Engage!09 -- Luxury in the Caymans, Part 2

Okay, so the second part of this recap is *long* overdue, but I want to go ahead and show you my pictures from the rest of the conference. It really was amazing. Here is is, almost a month later, and I still have ideas swimming around in my head based on what I learned there.

So, to pick up where I left off of Part 1, after lunch we heard from more amazing speakers.

Sylvia Weinstock, the cake lady herself, was there in all her glory (and signature large-frame glasses!!) She had such amazing business advice that was practical, but also focused on quality and never compromising your brand.

Preston Bailey was phenomenal as well. His designs are to die for, and it was very encouraging to hear how strongly he emerged from severe business troubles just seven years ago.

We also heard from Simon T. Bailey, author of Release Your Brilliance, and he was kind enough to give each attendee a complimentary 30 minute coaching session, to be redeemed after the summit.
Following the speakers, we had the opportunity to get photos with them and have books signed.
Here's me with Millie Martini-Bratten, editor-in-chief of Bride's Magazine!

The next day, we had small group panel sessions.
My first session was called Social Media Success, with speakers Lara Casey of Southern Weddings Magazine, Bee Kim of Weddingbee, and Liene Stevens of Splendid Communications.


The next session was called "The Business of the Wedding Business" and featured Harmony Walton of The Bridal Bar, Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative, and Laura Novak, of Laura Novak Photography.
This was my favorite session of the four that day. All three speakers had some amazing things to say about branding your company, expansion, and thinking long-term for your business.

The next panel was about Style, and we heard from Abby Larson of Style Me Pretty, Randy Fenoli, of Kleinfeld's Bridal Salon in Manhattan and TLC's Say Yes to the Dress, and Michelle Rago, event designer extrordinaire.

The final Panel was on Destination weddings.

We heard from Jo Anne Brown, of Celebrations, an event planning company in Cayman. We also heard from Susan Moynihan of Destination Weddings Magazine, Destination wedding planner Alison Hotchkiss, and photographer Thayer Gowdy.

That was just our morning! We had the afternoon to ourselves to play on the Island. I spent some fabulous relaxation time in the sand and in the water, chatting away with other planners and talking shop.

We did have to head back in eventually, to get ready for the evening's celebration, which was so fabulous, it will be getting it's own post -- part 3, coming soon!

Stay Tuned! :)

Engage!09 -- Luxury in the Caymans, Part 1

Whew. It's hard to believe that it's been a week since Engage!09. It was such an amazing conference. I heard from so many incredible speakers, met lots of amazing people and made some great friends, and saw stunning visual inspiration throughout the conference events.

For today's post I'm going to share a bit about Monday's events, some pictures I took, and some things I learned!

We woke up bright and early Monday morning after the incredible Welcome Party on Seven Mile Beach.

Everyone was excited to hear our speakers, and the hallway outside the Ritz-Carlton's main ballroom quickly filled as attendees clamored for a close-up seat.

After a light breakfast of fresh local fruits, freshly squeezed juices, and delicious pastries, the doors were opened and we scooted in. I grabbed a second row seat for myself and my roommate, Cynthia Martyn, of Cynthia Martyn Events. We had the best view of all of our speakers!

Here are a few images I captured.

First, the stage set-up. I loved the combination of simplicity and luxury in this design!

We were given these super-nice leather notebooks, and a letterpressed schedule of the day.


Kathryn Arce and Rebecca Grinnals of Engaging Concepts did an amazing job planning the entire conference.

Carley Roney, of The Knot. Carley shared some fascinating wedding statistics with the group. While her information showed that many brides were considering cutting a wedding planner out of their budget due to this year's economic concerns, she was also happy to report that Florida is one of a few states where hiring a wedding planner tends to be much more common!

Darcy Miller, Weddings Editor for Martha Stewart Magazine. Darcy shared some awesome wedding images from the magazine, as well as some tips on how to get published in Martha Stewart Weddings.


We took a break to have a delicious lunch al-fresco. All the food we had at the Ritz was delicious, and it was beautifully presented!


There was so much more, but I'll save that for the next posts.

Tune in tomorrow for more Engage!09.