Photo by Syed Yaqueen
WEDDING LAWYER & SPEAKER
LEAH WEINBERG (SHE/HER)
Founder & Attorney, Weinberg Legal
I like to call myself a “recovering wedding planner,” since I left my job in event planning to become a wedding lawyer and speaker. I now deliver talks and presentations at in-person and online events, educating wedding and event professionals on the need to protect themselves legally (and sharing my real-life stories about what can go wrong if they don’t). I also love debunking those (annoying) legal myths that pop up over and over.
“Attending Leah’s session at Wedding MBA was so enlightening.
I soaked up so much valuable info in a way that felt like chatting with a knowledgeable friend. I not only enjoyed every moment of her engaging presentation but left eager to hear more of her expertise – making her a speaker I would definitely seek out again.”
– KEANNA O’QUINN, FOUNDER & CEO, SONIC SOMMELIER and HONEY + VINYL
Leah Weinberg – founder of Weinberg Legal – is an attorney, a recovering wedding planner, and the author of The Wedding Roller Coaster.
Leah spent a decade planning weddings in and around New York City as the owner of Color Pop Events, where clients raved about her “organized approach,” “naturally calm demeanor,” and ability to serve as a “voice of reason, reality, and sanity” amid the chaos of wedding planning.
In 2023, she officially returned to her roots as an attorney so she could provide legal counsel for wedding and event professionals as well as other creative entrepreneurs who want to feel better equipped to weather the ups and downs of running a small business.
Leah’s work and insights have been published online and in print with Vogue, the New York Times, People, CNN, CNBC, Bravo, Martha Stewart, and The Knot, among others.
A WeddingPro Educator with The Knot + WeddingWire since 2020, Leah travels throughout the country and internationally sharing insight, candid advice, and seen-it-all stories with her peers at conferences and organizations such as DWP Congress, RSVP Club, Be Sage Conference, Coterie Retreat, Wedding MBA, WIPA, Alt Summit, NACE Experience, and The Special Event.
Leah is honored to serve on the Allied Council for the National Society of Black Wedding and Event Professionals (NSBWEP) while also mentoring through NSBWEP's Mentor Program and WeddingPro's Fellowship for Change program.
2026 SPEAKING TOPICS
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My absolute FAVORITE talk, in this presentation I get to go into all of the bizarre things that can happen on wedding and events day. And folks, most of the stories are REAL. We'll review how to handle these curveballs when they are thrown at you, but also what you can do in advance to try to protect yourself from day one with a client.
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We’ve ALL had those clients that make us rethink our life choices, but even the best prepared wedding pros can’t avoid conflict entirely. That being said, a solid client service agreement and some other legal pre-planning can go a long way when things go sideways, and those are some of the points I cover in this particular talk.
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Is there REALLY a difference between "retainer" and "deposit"? Can you enter into a binding agreement with an emoji? Some of the legal myths floating around online these days are absolutely wild. And in this talk, I'll share what's real, what's not, and explain why you shouldn't be taking legal advice from people in Facebook groups.
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Your client service agreement is one of the building blocks of your business, and yet most event and wedding pros don't have theirs in good shape. In this talk I cover some of the must-have provisions for any vendor's client service agreement and where I see folks making missteps with them from a legal perspective.
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Let's be honest, keeping the legal side of a small business in tip top shape isn't always priority number one for wedding and event professionals so some things are left gathering dust. In this talk, I review how to audit the legal side of your business and some of the main areas you need to stay on top of from contracts to hiring to marketing.
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Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to roast AI. AI tools like ChatGPT aren't just for writing emails anymore (unfortunately). Couples are using them to mark up your contracts, generate impossible inspiration, second-guess your expertise, and even draft threatening legal letters after the wedding is over. In this talk, I break down the real-world ways AI is showing up in the client relationship and what you can (and should) do about it.
WHERE YOU’LL FIND ME NEXT:
NACE Atlanta
August 10 / Atlanta, GA
SWEL Summer Summit
August 12 / Sarasota, FL
WHERE I’VE BEEN:
SWEL Summer Summit 2024
WHAT’S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?
As in: what if you were a wedding planner, and the venue burst into flames an hour before the ceremony was set to start? Where would your contract leave you, legally speaking?
“Leah’s presentations are not only informative but also entertaining, making legal education feel less daunting and more accessible.
Her unique blend of legal knowledge and wedding planning experience makes her an incredibly insightful and engaging educator for the wedding industry.”
– JESSICA BISHOP, OWNER, THE BUDGET SAVVY BRIDE