The Wedding Biz - Behind the Scenes of the Wedding Business

Joining Andy today is Sharon Sever, Head Designer for Galia Lahav . Galia Lahav has established itself as one of the leading couture fashion houses, with garments characterized by their high-end fabrications, meticulous sewing techniques, and their unique technology to make each piece meet exact measurements even from overseas. They have flagship stores in major cities all over the world and are a...

Shan-Lyn Ma, the CEO and co-founder of Zola , joins Andy in this episode of The Wedding Biz to discuss her business and her career! Launched in 2013, Zola is the wedding company reinventing the wedding planning and registry experience by combining compassionate customer service along with modern technology. The company has been named one of the Wall Street Journal's top 25 tech companies to watch...

Chatting with Andy in this episode of The Wedding Biz is Anna Price Olson ! Anna is the editorial director of Brides and acts as the brand lead for the publication. Anna discusses how she got started in the industry, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the industry (with not all of it actually being bad), what the state of the market is like right now, some of the exciting trends that Anna and...

If there's anyone who knows all the ins and outs of party planning, it's Norma Cohen. Norma started planning parties on her own for her friends when she was only 12 years old. Later, she became the youngest female, at 16, on an Executive Board of Directors of the community center. And at 18 she opened her own business, Party Expressions. Listen in to find out why, after several attempts to leave t...

Joining Andy in this episode of The Wedding Biz is not one but two guests – Gina Esposito and Sheena Meekins! Gina and Sheena are best friends turned business partners who are the owners and principal photographers of Anée Atelier, a wedding photography business based out of New York City. They are listed in Brides as being one of the best wedding photographers in the United States and are also li...

Ryan Hill, founder and C.E.O. of Apotheosis Events, joins Andy on The Wedding Biz today to talk about his career and his business! Apotheosis Events is a premier event planning firm located out of New York City and produces and designs star-studded premieres including lavish weddings and large Broadway and stage premieres such as Hamilton and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! Ryan also handles st...

Andy has a really fun interview planned for this episode – an interview with the highly successful Brazilian model Daniela Braga ! Daniela is based out of New York City and has done campaigns for Givenchy, Balmain, Avon, Pantene, and so many others. She has been featured on the covers of various prestigious magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, V, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan in severa...

On this episode of The Wedding Biz, Andy is having a conversation with Christian Oth. Listen as he discusses how he is dealing with the pandemic both personally and professionally, why he charges an upcharge for new contracts and a non-refundable percentage if a client postpones. Christian also shares what he is doing now, including his newest workshops  Christian is an internationally renowned ph...

Hugh Howser, Director of Creative at H Three Events, joins Andy today to talk about his career as a wedding planner thus far. Hugh is Nashville's go-to expert for events and weddings for A-list celebrities such as actress Nicole Kidman and country superstars Wynonna, Reba McEntire, Jake Owen, George Strait, Martina McBride, Kenny Rogers, and more. He has been featured across the country on CMT, AB...

Annie Lee, the principal planner of Daughter of Design , joins Andy in this episode of The Wedding Biz to reflect on her career and her accomplishments, of which there are many! In addition to being the principal planner of Daughter of Design, Annie is the author of Learn to Speak Wedding: Flashcards for Beginners and the founder of Plannie , a global platform to hire an event planner by the hour....

Andy welcomes you to join him in this episode of The Wedding Biz as he interviews Tom Kehoe, the C.E.O. of Kehoe Designs ! Kehoe Designs is a full-service event design and decor company specializing in social and corporate events including but not limited to private parties, luxury weddings, fundraisers, trade shows, product launches, festivals, and retail grand openings. Tom is also the owner of...

Welcome to 2022! Kicking off the new year is a great interview with not one but two guests – siblings Robin Selden and Jeffrey Selden of Marcia Selden Catering , with Robin a managing partner and the executive chef and Jeffrey a managing director and managing partner. With offices in Connecticut and New York City, Marcia Selden Catering holds the esteemed honor of being the first ever catering com...

On today's episode, Andy shares with us the honor of sitting down with renowned chef Roy Yamaguchi, as he shares his story. Roy shares his experiences from coming to the United States for the first time to attend culinary school, starting his first restaurant in Los Angeles, and finally creating Roy's in Hawaii. Listen in as Roy shares with Andy, as well as the rest of us, his passion, his mission...

Joining Andy in this episode of The Wedding Biz is AJ Williams, founder and executive producer of the Boston-based AJ Events. AJ has been named BizBash's top event producer of the year and also made the BizBash 500 most influential professionals list. Every year since 2003, she has made the Boston Business Journal's area's top meeting and event planning companies list, has made Boston Herald's top...

Meg Smith of Meg Smith Photography joins Andy in this episode to talk about her photography! Meg has done photography for celebrity weddings such as those of Anne Hathaway, Jimmy Kimmel, Governor of California Gavin Newsom, LeAnn Rimes, and the late Robin Williams. She has also photographed engagements for Christina Aguilera and Nicole Richie. Meg is a frequent contributor to Martha Stewart Weddin...

Simon T. Bailey is no stranger to success, even though he's quite familiar with failure. At a young age, Simon was turned down for multiple sports teams-but he didn't let that stop him. He left his first college after just one year and moved into a low-income neighborhood. His path took him to a high-level role, which he transitioned away from when it became clear his days as an employee there wer...

REVISIT: It's hard to overstate how glad I am to share my conversation with Sylvia Weinstock with you. I am thrilled that you'll get to spend some time with her, as I've been lucky enough to. If you're in the wedding business or familiar with it, Sylvia needs no introduction. Sylvia Weinstock reinvented the tradition of the wedding cake, and for 37 years she and her team set a standard for wedding...

Andy welcomes Elizabeth Solaru to this episode of The Wedding Biz! Elizabeth is the founder of Elizabeth's Cake Emporium and Luxury Business Emporium and creates the most opulent and decadent handcrafted cakes using the finest ingredients! With clients that include British, European, and Middle Eastern royalty; international celebrities; and high net worth individuals, Elizabeth's creations have b...

Sara Russell joins Andy in this episode to discuss Wedding Sparrow , the immensely popular wedding blog of which she is founder and editor. Wedding Sparrow has well over 300,000 followers on Instagram alone and has won multiple awards! It is a premier wedding resource and inspirational blog for couples all over the world, and it specializes in featuring film, photography, and fine art weddings. In...

If you've never had the joy of working with a designer who absolutely lives to utterly delight their client, then you will find this interview with today's guest, Eddie Zaratsian a breath a fresh air. Eddie's abundant energy and passion for creating a feast for the senses, allows him to reflect the very essence of his clients in an unimaginable way. Eddie Zaratsian is the Owner of Eddie Zaratsian...

Joining Andy in this episode of The Wedding Biz is Emily Reifel, Social Events Director at CPS Events at The Plaza in New York City! In this wide ranging interview, Emily tackles a lot of different topics such as where her passion for events comes from, how she broke into the industry, what her relationship is like with her clients and with planners, what she looks for in creative partners, her vi...

Andy is so happy to bring Chioma Adure Nwogu-Johnson to this episode of The Wedding Biz! Chioma is the creative director of Dure Events , a full service wedding and event planning company based in Houston, Texas. Chioma has planned events across the United States, Saint Lucia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, South Africa, Dubai, Paris, and more! She has also been featured on platforms such as CNN, Ebony Maga...

Emily Campbell, founder and executive director of Go Bella Events based in Colorado, joins Andy in this episode of The Wedding Biz to discuss her career! Over the course of over twenty years, Emily has created celebrations in over forty countries and on five continents from Africa, Asia, Europe, Central Europe, and the Caribbean! Emily is also the co-founder and executive director of Engage Founda...

Mindy Weiss is a force in the high-end wedding and event planning business. Since her early beginnings, she has delighted celebrity and non-celebrity clients alike with her ability to build meaningful relationships every step of the way. On this episode, Mindy shares her wealth of knowledge about what it's like to maintain an A-List clientele. But while there certainly are additional factors to co...

Eva Clark is the award-winning owner and creative director of Eva Clark Events . She joins Andy in this episode of The Wedding Biz to discuss various aspects of her business and her life. She touches upon her business and how she found her love for weddings and especially travel, her newfound status as a destination planner, and so much more! Eva Clark Events plans and designs, specializing in lux...