loader from loading.io

The Art of High-End Weddings with Dawn Weisberg of Tularosa Flowers

Play It Brave Podcast

Release Date: 12/04/2025

From Burnout to Resonance – Building an Elevated Brand from the Inside Out: Live Coaching Call with Kristen Marie show art From Burnout to Resonance – Building an Elevated Brand from the Inside Out: Live Coaching Call with Kristen Marie

Play It Brave Podcast

What does it actually look like to evolve from a successful photographer into a fully embodied luxury brand? In this deeply personal episode of the Play It Brave podcast, I’m taking you behind the scenes with my client and dear friend, Kristen Marie, as she walks through a massive identity shift, creative rebirth, and business rebrand. Kristen has been photographing weddings and adventure elopements for over eight years, and after years of success in the elopement world, her body finally told her something had to change. Together, we talk openly about burnout, redefining success, and the...

info_outline
How I Prep to Shoot a 4-Day Wedding (and Tell the Actual Story) show art How I Prep to Shoot a 4-Day Wedding (and Tell the Actual Story)

Play It Brave Podcast

In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on how I approach photographing a high-level, multi-day destination wedding—from the mindset I bring, to the creative direction, to the very real pressure behind the glamour. After more than two decades in this industry, I don’t just show up and “document” a wedding. I direct it. I shape it. I craft it into a visual story that feels cinematic, intentional, and deeply personal to the couple. If you’ve ever wondered how to elevate your work from delivering a gallery to creating a story that stops people in their tracks, this episode is...

info_outline
The Truth About Manifestation and Reclaiming Your Intuition show art The Truth About Manifestation and Reclaiming Your Intuition

Play It Brave Podcast

On this episode of the Play It Brave podcast, I’m taking a conversation I started on Instagram and going deeper into something I care deeply about: manifestation, intuition, and personal power. Because here’s the truth, I don’t believe you when you say you don’t know who you are or what you want. I say that with love. What I’ve found, both in my own life and in working with so many of you, is that “not knowing” is often a protection mechanism. It’s a way we stay safe from the courage, change, and disruption that comes with actually claiming what we want. So today, I’m...

info_outline
Stepping Into a New Era show art Stepping Into a New Era

Play It Brave Podcast

This episode feels different, and that’s because I am different. This is the first episode I’m recording on the other side of a deep personal and professional transformation. I’ve let go of old identities, old offers, old stories, and I’m stepping into a new era of my life and business. If you’re at a crossroads right now, if you feel like you’ve outgrown something but are scared to let it go, this conversation is for you. We’re talking about identity shifts, entrepreneurship in the age of AI, and what it really looks like to honor your evolution instead of clinging to what used...

info_outline
When to Stay and When to Leave: Processing My Breakup with Relationship Coach Karen McMahon show art When to Stay and When to Leave: Processing My Breakup with Relationship Coach Karen McMahon

Play It Brave Podcast

This episode is a deeply personal one. I sat down with my dear friend Karen McMahon, and while she’s known as a high-conflict divorce strategist, this conversation goes far beyond divorce. It’s about personal power. It’s about self-abandonment. It’s about the moment you realize you’ve been editing yourself to keep the peace, and what it takes to finally come home to yourself. Karen supported me through a major breakup, and what she helped me see changed everything: sometimes what we think is “chemistry” is actually a dysregulated nervous system. Sometimes what we call love is...

info_outline
Curating Like Hermès: Creating a Brand People Want to Buy From with Raphaëlle Granger show art Curating Like Hermès: Creating a Brand People Want to Buy From with Raphaëlle Granger

Play It Brave Podcast

There comes a point in so many creative careers where what once felt exciting starts to feel heavy. The work may look successful from the outside, but internally, something feels off. In this episode of Play It Brave, I’m joined by photographer Raphaëlle Granger for an honest conversation about what it really looks like to outgrow a brand, walk away from work that no longer fits, and rebuild from a deeper place of artistic truth. Raphaëlle shares her journey from building a successful adventure elopement brand to realizing that the work she had carefully created no longer aligned with who...

info_outline
Why Photographers Aren’t Booking Like They Used To — and What To Do About It with Alicia Daw show art Why Photographers Aren’t Booking Like They Used To — and What To Do About It with Alicia Daw

Play It Brave Podcast

On today’s episode of the Play It Brave podcast, I’m talking about something many people in the wedding industry are quietly feeling but not always naming out loud. Photographers who used to book 15–20 weddings a year are sitting at just a handful. Retreats are being canceled. Educators who used to sell out instantly are extending deadlines. And behind the scenes, my DMs are filled with the same question: “Is it just me?” So today we’re talking about it honestly. I invited my friend Alicia Daw — an experienced luxury wedding photographer who has spent decades in this industry —...

info_outline
Is AI Destroying Art or Saving It? with Noella Andres of Imagen show art Is AI Destroying Art or Saving It? with Noella Andres of Imagen

Play It Brave Podcast

On this episode of Play It Brave, we’re diving into one of the biggest conversations happening in photography right now: AI. The excitement. The skepticism. The “Is this going to replace us?” energy. All of it. I brought on Noella Andres from Imagen AI to talk about what AI in editing actually is (and what it isn’t). Noella has spent over 20 years supporting photographers in finding more freedom in their workflows, and her move into Imagen fits perfectly with that mission. Together, we unpack how AI can support your artistry instead of threaten it, how it integrates into Lightroom, how...

info_outline
The Infinite Ways to Photograph a Woman with Elizabeth Messina show art The Infinite Ways to Photograph a Woman with Elizabeth Messina

Play It Brave Podcast

There are episodes that feel like a permission slip… and this one is exactly that. If you’ve ever thought, “I’m a wedding photographer,” or “I’m a family photographer,” or you’ve let a label quietly box you in—this conversation is for you. I’m bringing back my dear friend Elizabeth Messina to the podcast, and every time she’s here, I’m reminded why her work has moved people for decades: she doesn’t just take photos—she sees women. We talk about what it actually looks like to evolve across genres without losing your signature. How to stay curious even after years...

info_outline
Building a Brand That Attracts the Right Opportunities with Gary & Kim Evans show art Building a Brand That Attracts the Right Opportunities with Gary & Kim Evans

Play It Brave Podcast

On today’s episode of the Play It Brave podcast, I’m sitting down with one of my favorite creative power couples in the photography industry, Gary Evans and Kim Evans. We talk about what it really looks like to rebrand with intention, build a cohesive identity, and grow multiple businesses together without losing alignment—or your relationship—in the process. This conversation weaves together the emotional and practical sides of entrepreneurship: branding beyond logos, finding your voice in the education space, building an email list that actually converts, and creating offers like...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

In today’s episode, I’m talking with my friend Dawn Weisberg of Tularosa Flowers about what it actually takes to create and book large-scale luxury weddings — not just from a “pretty” standpoint, but from a strategic, energetic, and logistical one.

Dawn and I both came to the wedding industry later in life with long creative careers behind us — mine in directing and acting, hers in costume design for film and television. We get into how those backgrounds shaped the way we approach weddings as world-building: cinematic, intentional, immersive, and deeply rooted in storytelling.

We talk about:

  • How Dawn went from starting florals at 45 to designing six-figure weddings in under a decade

  • Why she treats every wedding like a film set: thinking in scenes, movement, and guest experience
    The behind-the-scenes systems and logistics that make large-scale productions possible

  • How her viral “Malibu Barbie meets Marie Antoinette” pink wedding came to life — and what made it blow up online
    The creative process of pulling inspiration from runway shows, architecture, art, travel, and above all, the couple themselves

  • Why color is having a moment in the luxury world and how to use it in a way that still feels timeless and elevated

  • The mindset shifts required to feel safe holding and delivering on big budgets

  • The role publications & Pinterest have played in her growth (and how she handles rejection like a pro)

  • How styled shoots and editorials catapulted both of our careers into higher price points

  • What florists actually need from photographers on a wedding day to grow their own businesses

We also explore the emotional and energetic side of this work — what it’s like to be genuinely obsessed with your craft, how to avoid burnout by building a business that actually feeds you, and why weddings are still the modern-day fairy tale for both couples and creatives.

P.S. I’m hosting a Tuscany Real Wedding Workshop this spring — a real wedding with a real couple and 30 real guests, photographed and designed over multiple days. You’ll walk away with:

  • A full multi-day destination wedding story (engagement, welcome party, bridal editorial, wedding day, farewell event)

  • A pre-trip mentorship to refine your brand, portfolio gaps, and shot list

  • A post-trip call where we turn your gallery into a 90-day luxury marketing plan

If your gut is saying “this is my next level,” send me a DM and I’ll send you the full proposal. We have very limited spots.

Meet Dawn

Dawn Weisberg is the owner and flower mastermind behind Tularosa Flowers, a luxury wedding design company in Southern California in the San Diego area. Voted Best Florist San Diego by California Wedding Magazine for both 2025 and 2024, she is dedicated to providing the highest level of design and service to her clients.

Dawn's breadth of expertise enables her to offer a visionary edge to her work with a unique perspective in the wedding industry. With a Master's Degree in Theatrical Design from New York University's acclaimed Tisch School of the Arts, her classical training was augmented studying fine art in Italy, where she apprenticed in a Costume and Mask Studio in Venice. After a successful career for 20 years in film and television as a costume designer, Tularosa Flowers's owner chose to pursue her passion for flowers. Dawn combines her cinematic design background with her love of nature to create one-of-a-kind immersive experiences for her clients. The Tularosa style is an effortless maximalism combining Old World European style with California vibrance. 

Tularosa Flowers has been featured in all of the top wedding publications, including Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, Style Me Pretty, Once Wed, The Knot, Brides, Ruffled, Green Wedding Shoes, California Wedding Day, Inspired by This, 100 Layer Cake, June Bug, Wedding Chicks, Hey Wedding Lady, Smashing the Glass, and the Gay Wedding Guide. Tularosa has also partnered with luxury brands including Hermes, and David Austin Wedding Roses. As one of the nation's top and premier floral designers, Dawn has appeared as a wedding trend expert on CBS and FOX, as well as multiple wedding industry podcasts, and was the Mayesh 2024 Wedding Florist Design Star.

Connect with Dawn

tularosaflowers.com
Dawn’s Instagram
Dawn’s TikTok

Click here for more ways to listen to this episode.