Attendee UPDATE!

Wow!  We are so excited with the response to date for this encore event!  Just today we heard from and registered many luxury wedding professionals from all different facets of the wedding industry.  That is one of the most exciting aspects of these unique events - bringing together like-minded wedding professionals representing a variety of segments of the industry.

We will have high end wedding planners {many who specialize in destination weddings}, amazing wedding cake designers, 5-star luxury hotel and resort wedding/social event managers, top wedding photojournalists, cutting edge invitation designers, floral/design professionals, advertising/marketing/television executives and more!  

To date - we have confirmed multiple attendees who will be joining us from: Costa Rica, Canada, Napa, Santa Barbara, Michigan, Savannah, Minnesota, Arizona, New York City, Atlanta, the Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands, Delaware, Indiana, Los Angeles, Grand Bahama, Miami, Ohio, Orlando, Virginia, Washington DC and more coming in every day! 

What a dynamic group representing so many perspectives of the industry - we cannot wait to welcome many new friends and re-connect with others who will be returning again!

More updates to follow soon - so be sure and check back in!

Speaker Spotlight: Sean Low, President of Preston Bailey Designs

We are delighted to be sharing an industry FIRST with the attendees of engage!08: the encore.

For the first time ever, Sean Low, President of Preston Bailey Bailey Designs will be sharing his unique perspective on the BUSINESS behind the magic of one of the most recognizable wedding industry names - the one and only Preston Bailey. 

We were so honored to have Preston join us to speak at the first engage event - Sean attended as well and many attendees had the chance to get to know him and were able to talk with him about how to take their successful, creative businesses to the next level and beyond. When I approached Sean to see if he would be interested in participating in this next event he agreed on the spot - turns out he was also inspired by everyone who he met and has a TON of advice, insights and ideas to share from the business-side of the ultra-high end wedding industry.

A bit of background on Sean Low:

• A Magna-Cum Laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with both an economics degree and as an attorney who was admitted to the bar in both New York and Ct.

• He spent many years on Wall Street as an investment, real estate and finance attorney and walked away from it all to follow his dream by founding his own successful Manhattan-based catering company called "Red Wine with Fish?"

• In 2003 he was offered the incredible opportunity to become the first President of Preston Bailey Designs and what success followed is legendary in the global wedding industry. In the past 5 years he has masterminded the unprecedented rise of Preston's brand around the world.  From New York to Dubai - Arkansas to Jakarta - Los Angeles to the Grenadines - Cartegena to Paris and beyond, Preston Bailey is now known around the globe as one of the premiere wedding designers of our time.

•  Sean has been the business brain behind the creative genius and as Preston openly shares with other colleagues in the wedding industry, has transformed every aspect of his operation to ensure maximum efficiencies, uncover new and diverse opportunities, establish significant financial strength - all while providing exceptional service to some of the most demanding clientele in the world.

• He has negotiated licensing deals, partnerships, book deals, speaking engagements and further diversified Preston's brand with companies like Sandals Resorts, 1-800 Flowers, Bulfinch Press, Macy's, Waterford, Bloomingdales, Style Network, Oxygen Network and more.

Sean will share specific strategies on how to take any wedding business to the next level, uncovering and negotiating partnerships and licensing opportunities, the importance and opportunities of diversifying your business, elevating your level of clientele - and getting paid what you are really worth {and beyond!}.

His session promises to be one of the most powerful and truly impactful of the entire event and will deliver content and insight that is unparalleled in the wedding industry!

Speaker Spotlight: Sylvia Weinstock

No introduction is needed of course for our amazing friend and engage!08: the encore speaker Sylvia Weinstock!  

Sylvia Weinstock is the grande dame of cake design, one of the first to use imaginative forms for wedding cakes—introducing butterflies and bees, for example, to brides who had previously known only flowers. Her 25-year-old company, located in New York City, has created cakes for the Clinton White House as well as numerous celebrity weddings. Weinstock’s cakes have been featured in publications ranging from Modern Bride to the New York Times.

We are beyond thrilled that she will be joining us for a candid conversation about starting her business at age 50, juggling family and an all-consuming passion, competing {and winning} in the cut-throat world of the Manhattan wedding world, building and staying true to her brand {before anyone even knew what the word meant!}, flying around the world with her wedding cakes for celebrities, presidents, dignitaries, royalty and high end brides and grooms who would not dream of getting married without cutting into her spectacular wedding cake creations.

Straight off multiple appearances on the super hot show "Gossip Girl," Sylvia will also give an exclusive look at her latest book "Sensational Cakes" - which will not be available for purchase until November and share details of her 'sweet' partnership with GODIVA Chocolatier.

Speaker Spotlight: Jill Meister-CBS The Early Show

As a producer for CBS's The Early Show for over six years, Jill Meister has traveled all over the country working on both live and taped pieces for the popular morning program. Producing a variety of pieces including lifestyle, beauty, fashion entertainment, and wedding segments, she books guests, structures the segment's talking points, writes questions/scripts for the anchors, and maps out her vision for each segment's set design.  

Jill is the producer for Event Planner, Colin Cowie, who is a regular contributor on the broadcast.  She was one of a group of producers who created and executed with Colin Cowie the successful series, "Wedding in a Week" in which an engaged couple was introduced to viewers on Monday and married on Friday.  Throughout the week Jill produced several segments including the latest trends in bridal/groom fashions, flowers, and food.  Attending to every detail, she booked and coordinated elements for the rehearsal dinner at the Central Park Boathouse, the ceremony on The Early Show Plaza, and the reception at the Hudson Hotel in NYC.  

Jill was a part of a team of producers who coordinated the series, "Modern Bride of the Year" with Modern Bride Magazine, and she has worked on the latest trends in wedding cakes with Carley Roney from The Knot.  

Jill, a newlywed herself, is known around the office as the producer who planned her own Manhattan wedding in just eleven weeks. Jill also covers red carpet events in New York City and Los Angeles.  Prior to working for The Early Show, Jill worked for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. She graduated Cum Laude from Tulane University with a Bachelor Of Science in Management with a Marketing major. 

Jill receives hundreds of story pitches every week (sometimes even more) and as part of her session will give advice on what pitches translate best on TV, how to stand out and get noticed, the best way to work with television producers and more.

We look forward to having Jill join us for engage!08: the encore and are thrilled with the unique perspective and insight she will bring!

Speaker Spotlight: Bee Kim, Founder of WeddingBee.com

Adding to our 'all-star' roster of speakers is the one and only "Queen Bee" herself, Bee Kim, founder and editor of ground-breaking wedding blog WeddingBee.com will share her story on her meteoric rise from bride-blogger to wedding industry innovator and include:

• Tips on blogging for your business, 
• How to find your authentic blogging 'voice'
• Developing {and growing} your audience
• What vendors need to understand about the power of Blogs
• Getting featured on other blogs 
• and, the real deal on monetizing what you have created.
  

Having Bee here for engage!08: the encore is very fitting for both Kathryn and me - as WeddingBee was the first blog we ever read and Bee herself taught us of the power and opportunity of blogs...we cannot wait to hear her unique perspective on blogs and the 'next big thing' in the world of wedding social media!

Sponsor Spotlight: La Tavola Linen

Breaking engage!08:the encore news...the amazing talent behind Napa, CA-based fine linen rental company la tavola have agreed to provide all of the linen for the event!

Attendees will have a chance to experience the la tavola difference - and see, touch and feel the incredible, cutting edge fabrics available for shipping world-wide.

Masters in wedding branding - we will also review their impressive marketing campaign and roll-out strategy...love it!

Keep checking back for engage08!: the encore updates and news - things are heating up as October 14th fast approaches!

engage!08: the encore UPDATE!

There is so much to share about the upcoming engage!08: the encore event taking place at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes on October 14, 2008...where to even begin!?!

First of all - once again - we are thrilled with the response from luxury wedding professionals from all over the US, Canada and the Caribbean who have confirmed their registration already!  

So far, we have wedding industry leaders from NYC, LA, Costa Rica, Calgary Alberta Canada, Ohio, Minneapolis, Chicago, Virginia, Atlanta, DC, Delaware, Napa Valley, the Bahamas, Miami, the Dominican Republic, Arizona, Savannah and more!

Another surprise is that many of the attendees for 'the encore' are repeaters...they joined us for the first engage!08 event in June and thought so much of it that they are making the trip {and the investment of time and money} to be here for 'the encore' and for that we are so honored. 

We have a number of amazing sponsors lined up that we will be sharing with you in the coming weeks - so stay tuned.

Also - be on the lookout for speaker profiles on each of our accomplished speakers in the days to come.

It is still not too late to register - check out the engage!08 website for all the details or email us at engage @ engagingconcepts dot com.

More to follow...so check back often or better yet - add to your RSS feed!

See you soon - Rebecca & Kathryn