live blogging from engage!09: the encore…

today, i’m attending engage!09 :: the encore event in las vegas. yes, that’s right. i left d.c. behind and hit the vegas. engage! is a mega gathering of wedding pros from around the country. i would hardly call myself a pro, but i’m here and i’m figuring it out.

this live blogging will go from the top down, so the early stuff is at the top and it goes on throughout the day. as always, please leave your comments below. i’d love to hear your thoughts and questions! so, here goes…

7:30 am… disclaimer: this is my first attempt to live blogging, so please excuse the mess as a try to get this going…i’m still working on my first diet coke of the day. yes, i said first as in there will be many more (sorry, garter guy, i know we are working on cutting back on the d.c.!)

7:50 am… of course i’m late to the welcome breakfast. do you know how hard it is to find a diet coke in vegas? you’d think it would be easy, but no, it is all about the coffee. guess they go right for the hard stuff…

8:40 am… can’t believe that i’m actually here and excited for what’s to come. lots of amazing people here….designers, planners, bloggers, bakers, motivational speakers, photographers, editors…

8:45 am… debut of a  video promo…apparently in early 2010 on a cable network engage! will have an hour-long special, entitled “something blue,” featuring industry insights. a quote from the video says that it will give you “access to the trends and trendsetters.” um, amazing, can’t wait…

8:48 am… what is engaging concepts? consulting for not just the wedding industry. clients include global media, developers, hotels/resorts, products and, of course, luxury wedding pros. they actually don’t plan weddings or work with brides…interesting. kind of amazing seeing all the layers of the industry unfold…this is a whole new world to me…

8:53 am… what we, as wedding professionals, all face in the wedding industry…brides are in crisis…brides feel reluctant to plan a huge lavish wedding for the fear of looking insensitive in planning a wedding in a time of financial turmoil…brides have had the dream wedding bubble burst…brides are cutting back and shrinking the guest lists…brides are prioritizing and putting emphasis on the things that are most important to them….

8:48 am… as a wedding professional, everyone is facing truly staggering competition…barriers to entering the wedding industry are not high…however, while the recession is happening, brides and grooms are still spending…the wedding industry is one of the few bright spots in the economy.

9:00 am… an average of 43 business involved in the average american wedding. what!? that is incredible. but, i guess when you start to add it up, it makes sense…quickly just adding it up in my head for just the bride’s attire: dress, shoes, pedicure/manicure, make up, hair, hair accessory, veil, rings, earrings, necklace, purse, bracelet, garter, undergarments, i’m at 14 already…

9:00 am… rebecca grinnals gave thoughts on the closing of modern bride and elegant bride…very interesting, this woman knows what she is talking about! the biggest take away for me: always listen to your client and put the client first. your clients change and you can’t assume what brides or anyone wants. always ask: what it is that you need me to do? why are you coming to me?

9:09 am… white paper from martha stewart on millennial brides that coined a new term: the “high value bride” who values quality over price. high value brides are self confident, optimistic, civic minded…they are traditional in taste and behavior, determined to optimistic life and have fun, optimistic quality and value, immersed in technology, personalization and customization matters…the words they use to describe weddings: lots of fun, relaxed, traditional, elegant. hmmmm, this is all really interesting…makes me feel like some of my marketing and buzz words are spot on, but also interesting for someone like me who is working on redefining traditions….giving me lots to think about, i suppose that’s the point, right??

9:11 am… according to the martha stewart white paper: according to the high value bride, a successful wedding is all about staying within budget, couples want minimal stress for the bride and groom, couples want their guests feel that it is true reflection of the bride and groom…this is GREAT insight for my company…

9:15 am… brand names are important to brides…according to he martha stewart white paper, high value brides would not purchase a gown that didn’t have a known brand name…interesting….brand names matter…do you think “julianne smith wedding garters” will be a brand name some day?? better yet, do i think i will be a brand name….lots of work to do, i guess!

9:16 am…cell phones are a partner in planning…brides take pictures with their phones, getting instant options from friends via texting, twittering etc…i’m totally guilty of this myself…this is a good reminder to me as a designer, i need to find a way to include more pre-purchase pictures and show more pictures to the clients…right?

9:19 am… incredible video on technology and social media from socialnomics…social media is not a fad…it is here to stay and not only that, it is the way business is conducted today…love it and i’m so excited about this…

9:24 am… estee lauder is offering free makeovers and social media profile pictures (p.s. it starts on oct. 16th)…very smart. i’m not a huge makeup wearer, but i think i might just check this out…

9:32 am… sharing “what every good marketer knows” by seth godin…very interesting points…i really like this one: “marketing begins before the product is created.” this is something that i’ve known from my old PR days…i’ve learned the hard way many times: once your product or news has launched the opportunity is over….your PR/marketing work should start well-before the news starts.

9:42 am… note to self, must check out emilie inc.’s blog post on measuring where clients come from.

9:43 am… marketing must be in everything that you do. it should hit all touch points. again, something that i learned from politics…say the same thing over and over and over again…and, when you are sick of saying it, say it again…this rings true for branding…once you pick a style and theme, it is useless unless you carry through on everything that you do…ok, this is so interesting how my mind is wandering back to things that i’ve learned in my former life (PR politics) as i’m sitting here learning about weddings…

9:46 am… ok, not even two hours in and i’m already in awe. learning so much…

9:47 am… presentation from the knot. the knot was started 13 years ago out of a need. this brings up a good point and something that i’ve struggled with…as a small business owner and a new blogger, what do you do now that the internet has taken off and the wedding industry is saturated? how do you start and build you brand now? do you try to play by today’s standards and just try to be better or different? or do you have to define a new need? is it hopeless?

9:55 am… the knot is pretty much where it is at with brides. it connects with 8 in 10 brides. that’s right 80 percent.

10:20 am… maria from ritzy bee just told me that my stylish wedding garter company is on martha stewart weddings blog today…um, WHAT??? must look into this….will be back later…[turns out, it is true! here’s the link, check it out!]

10:44 am… ok, we are back after a short break. suffice to say, i’m on board with engage! i’m a believer with the whole concept. (how’s that for drinking the kool-aid?!?)

10:49 am… simon t. bailey…1 minute in and he is amazing. i think i might really like him and his flashy red button covers on his crisp clean dress shirt with a double breasted vest…

10:50 am… simon says: “the future is for sale. buy it right now.” interesting….“buying the future means: relationships, resources and resilience.”

10:55 am… must read new book, entitled “authentic.” people connect and want to buy from brands that are authentic and real.

10:56 am… simon says: “you should be paid for the solutions you find, not for the services you provide.” this guy is on a roll, i can barely keep up…

10:57 am… simon asks: “why are you in business? why do you do what you do?” you need to make sure that you are working with people that have the same mindset as you…

11:00 am… simon says: “are you a category of one? are you just in a sea of sameness? everything that you think and say must be in alignment…it takes the ability to see the future now. if you see the future now, you can look at where you intend to go and you can create the habits, discipline and structure that it takes.”

11:02 am… simon says: “successful entrepreneurs are emotionally committed.” this is so true. i’m emotionally connected to everything i do (i’m italian, hello!!), with each wedding garter i make a little piece of me goes into it…

11:03 am… simon says: “breakthrough ideas and strategies come right at the time you are ready to quit and when you being challenged to go to the next level.” wow, this guy is kind of intense. lots of one liners coming all at once. good thing i’m taking notes so that i can come back to this and process it…

11:08 am… simon says: “what is your imprint?”

11:10 am… simon says: “what is the ‘thing’ that gets people talking about you?”

11:11 am… simon says: “when we are so focused on making a living that we forget to make a life.” this guy is on a roll…i literally can’t keep up.

11:12 am… simon says: “are your decisions driven by money or what you really, really, really want.” everyone just tore up a dollar bill to prove the point: do you control the dollar or does it control you?

11:14 am… everyone is doing a list of questions on how to envision the future…answers to the questions are based in 2020. we have to work with someone and share the answers to questions…. (side gem from simon: “whatever you don’t deal with, will deal with you.”)

11:24 am… here are my personal answers to the 2020 questions…

q: in what city do you live?
a: philadelphia, pa (sorry, dc!)

q: what are you doing professionally?
a: nothing (hopefully! although for those that know me, it will never happen. i can’t sit still!)

q: who are the people around you?
a: my family (hopefully more kiddos) and good friends

q: what difference have you made in the world?
a: i’ve brought the wedding garter into vogue. is a cool and not passe’. it is something that brides want to have for their wedding.

q: what is your greatest fear about the future?
a: that i’m going to mess up my children and that their world won’t be safe and secure.

q: as you reflect over the last decade of your life, what makes you happy?
a: my family and that my hard work has paid off.

11:40 am… simon says: “i connect first and i sell last.” so true, so true…

11:42 am… simon says: “gain control of your inner steering wheel…we are perfectionists to a fault…if you don’t get it done, let it go…you will live to create and design another day.”

11:47 am… simon says: “take moments to be deviant.” so basically, when you find yourself busy and stressed, take a moment to slow it down and do something different and unrelated. interesting, i really need to do this more often. be deviant. be deviant. must be deviant…

11:52 am… as a business owner you should put together a board of advisers. you need people around to challenge you to be the best. who are the 3 to 5 people that have different skills sets that should help you to create the future? this is interesting…i really need to think about something like this. i’ve been flying solo so far. hmmmm, who should (or should i say want to) be on my board….???

12:04 pm… simon says: “treat your family like your customer.” wow…the room just started clapping. this is so simple, but so TRUE and something that i struggle with and always have, especially when i was working in politics and PR. this was in response to a wedding planner who is constantly taking time away from the family to deal with clients.

12:20 pm… book suggestions from simon (besides his own, of course). “what would google do” and daniel pink’s “a whole new mind.”

12:22 pm… in response to someone who was overwhelmed with too many goals, simon says that after you define what you want, you really understand why you want it. the “why” leads to the “want.” you need to make sure that you “like” the “why.”

12:31 pm… going through a little q and a session right now. this is really helpful and inspiring. it is nice to hear that other people out there have the same issues and concerns that i do. one girl who has a fear of failure was instructed to recite a mantra three times per day “everyday in every way i’m getting better and better!”

12:36 pm… simon days: “the future is cheap, you can buy it right now.” love this guy….

12:44 pm… off to lunch. more to come this afternoon….

12:46 pm… please excuse any and all typos! i will be going back through this later (maybe tonight, probably tomorrow) and adding more links and pictures.

2:31 pm… back from lunch. we had a little presentation at lunch from the vegas wedding industry. needless to say, it was great and if you are thinking about a destination wedding, you should really consider vegas…i’m sold! and, for bachelorette parties, check out vegas passport.

2:34 pm… presentation by marcy blum. the one and only. i’m fired up for this…

2:36 pm… the five things she should have known before starting her business….
1.) you have to sell something other than a service;  2.) you have to attempt to be authentic;  3.) PR is bull**** (i couldn’t agree more with this and i used to work in PR!);  4.) it doesn’t exist without clients;  5.) it won’t be fun unless you can make money doing it. if you are doing it as a business, you must find a way to make money.

um, i think i might LOVE her….

2:41 pm… great question: how did you increase your prices over the years as you got better and better? a: at some point, you have to say, this is what i need to live and don’t apologize for it (i’m paraphrasing her amazing candid answer).

2:54 pm… even better question: how do you be unique (specifically for wedding planners), when there are so many people out there who do what you do? a: ask yourself why you need to be unique. there are some brides who like traditional. just focus on being you and the rest will come. (again, paraphrasing here because she is funny and hard to quote. i like it!)

2:57 pm… sean low is up next. i can feel the room take a huge breath. i’m intrigued with anticipation…

2:59 pm… sean says: “being creative doesn’t mean you can’t have a great business.” i’m liking it already….i think that this part will be the most helpful to me because i struggle with balancing my creative side with the need to have good business practices.

3:01 pm… sean says: “the art comes first. and, if the art comes first, then you have everything.”

3:04 pm… sean says: “to make a statement, takes times. to make ‘the’ statement, takes a long time. to be iconic, takes even more time.” this might be one of the hardest things for me….being patient and letting good things come….

3:05 pm… sean’s points: “go all the way. change the world” he is now elaborating on all of these points. kind of hard to type is all out, cause i’m trying to pay attention, but is interesting…

3:09 pm… sean says: “every day you should call into question the way you run your business…it is too easy to say that the reason that everyone who runs a business because the economy went south.”

3:10 pm… back to sean’s points: “make sure you have the right client (and fire the wrong ones).” sean says: “no one should be competing on price. you are artists.” again with the one liners, i need to focus and start typing faster, so i can go back and look through this later…

3:12 pm… sean’s points continued: “price from the top done. what do you want to make?” sean says: “pricing shouldn’t be about selling the most expensive product, it should be about pricing your design…if you are pricing solely on hours and labor and materials, then you are defeated…price like an artist…find a way to charge for the art, not the production of the art…the pricing is in the creation…there is no value in the production…you need to get paid for your creations and the only way you to that is to go back through his earlier points…” all of this is ringing with me, i just really need to figure it all out, which is the exact point of why i’m here…

3:17 pm… back to sean’s points: “have more than one revenue stream; extend your client base; go as far as you can go (with your growth); be the best in the world at what you do”

3:41 pm… heated (well, as “heated” as the wedding industry can be!) discussion going on regarding design fees and how you set your pricing. this is hard to follow and type at the same time, but it is extremely interesting…and a good reason for why you should come to the next engage so that you can see this kind of type of debate in person!

4:18 pm… a little wine and cheese presentation by jt wines. yum! did you know that you can have you own blended wine?? i’m intrigued and must look into this further…look out for the the garter girl blend of wine!

4:32 pm… emilie sommer presentation on her non-profit called the pink initiative. if you are in the wedding industry, you should really check it out, i know i will…

4:53 pm… ok, had to run out for a little bit to say good night to my little muffin (she is on east coast time and i’m SERIOUSLY missing her. i’ve been looking at these pictures all day.), so i missed the intro of todd-avery lenahan…

4:58 pm… todd is providing very interesting, personal musings on steve wynn, the vegas tycoon. understanding the client and knowing the client is such a huge part of any business.

5:00 pm… todd is talking about his experience and describes himself as a combo of meryl streep, michelangelo, wolfgang puck and lance armstrong (random, but i guess that was the point, right?!). they are all diverse and great at what they do, but with a broad spectrum of great depth. it is easy for clients and the media to define someone as singular, but it is very hard for them to put their head around someone who is diverse.

5:02 pm… todd is being very candid about how he got his job designing the wynn encore hotel. he started out by designing mr. wynn’s personal home…so interesting and so real. i really like this perspective and totally not what i was expecting from engage!, but i’m really glad to have this experience and his perspective…

5:03 pm… in talking about choosing clients, todd offered advice to consider flipping the client-designer relationship around (i’m paraphrasing here, and this was actually a really profound point/moment). as a designer, you should redefine the relationship as “how do you GET to work with me,” not the other way around. the kinds of people that he chooses to work with and those that he works with….very interesting point and certainly something that i’d like to work towards. although at this point with the state of the wedding garter today, i’m not sure if i have that luxury, but maybe i do. taking this same concept and applying to me, i think i might have more of an opportunity to take a client and prove my design style….must think about this point…

5:07 pm… todd says:  “if the client doesn’t have good taste, then it is difficult to work with them….if you don’t have my taste, then you don’t have good taste!” um, yes please, i love it!

5:11 pm… oh my gosh, i’m warm and fuzzy. this guy is great. he is talking about the first time that steve wynn saw the house that he had designed and his break through moment in design…

5:12 pm… the room is laughing out loud: todd was approached by the head of wynn hotels to design the buffet at the new encore hotel. random, i know! that is what he thought. but this is genius. buffets are huge drives of traffic into a casino, it is major. designing the buffet is key to the success of the hotel. wow, pretty amazing!

5:23 pm… needless to say, the buffet was an amazing experience for him and it was the turning point…his personal stories go on…i’m loving this…this guy needs to write a book. wait, has he? must look into this…

5:25 pm… todd is talking about limitations…it is essential to know what your limitations are…sometimes schedule is a limiter…this is a big one for me, i must learn the balance between pleasing a last minute client and making myself insane with trying to get it all done…

5:31 pm… i’m loving this guy (have i said that enough??), he is almost making me want to do hotel design (key word being almost…)

5:35 pm… another todd gem: to connect with a client who is disconnected from what you do, sometimes it is more important to talk about what you don’t like in design than what you do like.

5:40 pm… todd is talking about the design of the spa at the encore hotel. we saw this place last night and it is incredible. it is so interesting to see the effort that goes into interior design…this guy is a genius…

5:45 pm… before even designing the spa, they came up with a set of bullet pointed guiding principles…interesting way of starting out. i would think you’d start with playing around with designs…shows you how much i know about interior design!

5:50 pm… i’m blown away by all that went into designing and building this spa. i mean, blown away. we are going on 15 minutes of a build up of description on all that they considered before designing the spa and we haven’t seen a picture or mock up yet…the thought process is incredible…to hear what todd is describing about all that went into designing the spa before they even put pen to paper to do a mock up is so incredible and it really puts into perspective what sean low was saying earlier today about the need to charge for the design of work vs. the work itself. because, it is really all about the design. and for the design there must be a price..must think about this more but, i this might have just been my engage! breakthrough moment…

6:19 pm… wow, that might have just been the best part of the day. bye bye, todd-avery lenahan, you might have just changed my life. i for sure know that you’ve broadened my perspective…

6:20 pm… announcement of engage!10…drumroll please…save the dateS! they will be returning to the ritz on june 7-10 in grand cayman. and, the breakers in palm beach on oct 3-6. on 1-10-10 the engage10.com will go live…can’t wait. i’ll be first in line…

i hope that you’ve enjoyed (or been able to over look) my very personal experience with all to this….for the record, these are my raw, uncut thoughts as i’m typing the notes. at this point though, i feel like i should give you a little disclaimer: reading my notes is one thing and, sure, it gives you a snapshot of what engage! was like, but nothing, and i mean nothing, can beat the in-person experience. there were so many priceless moments and personal connects that can’t be captured in live blogging. so, if you are thinking about going to the next engage, i can only suggest: do it!

thanks engage! it was an eye opening experience that has changed the course of my business forever….

leave a comment, let me know what you think!