Tuesday

 

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8:00am — 9:00am

Edit and Innovate: A New Perspective on Floral & Event Design
Eddie Zaratsian, Creative Director, Eddie Zaratsian Custom Florals and Lifestyles, West Hollywood, CA

Get insight into the creation of the many architectural designs seen in the artistry of one of Los Angeles’ most celebrated floral designers. Eddie Zaratsian’s unique perspective has been culled from an 18-month relationship with Restoration Hardware’s design team and the concept of  “subtraction” versus “addition.” He will share his extensive knowledge of unique and seldom used floral and fauna while creating several signature designs and architectural creations. You will learn:
•    Insight into the creative process—is less more?
•    Skills needed to edit a design—less is more!
•    How to select unique flowers and greens for a fresh unique style
•    Design tips and tricks
•    How to care for and handle unique floral and fauna
•    How to create a buzz during your event installations using Instagram

 

Panel Discussion
Fair Trade: Ethical Practices
Moderator: Rrivre Davies, Owner, Rrivre Works, Los Angeles, CA

Fair trade. We apply it to how our coffee is grown and sold, but what about our events and our own business and work ethics? In this time of cross-over between event designers and planners, it’s time for a discussion of how fair trade—the promotion of ethical trade and sustainable practices—can work to create a stronger, more sustainable industry, and in doing so, help your business grow.

In this spirited discussion that includes you, the audience, we will explore the pros and cons together of creating a fair trade practice for the industry. Should we implement it? How does it work? Can it mean better business for all? Or does it create limitations? No matter the answer, this exciting debate will make you think about where we are and where the industry is headed.  You will learn:

• How to use fair trade to get an edge on your competition
• How to educate clients in a positive way
• The meaning of commission versus mark up and the effect of each on the industry
• The five rules of fair trade

 

Using Pinterest, LoveIt and Other Tools to Empower Your Community and Businesses
Brit Bertino, CSEP, Owner / Director, Event Excellence, Santa Monica, CA

The future of social media is curation. Everyone has topics in which they specialize; therefore everyone is a tastemaker in their own right. Millions of companies vie for the attention of one—you.  The web is noisy and people need ways to visually bookmark, collaborate, curate and share. After this session you will have knowledge and tech tools to help you creatively collaborate, curate and empower your community and events business.
You will learn:
• How to visually filter through all the content on the web

• How to use Pinterest, LoveIt, Wanelo and other tech tools to visually bookmark and curate the web 

• Fun and cool ways to collaborate with colleagues, clients and your community 

• How to organize interests by people, groups, topics, images and brands

• How to creatively share your content, with whom and when

 

Way Beyond Wedding Food: Irresistible New Menu and Presentation Concepts
Dan Hoch, Senior Event Producer, Feastivities Events, Philadelphia, PA

Today’s brides and grooms want wow factor and seek out the most creative menus. To satisfy this demand, look beyond hors d’oeuvre and entrée presentations. Develop new, easy and fun culinary concepts and explore the many opportunities throughout a wedding event where they can be introduced. You will learn:
•    What easy to create and sell food items are in demand
•    How to develop signature items and take your event to the next level
•    Effective timing and delivery methods to make you the start of the show
•    How budget brides can get in on the act
•    The ins and outs of marketing new concepts to build referrals

 

9:15am — 10:30am

Our Business is Show Business
Lenny Talarico, CSEP, Director of Events, MGM Resorts Events

This session is designed to help event planners hone their skills in presenting concepts, products and services to clients.  Similar to how entertainers prepare when putting on a show, it’s about how you present and package the show to the audience, your customer.  A little show business flair is what can help set you apart from the crowd.   We will explore various techniques to consider for presentations, review actual events with visuals, and discuss ways in which you can improve your own personal ‘performance’ by incorporating same techniques used in the entertainment industry.  You will learn:

•    Various stage techniques used by performers which you can include in events 
•    How to create a scene like a film director and how to add that into your event
•    Best practices on how to incorporate show business style into an event

 

Bring Bling to Your Events—on a Budget
Lisa Gentilin, PhD, CMP, President, Fancy Shindigs, Inc., Castro Valley, CA

This course will bring out your inner inventive designer and get your creative juices flowing! This demonstration will show you how to use a variety of inexpensive items to put some bling in your events without breaking the bank. You will learn:

•    Simple, low-cost ways to decorate your special events
•    Multiple resources for budget-friendly decor
•    Budget-friendly ways to make your special events fun and memorable

 

You Win When You Measure
John Scrofano, CEO, OneWed, Seattle, WA

Hope is not a business strategy. Growing businesses are built by great people with the right goals. And the very best way to achieve a goal is to measure your progress.

By the end of the seminar, you will walk away with a plan and the tools you need to measure your goals. You’ll learn what measurements drive action and behavior and how and why to select certain goals and not others. This three-part session will include interactive instruction, a workshop and question and answer period. You will learn:

•    Why measuring goals is crucial to building a growing business
•    How to develop a Measurement Dashboard custom tailored to your business that can drive business decisions, behavior and growth
•    Resources to build and track the dashboard
•    How to communicate goal measurement to your entire organization

 

Stylizing Unique Weddings for Every Bride
Robin Selden, Executive Chef and Managing Partner; and Jeffrey Selden, Managing Partner, Marcia Selden Catering & Event Planning, Stamford, CT

These wedding industry experts know how to stylize any wedding to fit the needs, desires, interests and budgets of today’s bridal couples. Robin and Jeffrey believe that unique and stylized menus create successful wedding experiences. See what is trending now with brides with these creative and successful concepts for a presentation that will astonish you! You will learn:

•    Culinary trends, presentations and menu style
•    The latest in specialty cocktails
•    Service touches that add panache to the simplest to the most elaborate wedding
•    What’s hot, reinvented and classic
•    Walking the walk and talking the talk
•    How to sell out-of-the-box and must-have wedding ideas to build the bill

 

10:45am — Noon

Event Alchemy: Turning Intangible Concepts Into Real Design
David Merrell, President /Creative Director, AOO Events, Inc., Los Angeles, CA

From the moment we meet with clients, the sales process begins—but what are we really selling? We say it’s an event, but until it actually happens we are selling the invisible. Along the way both inspiration and strategy will be used to create the best event possible. In this seminar, we’ll break down this process further in order to make the intangible tangible. Discover how to manage the sale, the follow up, the team, the proposal and what happens on-site in ways that make your business stronger and more profitable while making the client happier and more likely to do repeat business. Get tips on selling customer service and adding value to the event, your business and the event’s bottom line. Pitches, angles, presentations… it’s all invisible, but this session promises to reveal the secrets behind successful sales and concrete event design. You will learn:

•    How to sell the invisible—emotion, hopes and dreams—through service, design and old-fashioned sales acumen
•    Valuable tips that will help you angle a pitch, manage a design meeting and build the best team for the event
•    Presentation and proposal ideas that work

 

Marc the Moment: The Power of Design Communications for Creating Memories
Marc Friedland, Founder/Creative Director, Marc Friedland Couture Communications, Los Angeles, CA

The demand on event professionals to create events that are meaningful, impactful and memorable is greater than ever. Planners and event guests are more generationally diverse than ever before, and with the increase of light-speed technology, our attention spans become more and more distracted. The solution:  Event communications that are brilliantly designed, thoughtful, witty, and speak with authenticity, heart and soul. This is the power of “event branding”, which evolves ordinary events into extraordinary experiences.

From the Oscars® to Oprah, for over 25 years, Marc Friedland has been on the leading edge helping some of the world’s most creative brands and individuals, create the most celebrated events of our time. This visual and engaging conversation, highlights the power of design to enhance any event whether private, corporate or non-profit, and will touch on topics such as pixels vs. paper, how thinking differently provides a fresh take on a tired event as well as how to engage a more playful spirit to foster more innovative and inspired solutions with your event’s visual communications. You will learn:

• How to look at events from a branded experiential point of view
• The basic ingredients that go into creating an event brand
• Netiquette vs. etiquette in a pixelated world
• Tips and ideas for gaining a fresh perspective on design
• The importance of details in creating a more memorable experience

The Psychology of the Guest
Andrew Larris, Creative Visionary, NYX Entertainment and Events, Washington DC

Utilizing a process called “the psychology of the guest,” award-winning event producer and entertainment designer Andrew Larris will show you how to make a social event transcendent, raise more money for your nonprofit clients, incorporate branding into your corporate events and bring in a higher revenue for your services. Separate yourselves from those in your market by taking care of your clients in a way that no one else is. Every attendee will receive a certificate good for one free private consultation with Mr. Larris. You will learn:

•    Basic principles that you can put into practice today to immediately increase your business
•    What you can do to separate yourself from your competitors
•    Pointers and questions you should ask every client to help you stand out

 

Conversations That Close: Create a Signature Sales Conversation That Makes Brides Buy
Wendy Dahl, Wedding Coordinator, Business Strategist, Chic Productions, Huntington Beach, CA

What if you had a crafted sales conversation that had brides asking to book you before the end of your first meeting?  How different would your business be if you knew what to say to brides that urged them to buy quickly?  Today’s bride no longer responds to sales tactics that worked in the past.  Additionally, different techniques should be used for brides at different price points; the trick is knowing what to say and when to say it in the conversation. If you use traditional sales methods or are a serial soft-seller, a signature sales conversation will help you close the deal with confidence.  You will learn:

•    Conversation techniques that sell your product or service without being “salesy”
•    How to craft a signature sales conversation that gets brides to buy
•    How to identify gaps in your current conversation that leave money on the table
•    How to leverage conversation techniques to use in marketing materials and social media

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