Engage!10 Conference

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.

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{Donna Von Bruening}

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!

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{Jasmine Star}

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{Jasmine Star}

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{Donna Von Bruening}

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.

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{Jasmine Star}

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{Donna Von Bruening}

Cindy Novotny provided my personal quote-of-the-conference winner: “Winners ignore negativity; losers wallow in it.”

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{Rebecca Davidson}

For me, the running theme of the conference was twofold:

  1. Differentiating yourself and your business
  2. 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!

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{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!