Event Planners and Designers

270 MICHAEL UNCAPHER discusses LISA VORCE- The Intangible Soul Of An Event

by Andy Kushner | Jun 24, 2020 | 1The Next Level, Event Planners and Designers

Listen as Andy Kushner and Michael Uncapher discuss Lisa’s winding road to the event industry, how she taps into the “intangible soul” for an event, how important she feels lighting is to any event, plus much more on this episode of The Next Level.

Michael is the Co-Owner and Managing Director with Mark’s Garden out of Los Angeles. Mark’s Garden has crafted floral designs for the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball for the past twenty-six years, plus television Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, top-level civic events and a long list of celebrity weddings including Pink, Gwen Stefani, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Lopez, and Jessica Simpson to name a few.

Lisa is a world-renown celebrity event planner, receiving accolades from Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Brides, BizBash, Martha Stewart, and many more. She planned events for Kobe Bryant and produced some of the most iconic celebrations, including the weddings of John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, and Kate Upton and Justin Verlander.

Listen, as Andy and Michael chat about Lisa’s unique perspective on finding the intangible soul of an event, how important lighting is for an event, and Lisa’s preference for natural light. Michael shares how important Instagram is for showcasing your work and why he sometimes takes the unique approach of taking a picture with his phone at an event to see how his creations will look on Instagram, what a great idea!

Also, Andy has launched a new podcast network called The Wedding Biz Network, in which he produces podcasts for other people in the event industry, with Sean Low being its first member. Sean’s show, The Business Of Being Creative, comes out every Tuesday and stay tuned for more new show announcements coming soon.

269 LISA VORCE – The Intangible Soul Of An Event

by Andy Kushner | Jun 22, 2020 | Event Planners and Designers

“My proudest moments aren’t only about design. They are about how my clients feel when they see and experience the design.” Listen as Andy and his guest Lisa Vorce discuss Lisa’s love of celebrations, what inspired her to leave corporate America to launch her own business and much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.

Lisa is a world-renown celebrity event planner, receiving accolades from Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Brides, BizBash, and Martha Stewart, to name a few. She planned several events for Kobe Bryant and produced some of the most iconic celebrations, including the weddings of John Legend and Chrissy Teigen and Kate Upton and Justin Verlander. Lisa is a speaker and headliner at conferences worldwide, including WPPI, Engage, and DWP.

Lisa shares that the first event she worked at was a birthday party for George Clooney’s mom, how the referrals from the first wedding she planned led her down the destination wedding path, and the process she follows for each client. Lisa also shares the roles each of her treasured team members play in the events they produce.

Listen as Lisa describes an event she did recently, how she helps her clients choose a venue for their wedding and why each client is set up with a website and email address so they can communicate not only with Lisa’s team but so that the team can communicate with the guests that are attending the wedding.

Also, Andy has launched a new podcast network called The Wedding Biz Network, in which he produces podcasts for other people in the event industry, with Sean Low being its first member. Sean’s show now comes out every Tuesday and stay tuned for more new show announcements coming soon.

268 Alan Shukovsky: Protocols for Running Events During the Covid-19 Pandemic

by Andy Kushner | Jun 19, 2020 | Consultants, Event Planners and Designers

Alan Shukovsky is located in NYC and is the Executive Director of Event Sales & Marketing for Glasshouses, which has new venues in NYC, including The Glasshouse, the highly anticipated new venue with a capacity of 1,850 located on the west side of the city. He is a member of a Manhattan-based task force for events and catering in NYC. The task force is made up of 30 plus of some of the most prominent properties and local event professionals in the City. Their purpose was essentially to collaborate and create a system of protocols, checks and balances, for running events during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and for both event professionals and their clients to feel safe. At a minimum, listening to this conversation will give you a host of important issues and ideas to think about. Below are the documents that resulted.

264 THE NEXT LEVEL: JOHN EMMANUEL discusses DIANE KHOURY, Australia’s Premier Event Planner & Designer

by Andy Kushner | Jun 10, 2020 | 1The Next Level, Event Planners and Designers

“Diane has impeccable taste and style, she is a style queen” Andy and John Emmanuel discuss Diane’s social media following, and why she believes the more genuine you are on your feed, the more prospective clients will understand your style and who you are as a designer. John is Australia’s premier floral designer who appeared on The Wedding Biz in January, find the link to his episode here.

Diane Khoury is a Sydney-based event planner, with over 360,000 Instagram followers. Diane Khoury Weddings and Events has been credited for revolutionizing the planning, styling, and concept design of luxury weddings and events in and out of Australia. With her financial background, she can meld the creative and business sides of her company to create a uniquely successful business.

John handles the floral design for most of Diane’s events, and really has to understand what she wants so he can make it happen. Listen as they speak about the imagery she described from a christening she did in Lebanon, and how special she made her son’s virtual birthday party by sending all the kids gift bags with props for the party to their houses.

Diane has been in the industry for a relatively brief time to have achieved all that she has accomplished. She is an example of what you can do with hard work, determination, and the guts to take a chance.

Also, Andy is announcing the official launch of his new podcast network called The Wedding Biz Network, in which he will produce podcasts for other people in the event industry, with Sean Low being its first member. Sean’s show now comes out every Tuesday and stay tuned for more new show announcements coming soon.

263 DIANE KHOURY: Australia’s Premier Event Planner & Designer

by Andy Kushner | Jun 8, 2020 | Event Planners and Designers

Have you ever heard of a bride planning her own wedding with 500 guests and with no experience in planning an event of any size? Listen as Andy and his guest Diane Khoury discuss how she was able to pull it off and why it was the reason she started her own wedding and event business plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.

Diane is a Sydney-based event planner, with over 360,000 Instagram followers. Diane Khoury Weddings and Events has been credited for revolutionizing the planning, styling, and concept design of luxury weddings and events both in and out of Australia. Diane’s weddings stand out as stunning works of art with a passion for glamorous detail and an appreciation for unique displays. After being sought after by celebrities and socialites, Diane continues to catapult the definition of celebrating love and luxury in Australia.

Listen as Diane speaks about how COVID-19 is affecting her business, planning her son’s virtual birthday party so he could have a celebration and her first retail job at age 13. She also speaks about guests at her wedding wanting her help to plan theirs, which gave her the idea that this might be what she should be doing.

Diane describes a magical christening she did for a client in Lebanon and a time when she almost had to cancel a wedding because of technical difficulties. Diane says that balancing her personal life with her professional life is difficult, but she makes it work with the support of her husband.

In six years, Diane has taken her business from nothing to amazing. Listen as she shares how she used social media to share her personality and cultivate clients. Showing her children that working hard and following your dreams can lead to success is something that Diane is passionate about.

262 THE NEXT LEVEL: HEATH ALAN RAY discusses NEILLIE BUTLER, Delivering a Bride’s Vision & More

by Andy Kushner | Jun 3, 2020 | 1The Next Level, Event Planners and Designers

Listen, as Andy and Heath Alan Ray discuss Neillie’s insights into having different streams of income under one umbrella, how using this pause for the pandemic to reassess your company can be beneficial and much more. Heath is the owner and Creative Director of Jackson Durham, a full-scale event design house.

Neillie Butler is the Founder of Mariee Ami, a multimillion-dollar wedding and event planning firm in the Southeast. Ami a Vie, their new lifestyle brand, extends their community beyond their clients by engaging blog content, social media, and an online shop of entertaining artisanal essentials.

Listen, as Heath shares how his company is using the downtime to reorganize and downsize inventory. They discuss Neillie’s pricing model and how using a percentage-based model instead of a flat rate model allows for better cash flow and budget distribution.

Do you ever caption your pictures on Instagram? Andy and Heath talk about how this is an enormous part of what Neillie does on social media. Instead of just posting a picture, she adds a caption to enhance the emotional impact so you can feel the meaning behind the image. Heath and Andy have a great conversation about Neillie that you won’t want to miss.

Look for Andy’s new podcast network called The Wedding Biz Network, where he produces podcasts from creatives in the industry.

261 NEILLIE BUTLER: Delivering A Bride’s Vision & More!

by Andy Kushner | Jun 1, 2020 | Event Planners and Designers

“As planners, we need our clients to trust us.” Listen as Andy and his guest Nellie Butler discuss why she says becoming a bride’s friend is the only way she can do an event justice, and getting a bride to trust her makes her job easier. Neillie is the Founder of Mariee Ami, which means ‘a bride’s friend.’

Mariee Ami is a multimillion-dollar wedding and event planning firm in the Southeast, recognized for producing celebrations that reflect a genuine sense of hospitality. Their new lifestyle brand Ami a Vie naturally translates to “a friend for life,” and it’s meant to extend their community beyond their clients by engaging blog content, social media, and a shop of entertaining artisanal essentials.

Listen as Neillie shares when she launched her business, how she used blogs about creative content to get her name recognized, and when she started hiring employees. Neillie speaks about her process from start to finish, with a client, and that her personal signature is doing what her clients want no matter what.

Neillie discusses why she brought graphic design, lighting, and drapery all under the Mariee Ami umbrella and the benefits she sees from having different revenue streams. She also speaks about social media and why she has an intentional marketing strategy on Instagram.

Neillie started with nothing and has built a multimillion-dollar company, but she still has the same mission; be a friend to the bride, give them what they want, and tell their story in the best way possible. This is a delightful conversation with many tips that can be used in any industry.

255 THE NEXT LEVEL: JULIE NOVACK discusses STEVE KEMBLE, America’s Sassiest Lifestyle Guru

by Andy Kushner | May 13, 2020 | 1The Next Level, Consultants, Event Planners and Designers

Andy has Julie Novack as his guest co-host today on The Next Level. Listen as they speak about Steve Kemble, who is known as “America’s Sassiest Lifestyle Guru,” and how he brings his unique perspective to the events he plans. Julie is the CEO and Co-Founder of PartySlate. PartySlate is a photo-rich website where leading event professionals share their work, build their brand, and drive leads.

Steve has been the magic behind countless corporate events, weddings, and other ventures for over two decades. He is also one of the industry’s most visible, vocal, and unique personalities. Steve has appeared on numerous TV and Radio programs, and has received over 25 industry accolades.

Andy and Julie discuss how having a PR and Advertising degree helped Steve grow his business and why now is the time to reinvent yourself and your company. They also speak about the importance of getting your creative partners and team members on the same page, when planning an event, and how critical communication is with everyone.

Is your company diversified? Listen as they share Steve’s insight into having diversification and how important it is to expand into different areas of your industry so that if one area is slow, you can use the others to keep the company running.

Steve is one of those brilliant planners that you can discuss for hours and never get enough of, but Andy and Julie dive in and pull out the golden nuggets from his interview. Get on Julie’s mailing list to receive PartySlates’ regular weekly newsletter.

254 STEVE KEMBLE: America’s Sassiest Lifestyle Guru

by Andy Kushner | May 11, 2020 | Consultants, Event Planners and Designers

How about a jungle-themed corporate event with elephant rides? Listen to Andy and his guest Steve Kemble, who is known as “America’s Sassiest Lifestyle Guru,” as they discuss how he takes a client’s idea and creates a fabulous event. Steve shares one of his favorite corporate events and how he made the jungle theme come to life plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.

Steve has been the magic behind countless corporate events, weddings, and other ventures, including events for Oprah, Presidents’ Obama, Bush, and more for over two decades. Steve has been dishing out fashion disses at celebrities for over three years as a top cop for the U.S. Weekly Magazines Fashion Police. He has also appeared on ABC’s Extreme Makeover Wedding Edition, Style Network’s Whose Wedding Is It Anyway, and Married Away.

Listen as Steve shares about working with Lee Iacocca, on the Statue of Liberty project, and how he was able to launch his own company in his mid-twenties. He speaks about his process when vetting a client and the research he does to make sure he is getting the right creative partners for every event.

“We need to tell their story,” is what Steve believes when he is planning weddings. He talks to the couple together before he starts the planning process so he can get a real feel for who they are. Steve also speaks about wanting his events to be perfect and the most significant challenge he ever faced, just days before an enormous event.

Steve has received over 25 industry accolades, including being inducted into the Event Industry Hall of Fame, so when he talks about his processes for events, you need to listen. Being known as one of the most visible, vocal, and unique personalities in the industry shows that he knows how to stay relevant and successful. This very successful man will leave you with a smile.

247 BRYAN RAFANELLI – Always Having a Plan B

by Andy Kushner | Apr 20, 2020 | Event Planners and Designers

“What would you do if you lost everyone and everything in your life and then got it all back again?” Listen in as Andy and his guest, Bryan Rafanelli, discuss this and how Bryan is handling the effects of the pandemic both personally and professionally, and much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.

Bryan is the go-to planner for some of the nation’s most exclusive and high-profile events. He has been named an innovator and Event Producer of the Year by BizBash, was one of Out Magazines One Hundred Most Compelling People, a Top 25 Trendsetter of the Year by Modern Bride, and more. Bryan was on The Wedding Biz in September of 2018. It was a fantastic episode so if you haven’t listened to it, you should.

Bryan shares how the pandemic has impacted the events he had scheduled this spring and summer and how they are getting everyone rescheduled. He speaks about talking to his clients and how he reassures them. Bryan also talks about how he communicates with his team and keeps them motivated.

Listen, as Bryan describes how his days now differ from a few months ago, his advice to people new to the industry who are scared they are going to lose their businesses and what he believes the event industry will look like once the country reopens. Andy and Bryan have a great conversation that is both uplifting and real, so sit back and enjoy.

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