“Our interests are totally aligned with our clients, to make sure their wedding is the best it can possibly be.” Listen as Andy and his guest Alex Fitzgibbon discuss how he got involved in the event industry, his journey to Fait Accompli, why he feels his work there is about finding and expressing the life and soul of weddings he orchestrates, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Alex is the Managing Director of Fait Accompli out of London, which organizes plans and designs spectacular events worldwide for A-list clients and Royal weddings. He orchestrated one of Vogue’s top listed weddings of 2019, and was also responsible for the wedding celebration of Ellie Goulding and weddings for the Royal family, including Prince William and Katherine the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and Megan the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Alex discusses his understanding of what a client wants and how he finds his inspiration when planning the event. Alex shares a story of one of his favorite weddings last year, his design philosophy, and the challenges of orchestrating a very large event. He also speaks about how he keeps high-profile weddings private by taking away the guests’ phones, which also allows them to engage with others more freely.
Listen as Alex talks about balancing the business side of his company and the artistic side, how he puts together a team for each event, and how he has kept his business successful over the years. Alex shares that one of his favorite things about the event industry is the degree to which you get to know your clients and how exciting that is for him.
Don’t forget to listen to Andy’s other podcast, The Music Makers. It’s behind-the-scenes stories from some of the most influential music industry pros around, including artists, recording engineers, record producers, songwriters, managers, record industry executives, and more. You can find The Music Makers podcast by searching for that term in your cell phone’s podcast app or by going to www.themusicmakers.com.
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Show Highlights:
[02:15] Welcome to the show, Alex!
[04:42] Alex shares a charity he supports called Child Bereavement and the fundraiser he took part in.
[06:42] Alex speaks about what he learned about himself during the event.
[07:57] Alex discusses his background and how he got involved in the event industry.
[10:38] Are you adrenaline-driven in your personal life? In business?
[12:10] Alex shares planning the wedding celebrations for Royalty.
[13:55] Alex discusses his process, understanding what the client wants, and how he gets his inspiration.
[16:03] Alex talks about where he meets with clients, how he gets the information from them, and how the process has changed in the last decade.
[20:04] Alex shares a story about one of his favorite weddings, his design, and the challenges of orchestrating a large wedding.
[23:19] Alex discusses how difficult it is to keep a high-profile event private when guests have easy access to their phones and social media.
[25:41] Alex says that when you take people’s phones away at an event, they can better engage with people.
[27:06] What are some techniques you use to keep the guests engaged?
[29:48] Alex speaks about how he views the pressure of orchestrating a Royal wedding.
[31:35] Alex shares how he balances the business side of his company with the artistic side.
[33:07] How do you put together a team for each event?
[37:20] Alex discusses how he has evolved and kept his company successful over the years.
[40:16] One of Alex’s favorite things about the business is the degree to which you get to know your clients.
[41:12] Thank you so much for being on the show!
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Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment
Mentioned
Rob Van Helden Episode 304 on The Wedding Biz