The Wedding Biz - Behind the Scenes of the Wedding Business

Today's guest believes "that flowers speak for themselves." Rob Van Helden discusses what he means by "perfect simplicity"; starting a business out of the back of a car with his sister Patrice; how, through word of mouth, they were able to grow; and much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz! Rob is the owner of Rob Van Helden Floral Design Limited out of London. His previous clientele includes...

Andy hopes that you will join him today as he chats with recurring guest Laurie Arons of Laurie Arons Special Events which she founded nearly three decades ago in 1994. Laurie has become a staple in the industry, working with high-profile clients like Sofia Coppola, Vanessa Getty, and Christy Turlington. In this candid conversation, Laurie shares insights into her experiences navigating the weddin...

Andy is so thrilled to welcome first-time guest Jen Gould of Jen Gould Events to the show this week! Jen's journey in the event industry began when her mother, Diana Gould, established the company nearly fifty years ago, making them pioneers in the evolving world of professional event design. Listen in as this episode delves into Jen's unique approach to event design, blending cutting-edge element...

Welcome back to The Wedding Biz! This week, Andy has Bob Conti on the show! Bob is a principal member and business partner of Ed Libby and Company Events . For over two decades now, Bob has made a name for himself in the event industry by designing and producing milestone luxury events. Bob shares his journey from a background in visual merchandising to becoming a renowned figure in the luxury mar...

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 has known today's guest for a really long time so is very excited to have him on the show for the first time! Join him as he sits down with luxury wedding and destination photographer Chris J. Evans, who has photographed weddings all over the world such as in Italy, Santa Barbara, Laguna Beach, Hawaii, and Napa Valley! Chris discusses how lucky he feels to have been raised in a creative house...

Welcome to another episode of The Wedding Biz, with Andy interviewing Renny Pedersen, the owner of Bliss Events based out of Chicago! Bliss Events is an award-winning company renowned for its creativity and unique approach to wedding planning, and Renny truly has a remarkable entrepreneurial journey dating back to her childhood when she started her first venture at only ten years old! Tune in to l...

Andy is so excited to have Julie Novack of PartySlate back on the show yet again! While he would highly recommend that you go back and listen to the previous episodes she has been on, in case you aren't familiar with Julie, she is the CEO and co-founder of PartySlate, a groundbreaking photo-rich website connecting event professionals, planners, and venues. Join Andy today as he and Julie delve int...

Today's guest on the show, Tyler Speier , is the genius behind Tyler Speier Events, a luxury event planning, designing, and floral company based in Santa Barbara, California, and Andy is truly excited to have him on for this episode! Tyler isn't just an expert at crafting dream weddings either; he's also a social media maestro, and he and Andy dive into how wedding professionals can make the most...

Andy hopes that you will join him in this insightful conversation with Nora Sheils of Rock Paper Coin , a pioneer in wedding industry automation! Listen in as Nora talks about all things automation, explaining how it can save events and wedding pros considerable amounts of time and money while boosting efficiency and reducing mistakes. She recommends starting with calendar automation so clients ca...

Andy welcomes you to another episode of The Wedding Biz in which he interviews Christopher Confero , a well known wedding planner and designer based out of Atlanta who manages to balance being not only the owner of his award-winning company Confero but also editor of the magazine Alabama Weddings . Christopher describes how his passions for music, performance, and theater shaped him creatively and...

"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 Fitzgibbons discuss how Alex 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....

Get ready to welcome Tayler Cusick Hollman, marketing consultant, small business builder, and founder of Enji . Taking what she has learned over nearly a decade of helping small businesses with marketing to design and build a suite of online marketing tools that fits your lifestyle and makes sense for you, she joins Andy today to talk about the rise of artificial intelligence and how wedding plann...

Andy is excited to bring to you his engaging conversation with Todd Fiscus, event designer and founder of Todd Events . Todd has a very impressive client roster, and also plans and designs events for noteworthy professional athletes and civic organizations. In this conversation, he discusses his background growing up loving to redecorate spaces as well as his various career pivots including consid...

Andy is so happy to welcome a first-time guest to the show - John Dolan ! John is a professional wedding photographer, and as someone who developed an interest in photography at a very young age, this interview is especially exciting for Andy. John truly stands out as a pioneer in contemporary wedding photography, having woven a career out of advertising, editorial, and fine art photography. For o...

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 Legend's wedding and many others. She says she is predominantly a wedding planner in a destination rather than a destination wedding planner. Rachel's father was in...

Andy is so excited to welcome John and Marijo Eleazar to the podcast in this episode! John and Marijo are the managing directors and visual storytellers of Eleazar Film and hail from the Philippines. They spend their time traveling the world looking for inspiration and excitement but also found a home to raise their children in Vienna, Austria. Eleazar Film creates unique films for people and busi...

Joel Serrato is today's guest, and Andy is so excited to have him on the show! Joel has been named a top wedding photographer by Harper's Bazaar and Martha Stewart Weddings, and his photography is based on capturing pure moments of authentic emotions. Some of his noteworthy work includes work for Pat Benatar, Tamara Mowry, and Adam Housley, and the quality of his work simply speaks for itself. Joe...

Andy is happy to welcome returning guest Meghan Ely back to the podcast today! Meghan is the owner of OFD Consulting and combines in the trenches event experience with a love of wedding PR, empowering her clients to take their businesses to the next level, and her team's publicity efforts are even regularly honored by the Public Relations Society of America. A longtime industry speaker and writer,...

We've all been told to "fake it till we make it," but sometimes honesty and tenacity is all it really takes to succeed. Today's guest, Laurie Arons, is a luxury event planner who has been named one of the top planners in the industry by esteemed magazines such as Vogue, Harper Bazaar and Martha Stewart Weddings. Based in San Francisco, Laurie's business caters to high-end and extravagant occasions...

Matthew Robbins joins Andy in this episode to be featured on the show three times! Matthew is the founder and creative director of Matthew Robbins Design , an event-planning firm with a focus on design and production for weddings and other events, and he is the co-owner of Robbins Otoya , a company which focuses on destination events internationally. Matthew is also an author whose work has been f...

The creator of Easton Events , Lynn Easton returns to the podcast today! Easton Events is a luxury destination wedding design and planning company that works all over the world. Lynn is also the creative force and 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....

Andy is so happy to welcome Cindy Novotny of Master Connection Associates back to the podcast to catch up! Cindy is an icon in the hospitality industry and is the original founder of MCA. She is an internationally renowned leader in sales, leadership, and customer service and has been recognized by the American Society of Training and Development as one of the most powerful, innovative, and passio...

It takes a certain level of skill, a problem-solving attitude, and more than a dash of creativity to throw a spectacular wedding. Between coordinating the client's vision, compiling vendor partners, troubleshooting setup, and sending the bride down the aisle, wedding planners have a lot on their plate. After creating absolutely stunning weddings and high-profile events for over 20 years, Debbie Ge...

Kristin Banta of Kristin Banta Events, Inc. returns to the podcast today to follow up and share some updates! Kristin Banta Events is headquartered out of Los Angeles and specializes in event design, planning, and production. She has been featured on several television stations such as Bravo, Style, Food Network, and Fox and in countless publications such as Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, Insid...