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
August Yocher (:They are.
Kevin Dennis (:and just passed down every year from, you know, generation to generation. So like in the Met Gala, I feel like pushes the envelope. do you get inspiration from seeing designs there? How does that come into it?
Kati Kons (:Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah,
so I think the Met Gala is really interesting because it totally depends on the context of this, the event. Last year during the Met Gala, there was a number of geopolitical issues going on with ⁓ the backing of support of Israel and their invasion into Gaza and all this stuff. Anyways.
Kevin Dennis (:Okay.
Kati Kons (:⁓ There was a lot of political stuff going on and then of course the Met Gala pops up and everyone's talking about how dystopic it is to be having these high fashion events in the middle of such humanitarian and political crises. And so it's like, there's that side. And then there's the side of this year, and maybe it's because of last year, that they like themed the Met Gala.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:Black dandyism and super fine tailoring, which is like the history of how Black men have used fashion to express themselves and resist against white supremacy and like all of this stuff. And I think it's like really, really cool to be honoring those types of histories and to use fashion as a way to move the needle forward. So sometimes we're like, the Met Gala can be something where it's like very tone deaf. ⁓
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:But this year it was really, really, I think they did a nice job. ⁓ I think either way, it's a great place to pull inspiration because like I said, red carpet moments have different rules. any type of like, in the Met Gala is the biggest creative innovation event of all the red carpet events that there's of course gonna be such ingenuity on the red carpet there that like, yes, you will pull inspiration from the Met Gala.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Well, even like sometimes I feel like if someone at the Oscars or, you know, one of those award shows goes with something that's not very traditional, like back to your point, like they get kind of crucified for pushing the envelope. But I always think sometimes it's kind of cool to see something different and, ⁓ and, you know, and be more artistic. And like you said, let, their personality come out.
Kati Kons (:Yeah.
August Yocher (:things
I always feel like there's resistance at first but then the more and more people that do it it becomes more widely accepted so I feel like you know if we push the boundary of like you know it's okay to have more non-traditional wear during a ceremony and that is put online that grows in popularity then I think people will become more comfortable with it
Kati Kons (:Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, and I think that's a really hard, that's something that's really hard to address going forward because I think especially in fashion, the way that those types of things become acceptable, such as a ⁓ traditional masculine person wearing a dress. You immediately think of ⁓ when Harry Styles was on the cover of Vogue and he was wearing a dress and everyone was like, masculinity is gone. And it was like this,
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:everyone was up in arms. And of course, it's just like, he's just like posing for a photo, right? It's not anything. But the thing is, Billy Porter has been wearing dresses on the red carpet for like five, 10 years, you know? And so it's like, why, why do we all of a sudden say the world is stopping when Harry Styles does it? ⁓ And I think going forward, it's interesting to ask ourselves that question of like, how do we pay attention and how do we place emphasis on
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kati Kons (:what is changing and what is acceptable and what is not. You see this in the wedding industry, in wedding attire, in the neck scarves that people wear. Those come from traditional Eastern or South Asian cultures. It's called the Dupatta, I think. And it's been, I don't wanna say appropriate, because I feel like that's a very strong word and I don't know the history enough to say that, but because it was influenced from that culture and that.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm.
Kati Kons (:it's something that is not necessarily a history that's not honored every time it's worn. ⁓ think that like, because it's like been popularized by like Western and white culture that it's really, it's really important to like keep those things in the back of your mind that like, yes, we ⁓ have, we have this responsibility to keep making things ⁓ acceptable as we go forward. But I think it's also important to see where we are paying attention and like,
August Yocher (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:who we're accepting and who we're not. And like really be, have everything on our radar in that sense.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm. Love it.
August Yocher (:No, yet I'm sure you
take a lot of responsibility when creating these pieces is making sure we're, yeah, we're pushing the right things and still honoring other things. That is definitely a fine line to walk.
Kati Kons (:Yeah, and I mean, takes a lot of, there's a lot of responsibility that comes with like having to research and having to ⁓ like gather all the information. the thing that I find really funny is it sounds like a lot of work. It's really not a lot of work if you do it right. I mean, if you think about it, like if you just involve the right people, it's very easy ⁓ to just like make sure that everyone's having a voice.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Hehehe.
Kati Kons (:to just take a step back. It's actually the easiest thing that you can do.
Kevin Dennis (:Love it. All right, so you just got married this weekend, so again, congratulations, but like how was it being on the other side and putting together the fashion for yourself?
Kati Kons (:Okay, so I got married to another woman and so I got to actually style as both which was really fun. ⁓ I did so we both had two outfits and so I did our first outfits and she did her second outfit just because she's very particular in terms of like she wanted a suit for her second outfit and she's very particular with the like cut for the suit and whatever. ⁓ And so I did the first outfits and
Kevin Dennis (:Oh, awesome. I was going to ask if you did both.
August Yocher (:Have fun!
Kati Kons (:The, was really fun because we got engaged, I wanna say, what was it? January of 2024, right? So a year and a half ago. And like, I've bought four or five wedding outfits since then. Maybe since, oh yeah, yeah. And like, just, we've had so much drama in terms of like trying to plan a wedding and then like family stuff and then like trying to plan it again and then more family stuff.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
no way.
Kati Kons (:And like just obviously people experience a lot of drama during wedding planning efforts. ⁓ So I think that that's something that people can relate to in that as we went through the drama, was like my idea and like our guest list was changing and our venue was changing. Like my idea for what I wanted to wear and how I wanted to present myself changed. And so I found that very interesting and that is something that actually surprised me.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:the most about going through the process myself.
Kevin Dennis (:That's amazing and well and you bring up family drama if there's nothing worse than Getting married that brings up nothing but family drama. So Check check the family drama to the side folks. We don't want you don't want it. So
August Yocher (:Yeah
Kati Kons (:No.
August Yocher (:So ⁓ I feel like now I kind of want to get more into what the process looks like when a couple wants to hire you. So what are the beginning stages? Are there like fits? Can you do things virtually? How does the process work?
Kati Kons (:For weddings, styling specifically, I am fully virtually. I say fully virtually, it's like I have a couple clients in my area. It's just with social media, it's like, how do you gatekeep your reach? ⁓ Especially organically, I think that's a really fun marketing conundrum is social media organically allows you to reach more people, but like, because it's ⁓ free content.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Totally.
Kati Kons (:it's like paid advertising, can limit it by geographies. You can't limit your organic content. So I have clients all over the country. I a couple of clients in another country and it's just like sometimes requires a lot of flexibility and a lot of problem solving. The process is basically very dependent on your timeline and what you're looking for and how
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:disconnected to your personal style, are you? And I guess to elaborate more on that is just like sometimes people ⁓ only wear a t-shirt and shorts every day. But the problem with that isn't that they wear a t-shirt and shorts every day, it's that they actually hate that they wear t-shirt and shorts every day and that they don't know what to do next. that's, there's a lot more...
August Yocher (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:effort that goes into bringing that person to a state of like confidence and feeling like themselves and like feeling good on their wedding day than someone who like is like goes shopping three times a month and is very ⁓ particular about their accessories, for example. ⁓ So it is so specific. But in terms of booking generally, this is a long answer. ⁓
Kevin Dennis (:Mm.
NNNN
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kati Kons (:In
terms of booking, generally, it would just be trying to figure out if you're doing custom or something ordering online. There's not a lot of trying on when it comes to non-traditional wedding attire because it doesn't exist locally. ⁓ So it's a lot of balance and trying to problem solve, ⁓ trying to balance your budget with what's possible.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:and then realizing that you can't do it because of budget and then trying to make it possible somehow. Otherwise, it's a lot of problem solving. It's so fun though.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Well, are there any mistakes that couples make when putting together their f- I love it. Yes. Tell us, please!
August Yocher (:Yes, yes!
Kati Kons (:couples okay wait I cut you off too soon though are there mistakes are there mistakes that people make when
Kevin Dennis (:That's okay.
When working with you or like in putting together their fashion. Yeah. Yeah.
August Yocher (:Or just in general. Yeah, their own
fashion.
Kati Kons (:Wait,
yes, I feel like I have so many answers. So one, one thing that I deal with a lot is because non-traditional wedding attire is not mainstream and it doesn't like exist in your local city, you have to order it most of the time because a lot of people can't afford to do the custom process. And that means you have to send your measurements to someone.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:Now taking your own measurements is not something you should ever do. People do it all the time. You shouldn't. I, I've done it and I shouldn't have. ⁓ I have now changed since changed the process a number of times where I have an app that takes a video of you and it take like AI gets your measurements from the video. ⁓ Yeah. It's like supposed to be a little bit more accurate than human measurements.
August Yocher (:Hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:I mean say how do you do it?
No way.
August Yocher (:and it's accurate?
Kevin Dennis (:Wow.
Kati Kons (:with like a plus or minus 3 % accuracy rate. So it can be on accurate sometimes, but like, I don't know. When you're virtually fully, it's like actually such a crucial tool to have. So that's a mistake that people make all the time is do not sleep on getting professional measurements done or getting an AI app that does the measurements for you. Do not do them yourself. Do not trust your partner to do it. Like it's just,
August Yocher (:Wow, that's...
Kevin Dennis (:That's amazing.
But still.
Hmm.
Kati Kons (:It's a profession, it's a practice for a reason. ⁓ We can't just pick it up. ⁓ And that's definitely one mistake that I've dealt with a number of times. ⁓ Also, like just checking the fine print when ordering things, of course. ⁓ I've had my fair share of moments ⁓ where I've had to pay my clients bills because it was like my fault for not reading the fine print. Yeah. ⁓
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
⁓
August Yocher (:Hmm.
Kati Kons (:And that's my fault. That's not my client's fault. ⁓ And then something else that I would say is a mistake when it comes to wedding attire is people don't think about it.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm. In what way? Yeah.
Kati Kons (:I feel like
August Yocher (:It's like a back burner item.
Kati Kons (:people just don't put thought into it and they're like, I'll just find something. And they're like, I don't need to invest in this. I can just whatever. And I think people really underestimate just how transformative it can be to have an outfit that makes you feel seen, like yourself, comfortable, confident.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:such a game changer and for that game changer to take place on your wedding day can you imagine like a better day?
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah, it would be the
best.
Kati Kons (:I think people just like underestimate, I know it's a big investment to like hire a stylist. That sounds like a lot of work, but yeah, it's not a transaction.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:No, but if it affects it affects
you, it affects your mood, it affects the mood of the entire event, it affects your photos, like how you're going to interact with your family and friends, then it definitely seems like an investment worth making.
Kati Kons (:I just feel like the positive impact cannot be understated. Overstated? I don't know. Cannot be overstated. ⁓
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kati Kons (:Yeah, I think a lot of people just sleep on it, but that's the only other mistake I would say because people who are thoughtful about the process usually just like do a nice job anyways, just like you do dressing yourself every day. If you think about it a lot, you're probably going to do well.
Kevin Dennis (:I love it. Well, and it's probably the people that don't think about it or the people that don't really put any effort into their everyday fashion probably.
Kati Kons (:Yeah,
and it's not like a problem to not care. Like if you don't care, that's fine. But if you don't care and you also have a problem with like, you know, your self-confidence, that's a great place to start.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Love it.
August Yocher (:No, it's like you said, like if you wear a t-shirt and shorts every day, that's fine, but if you don't like that, you do wear that. That's where the issue comes up.
Kati Kons (:Mm-hmm. There's a big
difference between Adam Sandler and Billie Eilish, you know what I mean? Now, Adam Sandler probably loves Adam Sandler, but... But there's a big difference in the presentation of those two people, so...
Kevin Dennis (:Ha
August Yocher (:No, but he does, yeah?
Kevin Dennis (:Sweats are not appropriate.
August Yocher (:That is so true. Wow, that is such
Kati Kons (:Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:a good
way to put it. Well, and the next question I wanted to ask you is, obviously, they have a vision board, you create one. Eventually, we're sourcing these pieces, we're creating a style for the event. Now, does the fashion of the event ever come into collaboration with the other vendors' work? Are you talking to...
the decorator, the florists, like the photographer, does that come into play with the fashion as well?
Kati Kons (:Yes, but only to a certain extent. like try to be in touch with planners and like the people that I need to be in touch with, like a planner. Other than that, I feel like there's a lot less, I mean a designer, if I'm working with a designer, of course. But in terms of like other vendors, I feel like there is a lot less.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:for me to be doing, ⁓ which actually makes it a much lonelier process than most wedding vendors. Cause a lot of wedding vendors have like that camaraderie of like day of wedding life experiences and networking on the day of and having the shared experience of not being able to eat or sit down and like all those things. Like ⁓ I don't really go through that as much. So I have a very different experience ⁓ than other people.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah, very true.
Yeah.
Kati Kons (:So I do sometimes like connect when I'm dealing with like certain color palettes or venues or I don't know timelines and logistics, but it's not very often that I like am heavily involved.
Kevin Dennis (:All right, since you can't be there, you made me think of something like, you stalk their Instagram or on the day of their wedding? Where do you get your reward that you did a good job?
Kati Kons (:What's actually so funny is like, I feel like so many of my clients, end up being so close with them by the end of it, that I've gotten invitations to their weddings. I've yet to go to a client wedding and I should, but I also, I don't know, I should. I just feel like that would be fun. But, and then also it's just like,
Kevin Dennis (:no way!
Kati Kons (:rooting them on, texting them the day before, day after, just to see, check in how it's been. And of course they send me photos and their photographers have typically been super nice about sharing galleries and like it's been really great. So.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah, that's
amazing.
August Yocher (:That
must be such a rewarding feeling, like knowing that they loved the outfit, that they're feeling confident in, getting those photos back of them just, you know, looking so happy and ecstatic. must feel very rewarding.
Kati Kons (:Yeah, I think it's very rewarding when not just that they're posting their own photos from their wedding, but like getting their permission to post them on my own social is to be like, yeah, getting your permission to spread these pictures as far and wide as possible. Like that's, that is really nice validation.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:It must be. I love it. All right. So advice as we get ready to wrap this thing up, what advice do you have for a couple getting married when it comes to this? Obviously hire a stylist, but.
Kati Kons (:No, no, no, no, don't even.
My advice to you, other than hire a planner, because I feel like that's an obvious one that a lot of people sleep on until it's too late. ⁓ I think I would, cannot emphasize enough how important it is at the beginning of the wedding planning process. And even if it's not the beginning, it's never too late.
Kevin Dennis (:Mmm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:to sit there and talk about your priorities in what you want to spend. Because like I had my wedding in my apartment unit. I did not have any florals. So I did not spend anything on a venue. I did not spend anything on florals. Like, and we were able to spend it on other things such as a live painter for guest portraits. And so everyone got a little keepsake at the end of the day, which they loved and I loved.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Hmm. that's awesome. Yeah.
Kati Kons (:You know what I mean? Like
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Kati Kons (:it was just a really cool experience for everyone. So I just really feel like traditional like, we have to spend this much on a venue. We have to spend this much on whatever. We have to invite every cousin. No, literally just do whatever you want to do that will make you happy. And if people get upset about it, that's not your prerogative. Like it's not your fault. People are going to get upset even if you do everything right.
Kevin Dennis (:No.
Mm-hmm.
No.
Yep.
August Yocher (:It's so true.
Kevin Dennis (:And I always say don't listen to the outside noise, do you? Yeah. Love it. All right, great advice. All right, so how do our couples get in contact with you and find you?
Kati Kons (:Yeah, absolutely.
I am at portrait of a bride on fire on Instagram and TikTok. And that's a reference to a movie that no one understands, but maybe one day someone will. Um, it's a gay movie. it's a gay movie. thought people would get it and they would be like, Oh, a gay fashion stylist. And even queer people don't get it. There's like every once in a while there's someone in a blue.
August Yocher (:Do you wanna tell us?
Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
how funny. I mean funny but not funny. Yeah.
August Yocher (:Aww, that sucks.
Kati Kons (:there's like a person in a blue moon that's like, ⁓ I get it. And I'm like, okay, I should change my name. ⁓
August Yocher (:Well, that's so funny you say that like we just had
this weather concierge service as a podcast episode. And I love when people name their businesses after something like that, because his business is called ironic reports. And I'm like, it's about weather. So before we hopped on the podcast, I was like, ironic. Is that like the Alanis Morissette song? So we asked him on the podcast.
and he said it was and that a lot of people don't get it so it must feel really good when someone does connect the dots.
Kevin Dennis (:you
Kati Kons (:Yeah,
the movie is like a sapphic love story. It's like the only, like not the only because I feel like in the last few years there's been a lot more lesbian movies and like media coming out but like before, I don't know, there's like not a lot of like lesbian film or TV and whatever. And this is like one of the very good like tasteful pieces of art films out there. It's called Portrait of a Lady on Fire and it's just like about an 18 or so.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm.
Kati Kons (:18th 19th century lesbian couple that obviously can't be together because it's a lesbian story and I don't know for whatever reason in film lesbians can't ever end up together.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm
August Yocher (:That's tragic.
Kati Kons (:Yeah,
so portrait of a bride on fire and people are always like, my god, a bride on fire. And I'm like, no. I'm like, that's not it. But anyways.
Kevin Dennis (:Yeah.
Love it.
Love it. All right. So we always ask ⁓ our guests what's their favorite part of a wedding. But I'm going to ask you what's your favorite part of your wedding. Yep.
Kati Kons (:My wedding.
So like my favorite part of this past like weekend, right?
Kevin Dennis (:Yep, yep, yep,
yep, yep, yep.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
Kati Kons (:Cause like in a very cliche moment, my favorite part of any wedding is to see their first look. And now it's becoming more common that people don't see the first look, right? ⁓ Because they do it in private. Now I did that. I did that where we did it before we walked in and we walked in together by the way, which was really fun. I really.
Kevin Dennis (:Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
August Yocher (:Mm-hmm.
That's
Kevin Dennis (:I
August Yocher (:cute.
Kevin Dennis (:like that. My couple last weekend did that and I think that's fun.
Kati Kons (:It was fun. It was really nice, but we did like the first look right before that. And that was like the best decision ever because it was like, you're so nervous and all this stuff is going on. And you just stop being nervous when that happens because you're like, ⁓ this is why we're doing this. And it's fine.
August Yocher (:Yeah.
Kevin Dennis (:Mm-hmm.
So do a first look.
Kati Kons (:Do it for a soul.
August Yocher (:I think I saw
that when I was, you know, like I was telling you was stalking your Instagram. That was one of the content pieces you got, right? The first look. That was really cute. It was very cute.
Kati Kons (:Yeah, I took a video of it. Thanks. ⁓
Kevin Dennis (:Love it. All right.
Kati Kons (:good sleep.
Kevin Dennis (:Well, we'll have all your information in the show notes so they can get a hold of you. Katie, thank you so much for being here today and enlightening our audience about fashion. think we all need a little help when it comes to fashion. Thank you. I went fun. I try to have fun.
Kati Kons (:Absolutely.
I appreciate your shirt choice today, Kevin.
August Yocher (:Floral.
Kati Kons (:I'm wearing
a sweatshirt, but it has a sun on it and clouds and flowers, so I feel like that's good enough.
Kevin Dennis (:That works. All right, well folks, thanks for listening to another episode of Now That Engage, How Do I Get Married? We'll see you next time. Bye, guys.
August Yocher (:I think so.
