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.
FAQs
Are your talks legal advice for my business?
My talks give you general legal information and real-world insight — the stuff every wedding and event pro should know — but they're not personalized legal advice for your specific situation. Attending my presentation doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. If you need advice tailored to your business, that's a separate conversation (and one I’m happy to have).
Can you customize a talk for our event or audience?
Absolutely. I've got a set of go-to topics, but I regularly tweak them based on who's in the room, whether that's photographers, planners, venues, or a mixed crowd of vendors. Tell me about your audience, and I'll tailor the content to match.
Do you speak in person, virtually, or both?
Both! I travel across the globe for in-person events, and I also do virtual sessions for online conferences, webinars, and membership communities. Wherever your audience is, I can meet them there.
Who is this content for?
Wedding and event professionals, mainly — planners, photographers, florists, venues, and other creatives who run their own businesses. If your group deals with contracts, clients, and the occasional "well, that's never happened before" moment, my talks will land.
How far in advance should we book you?
The earlier the better, especially for peak conference season, but reach out even if your timeline is tight. I'll always try to make it work.
How do we book you or ask about fees?
Fees depend on the event — length, format, travel, all of it — so there's no flat number to throw out here. Fill out my speaking inquiry form with your event details, and I'll get back to you with availability and a proposal, usually within a few days.
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:
RSVP Los Angeles
November 9-11 / Los Angeles, CA
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