We (Alison & Kelsey) are writing this from the plane back to San Francisco after an unbelievable experience at
Engage!10 (a wedding planners convention) at
the Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. We struggled on whether or not to attend this year because of our crazy October travel and wedding schedule, but we are so, so glad we went. We were fortunate to spend quality time with some of our favorite people in the industry and made some new connections as well. Rebecca and Kathryn of
Engaging Concepts did a knock out job planning the three-day event and the Breakers staff and event team were an amazing bunch. This conference was a wonderful experience and we are so grateful to have been a part of it.
As our loyal blog readers may have noticed, we love lists. So, we made a top 10 list of our favorite Engage!10 moments. Here goes:
1. The photobooth. Actually, we are a little sick of photobooths in the wedding world, but we love taking pictures and neither of us are shy in front of the camera. And if there isn't a photobooth, we always try and achieve an epic jump shot.
2.
Martha Stewart Weddings. Shira, Anthony and Darcy are the coolest.
3.
Mel Barlow Photography. Probably because she took a million photos of us. And also because of her amazing dance moves. And we just love kicking it with her and Kate and Allan.
4. Dance party 1, 2 and 3. Yes, wedding people do know how to get down when off the clock.
5. Champagne glass stilt scissor installation. Doesn't make sense to you? Well it shouldn't, but it was definitely something we have never seen before. And trust us, originality is hard to come by. Basically, champagne glasses were hanging from the ceiling and had to be cut off ribbons for anyone who ordered a glass of champers. Amazing.
6. Shadow box dancers. Again, not something we generally see at weddings, but definitely entertaining. Even
Marcy Blum got inside to dance!
7. New friends at new venues. Little Nell, The Ford Plantation and Viceroy Anguilla are our next scout trip destinations. If you don't experience it, you can't sell it, right?
8. Kathryn and Rebecca of
Engaging Concepts. They put on this conference, have been incredibly supportive of Alison Events and were such gracious hosts this week. They thought of everything and even matched their outfits, goodie bags, iPad cases, and notebooks all to the decor.
9. Individual ice sculpture raw bar 1st course. The Breakers culinary team came up with this crazy concept. Envision jumbo shrimp, lobster tail, caviar and abalone all sitting in carved out nooks of an ice sculpture lit by an internal led light. One word. Epic.
10. Inspiration. We were truly inspired by some great speakers this week. If you don't follow them on twitter already, you should because they are helping take the event industry to the next level. We can't list them all, but some of our favorites are
Sean Lowe,
Lienne Stevens,
Darcy Miller,
Abby Larson,
Amy Atlas,
Michelle Rago,
Susan Moynihan,
Maria McBride,
Marcy Blum,
Tara Garard,
Todd Ficus, and
Brian Rafanelli--our new industry crush and Chelsea Clinton's wedding designer.
It was truly a fun-filled and informative week and we miss everyone already. Until next year...
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