THE Podcast for Wedding and Events Industry Professionals
All Episodes
All Episodes
350 ARUN BABLANI – Creating Luxurious South Asian Weddings
"Keep doing what you are doing, but work extremely hard at it. You have to work from the heart." Listen as Andy and his guests, Arun Bablani, discuss at what...
349 DANA BOWLING – Finding Your Voice on Clubhouse and Being a Great Moderator
I met Dana on Clubhouse and was really impressed by the ease and style with which she conducts herself as a moderator and speaker in various rooms. She is...
348 JEN VAZQUEZ AND MORGAN CHILDS – Getting Familiar with Clubhouse
What do you know about Clubhouse? Listen as Andy and his guests, Jen Vazquez and Morgan Childs, discuss the basics of Clubhouse, what it is, why we should...
347 Matt Porteous/Photographer – Following Our Hearts Post-Covid
Matt is an award-winning photographer who has gained a world-class reputation for his exquisite documentary style photography. He is considered the...
346 ROUNDTABLE WITH CARRIE GOLDBERG, RISHI PATEL, CHRISTINA MATTEUCCI, AND AUGUSTA COLE
"We've all just lived a year of uncertainty." Listen as Andy, and his roundtable guests Rishi Patel the CEO of HMR Designs, Carrie Goldberg the Travel...
345 THE NEXT LEVEL: LIVE EVENTS COALITION – The Latest Efforts
Today's episode with various members of the LEC, which stands for Live Event Coalition, in order to discuss the mission of the organization,...
344 TARA FAY & BRUCE RUSSELL – Staying Positive, Looking Forward and Giving Back
Listen as Andy and his guests, Tara Fay and Bruce Russell, discuss how they have handled the past year both personally and professionally, what...
343 THE NEXT LEVEL: Sean Low Discusses BENTLEY MEEKER – Lighting Design That Speaks on a Physiological and Spiritual Level
"Light creates the environment, the environment creates the mood, and the mood creates the experience." - Bentley Meeker Today's guest co-host, to discuss...
342 BENTLEY MEEKER – Lighting Design That Speaks on a Physiological and Spiritual Level
"Light creates the environment, the environment creates the mood, and the mood creates the experience." Listen as Andy and his guest Bentley Meeker have a...
341 THE NEXT LEVEL: Kurt Macher discusses RICHARD EAGLETON/McQueens Flowers – Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste
Richard is the CEO of McQueens Flowers, the internationally renowned luxury floral design brand and flower school. Founded in London’s east end in 2001 with customers in Mexico, the United States, Japan, France, Korea, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, and Australia. They have provided flowers for Vanity Fair’s Oscars afterparty for the last twenty-five years and were the floral design partner for the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s Wimbledon Champions Ball and the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
Kurt Macher is our guest co-host and is the General Manager of the absolutely stunning Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, London.
340 RICHARD EAGLETON/McQueens Flowers – Never Let A Crisis Go To Waste
“The power of flowers to lift our spirits shouldn’t be underestimated.” Listen as Andy and his guest Richard Eagleton discuss the power of flowers, social prescribing, and how he feels that mental health and well-being will be the greatest human global challenge arising from the pandemic, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Richard is the CEO of McQueens Flowers, the internationally renowned luxury floral design brand and flower school. Founded in London’s east end in 2001 with customers in Mexico, the United States, Japan, France, Korea, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, and Australia. They have provided flowers for Vanity Fair’s Oscars afterparty for the last twenty-five years and were the floral design partner for the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s Wimbledon Champions Ball and the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
Listen, as Richard shares when he discovered his passion for flowers and his journey to McQueens. He discusses their flower school and how he handles being creative and working the business simultaneously. When Richard asked his team what they saw as McQueens vision, they responded to be the best flower business in the world to work for. Richard strives to make that happen every day.
Richard talks about what they did during the pandemic to make their online store profitable; he believes when you have falling or zero sales, it’s an opportunity for improving margins. He discusses what he sees happening in the event industry post- Covid.
When asked for his advice at the beginning of the lockdown in the UK, Richard said be kind because it costs nothing and will always come back, keep an eye on the horizon because the bumpy road to get there is easier to travel if you know where you are heading and third, just worry about the things you can change and stop worrying about the things you can’t.
339 THE NEXT LEVEL: LAUREN DICKENS discusses LISA ZACHERY – Embodying True Passion in Stationery
Andy welcomes Lauren Dickens to the show as his guest co-host for today’s episode. Lauren is the Founder and lead planner and designer with Elle Audrey, a luxury planning and design company based in NYC and their tag line is “distinctively designed with you in mind.”
Lisa is the CEO and Creative Director of Papered Wonders. As stationers, they design, create and produce exquisite wedding stationery that represents the love and passion shared by the couple. All of their designs are unique and share a piece of the love story unfolding during the time leading up to the wedding. Papered Wonders is also a custom design and print studio, and Lisa also assists other business owners in crafting their best look on paper and other collateral.
338 LISA ZACHERY – Embodying True Passion in Stationery
“Imagine your dreams on paper, imagine being able to embody true passion in stationery.” Listen as Andy and his guest Lisa Zachery discuss the meaning behind this quote, her passion for stationery, her belief that invitations set the tone for the event you are having, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Lisa is the CEO and Creative Director of Papered Wonders. As stationers, they design, create and produce exquisite wedding stationery that represents the love and passion shared by the couple. All of their designs are unique and share a piece of the love story unfolding during the time leading up to the wedding. Papered Wonders is also a custom design and print studio, and Lisa also assists other business owners in crafting their best look on paper and other collateral.
Listen as Lisa shares her process for designing invitations that showcase the couple’s love, how they use favors to imbed the wedding memory into each guest’s hearts and what inspires her to pick the right font, graphics, color, etc. Lisa also helps other creatives rebrand their businesses because she believes that branding is ever-evolving, and as a company grows, its story changes.
Lisa discusses needing more diversity in the industry and the need for more women in power everywhere. She gives advice on what to look for when finding a wedding planner and someone to design wedding invitations because they all need to work together to create the best experience for the couple.
337 THE NEXT LEVEL: SEAN LOW discusses IRA LEVY – Tastefully Using Technology to Create Lighting Designs
Andy welcomes Sean Low back to the show. Sean is the owner of the consulting firm The Business of Being Creative, which focuses on providing practical advice to those in the business of being creative. He also has a podcast on The Wedding Biz Network called The Business of Being Creative.
Listen as they discuss Ira Levy, the Creative Director of Levy NYC Design & Production, a full-service design and production company focused on lighting, sound, and video for events, architecture, and what he calls architainment. Ira has been the lighting designer for such event luminaries as Preston Bailey and Colin Cowie. Past clients include Martha Stewart Weddings, Dolce Gabbana, and the American Museum of Natural History.
336 IRA LEVY – Tastefully Using Technology to Create Lighting Designs
“Light starts in the ceiling and ends in the floor, and there is nothing in between.” Listen as Andy and his guest Ira Levy discuss his journey from pre-med to concerts, lighting design, and entertainment, why he uses the term architainment, his process when working with clients, designers, and planners, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Ira is the Creative Director of Levy NYC Design & Production, a full-service design and production company focused on lighting, sound, and video for events, architecture, and what he calls architainment. He has also been the lighting designer for such event industry luminaries as Preston Bailey and Colin Cowie. Past clients include Martha Stewart Weddings, Dolce Gabbana, and the American Museum of Natural History.
“It’s not the turning of the screw; it’s knowing which screw to turn.” Ira believes that the mood you create with lighting is part of the experience. Ira shares mixing entertainment and architecture to create architainment, which happens when light touches inanimate material.
Listen as Ira speaks about the need for event industry professionals to allow more time before an event so that lighting designers can work their creative magic. Ira also shares what he still hopes to accomplish and what he is looking forward to.
335 A Conversation With: VALERIE ROMANOFF
“Music is a force and power tool for our well being.” Valerie Romanoff, founder of Starlight Music, is Andy’s guest on the show today. Valerie was on episode 24 of The Wedding Biz back in October 2017 and has had quite a pivot since. So, Andy wanted to have her on the show to catch up and find out what she has been doing.
Listen as Valerie shares why she uses the terms “still,” “chill,” and “thrill” when discussing the different segments of life, how the vibrations of music can shift energy, and what she does that is so unique and different when putting on a performance. Valerie also talks about having performers who do more than just show up; performers who are aware and more intentional about their performance.
Valerie discusses what she likes to talk about when she coaches her band leaders and why to her every moment, every night is different, and it’s not just a show; it’s an interactive collaboration with everyone who is there. Valerie believes a home run when you have everyone on the dance floor and in a certain state of mind.
Valerie believes we should all look at the gifts this time off has given us instead of focusing on the negatives. She discusses events’ potential to have more meaning and awareness once people can get out and enjoy them again, and where she thinks the industry will go once this pandemic is over.
334 REVISIT: DAVID TUTERA – Finding True Success in Self Reinvention
This is a revisit of Andy’s popular interview of David Tutera from May of 2018 with a new introduction.
333 THE NEXT LEVEL: LAURIE ARONS discusses ERICH MCVEY/Combining Documentary and Fine Art Style Photography
Andy welcomes Laurie Arons back to The Next Level. Laurie is with Laurie Arons Special Events. She has been featured in numerous magazine publications and was listed in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, and Martha Stewart Weddings as one of the top planners worldwide. Listen as they discuss how Erich got his start in photography and how important he feels it is to keep his passion for the art without getting lost in the business side, plus much more.
Erich McVey is a wedding, portrait, and editorial film photographer with a love for medium format cameras, natural light, and incredible scenery. Erich was named by Harpers Bazaar, Brides, and Martha Stewart Weddings as one of the world’s best wedding photographers and twice selected as film Photographer of the Year.
Listen as Laurie gives her insights into Erich’s preference of shooting with film instead of digital, how she loves the look of film and only works with such photographers for her events. Laurie talks about how she gets butterflies before an event because it’s so intense and there is so much on the line. Laurie also discusses what she looks for when hiring a photographer, for her events, and why she loves Erich’s style and the way he shoots photographs.