If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I was fortunate enough to attend the Engage!10 luxury wedding business summit at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman last week. Created and produced by Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce of Engaging Concepts, the event was a chance to connect with many amazing friends, both old and new, in the wedding industry.
I had several takeaways from the event, both for my business and in terms of creating a memorable experience, which Rebecca and Kathryn, along with the lovely Trisha Hay, excelled in. From the moment we exited the airport until the moment we returned, all of the attendees were treated with great care and thoughtfulness. Brides – a great deal of your guests’ wedding memories will center around the experience you are providing, and simple things that these ladies did, such as greeting us when we reached the hotel, spoke volumes about how much they cared about each of us and our experience. And as far as the conference itself, not a detail was left unfinished!
The speakers from the first day of the conference included Carley Roney from The Knot, Cindy Novotny, Marcy Blum, Sylvia Weinstock, Millie Bratten, Rosalind and Siri from Two Bright Lights, and Colin Cowie. During our second day, we were involved in breakout sessions with industry leaders such as Todd Fiscus and Simon T. Bailey.
Cindy Novotny provided my personal quote-of-the-conference winner: “Winners ignore negativity; losers wallow in it.”
For me, the running theme of the conference was twofold:
- Differentiating yourself and your business
- Customer service and consistently providing excellence
If you are in the wedding industry and are considering attending an Engage! event, I would definitely recommend it. Engage! is not a “how to” or “what to” conference. Rather, it is a thought-provoking environment that allows you to connect with like-minded industry professionals and gives the opportunity for reflection on your business. The time away gave me the chance to evaluate and recharge, and flesh out ideas for how to grow and improve EAD.
And of course, we were able to enjoy the beautiful Grand Cayman beach a bit!
{above two photos from Lara Casey, that’s Lara and I on the gorgeous Seven Mile Beach in front of the Ritz Carlton. Naturally, I am the sunburnt one.}
Thanks to all of my Engage!10 friends for making my experience so wonderful – I miss you already!
Follow @aprilfoster on Twitter
Thanks for the recap! It sounds like it was a one of a kind experience! I hope I will be able to attend next year.
Follow @LaraCasey on Twitter
You say naturally you are the sunburned one… you should have seen me a few hours later. My SPF 100 (no joke) washed off in the Caribbean Ocean. SO great to see you! xo
.-= Lara’s most recent blog post: Sponsor Love, Part VIII =-.
Follow @RiceInk on Twitter
I miss you too :)
[...] a look at the wonderful recaps and insights posted by Liene Stevens, Jasmine Star, Harmony Walton, Ami Elizabeth and Tom McCallum with many many more to follow, I am [...]
[...] posted a recap with some beautiful images of the conference and the Cayman Islands over on Elizabeth Anne Designs, but here on Edit and Post I wanted to delve into just a few of the recurring themes from the [...]
Follow @twobrightlights on Twitter
Great recap! I especially love this: “Engage! is not a “how to” or “what to” conference. Rather, it is a thought-provoking environment that allows you to connect with like-minded industry professionals and gives the opportunity for reflection on your business. ” So right on! xoxo
[...] Elizabeth Anne Designs [...]
[...] [...]
[...] - Part 1, Part 2, Better Angle, Celebrations Cayman, Bridal Bar - Part 1, Part 2, Elizabeth Anne Designs, Jules Bianchi, Think Splendid, Mccallum Solutions, Sean [...]
[...] Elizabeth Anne Designs Avery House Originally Posted on August 21st, 2010 by Avery House About the author…We are Matt and Stevi Savage and we are AveryHouse. We are a husband and wife photography team specializing luxury weddings. We love style, we love people and we love people with style. We have been shooting weddings for six years and are still as passionate about them as the day we first got started. As artists and entrepreneurs, it is important to us to never sacrifice quality or service for anyone. We are passionate about capturing the beauty and the individuality of the people that surround us. [...]
This is the suitable weblog for anyone who desires to seek out out about this topic. You notice so much its almost onerous to argue with you (not that I actually would wantÖHaHa). You positively put a brand new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, simply nice!