The Wedding Biz - Behind The Scenes Of The Wedding Business

I met Dana on Clubhouse and was really impressed by the ease and style with which she conducts herself as a moderator and speaker in various rooms. She is completely comfortable in her skin and exudes an inviting confidence. Dana Bowling is a business and motivational coach helping women gain confidence, take action, and show up & stand out on Instagram and Clubhouse. As a former Casting Director in LA, Dana has discovered talent for Disney, Nickelodeon, ABC, MTV, FOX and more. A mom to two young energetic boys, she truly understands what it's like to build a business and show up consistently while balancing #momlife. Her energy & vulnerability are contagious and you can always trust Dana to keep things real, making her the best biz bestie you'll ever have. She is the host of the AMP It Up Podcast where she inspires women with tangible, actionable advice on how to show up, stand out, and start their businesses. On Instagram @thisisdanabowling, you can find her coming in hot with Instagram & Reels

What do you know about Clubhouse? Listen as Andy and his guests, Jen Vazquez and Morgan Childs, discuss the basics of Clubhouse, what it is, why we should care about it and how we can best use it for our businesses, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.   Jen is a Marketing Strategist specializing in Pinterest and a destination wedding and branding photographer. Morgan founded Moana Events and Bella Destination Events and then created another element by adding Modern Elopement. Morgan has been called the elopement expert by Destination I Do Magazine.    Listen as Jen and Morgan share how they view Clubhouse, the rooms and clubs inside, and more. They also compare Clubhouse to other platforms. And they share how Clubhouse can be used in the event industry to grow businesses. Since there is no DM feature on Clubhouse, you must link it to your Instagram account to get the full benefits of the platform.   Andy, Jen, and Morgan discuss how important your profile on Clubhouse is and share some tips on

Matt is an award-winning photographer who has gained a world-class reputation for his exquisite documentary style photography. He is considered the Royal Photographer for his work with the Cambridges. Matt also helps change-makers make a difference and shoots on behalf of Ocean Culture Life, a global community of storytellers, photographers, filmmakers, and environmentalists whose lives have been shaped by the sea.  Andy and Matt talk about how the experience of the pandemic has helped them to seek out what's really meaningful, for each of them, and to explore how they will reset themselves as life begins to come back to what it will be post-Covid. 

"We've all just lived a year of uncertainty." Listen as Andy, and his roundtable guests Rishi Patel the CEO of HMR Designs, Carrie Goldberg the Travel and Weddings Director at Harper's Bazaar, Christina Matteucci the Executive Director of David Beahm Destinations, and Augusta Cole primary Planner and Designer with Augusta Cole Weddings and Events discuss what they have learned from going through the Covid pandemic and how it's changed them personally and with their businesses. They also talk about how they have applied what they've learned and what events might look like post-Covid, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz. Christina shares how the pandemic affected her personally, what she learned from it and how much stronger she feels. Carrie speaks about all that she has learned. Augusta talks about the changes she went through including the relocation of her business, and Rishi discusses the silver linings he found as a product of the pandemic. Listen as Rishi speaks about what he thinks will be

Today's episode with various members of the LEC, which stands for Live Event Coalition, in order to discuss the mission of the organization, what's in the latest relief bill, what is being worked on for the upcoming May recovery bill, what the organization advocates for, and how we can support it.  Guests include: Dwayne Thomas - Chairperson for Government Affairs, Live Events Coalition and President Live Events Industry of Oregon and his company is Greenlight Creative.   John Garberson - Creative Director of Backstage  and President of the AZ Chapter of the Live Event Coalition. Kelsey Morgan Rausch - Handles marketing for the AZ chapter of the LEC and is co-owner of Honeybee Events. -Check out site of the LEC and of our guests:  LEC can be found at liveeventscoalition.org  Dwayne Thomas’s company is Greenlight Creative, which you can find at greenlight-creative.com  John Garberson’s company is Creative Backstage which you can find at creativebackstage.com  Kelsey Rausch’s is Honeybee EVents found at myhon

Listen as Andy and his guests, Tara Fay and Bruce Russell, discuss how they have handled the past year both personally and professionally, what they see happening in 2021, and the new online business they launched, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.   Tara is the owner of Tara Fay Events, based in Dublin, Ireland. She has produced some of the most high-profile events and weddings in Ireland, Europe, the United States, and the Caribbean. Tara has won several event industry awards, was previously voted Ireland's Premier Wedding Planner by Social and Personal Magazine, and is a sought-after speaker at wedding events and lectures students on wedding and event planning. Tara was the co-star of RTE Ireland's TV production of My Big Day: Home or Away, along with Bruce Russell.    Bruce is the owner and managing director of By Bruce Russell, based in London. He is a planner, designer and coordinates wedding parties and other events around the globe. He was awarded Best Wedding Planner by Belle Interna

"Light creates the environment, the environment creates the mood, and the mood creates the experience." - Bentley Meeker  Today's guest co-host, to discuss Bentley Meeker's interview from Monday, is Sean Low. Sean’s consulting firm, The Business of Being Creative is focused on providing practical advice to those in the business of being creative. Sean’s client list includes the who’s who of the wedding industry and design community. And Sean has a podcast on The Wedding Biz Network, called The Business of Being Creative  as well as a wonderful blog at thebusinessofbeingcreative.com Bentley is a New York City-based contemporary artist and lighting designer. He is the President of his own company Bentley Meeker Lighting and Staging Inc., specializing in lighting, audio-video staging, and rigging. A brief listing of his notable clients includes White House State Dinners, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Claudia Schiffer, Eddie Murphy, Heidi Klum, Martha Stewart, and the Sex in the City cast. Some musical acts he's

"Light creates the environment, the environment creates the mood, and the mood creates the experience." Listen as Andy and his guest Bentley Meeker have a discussion about light that Andy guarantees you have never heard before, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.   Bentley is a New York City-based contemporary artist and lighting designer. He is the President of his own company Bentley Meeker Lighting and Staging Inc., specializing in lighting, audio-video staging, and rigging. A brief listing of his notable clients includes White House State Dinners, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Claudia Schiffer, Eddie Murphy, Heidi Klum, Martha Stewart, and the Sex in the City cast. Some musical acts he's worked with include Beyonce, Jay Z, Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, and many more.     Bentley shares why he is trying to get people to realize how underutilized light is in life and shares the different types of light available and what he prefers to work with. Bentley speaks about the kin

Richard is the CEO of McQueens Flowers, the internationally renowned luxury floral design brand and flower school. Founded in London's east end in 2001 with customers in Mexico, the United States, Japan, France, Korea, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, and Australia. They have provided flowers for Vanity Fair's Oscars afterparty for the last twenty-five years and were the floral design partner for the All England Lawn Tennis Club's Wimbledon Champions Ball and the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.  Kurt Macher is our guest co-host and is the General Manager of the absolutely stunning Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard, London.

"The power of flowers to lift our spirits shouldn't be underestimated." Listen as Andy and his guest Richard Eagleton discuss the power of flowers, social prescribing, and how he feels that mental health and well-being will be the greatest human global challenge arising from the pandemic, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.   Richard is the CEO of McQueens Flowers, the internationally renowned luxury floral design brand and flower school. Founded in London's east end in 2001 with customers in Mexico, the United States, Japan, France, Korea, Kuwait, Singapore, Hong Kong, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, and Australia. They have provided flowers for Vanity Fair's Oscars afterparty for the last twenty-five years and were the floral design partner for the All England Lawn Tennis Club's Wimbledon Champions Ball and the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.     Listen, as Richard shares when he discovered his passion for flowers and his journey to McQueens. He discusses their flower school and how

Andy welcomes Lauren Dickens to the show as his guest co-host for today's episode. Lauren is the Founder and lead planner and designer with Elle Audrey, a luxury planning and design company based in NYC and their tag line is "distinctively designed with you in mind." Lisa is the CEO and Creative Director of Papered Wonders. As stationers, they design, create and produce exquisite wedding stationery that represents the love and passion shared by the couple. All of their designs are unique and share a piece of the love story unfolding during the time leading up to the wedding. Papered Wonders is also a custom design and print studio, and Lisa also assists other business owners in crafting their best look on paper and other collateral.

"Imagine your dreams on paper, imagine being able to embody true passion in stationery." Listen as Andy and his guest Lisa Zachery discuss the meaning behind this quote, her passion for stationery, her belief that invitations set the tone for the event you are having, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.   Lisa is the CEO and Creative Director of Papered Wonders. As stationers, they design, create and produce exquisite wedding stationery that represents the love and passion shared by the couple. All of their designs are unique and share a piece of the love story unfolding during the time leading up to the wedding. Papered Wonders is also a custom design and print studio, and Lisa also assists other business owners in crafting their best look on paper and other collateral.   Listen as Lisa shares her process for designing invitations that showcase the couple's love, how they use favors to imbed the wedding memory into each guest's hearts and what inspires her to pick the right font, graphics, col

Andy welcomes Sean Low back to the show. Sean is the owner of the consulting firm The Business of Being Creative, which focuses on providing practical advice to those in the business of being creative. He also has a podcast on The Wedding Biz Network called The Business of Being Creative.  Listen as they discuss Ira Levy, the Creative Director of Levy NYC Design & Production, a full-service design and production company focused on lighting, sound, and video for events, architecture, and what he calls architainment. Ira has been the lighting designer for such event luminaries as Preston Bailey and Colin Cowie. Past clients include Martha Stewart Weddings, Dolce Gabbana, and the American Museum of Natural History.   

"Light starts in the ceiling and ends in the floor, and there is nothing in between." Listen as Andy and his guest Ira Levy discuss his journey from pre-med to concerts, lighting design, and entertainment, why he uses the term architainment, his process when working with clients, designers, and planners, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.   Ira is the Creative Director of Levy NYC Design & Production, a full-service design and production company focused on lighting, sound, and video for events, architecture, and what he calls architainment. He has also been the lighting designer for such event industry luminaries as Preston Bailey and Colin Cowie. Past clients include Martha Stewart Weddings, Dolce Gabbana, and the American Museum of Natural History.   "It's not the turning of the screw; it's knowing which screw to turn." Ira believes that the mood you create with lighting is part of the experience. Ira shares mixing entertainment and architecture to create architainment, which happens whe

"Music is a force and power tool for our well being." Valerie Romanoff, founder of Starlight Music, is Andy's guest on the show today. Valerie was on episode 24 of The Wedding Biz back in October 2017 and has had quite a pivot since. So, Andy wanted to have her on the show to catch up and find out what she has been doing.    Listen as Valerie shares why she uses the terms “still,” “chill,” and “thrill” when discussing the different segments of life, how the vibrations of music can shift energy, and what she does that is so unique and different when putting on a performance. Valerie also talks about having performers who do more than just show up; performers who are aware and more intentional about their performance.   Valerie discusses what she likes to talk about when she coaches her band leaders and why to her every moment, every night is different, and it's not just a show; it's an interactive collaboration with everyone who is there. Valerie believes a home run when you have everyone on the dance floor an

This is a revisit of Andy’s popular interview of David Tutera from May of 2018 with a new introduction.    Show Highlights: David’s unexpected childhood upbringing that heavily influences his outlook on life David shares how to avoid burnout in a fast-moving industry Why strategically re-inventing yourself in your career is crucial David’s short college experience and his first post-college business How old David was when he planned his first wedding What David thought most wedding planners were missing when he started his event planning business The challenges of starting a new wedding planning business The two pivotal years that put David’s business on the map His experiences on television, including the launch of his first series David shares his two biggest fears, and how he uses them to find empowerment The process David takes with his clients to create custom events Some of David’s favorite weddings of all time (including his own!) About David’s product line How David has seen the wedding/event industr

Andy welcomes Laurie Arons back to The Next Level. Laurie is with Laurie Arons Special Events. She has been featured in numerous magazine publications and was listed in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, and Martha Stewart Weddings as one of the top planners worldwide. Listen as they discuss how Erich got his start in photography and how important he feels it is to keep his passion for the art without getting lost in the business side, plus much more.    Erich McVey is a wedding, portrait, and editorial film photographer with a love for medium format cameras, natural light, and incredible scenery. Erich was named by Harpers Bazaar, Brides, and Martha Stewart Weddings as one of the world's best wedding photographers and twice selected as film Photographer of the Year.    Listen as Laurie gives her insights into Erich's preference of shooting with film instead of digital, how she loves the look of film and only works with such photographers for her events. Laurie talks about how she gets butterflies before an event because

"What I strive to do for every couple I shoot is to deliver variety, quality, and consistency throughout." Listen as Andy and his guest Erich McVey discuss a variety of topics, including how he got started in photography and what he means by combining documentary and fine art styles when he shoots weddings plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.   Erich is a wedding, portrait, and editorial film photographer with a love for medium format cameras, natural light, and incredible scenery. Erich was named by Harpers Bazaar, Brides, and Martha Stewart Weddings as one of the world's best wedding photographers and twice selected as film Photographer of the Year.    Listen as Erich discusses controlling variables to position couples to give them a moment and not let the business and repetition kill his zest for creating unique imagery. Erich also shares what drew him to film over digital and why he believes he can live in the camera when he shoots with film instead of dealing with the distraction of digital

Andy welcomes Phil Van Nostrand back to The Next Level. Phil is based out of New York and Los Angeles. Phil photographs weddings, commercial, and lifestyle projects and is an expert at capturing bright cinematic lifestyle imagery. Listen as they discuss Josh Spiegel, the Creative Director and President of Birch Event Design, a high-end decor, production, and floral company.    Phil speaks about a support group of industry professionals that Josh is a part of during the shutdown and how he himself created his own network of people to reach out to. Phil also talks about the challenge Josh had to create something different for each event while planning daily weddings within the same group of individuals.   Phil discusses how Josh used social media to garner business during the pandemic while staying safe by doing smaller events, having the host testing each guest, and social distancing. Phil agrees with Josh that the smaller events will carry over because people see the beauty in creating an experience for their

On this episode of The Wedding Biz Andy is talking to Josh Spiegel, the Creative Director and President of Birch Event Design, a high-end decor, production, and floral company located out of the New York City area. Josh has had a lot of business during the pandemic and shares the story of how he is accomplishing that feat. Josh also talks sincerely about many issues, especially how he is dealing with things now and how he feels the event industry might be different once it fully comes back.   Josh also shares how he got into the event industry and the challenge of creating different designs for the same group of people, sometimes every day. Josh talks about how he failed and learned in the early years of his business and how his business has thrived over the years.   Listen as Josh discusses his process from the first contact with a client through the event and what he did during the pandemic that has kept him and his team busy. Josh is also very open about the deep depression he fell into in the early months