On today’s show we hear from Ines and Veronica of Ines Di Santo, a bridal and evening gown couture dress designer. We learn how Ines grew up with the deep creative passion to having her business now.
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318 TONY CRESPO/FMI Farms: Innovative National Floral Wholesaler
“If you see an opportunity, even if you don’t succeed, it’s a learning process. There is no such thing as failure.” Listen as Andy and his guest Tony Crespo discuss him being a drummer for a Salsa band for fourteen years, his grandfather growing roses in Ecuador, and how that shaped what he does today, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Tony is the Co-Founder of FMI Farms, a national floral wholesaler that innovatively offers a web-based marketplace for florists and event planners. They exclusively carry luxury quality that either ship farm direct or they offer a repacking service out of their facility in Miami, Florida. FMI Farms website has over 20,000 line items of flowers from all over the world, including other distributors in Miami and for next day delivery.
Tony shares how the values that his father and grandfather instilled in him have directed his path, how his definition of success has changed over the years, and his journey to being a distributor for other growers. Tony discusses how he and his brother developed the marketplace with inspiration from a company in Holland while being modeled after Amazon.
Listen as Tony talks about what he learned from the recession of 2008 that helped him trim his business down during the pandemic. He shares how the sales from Mother’s day stopped them in their tracks and made him realize that the pandemic might not be as big of a disaster as they expected.
317 THE NEXT LEVEL: CARRIE GOLDBERG discusses ALEX FITZGIBBONS, Orchestrating The Life And Soul Of A Wedding
Andy welcomes Carrie Goldberg back to The Next Level. Carrie is the Digital Travel & Weddings Editor at Harpers Bazaar, where she oversees all things bridal, weddings, and travel for HarpersBazaar.com. Listen as they discuss how who has the most input in weddings has changed, why Alex doesn’t advertise and how he maintains his client’s privacy by taking people’s phones at high-profile events, plus much more.
Alex is the Managing Director of Fait Accompli out of London, which organizes, plans and designs spectacular events worldwide from A-list to Royal weddings. He is also responsible for the wedding celebration of Ellie Goulding and weddings for the Royal family, including Prince William and Katherine the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and Megan the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Listen as Carrie speaks about the weddings Alex designs, the glamping wedding he planned on the grounds of a medieval castle, and how his discretion has earned him the high-profile weddings others seek. They discuss the challenge of keeping guests engaged, with or without their phones, and how 2020 has shown where people place their worth in business and life.
316 ALEX FITZGIBBONS: Orchestrating The Life And Soul Of A Wedding
“Our interests are totally aligned with our clients, to make sure their wedding is the best it can possibly be.” Listen as Andy and his guest Alex Fitzgibbon discuss how he got involved in the event industry, his journey to Fait Accompli, why he feels his work there is about finding and expressing the life and soul of weddings he orchestrates, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Alex is the Managing Director of Fait Accompli out of London, which organizes plans and designs spectacular events worldwide for A-list clients and Royal weddings. He orchestrated one of Vogue’s top listed weddings of 2019, and was also responsible for the wedding celebration of Ellie Goulding and weddings for the Royal family, including Prince William and Katherine the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry and Megan the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Alex discusses his understanding of what a client wants and how he finds his inspiration when planning the event. Alex shares a story of one of his favorite weddings last year, his design philosophy, and the challenges of orchestrating a very large event. He also speaks about how he keeps high-profile weddings private by taking away the guests’ phones, which also allows them to engage with others more freely.
Listen as Alex talks about balancing the business side of his company and the artistic side, how he puts together a team for each event, and how he has kept his business successful over the years. Alex shares that one of his favorite things about the event industry is the degree to which you get to know your clients and how exciting that is for him.
315 THE NEXT LEVEL: JENNIFER STEIN discusses MAJEDA & SEWAR BISHARAT/MY Event Design: Turning Vision Into Reality
Andy welcomes Jennifer Stein back to The Next Level. Jennifer is the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Destination I Do Magazine, which can be found at newsstands in all fifty states and twelve countries. She also publishes a daily blog, consults, custom publishes, and has a podcast called CONFETTI.
Majeda Bisharat and Sewar of MY Event Design, based in Jordan, cover events across the Middle East and Europe. MY Event Design is a full-fledged luxury event design, planning, and management company that has designed and planned events for influential figures in various industries and members of the Royal family.
Jennifer discusses the natural gifts that she believes people in the event industry are blessed with, how Majeda gets her inspiration from everywhere, and how great it is that Majeda and Sewar have a multigenerational approach to events that have served them well. Jennifer also talks about what Majeda said about Sewar’s engagement party.
Listen as Jennifer shares how vulnerable and upfront Majeda was when she said she is in a state of confusion when it comes to dealing with the pandemic and how she took that confusion and turned it into a new company called MY Tablescape so that everyone can rent the luxurious accessories they need to make any occasion special.
314 MAJEDA & SEWAR BISHARAT/MY Event Design: Turning Vision Into Reality
“Majeda’s vision has no boundaries, so why should we as a company?” Listen as Andy and his guests Majeda & Sewar Bisharat with MY Event Design, based in Amman Jordan and working all over the world, discuss Majeda’s passion for fashion and the transition to event design and how Sewar wanted to get experience in the corporate world before she joined her mother’s company plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
MY Event Design is a full-fledged luxury event design, planning, and management company founded by Majeda Bisharat and her two daughters Maysam and Sewar, covering events across the Middle East and Europe. In addition to weddings, engagements, corporate events, and other special events, MY event design has designed and planned events for influential figures in various industries and members of the Royal family.
Listen as Majeda and Sewar discuss why they feel they are a strong team, their roles in the company, and their process from start to finish with their clients. Majeda shares a story about an event she is very proud of and some challenges she has faced at her events.
They also chat about interior design, their entertainment booking agency, and the need for multiple income streams during the pandemic. Majeda and Sewar share how the pandemic has affected them personally and professionally and what they believe the event industry will look like in the coming months. Listen as these amazing women share their insights from Jordan.
313 THE NEXT LEVEL: JULIE SAVAGE discusses CALEB JORDAN LEE, Filmmaker Extraordinaire!
Andy’s guest co-host today is Julie Savage. Julie is the Founder and Creative Director of Strawberry Milk Events, who has planned and designed celebrations worldwide.
Listen as they discuss how impressive it was that Caleb launched his business at 16 and filmed 40 weddings his first year, and his insights into developing relationships with his creative partners, plus much more on this episode of The Next Level.
Caleb is a brilliant filmmaker and the owner of East West Production, a full-service event filmmaking company with award-winning coverage. Caleb’s work has been showcased in publications such as People’s Magazine, particularly for shooting Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding. He has also been featured in Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides Magazine, and Harpers Bazaar named Caleb as one of the world’s top filmmakers.
Julie discusses how she matches her clients with creative partners like Caleb, the process they go through from there, and how it’s a learning curve to know that you are not the right person for everyone and that Caleb seemed to learn that much earlier in his career than most.
Andy and Julie share how Caleb writes a storyline, to follow when editing, and how he believes when working commercially, it’s not about the product as much as it is about the emotion behind the product and how to make that happen in a minute or less. Julie speaks about Caleb’s genuine team player attitude and how he is known for always helping creative partners where he can and how that keeps him top of mind when recommending a filmmaker to clients.
312 CALEB JORDAN LEE – Filmmaker Extraordinaire!
“I resonate with the client that wants to make you a part of their family throughout the wedding weekend.” Listen as Andy and his guest Caleb Jordan Lee discuss his early passion for travel and filmmaking, Caleb starting his LLC at sixteen and why he decided to film weddings, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Caleb is a brilliant filmmaker and the owner of East West Production, a full-service event filmmaking company with award-winning coverage. Caleb’s work has been showcased in publications such as People’s Magazine, particularly for shooting Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding. He has also been featured in Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides Magazine, and Harpers Bazaar named Caleb as one of the world’s top filmmakers.
Caleb speaks about his first year in business and how his sister’s wedding was the catalyst for his business boom. Caleb speaks about how important he feels relationships are, with the creative partners and planners, and how he works with the planners to create the best product.
Listen, as Caleb shares a story about Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding and how iconic his shot of her walking down the aisle with her 70 foot train was. Caleb also discusses how he and his team edit and how everything plays a part in getting the perfect film for his clients.
Caleb shares the work he does commercially and how he brings emotion to each small snippet. Caleb talks about the challenges he faces when telling a client’s story, his perspective on social media, the equipment he uses, and how he keeps up with the constant technology change. Caleb started as a teenager and has been in the industry for over ten years. His is a success story you don’t want to miss!
311 THE NEXT LEVEL: JENNIFER STEIN discusses MORGAN CHILDS, Micro-Weddings Are Here To Stay
Andy’s guest co-host today is Jennifer Stein, the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief at Destination I Do Magazine, which can be found in newsstands in all 50 states and 12 countries. She also has a wonderful daily online blog, consults, and custom publishes. Listen as they discuss Morgan’s view on elopement weddings, smaller events, and whether that trend will continue going forward, plus much more on this episode of The Next Level.
Morgan first began by founding Moana Events and Belle Destination Events and then created another element by adding Modern Elopement, for which she is the CEO and Creative Director. Morgan has been called the elopement expert by Destination I Do Magazine and is a planner who started in the elopement brand back in 2015 when she saw a trend for smaller weddings happening, and with COVID, the concept has exploded.
Listen as Jennifer discusses working with Morgan and the spread they did for Destination I Do Magazine. Jennifer talks about Morgan shifting her business to serve those needing smaller weddings and how she wanted to create something where the expectation met the revenue.
Jennifer believes that smaller weddings are a trend that will continue even post-COVID. With people rethinking where they spend their money, the large, lavish wedding sometimes isn’t as important as having a little extra for something else like buying a house.
310 MORGAN CHILDS: Micro-Weddings Are Here To Stay
“It isn’t about creating a less than wedding; it’s just about a different format.” Listen as Andy and his guest Morgan Childs discuss her growing up in Kauai, how she got into the event industry, and how to make it through the pandemic and beyond, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Morgan first began by founding Moana Events and Bella Destination Events and then created another element by adding Modern Elopement, for which she is the CEO and Creative Director. Morgan has been called the elopement expert by Destination I Do Magazine and is a planner who started in the elopement brand back in 2015 when she saw a trend for smaller weddings happening, and with COVID, the concept has exploded.
Morgan shares when she started seeing the trend for smaller weddings even before the pandemic, why her clients find them more attractive, and the difference between all the different terms of smaller weddings like micro and tiny weddings. She also speaks about where the focus is on the elopement weddings her company does and what they entail.
Listen as Morgan addresses some planners’ concerns with taking time off their calendars for smaller weddings when they can fill those dates with higher-end, more expensive weddings. Post-COVID Morgan believes these smaller, more personal weddings will continue because mindsets around money have changed, and saving money or buying a house is sometimes more appealing than spending huge amounts of money on an extravagant wedding.