The Wedding Biz - Behind the Scenes of the Wedding Business

The Wedding Biz welcomes Joe Goldblatt to the show. Joe is a true pioneer and icon of the event industry; he owned The Wonder Company for over 20 years before selling it. He has written, edited, or co-authored 38 books, including the first textbook in the event industry. He founded ISES, the International Special Events Society that is now known as ILEA, the International Live Events Association,...

The Next Level welcomes Kiana Underwood! Kiana is the founder of Tulipina, an internationally renowned floral design studio that specializes in creating incredible experiences for luxury weddings and events. She is the author of the book, Color Me Floral, which covers the secrets of designing showstopping monochromatic arrangements for each season. Her work can be seen in numerous publications and...

Andy welcomes Rachel Birthistle to The Wedding Biz. Rachel is the Owner and CEO of The Lake Como Wedding Planner based in Como, Italy. In addition to her own events, she has worked with people like Lisa Vorce on Chrissy Tegan and John Legends wedding and many others. She says she is predominately a wedding planner in a destination rather than a destination wedding planner. Rachel's father was in t...

Andy has Julie Novack as his guest co-host today on The Next Level. Julie is the CEO and Co-Founder of PartySlate. PartySlate is a photo-rich website where leading event professionals share their work, build their brand, and drive leads. Le Reve Films is the brainchild of Lindsey and Cherish Conklin. This husband and wife team is known for their work on the Engage 19 Baha Mar Conference as well as...

Lindsey and Cherish Conklin, who make up the team of Le Reve Films, are Andy's guests on this episode of The Wedding Biz. This duo is known for their work on the Engage 19 Baha Mar summit and other discerning clients. Cinematography to them is building a relationship with clients and telling their stories through film. They are brilliant at capturing the emotion of events in the most engaging ways...

In this episode of The Next Level, Andy is with Jennifer Stein. Jennifer is the Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Destination I Do Magazine. She publishes a daily blog and also consults, and custom publishes. Andy and Jennifer discuss Audrey's moxy in starting her business before learning the trade and how testing is a great way to make sure your business is viable. They also speak about Audrey's...

Audrey Neracoulis, Welcome to The Wedding Biz! Audrey is a film photographer based in Paris and is known for her unmistakable fashion house inspired aesthetic, and unique and sophisticated work. She also brilliantly utilizes social media, especially Instagram, in ways that will surprise you. Audrey has a master's degree in marketing and dreamt of being surrounded by, and working with, a wonderful...

Andy welcomes Sean Low to this episode of The Next Level! Sean is the Founder and President of The Business of Being Creative LLC, which focuses on providing practical advice to those in the business of being creative. His client list includes the elite of the wedding industry and the design community. Vanessa is the Owner and Creative Director of Two Paper Dolls, a pioneering custom design house...

The Wedding Biz is excited to have Vanessa Kreckel on the show. Vanessa is the Owner and Creative Director of Two Paper Dolls, a pioneering custom design house that foreshadowed the desire for customization across all aspects of the wedding industry. She has been named in design publications including PRINT, and Communications Arts as well as BRIDES Magazine and Martha Stewart Weddings. TPD Design...

The Next Level welcomes Laurie Arons to the show! Laurie has been mentioned in numerous magazine publications and was listed in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, and Martha Stewart Weddings as one of the top planners worldwide. Her clients include trendsetters like Sofia Coppola, Vanessa Getty, and Christy Turlington, to name a few. Laurie has also created and runs a very successful Wedding Planner Mastercla...

Andy is excited to be speaking with Greg Finck on this episode of The Wedding Biz. Greg is a brilliant photographer based in Paris. He studied business in France then came to the U.S to get his MBA. Greg was a marketing executive for ten years with Proctor and Gamble and at first, was doing wedding photography on the side as a hobby.  Greg is now a major photographer even though he's technically o...

Andy is speaking with Sean Low on this episode of The Next Level. Sean is the Founder and of The Business of Being Creative LLC, which focuses on providing practical advice to those in the business of being creative. His client list includes the elite of the wedding industry and the design community. David Monn is known for producing events like The Met's Costume Institute Gala, and the iconic 100...

In this episode of the Wedding Biz, Andy brings back David Monn for part 2 of their conversation. David's clients include social leaders from around the world. He is known for events like The Met's Costume Institute Gala, and the 100th Anniversary of the Plaza Hotel, to name a few. He is also a contributing editor to Departures Magazine and has been featured in numerous luxury and lifestyle public...

The Next Level welcomes Sean Low, Founder, and President of The Business of Being Creative LLC, which focuses on providing practical advice to those in the business of being creative. He has worked with many prestigious clients in both the design community and the wedding and event industry. Michael is the founder of Cerbelli Creative, an event design and production company, and the creator of The...

The Wedding Biz welcomes Michael Cerbelli, a paragon in the events industry for over 42 years. He is the creator of The Hot List, a list of the best ideas in the industry, and was inducted into the Event Industry Hall of Fame by Bizbash in 2019. He has worked with several high profile clients and in some fantastic venues all over the world.  Michael started at the tender young age of 13 as a DJ fo...

Today on The Next Level, Andy Kushner is speaking with Augusta Cole, Executive Director to Lynn Easton, of Easton Events, a world-renowned planner and designer. Augusta and Christina are lucky enough to work for individuals who allow them to truly have a voice and to feel a sense of ownership in their companies. Christina has worked with David Beahm Experiences for many years and they maintain the...

Welcome to the Wedding Biz Christina Matteucci, the Executive Director at David Beahm Experiences . Christina is on the show to discuss how to be the best "number two" to your "number ones," and how your "number ones" can best support the "number twos." Andy and Christina take a deep dive into this topic as it is one that Christina has spoken about at several events, not the least of which is the...

Today on The Next Level, Andy Kushner is speaking with Valerie Gernhouser, Owner of Sapphire Events. She also created Sapphire Sessions Speaking Tour, a specialized program for wedding planners and event designers. They speak this week about Carrie Goldberg, the Travel and Wedding Director at Harpers Bazaar. She oversees all things bridal, weddings, and travel for Bazaar.com. She is also responsib...

Andy is very excited to welcome Carrie Goldberg . She is the Digital Travel & Weddings Editor at Harpers Bazaar where she oversees all things weddings and travel for HarpersBazaar.com. She is in charge of content, strategy, and visuals for Bazaar's digital travel and wedding verticals and editor of their new membership program Bazaar Bride. She has worked on Live with Regis and Kelly at ABC and as...

Today on The Next Level, Andy Kushner is speaking with Lynn Easton, creator of Easton Destination Events, a worldwide luxury destination wedding design, and planning company. She is also the Co-Founder of Easton Porter Group, a luxury hospitality company with a portfolio of award-winning boutique hotels, vineyards, restaurants and event venues in North America and Europe. The discussion this week...

Andy is very excited to welcome Marcy Blum, an internationally sought after event planner and entertaining expert who has 30 years experience. She has been named one of the best in the world by Vogue, Martha Stuart Weddings, Harper's Bazaar and the New York Times magazine. Marcy has appeared on many television shows and, with event planner Sarah Haywood, has developed EPIC, the Event Planners Inte...

In this episode of The Next Level, Andy Kushner and Phillip Van Nostrand a photographer based in New York and California, talk about King Dahl's interview on the Wedding Biz. Phil has been been published in numerous publications including the New York Times, Fortune.com, Huffington Post and Forbes.com and was a master class speaker at WPPI.  Listen in as they talk about King Dahl and his incredibl...

Andy is excited to welcome King Dahl, former Executive Director of Events at MGM Resort Event Productions leading the design and sales teams and ultimately responsible for 1200 events a year. King began in the event industry with Cheryl Fish before starting his own company King Dahl event design, which he later sold. King is known for large dramatic productions and he became an inductee of the Eve...

In this episode of The Next Level, Andy Kushner and Julie Novack, CEO and Co-Founder of Party Slate, chat about Ali Barone's interview on the Wedding Biz. Party Slate is a photo rich website where leading event professionals share their work, build their brand and drive leads. Listen in as they talk about why Ali started her own company, how she built her business with her ideal clients, and how s...

Andy is excited to welcome, Ali Barone of Ali Barone Events, a multidimensional event design company. Ali was also on TLC'S show "While You Were Out," an emmy-nominated home improvement and design TV show. In this episode, Ali chats about her childhood, moving to the city with help from her grandma and friends to work in television by designing sets for shows and working with Diana Gould Limited....