All Podcast Episodes

Lynn Easton is a busy woman. Between managing her destination wedding design business Easton Events and growing her Easton Porter Group luxury properties, she’s got a lot of balls in the air. But for her, that’s all just part of the fun. Lynn started her wedding planning career over twenty years ago almost by accident. She offered to help a friend plan and design her wedding, back before planners were really around. One wedding turned into another and another, and soon Lynn realized she had a true thriving business. But she wanted more; her beautiful designs were only being noticed regionally, and she was ready to go national, and even international. Lynn’s story is one of how to make it on the big stage, and her sage advice goes a long way in inspiring and educating others in the industry.

In this week’s episode, Andy and Lynn talk all things business, family, and pleasure, and how she truly does it all. She shares her take on what an Easton event really is, what she attributes most to her success, and how she and her husband are taking on now more than ever in the business- and still loving it. Lynn also gives pointers to other up and coming event planners on where to focus efforts most to get the more clientele. This perceptive interview is a perfect reminder of how someone with a strong vision and a great business plan can create one of the world’s most sought-after companies. The full interview is available now.

The year is 1980. The place is New York City. And the person is Preston Bailey, who at the time was just looking for a way to pay the bills and not get evicted from his apartment. What started as a small time floral business blossomed into what we know as Preston Bailey’s immaculate and stunning work.

For Preston, it’s been a long journey to get to the top tier of wedding and event designing. He’s had to overcome challenges and obstacles, both personally and professionally, including drug addiction and taking his business and clients more seriously. But at 68 years young, Preston’s career is far from the home stretch, as he’s still as passionate about pushing boundaries and discovering new designs as he’s ever been.

In this illuminating interview, Andy and Preston explore Preston’s meandering path to present. The two discuss his most life-changing moment back in 1990, how Preston truly wows guests with his decor and designs, and how he orchestrates his own work to be in perfect synchronicity with all the other moving parts of an event. Check out the full interview right here.

Southern charm and Tara Guérard are synonymous with each other. Add weddings to the mix, and you’ve got one of the most highly respected wedding designers in the business. Tara’s business, Tara Guérard Soirée, began 20 years ago when she discovered her love for design, creativity, and of course, planning parties! Her design aesthetic and passion for her work has led her to being a top tier designer with offices in Charleston, South Carolina and New York City.

Tara is also the owner of The Lettered Olive, a company that focuses on designing immaculate one-of-a-kind wedding invitations, save the dates, and more, has also published two books with a third on the way, and is a mother of 3 young children. She wears a lot of hats, and to no surprise, wears them all very well!

Andy and Tara dive into how she got started in her career and how much has changed in the industry since she started her business. The two also chat about how she brings clients her southern flair, what it’s like raising three children under ten while also running a business, and Tara’s popular YouTube channel Tara Guérard’s Life’s a Party. The full interview is available now, only on The Wedding Biz!

To say Rita Bloom is the pioneer of the wedding planning business would be an understatement. Rita’s story of discovering an entire industry need and growing her business is one of amazement and empowerment. From the 1960s when there was no such thing as wedding florists, designers, or planners, is where Rita grew from. As she puts it, the customer invented her business, as more and more people realized they wanted more options and creativity for parties and weddings.

Rita started her career almost by accident in the late 1960s, when she helped create some out-of-the-box decor for a neighbor’s sweet sixteen party. Her originality and tenacity as a decorator and event planner led her to picking up more clientele and work. If Rita ever came across an idea so out of the ordinary that no florist would help her, she would go out and pick those flowers in a field herself and arrange them to create her client’s vision. Her self-starter attitude led to a hugely successful career that is both fascinating and inspiring to women everywhere.

Andy and Rita dive into what life was like for women looking to get into business in the 1960s, how age plays a part in business and life, and some of Rita’s favorite moments of her long and triumphant career as a planner and decorator. You can check out the full interview now.

“You’re only as good as your last party.” This old adage is something that renowned event producer and designer David Stark holds in high regard. David has produced events for noteworthy celebrities like Glenn Close and Brad Pitt, organizations like Saturday Night live, the Whitney Museum, and the Metropolitan Opera, has 5 books published, and the list goes on in similar fashion.

David’s career in design started in college when he pursued studies in painting. After finishing graduate school in New York with an MFA in painting, he realized he in fact did not want to become a painter. While waiting tables in New York in his twenties, he and his boyfriend began diving into the floral scene, slowly growing from a small job operation to eventually a larger than life business 12 years later. Though David didn’t end up becoming a professional painter, he attributes his success in large part to what he learned in art school; not to paint, but to solve problems creatively, how to put together teams, and invent things. That process is what carries through to today for David, noting that putting together a team is the most creative act you can pull off.

Andy and David also chat about his favorite events he has ever produced, and he explains the mindset he uses when approaching a new event. For David, it’s all about creating relationships with people, pushing boundaries in the designs he creates, and always staying a little nervous, because that means you’re trying something completely original. Listen to the full interview to hear what inspires David, how he pulled off creating event decor out of toilet paper, and how he balances the creative and business aspects of his company.

Marc Eliot is Founder and CCO (Chief Creative Officer) of swoop, a New York-based design studio for upscale luxury celebrations for weddings, social events, and corporate events alike. swoop is also the exclusive in-house event design affiliate for Cipriani.

In this episode, Marc and Andy discuss what music and design have in common, the importance of “Game Day” improvisation, listening to what a design “wants”, how to get where the clients wants to go even if they can’t express how to get there, the freedom of structure, and more.

Marc discovered a passion for music and as a young man. As a teenager he composed music and entertained as a singer, with a focus on performing standards by greats like Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra. This love of music eventually took him from New York to California in search of fame and fortune, and eventually back to NYC when those remained elusive.

Marc’s involvement in the luxury wedding industry is a happy accident—the result of being asked to work for a floral decorator as a young man. Originally a way to help finance his music career, Marc found a new passion—design. He learned that he loved designing events, producing events, and working with people. This new kind of “performance” fueled a lot of the same passions as music for him, and for some time his music career and design career co-existed, as Marc simultaneously honed his design craft while performing music, releasing albums, and producing shows.

In 1991, Marc founded his own Long Island floral company, Simply Elegant, with two partners and ran it for nine years as its Managing Partner & Creative Director. His growing reputation ultimately led to being General Manager and Creative Director of Floralia Decorators, with an exclusive affiliation at The Waldorf Astoria’s in-house floral provider.

When not fully immersed in his role at swoop, Marc is an avid composer, crooner, lyricist and writer, and an active member of the world-famous Friar’s Club.