Saturday, June 09, 2012

engaged and inspired, vol 1

Engage!12 Attendee Itinerary Kristy Rice I spent the last week in Las Vegas attending Engage!12 It's a business summit created by the impeccable Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce of Engaging Concepts for luxury wedding professionals. I learned a year ago that you have to experience luxury in order to create it.  It was one of my biggest take aways from Engage11.  This was my 2nd time attending, and I left inspired with more than I can fit into one post, so expect a series (all images courtesy of Elan Artists, ReadyLuck or  Scott Clark Photography unless otherwise noted).

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this series, I would like to show gratitude & appreciation and to offer some advice. I want to thank Kathryn & Rebecca for creating this environment for this industry to grow and be inspired through an experience that changes you. It is not merely about dozens of great speeches and presentations. Its not just about the phenomenal parties. It's more than the gourmet food (and cocktails) and networking that you never expected you'd ever have. For me, and I imagine so many others, that it's about what you leave with.   You leave with a list of action items to become better.  You leave with an arsenal of new colleagues who want nothing but to support you and to see you succeed.  You leave knowing that you made an impact on someone that you reached out to (although you don't always know exactly how).  You leave knowing you will grow and that you're going to be a part of creating amazing wedding experiences. And that is an awesome feeling.  You leave with an emotion that pushes you forward.  I also want to say thank you to Wendy Timson from Wolfgang Puck Catering who so graciously shared her cab with me to the airport.  In the 10 minutes time that I spent with her, she managed to single-handedly solve a major issue I was having with one of my weddings this fall with her expertise.  So my advice, to anyone who  is a part of the luxury wedding industry - put away the excuses and attend. And for those who question if it's really worth the financial and time investment, let me answer for you; yes it is.

As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words, so I will keep my type short from here on out.  And if a picture speaks a thousand words, you'll be awestruck by what these videos by I do films speak:

This film was produced by I Do Films, LLC.
engage!12 Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas | Day 2 & 3 from I Do Films on Vimeo.
This film was produced by I Do Films, LLC.

Next up, the photos!  I'm so excited to share these!

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