For some brides and grooms, it is difficult to write and recite their wedding vows publicly.
That’s where Caitlyn Peterson comes.
Peterson, 37, is the founder and CEO of the wedding words, wedding vows and speech writing business, and is passionate about helping “tongue-bound” couples express themselves.
“I’m into this business and helping people put their hearts into words,” says Peterson.
Since founding Wedding Word eight years ago, Peterson has transformed her writing talent into a business that brings six figures a year, writing over 700 speeches for couples, bridal party members and parents.
Peterson had been selling for years before establishing Wedding Word, but she always considered herself a “writer of the heart.”
The catalyst for her career change came in 2017 when Peterson’s father asked her to help write her grandfather’s eulogy.
Her father’s original draft sounded, “Maybe it was written about whose dad or grandpa.” Peterson recalls.
Peterson helped his father rewrite eulogy to include meaningful memories and details about his grandfather.
Her father’s reaction touched her.
The experience prompted Peterson to start the wedding words a few months later.
“I thought there needed to be other people who have these milestone moments where they really want to do emotional justice, but they just don’t know how to put that into words,” she says.
Hit “emotional chords”
One of the most common misconceptions Peterson hears about her work is those who hire people who “just don’t mind” writing their own speeches.
“I think that’s the exact opposite,” she says. “I think you care a lot because you feel like you can’t do it yourself.”
Peterson begins the process with an introductory video call. Meanwhile, she and her client talk about their speech goals, and Peterson teases them with important details and important stories.
This process is often emotional, Peterson says, and clients cry “always.”
“We’re hitting emotional chords,” she says. “We’re deeper somewhere. That’s a good thing.”
After Peterson drafts the speech, she and her client look into the revision on another video call before completing the speech and practicing loudly.
“Writing is half that, but it also makes sure your delivery is done in a way that hits those emotional and humorous beats,” says Peterson.
By the end of the last call, clients will mostly sigh of visible relief, Peterson says.
“They said, ‘I feel so good, I can’t believe I’m actually excited to say this speech in front of 200 people,” she says. “That’s the moment I know, OK, I did my job.”
The need for “human storytelling”
Starting a speech writing business from scratch was not easy. Initially, Peterson spent hours scrutinizing the wedding Facebook group in search of potential clients.
She took on her first client for free and asked her to instead share her reviews or testimony on her site.
“I found out that people aren’t ready to pay me to write something very personal without asking what experiences they have from others,” she says.
Soon, Peterson was able to charge a “nominal fee” of $350 for his speech writing service, and from there the business grew, she says.
Peterson is currently charging $999 to write and edit wedding speeches and $499 for the “Power Hour” editing session.
Wedding Words’ monthly revenues exceeded $8,000 in August, according to documents reviewed by CNBC. The company consistently brings six-figure gross revenue each year.
The point of Peterson’s pride is that the wedding words are entirely self-funded and the business has been profitable from day one, she says.
Until this year, Peterson was the only employee of the company. “I was incredibly valuable because I didn’t outsource my writing for a long time,” she says, but she realized that she needed extra hands to expand her business.
Peterson hired a full-time writer earlier this year, but she’s onboarding right away.
“The goal is to serve more clients more quickly and as a result, we can maintain lower prices,” she says.
As a writer, Peterson’s business is undoubtedly influenced by AI.
She says that wedding word blogs have lost half of their web traffic in the past year, with some competitors using AI tools to stick out content at a fast pace.
Still, Peterson isn’t too worried about AI affecting the long-term income of wedding words.
“The people who are happy to write wedding speeches using AI tools are not my clients,” she says. “My clients value human storytelling.”
“No matter what changes occur in the technological world, we need a human touch and a human mind, and I don’t think it will disappear,” she continues.
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