Engage10 recap continued

The second part of my recap from my Engage!10 experience. One of the highlights to attending is to meet talented ( and talented is an understatement) industry leaders. This post would be far too lengthy if I listed and showed pictures of every person I met. So I am going to take the very wise advice of Liene Stevens – CEO Splendid Communications, and keep it short.

Some of the highlights of my experience were:

1) Getting to meet Sylvia Weinstock again. She is such an icon, and quite a good dancer. She told us that she never ever skimps on quality ingredients. The basis of what she was telling us was that although you can get things “cheaper” they are not all created equally. Fine, expensive ingredients, are just that fine, and expensive. You could find similar or lesser quality ingredients that would be less expensive, but be aware they are not the same. This was so important to me, as it relates to what I do, and the questions I field every day.

2) Hearing Colin Cowie speak I have heard him once before and met him once before. However, when he takes the stage and explains the events he creates, I am immediately speechless. Which being speechless does not often happen to me. In his South African accent he keeps us captivated with his passion for the industry.


3) Using a photobooth- I know this doesn’t sound exciting to many of you. You might even be thinking, photobooth? You could get that anywhere, and you would be right. My excitement was the “experience of the photobooth”. I loved watching everyone, who see these photobooths every weekend, step up and smile! Mustaches, big lips, poses, it was precious, Here are some of mine.
With my friends Kelly Karli owner of Frosted Pink Weddings, and Erin McDonald from Heffernan Morgan Stanley

I love this picture of us from Top Left: Kelli Karli, Shawn Leech - Rain Salon in Orlando, Anthony Luscia from Martha Stewart, and on bottom Rusty James. See I told you the photobooth was entertaining.

Me with Ali Phillips who is from Chicago and is owner of Engaging Events By Ali, Inc.


4) Experiencing the royal treatment we received from the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman. It’s funny but this kind of ties into Sylvia’s comments. I mean it was so refreshing to hear “it would be my pleasure”, or “good morning miss” EVERY single time a staff member passed me in the hallway. The customer service I received is nothing less than FABULOUS!

5) Getting to attend a fun evening event, and not having to worry about timelines, vendor arrivals, etc that I got to be a guest. The last night we were at Engage was bitter sweet. It was bitter sweet because we were leaving the next day, but fun because we really got to enjoy the fabulous party that was thrown for us.

6) Spending time with Randy Fenoli from the show Say Yes to the Dress. Randy has more energy than 4 people combined, and then some. However, hearing his insights on style was wonderful. Since we are Event Stylist, and Personal Stylist, this was invaluable to me.

6) I cannot even do these two justice but the fabulous and very inspiring Cindy Novotny, and Simon T. Bailey. Their energy and attitudes are contagious. If you ever are presented with a chance to hear them speak...DO!
Here I am with Simon

I am so happy that I got to share some of my highlights and images of Engage!10 with you. I got quite a few questions like “this looks like it was all celebration and no work”, or “how does going to paradise = working”. The images of more around the fun experiences but what I didn’t capture on film was the large amount of time we spent in educational, informational sessions. So there you go, although it was a lot of fun, it was work. Work that I would not trade for a second.

PS…sorry Liene this is 563 words… ( I tried)

Photobooth Images Courtesy of: Jennifer Domenick/Love Images

Wish Upon A Wedding St Louis is off the ground...

Photo Credit: Kelly Park Photography

On Wednesday June 16, 2010 we officially launched the St Louis Chapter of Wish Upon A Wedding! Wish Upon A Wedding is the world’s first non profit dedicated to granting wedding wishes to couples faced with terminal illness regardless of sexual orientation.

The launch party was held at the fabulous Lumen Private Event Space downtown St. Louis. Attendees were asked to dress in Caribbean Chic attire. Thanks to the amazing vendors we have in St Louis there was no shortage of food, drink, or entertainment.



Everyone was greeted as they walked in with a feeling of the Caribbean from the music, to the food stations, to the signature drink.



Picture of our St Louis Board

Once the evening was in full swing, and every one's bellies were full, I took the stage as chapter President to give my presentation. The intent of the presentation was to help raise awareness, and help the message get spread for Wish Upon A Wedding. When I got to the past Wish Recipients portion of the presentation, I got a little teary eyed. I was nervous at first, until I looked up and saw that so many of the audience was also teary eyed. At that moment, I knew I was surrounded by amazing, loving, caring, and giving St Louisans.


After the presentation, everyone continued to enjoy, all of the cuisine, desserts, and entertainment. I personally enjoyed the photobooth donated by Goodeye Photoshare. These are some pics from it.

Thank you St Louis, Thank you St Louis Wedding Industry, special thanks to the Shannon Family for all you did to help make our first event a glowing success!! I am blessed to live in such a generous community!

Special thanks goes out to our Event Planning Chair Rob Schaefer, and his entire committee! You all are rockstars. Also, thanks to the Board who dedicated countless hours over the course of 2 months!

List of our generous contributors:
Venue
Lumen Private Event Space

Food/Beverage & Desserts:
Catering Your Way By Lisa
Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Co.
El Borracho
EnFab Catering
Four Seasons St. Louis
Gooey Louie
Lumen Private Event Space
Mike Shannon’s Steaks & Seafood
Mosaic Modern Fusion Restaurants
Orlando’s Catering & Special Event Design
Patty Long Catering
The Cakery
Beverage
Mandarin
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Red Bird Sports Café & Billiards
Nadoz Café - Steven Becker Fine Dining

Photography: Kelly Park Photography

Photobooth: Goodeye Photoshare

Videography: Gebbs Wedding Films

DJ: Millennium Productions

Props Entrance: Parties & Props, Ltd.

Floral:
RW Designs Events & Wedding Specialists
Tina Barerra, The Special Events Florist

Linens: Sitting Pretty

AV: St. Louis Audio/Visual

Makeup/Hair: Tami Scott Salon, Cosmetics & Lounge

Engage10 Grand Cayman

I just returned from a life changing conference that was held in Grand Cayman. The name of the conference was Engage!10, and it was comprised of some of the most talented wedding professionals in the industry. The 3-day conference was held at the gorgeous Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman. From the time our plane touched down on the little island, I knew I was in for a treat, and the beaches weren't too shabby either.




The luxury wedding business summit as it is called, was definitely just that… luxury. No detail was left out, the team at Celebrations did an amazing job with the décor. Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce from Engaging Concepts greeted us personally at the door of the Ritz which immediately made us feel welcome. (kudos ladies on that personal touch)

This experience was unlike any I have ever had at a conference. I am not just talking about the all star lineup of speakers either (which let me tell you was unbelievable). I am talking about the attendees. The attendees are some of the most brilliant, warm, and talented people I have ever met.




When I sat down to write this blog post, I realized that my words were not going to do this justice as to the depth of what I learned and experienced. But I am hoping to try my best using pictures. In the next 3 blog posts I am going to break my experience up a little so that you can share my journey.

In addition, my friends at Avery House did an AMAZING job of capturing images. But hey they are pro's, so I highly recommend checking out their images on their blog