We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caroline Bursinger. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caroline below.

Hi Caroline, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Tell us the story of how you came up with the idea for your business:

We met at a networking event – totally unrelated to weddings – and somehow got to talking about our own wedding experiences. Within minutes, we realized we had both planned micro weddings… and had both run into the exact same frustrations. There was this instant bond – two total strangers who felt like we were speaking the same language for the first time.

We had each tried to plan something small, meaningful, and intentional – but the wedding industry didn’t make that easy. It felt like every turn pushed us toward something bigger, more expensive, and more traditional than what we actually wanted. Venues weren’t set up for it. Vendor minimums were sky-high. Packages assumed you’d have 150 guests. It was exhausting. And honestly, a little isolating.

But through all that, we still managed to pull off these weddings that felt perfect for us – and that experience sparked something. We looked at each other and said, “If we went through this, how many other couples are struggling too!?”

That’s when You’re Invited WI was born.

Walk us through how you knew this was a worthwhile endeavor – talk to us about the logic of why you felt this would work.

The “aha” moment for us was realizing how little of the wedding industry is built around the idea that less can be more. It’s not just about budget – it’s about values. So many couples want an intimate, beautiful day without all the stress, pressure, and price tag of a big wedding… but no one was making that process easy for them.

We didn’t just see a gap – we felt it. We knew there was a better way, and more importantly, we knew we could create it. What makes our business work is that we don’t treat micro weddings as a compromise. We treat them as the main event. We design experiences that feel custom and personal, while taking the pressure off at every step.

Were you solving a problem that no one else was solving? Were you offering a unique approach? Or what about this idea got you most excited?

Absolutely. Most planners and venues are still trying to retrofit micro weddings into packages meant for full size events. That’s not what we’re doing. We built this from the ground up with small in mind – from venue partnerships to vendor curation to how we talk about the experience.

What got us most excited (and still does!) is helping couples feel seen. We hear all the time, “You’re exactly what I’ve been looking for, I just didn’t know it existed.” That’s how we know we’re on the right track. We’re not just offering a service – we’re creating a shift in how people think about what a wedding should look like.

We’re two non-traditional brides who got tired of trying to fit into a mold that wasn’t made for us – and now we’re breaking that mold for everyone else.

Caroline, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We’re Kate and Caroline – aka the micro wedding besties behind You’re Invited WI, where we plan and style intentionally small, totally personalized micro weddings in Wisconsin (and sometimes Italy when the stars align!). But really, we’re just two non-traditional brides who couldn’t find what we were looking for in the wedding world… so we built it ourselves.

We both planned our own micro weddings – very different vibes, but with the same core intention: we wanted a meaningful, low-stress day surrounded by the people who matter most. What we didn’t want was to spend a year drowning in logistics, fighting outdated traditions, or shelling out $50K on things we didn’t care about. And while our weddings turned out beautifully, the process of getting there wasn’t easy. The industry just isn’t built for small-yet-stylish, non-cookie-cutter celebrations.

That’s where You’re Invited WI comes in.

We offer all-inclusive micro wedding packages that are designed to take the pressure off – from choosing a dreamy local venue to coordinating vendors, styling the space, and making sure the day runs seamlessly. Whether couples want a fully curated package or the freedom to mix and match their favorite vendors, we’ve got them covered. It’s wedding planning without the overwhelm – still gorgeous, still fun, still everything a wedding should be!

What makes us different is that we didn’t set out to become “wedding planners” in the traditional sense. We’re here to challenge the idea that weddings have to look a certain way or meet a certain expectation. We care deeply about our couples and what they want, and we’re not afraid to break the rules to make that happen. Our weddings are cozy, elevated, emotional, creative – and best of all, stress-free.

We’re most proud of the fact that our couples actually get to enjoy their wedding day. We hear it all the time: “This was the most us day ever.” That’s the goal. We’re here to help people celebrate love in a way that feels real to them – not their parents, not Pinterest, not tradition.

If there’s one thing we want people to know about You’re Invited WI, it’s that we’re not just planning weddings – we’re creating space for a different kind of celebration. One that’s intentional, beautiful, and deeply personal.

And we’ll probably cry happy tears with you on your wedding day. Fair warning!!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We believe our reputation really grew from being unapologetically focused on one thing: creating meaningful, stylish micro weddings that don’t feel like an afterthought. In an industry that often treats smaller weddings as “less than,” we showed up and said – nope, these can be just as beautiful, just as emotional, and even more personal. And couples took notice.

A huge part of that reputation came from staying consistent with our message and values. We don’t try to be everything to everyone. From day one, we’ve spoken directly to non-traditional couples who want a different kind of experience – something intimate, low-pressure, and full of intention. The more we leaned into that, the more the right people found us.

And then of course, once they found us, we delivered. Every couple we’ve worked with has walked away feeling heard, cared for, and genuinely excited about their wedding day. That kind of word-of-mouth, paired with visuals that reflect how stunning micro weddings can be, helped us build real credibility fast.

What really sets us apart isn’t just our packages – it’s our perspective. We’re not following the rules. We’re reimagining what a wedding can look like. And we think people feel that.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

One moment that really stands out happened early on, when we had just launched You’re Invited WI. We were putting in all this work – building packages, connecting with venues, refining our style – and… nothing. Inquiries were quiet. We started questioning everything. Did people actually want micro weddings? Were we too niche? Did we totally misread the market?

But instead of panicking or pivoting to something more “mainstream,” we doubled down on our vision. We spent those quiet weeks refining our messaging, pouring love into our website, reaching out to vendors we admired, and showing up consistently – even when it felt like no one was watching.

Then one day, the right couple found us. They said, “We didn’t think someone like you existed.” And just like that, things started to shift.

We learned that resilience doesn’t always look like big, bold moves. Sometimes it’s staying the course when it would be easier to blend in. We believed in what we were building and in the couples we were building it for – and that belief carried us through the slow seasons, the learning curves, and all the behind-the-scenes doubt.

And now? We get to help couples who do want exactly what we offer. It just took a little resilience (and a lot of coffee!!) to get here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youreinvitedwi.com
• Instagram: youreinvitedwi | youreinviteditaly
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yiwisc/

Image Credits

Morgan Hicks Photography, Cecilia Marie Portraiture