Yifat Oren: Industry Innovator

With extensive experience in food styling, lighting and floral design, fabric treatment, space planning and technical production, Los Angeles based event stylist, Yifat Oren and her staff design and manage every aspect of an event down to the smallest detail. Ms. Oren is often acknowledged by her peers and the press as an innovator of industry trends. An event planner since 1997, the services of Yifat Oren & Associates are available for weddings, bar mitzvahs and social events.

A Diamond in the Rough: 24 Carrots Catering & Events

24 Carrots is staple in catering events in southern California and across the nation. Owners Norm Bennett and Jon Brown have taken their love for cooking and entertaining to a whole new level.

Norm Bennett

Norm Bennett, Swiss-born, American raised chef-owner has a list of culinary credentials from around the world. Norman Brown graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He then traveled to Europe where he worked in many countries, learning first hand the taste and culture of each place. Returning to the United States he continued to work in some of the finest hotels and restaurants across America.

Jon Bennett

Jon Brown, is entirely business minded and with his managerial experience and an obsession for flawless customer service and operational excellence, you will be guaranteed the ultimate event.

Armed with a team of some of the industry's most talented wedding and event professionals 24 Carrots is committed to making your event a memorable one.

 

Engage 2010: The Breakers, Palm Beach

Congratulations to Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce for putting together another successful Engage '10 event! 

David Rafanelli: A Man With a Plan

When word broke about Chelsea Clinton's wedding, all of the wedding professional community was abuzz about who was the lucky event planner was the nabbed the gig. The Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding took place this past July with grand fairand was successfully guided with much care and attention by Boston's premier event planner, Bryan Rafanelli of  Rafanelli Events.

 Mr. Rafanelli got his start in the business after a good friend of his passed away from AIDS he found himself volunteering in the special events section of the AIDS Action Committee. He volunteered for every event and soon found himself chairing and eventually running events. Handling a non-profit, galas, weddings and fundraisers with Creative Director, Billy Ivers, the Rafanelli Events team produces over 100 events per year! 

Wish Upon a Wedding: Blissful Wishes Ball

Attention Atlanta-area Wedding Pros! Purchase you tickets to today for the Blissful Wishes Ball.

Dana LaRue: The Broke-Ass Bride

Dana LaRue is co-owner of and writer for The Broke-Ass Bride. The Broke-Ass Bride is a blog for engaged couples about being smart, sassy and confident enough to make the most of what you’ve got. Whether you’re currently planning your wedding or are simply looking for romantic money-saving tips, The Broke-Ass Bride provides much inspiration on both fronts. Dana (the actual broke-ass bride) offers tips on how to be a better negotiator, how to decorate on a budget, and, of course, easy ideas for saving money before the big day.

 Ms. LaRue is also the founder of Bride$hare.net, a social media network designed to help brides save green and be green through the sharing, swapping, and reuse of all things wedding related. Her savvy approach to weddings and money delivers entertaining and informative outside-the-box planning inspiration, and teaches brides of any budget that it’s not how much you spend, its how you spend it.

For couples who don't want to give over all the control to a planner but needs professional guidance along the way, The Broke-Ass Bride also offers wedding consulting services.

New Super Planner™ iPhone App

Introducing the new business app for event planners. This super device provides a variety of planning tools, including calculators for venue capacity, staffing, catering, staging, projection and dance floor, as well as useful tips in several areas. Currently available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. For $9.99, it’s a terrific value and will making your planning a snap! Now available in the iTunes App Store!

We're Back!

 . We've been working feverishly on new posts for you and we hope that they will prove very helpful in growing your wedding business. We hope you had a terrific summer! See you soon!

The Wedding Fixer: Mary Dann-McNamee

Mary Dann-McNamee is one of the most popular wedding and special event coordinators in Southern California. She is a  contributing writer for "Inside Weddings" magazine, “Ceremony” magazine and an on-air talent for many nationally syndicated television shows. These shows are Style Network’s "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway," and “Married Away”, and WE Network’s “Platinum Wedding” and a special segments of “Top Ten Wedding Destinations”. In 2009, Ms. Dann recently released her book Wedding Wisdom: An Insightful Approach to Wedding Planning.  It offers a unique point of view based upon Mary's eighteen years working as a wedding planner and ten years working as a marriage and family therapist. Wedding Wisdom is filled with tips, insights, forms and photographs for planning a perfect wedding for yourself or your clients

Engage 10! Speakers Lineup Announced

The famous luxury wedding business summit lineup of speakers has been announced! These are some of the top wedding professionals in the event industry. Get your tickets soon because this seminar sells out fast! 

Speakers:

Mindy Weiss

Darcy Miller

Randy Fenoli

Carly Roney

David Liu

Bryan Rafinelli

Sylvia Weinstock

Maria McBride

Cindy Novotny

Marcy Blum

Abby Larson

Todd Fiscus

Amy Atlas

Tara Guerard

Sean Low 

Michelle Rago

Simon T. Bailey 

Lisa "Ceci" Johnson

Carol Poon

Susan Moynihan

Harmony Walton

Liz Banfield

Lara Casey

Liene Stevens

Jill Meister

Rebecca Grinnals

Kathryn Arce

Joan Beaver

Kate Parker

Walt Shepard

Brooke Thomas

Ali Phillips

Donna von Bruening

Grace Ormonde Book Tour

{Courtesy of Becker}

 The long awaited Grace Ormonde 20-city book tour is under way! Book launch parties are popping up all over the country. Click here to find our more information of dates and how to get your invitation.

Marcy Blum: Eventiste

Marcy Blum is well respected in the event planning industry. She is the owner of world-renown Marcy Blum Associates. In addition to her event planning services, Blum has a culinary background and is the author of Wedding Planning for Dummies, Wedding Kit for Dummies and Weddings for Dummies.  How awesome is that!  Recently she teamed up with fellow event designer Preston Bailey for an interactive weekend workshop. Be sure to keep up with Marcy on her blog The Adventures of Wedhead & Eventista.

Lara Casey: Someone To Watch

Another person that I follow vigorously is Lara Casey. Ms. Casey is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Southern Weddings Magazine, in 2009 she launched Lara Casey Reps, a luxury market wedding consulting firm and she is the founder of MTH2010 Making Things Happen in 2010). In her own words, "I am passionate about business, relationships, mentoring, faith, my family, adventure, pushing my limits and helping people transform themselves."

Sean Low

Who is Sean Low? I'll tell you who he is. Sean Low is one of the smartest businessmen I've come across in years. Sean Low is the President of The Business of Being Creative LLC. The Business of Being Creative provides practical business advice to those in the business of being creative. I follow his blog like the religiously. He was the President of Preston Bailey Design, Inc. for several years. Armed with a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Mr Low has helped to navigate some career of other leading event planning industry professionals such as Marcy Blum, Sylvia Weinstock and countless others.

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Jose Villa Workshop

 Jose Villa is one of the Who's Who in Fine Art Wedding Photography. Recently named one of the Top 10 photographers in the world by Photo District News. Based in Southern California, Jose has the unique ablility to craft fine art images and the people that appear in his photos.

Jose is offering a fantastic 4-day workshop November 7-11, 2010 in Mexico that you won't want to miss. Some of his special guests include:

Abby Larson

Founder and Editor of Style Me Pretty

Karina Puente

Professional Artist

Jill La Fleur

Wedding, Event Planner and Owner of La Fleur Weddings & Events

Joel Serrato

Cinematographer and Owner of Joel Serrato Films

engage!10

Happy New Year! Are you ready to take your business to the next level? Well, get ready for another fantastic event presented by Engaging Concepts. Get your tickets today! This is a very popular event and it sells out fast!

http://www.engage10.com/