I know why I danced the night away with Randy and Todd at the closing night Engage!10 gala: it was the only thing that came close to expressing my pure joy after what we had experienced that week. We danced and laughed and genuinely celebrated life, relationships, the past, failures, hurdles overcome, and
the very bright future. I looked at my roommates, Jasmine Star and Harmony Walton, at one point and whispered, “How lucky are we?”

To say that our time in Cayman was inspiring would be a serious understatement. Yes, it was inspiring, but there aren’t words big enough to describe the feeling I left with and still have after that week. This is the largest post I’ve ever written, and y’all know I tend to write some epic blog posts. So, without further ado… my favorite week of all time. [Image above taken at last year's Engage in Cayman :: Kyle Barnes. Images below :: my iPhone]

I got on the plane, nervous but ripe with anticipation. My first trip to Cayman last year was magical. The air, the sea, the Ritz, the palpable feeling of hope and possibility in being surrounded by the industry’s best was all I could think about. A last-minute first class upgrade upped the excitement a little more. Thank you, Delta! I was still uncomfortable and relished the extra room. I sat down next to a gorgeous woman with long dark hair and great shoes. Who would happen to sit in front of me? My dear friend Simon T. Bailey, whom I met at the very first Engage event I attended in 2008. Simon has been a constant source of inspiration and guidance for me. I was so comforted in seeing him. Halfway through the flight, I started editing a blog post on Southern Weddings, and the lovely lady next to me said, “Are you Lara Casey?” I was delighted to meet Hilary from Alta Moda Bridal in Salt Lake City. She is a gem and we instantly connected. Also on my flight: my friend Kathy Strukel, Karen Tran (who sat right behind me the whole flight and we never noticed!) and Editor-in-Chief of Utah Brides, Tessa Woolf. I was in great company, and my butterflies started to melt. A huge thank you to Matt and Stevi Savage of Avery House who photographed most of the images here (unless otherwise noted).

In Cayman there are no jetways, so when you arrive, you walk straight out into the salty hot sunshine. In the not-so-far-off distance, there’s live music, and smiling faces greet you as you make your way to customs. [images below :: me... taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. Thank you Nate at Image is Found for the camera rec! Love it.]

We loaded a bus and were given cold water and iced towels to refresh us from the long flight.

I was delighted to finally meet Cassandra Santor, Dena Brummer, Chriscia Jackson-Nesbitt, Jules Bianchi and many more at check-in.

I got my key and rushed up to see Harmony and Jasmine as fast as I could, as if we were long-lost sisters reunited. [image :: Jasmine Star]

From the moment I walked into that room, I knew the week was going to be far better than I could fathom. I sat on the bed and chatted with Harmony and Jasmine and prayed a silent prayer: God, thank you. Thank you for this opportunity to learn, to grow. Thank you for these brilliant women and the opportunity to get to know them better. Help me to let go and just be me. Thank you, thank you! [below :: Avery House]

This was my fourth Engage and by far the most significant for me. It was a turning point.

Egos were checked at the door as 155 of the best in the luxury wedding market came together to discuss big ideas, market shifts, and the future… which, my friends, is looking really good. You hear the term “game changer” used too often these days. Engage attendees don’t change the game… they create a whole new one. New rules, new players, new paths, new ideas. At the helm: Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce. I liken them to the presidents of Wedding Nation. Although, their oval office is so much more stylish than his.

To me, the location had a large hand in making us all focused. Now, you’re probably thinking, “How could going to a tropical island with fruity drinks make you more focused?” Easy. It was an escape. It wasn’t a familiar stodgy conference room like most conferences we are used to. The locale, the scenery, the sunsets took our breath away and made everything we left back in the US disappear. Being in Cayman is like pushing the reset button. You forget the past and concentrate on the relationships and the beauty right in front of you. I was able to find so much clarity in that. I love these images from Matt and Stevi. They take me right back.

The water in Cayman is the bluest I’ve ever seen. I don’t like getting in large bodies of water. I imagine fish nipping at my toes and stingrays leaping at me. But I could swim in this azure heaven forever.

Last year I attended Engage Cayman as a first-time speaker, but was so nervous about making a good impression that the whole thing flew by in a blur. This year, I saw relationships that I had started many moons ago really begin to take root. There was something magical in the Caymanian air, and I wasn’t the only one who sensed this. Pictured below last year with Jeff Fowler and Kym Bichon who will be hosting us at The Breakers in October for Engage.

[below :: Avery House]

Shortly after we settled into the hotel room, we went to the Engage Welcome Lounge to pick up our conference materials. Seeing everyone for the first time always gets me fired up! [images below :: me]

Love, love, love these folders and enclosures from Envelopments, letterpress cards from Bella Figura and Engage designs from Trisha Hay at We Are Chariot.

Read below carefully. L.O.V.E. this! Bravo, Envelopments.

[below :: Avery House]

How fun are these canvas swag bags from Tulla Belles?! You will see this appear in my travels again. The owner, Cindy, is one of my favorite people to see at Engage. The bags were filled to the brim with goodies! [below :: Avery House]

I was so excited about the gorgeous illustrations from artist Kristy Rice. Kristy always does lovely work and she is genuinely one of the most kind-hearted people in the industry. [below :: Avery House]

We sat in on a welcome session with my roommate Harmony as well as five-time Engage alums Ali Phillips, Liene Stevens, and Donna Von Bruening. The atmosphere from day one was electric. This session really helped us break the ice. We got into small groups toward the end and Harmony asked us three questions:

1. What do you do now?

I am the Editor-in-Chief of Southern Weddings magazine, CEO of luxury wedding market consulting firm Lara Casey Reps (which I launched at Engage last year), principal designer for Bliss Event Group, founder of MTH2010, wife to Ari, mom to Abby Kitty Pants, and I love the gym, singing hymns and great food. In my spare time I am getting my PhD, enjoy weekly triathlons, and breed Cattle. Kidding. No, really.

2. Where were you 10 years ago?

Probably in ballet class dreaming of the day I wouldn’t have to wear a leotard and tights 24/7.

3. Where do you want to be 10 years from now?

Aaaand this is where I always get stuck. All I could think of was that I want to be teaching Sunday school. !?!? I am not good at future, goal-setting, planning questions, believe it or not. Sean Low (who was sitting right next to me) and I instantly had the same reaction. I have no idea where I’ll be on 10 years or what I want to play out. Everything in my life thus far has exceeded anything I could possibly have dreamed up myself, so it’s hard to think ahead. By the end of the trip, I was able to answer this though. Read on.

[images below :: me]

Then, the ever-fabulous Darcy Miller (I don’t think I’ve ever described someone like that. She really is always stunning, always charming, and pretty much who I want to be when I grow up) gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the Martha Stewart brand.

After Darcy’s lovely presentation, I went straight back to the room with Jasmine and Harmony. All you could hear was the furious clicking of computer keys as we pounded out work between Engage events. [images below :: Jasmine Star]

You want to know what makes successful people… successful? Passion and sacrifice. There were long stretches of time where we could have been at the beach, but the three of us would be clicking away, making things happen. Oh, we definitely got to the beach. Don’t worry. But, I was encouraged to see I’m not the only one who has to focus and sacrifice play time now and then to keep the wheels turning. My greatest take-away from my first Engage conference in 2008 was being surrounded by like-minded passionate people. There is a great comfort in knowing that there are people out there who work harder, smarter, faster. Jasmine and Harmony have me in complete awe. They are the real deal: genuine, humble, brilliant beyond words, and so giving. I never had sisters, but I’d like to dub these two my honorary ones. We laughed, talked till 5am most nights, shared industry news and encouraging words. As Jasmine said, “Epic times.” Epic times, indeed.

Harmony turned the camera on Jasmine at one point. The girl has some skills….

I turned my iPhone on snap-happy Harmony. Love Jasmine’s face here.

Monday night, we put on our beach best and headed to Seven Mile Beach for the big welcome party. [images below :: Avery House]

When you are catering to the who’s who in weddings, the pressure is on with party planning. The Celebrations Cayman team seriously pulled out all the stops with the flowers and decor all week.

We were greeted by a shoe valet and happy waiters with fruity drinks as we made our walk on the blue carpet. Too fun!

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor with this massive piece below. Wow wow wow. As a floral enthusiast (I used to design for this guy), the sheer volume of yellow dendrobiums (which I have never seen before) took my breath away.

There was one moment in the night when a gust of rain blew in, forcing us all under a few small beach cabanas. Soaked to the brim, it was quite the bonding experience. We all laughed it off and shared beach towels that were rushed out by swarms of Ritz staffers.

Engage never ceases to be wildly exciting. Now that I know so many of the faces, it’s like a big family reunion. A few favorites I encountered: Randy Fenoli and Jennifer, his agent from Abrams (Randy’s other agent Mark at Abrams was the reason I almost moved to LA after college back in my acting days… way, way back when. Such a small world.), Sean Low, Marcy Blum, Millie Martini Bratten, Michelle Rago, Kimberly Fink and Rebecka Nave, Danielle Cococcia, Alexandra Jusino, Aiesha Panton, Amy Rubbins, Carla David, Jennifer Stein (who I totally hit it off with and adore!), Katie Martin, Tim O’Neill, Maya Kalman, Ami Price, Maria Cooke, Rosalind and Siri of Two Bright Lights, Christy from Junebug Weddings, the incomparable and hilarious Calder Clark, Kathryn, Rebecca, and Rebecca’s amazing parents. They always make my heart smile. Mr. Grinnals and I shared some rum raisin ice cream and s’mores at one of the dessert stations that night… to die for! I met too many amazing people to name that night.

We attempted to go to bed early, but failed miserably. After such a brilliant first day in paradise with so many inspiring greats, my heart was racing with anticipation for Day 2.

Day 2:

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism got things started with a bang. Seeing how much they value the wedding industry and our presence there really makes you appreciate the island even more. They take great pride in their land and culture and it’s impossible not to feel their warmth and hospitality. Many thanks to the Cayman Islands crew for making us feel so welcome! [images below :: Avery House]

I’m pretty sure you could count 155 huge smiles from 155 attendees as Rebecca and Kathryn took to the stage. Rebecca’s State of the Luxury Wedding Industry address is always my favorite. I get a very clear picture of where the wedding market stands and what to watch.

A few highlights:

A must-watch. The Social Media Revolution:

78% of people trust peer recommendations. Only 14% trust advertisements.

Listen first, sell second.

Wondering why I think Jasmine Star is one of the most genuine, brilliant, humble women I know? This video says it all:

Jasmine Star 2010 from Anton Lorimer on Vimeo.

Pictured below: Jasmine, Harmony and Maria Cooke of Ritzy Bee who was just featured as an expert in Martha Stewart Weddings! Go Maria!!! [image below :: me]

When I first started to conceptualize the magazine, I was living in Ventura, California, where Ari was stationed. Jasmine was one of the first people to reach out to me when we put our test issue out (and I’m pretty sure she’s one of only a handful of people who have seen the test issue!). We tried to meet a few times but never were able to coordinate schedules. It took me moving to North Carolina and going to WPPI years later for us to finally meet. I was really grateful to get to know her more on this trip.

I am wildly impressed by Canada’s WedLuxe video editorial integration. Stunning. This one deserves a whole blog post. Angela Desveaux wrote me a very sweet email this week and noted that she and I have something in common… we’re both in our early thirties and we not only hold the title of Editor-in-Chief, but Publisher. I suppose that is a rarity nowadays, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. OK, back to said gorgeous editorial film… I have to admit that when I watched this, I said out loud, “Oh my goodness, I am so far behind.” Learning that Angela’s husband is the genius behind this film somehow made me feel a little better. There is infinite value in what they’ve created, and I started to imagine myself buying lottery tickets to pay for this kind of gem. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

WedLuxe Summer/Fall 2010 from Cloud Nine Creative on Vimeo.

Next, we sat in on a panel discussion with Sylvia Weinstock and Marcy Blum led by one of my industry idols, Millie Martini-Bratten of Brides. Best quote from the very spunky Sylvia: “Make love to the magazines!” [images below :: Avery House]

Carley Roney of The Knot is always so refreshing to listen to. For someone who helps to run such a massive global company, she is surprisingly candid, approachable, and warm. It was great to visit with her again and learn from her. I really admire all that she and David have built from the ground up.

Some takeaways from her presentation:

Luxury weddings are recession resistant. -Carley Roney

A brand is a promise of the value received. -Tom Peters

55% of luxury brides go over budget, 23% on target, 20% don’t have one, 3% under budget.

40k or more weddings spend 9% of budget on photography, 40k or less spend 12%. Luxury brides spend more than $4,500 average.

41% of luxury brides begin planning more than 12 months out. They want to have the best and be educated well in advance.

90% of brides use wedding magazines to plan their weddings as compared to 81% for non-luxury. No surprise to me. I may be biased.

A world without bad reviews is fake. -Carley Roney

Keep your blinders on and focus on what you need to be doing for YOUR customer. -Carley Roney 100% agreed.

Next up, powerhouse Cindy Novotny. To explain what she does in simplest form: she tells big businesses how to do things better, faster, and with a fiercely focused game plan.

Nuggets of wisdom from Cindy:

You are too busy? So what? Get over it! Integrate work and personal time.

The world is changing so fast… big will not beat small – it will be the fast beating the slow. – Rupert Murdoch

Email should never replace real in-person conversation with customers

The luxury consumer will never stop working with luxury vendors. They want custom, personal, over-delivered service.

I was lucky enough to get invited to dinner with her that evening. Jasmine and Harmony threatened to fight me for my dine-around card. No joke. They did. [images below :: my trusty iPhone]

Everyone is upping the ante. It is about who creates more passion and connectivity with the client. Yes, yes, yes!

Never say: It’s too risky, it can’t be done, it won’t work, why can’t we do what we have always done?

Brilliant advice. Take 1 hour a week to just think. No music, no distractions, no writing. Genius comes of that.

10 Keys: observe, think, change, dare, banish, try, question, grow, do, enjoy.

Cindy garnered an instant standing ovation as she closed. Thank you, Cindy, for all of your wisdom! On a high from Novotny knowledge, we were invited to lunch in the ballroom next door. Engage is always full of surprises and we eagerly anticipate each transition. Naturally, the room was decked out and the food was divine! I love love love this teal capiz paillette overlay from Nuage Designs. I wanted to take it home with me, but someone might have noticed if I was stripping tables mid-gazpacho. [images below :: Avery House]

I had a lovely lunch with Randy, Sylvia, Christy and Jennifer. Since meeting him last year, Randy and I have become good friends. I always appreciate his insight and love dishing with him about personal style, love, adventure, family and the future. I’ll be honest… I don’t watch “Say Yes to the Dress”. I’ve seen about 10 minutes of it. I don’t really watch TV and I didn’t really grasp Randy’s celebrity until a swarm of squealing fans come up to him in an elevator in Vegas last year. I gravitate towards him because he truly celebrates life to the fullest. His joy is contagious and he always makes me feel good. I can see why 80 brides flock to him a day to find “the one” at Kleinfeld.

Christy from Junebug Weddings is one of those people that lights up a room. I was so glad to spend more time with her in Cayman. She and Blair were guest speakers at my Seattle Making Things Happen stop and it was an unforgettable day. I’m so grateful for all they do for our industry. [images below :: me]

I’m not a big lunch person, but I devoured this. Every. last. bit.

Below: Randy and Rebecca, who is the accessory queen at Engage. No, really… she literally has three drawers in her room full of color-specific accessories to choose from for her Engage outfits. I loved this yellow jacket! At right: Sean Low, Randy, me. Sean has always been a great support to me and it was fun to catch up with him. I got to sit in on a wildly exciting conversation between Sean and another industry great at the dessert reception the night before. All I can say is it was epic… like a tennis match between two powerhouses, but instead of tennis balls they were firing diamonds. OK, sorry to be cryptic. Just marking this for my own memory.

When I lived in California I did some work for Colin Cowie. I had never met Colin, but I worked on logistics for one of his biggest events. He spent most of his presentation outlining the creation of that event which was really exciting for me to see. [images below :: Avery House]

Colin’s voice alone made pretty much every female in the room swoon… and probably most of the guys. He is the epitome of dashing, debonair, any word you can think of in the incredibly charming family. On top of that, he is a brilliant designer and leader. I was captivated as he spoke.

There’s no reason to do anything ordinary when you can do extraordinary. -Colin Cowie

The ultimate luxury is proactive, personalized, detailed service. -Colin Cowie

Then, the presentation that blew my statistical mind: the survey results from Two Bright Lights. We just received a copy in my office and Katharine and Emily are just as gaga over the results as I am.

A few key points:

Planners and designers who use Twitter for business made 92% more revenue than those who just tweet personal info.

Photographers who blog make an average of 26% more revenue. Planners, only 1%.

Take note: 56% higher revenue for planners who submit real weddings to mags and blogs. 73% for photographers.

Higher revenue wedding businesses do NOT negotiate on pricing.

Publishing your complete price list filters out lucrative customers prematurely.

The biggest takeaway from the survey: print ads give a significantly higher return to photographers than online ads.

There is so much more to share, so watch out for our post coming up on Southern Weddings next week with key findings.

After such a full day of brain goodness overload, it was time to cut loose. We didn’t waste any time and got a little camera happy on stage. [images :: Jasmine Star]

Oh yes… we did…

I love this one. Thanks, J, for not publishing the one of me looking like a giraffe.

We had a quick 45 minutes to get dressed and head to dinner. There are over a dozen hosted dinners all over the island and about 10ish people go to each. We all met in the Ritz lobby to be taken to these various locations. It’s a pretty exciting night and a fun chance to experience the island. [images below :: me]

I am a bit of a foodie (thank you French chef mother) and I have to say… the food in Cayman is better than anywhere I’ve been. From fine dining at Eric Ripert’s Blue to the casual but expertly created island fare we had at Cracked Conch that night, Cayman has it all. Pictured below with (clockwise from my right) Kristy Rice, Rebecca Davidson, Xochitl from Always a Blogsmaid, Donna Von Breuning, Cassandra Santor, Beth Helmstetter, Carolyn Steere from Destination IDo Magazine, Hilary Anderson, Tara Bradley from Destination Weddings and Honeymoons Magazine, and Cindy Novotny to my left. The food was fabulous that evening, but we were so focused on every word that was coming out of Cindy’s mouth that I wasn’t paying too much attention to what was going into mine.

After dinner, we were taken back to the Ritz for a poolside dessert reception. It’s always fun to hear about everyone’s dinner experiences. Pictured below: Rebecca’s parents, Trisha Hay, Cindy of Tulla Belles, Kathryn and friends dip their feet in the pool.

The decor, again, was magical. I rarely want to freeze time. I like moving forward, action, and making things happen. Engage changed that. It all started with a moment…

We were enjoying a decadent spread of made-to-order crepes, home made ice cream and souffle. I looked around to see Carley Roney and Marcy Blum in front of me, Colin Cowie to my left, Michelle Rago to my right, and Millie Martini Bratten behind me. In that moment I felt very small. It was barely 10 years ago that I was in college, obsessed with Preston Bailey, pulling tears from magazines of Colin and Michelle’s work, day-dreaming of meeting them some day. And there I was. I’ve known Michelle as a colleague and friend for several years now and met Millie, Carley and Marcy at past Engage events, but things have moved so fast for me that I’m just now starting to take it all in. In that moment, I remembered the feeling of awe. I was overwhelmed with emotion.

These people are and always will be celebrities to me. Not because of their names, but because they have consistently taught me. They inspired me many years ago to dream in flowers, fabric, light and expertly-crafted space. I’m grateful to them for guiding me, without knowing it, into an industry I truly love. I couldn’t ask for a better job to wake up and do every day. OK, maybe if our office was in Cayman…

So, I literally stopped and –not caring if anyone saw me– pinched myself. Was this really happening? Anthony Luscia, special projects editor for Martha Stewart Weddings, was talking to me? Me?! I met him at Engage09 :: Something Blue the previous year too, but this year somehow felt different. My nerves were calm and my eyes were finally open. I took a deep breath and everything around me seemed to slow down. This is real. It’s not just a one-time occurrence. You’re in this, Lara. I can’t really put into words the feeling of gratitude and responsibility that overtook me in that moment. All I can do is say thank you. Thank you Rebecca and Kathryn for believing in me and for opening doors for me that I never knew were possible to open. It’s not about what those relationships will do for me. It’s just the relationships themselves. I wholeheartedly believe this: “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” Truly successful people are who they are because of drive, humility, kindness, innovation, and honesty. Spend a week with inspiring creatives who have in many ways mastered those traits and it starts to sink in… it’s time to grow up.

Day 3

We started at 8am with a series of breakout sessions. There were 6 one-hour sessions and we got to choose 4. My schedule: “The Business of Being Creative” with Sean Low, “Style Sells” with Randy Fenoli and Todd-Avery Lenahan, “Shift” with Simon T Bailey, and “How To Do Everything Well” with Todd Fiscus. [images below :: me]

Sean has a great blog called The Business of Being Creative. Definitely a must-read.

Something I learned the very first time I heard Sean speak at Engage08 is to add value to your services (your art) first in order to command a higher price, not the other way around. Art has exponential value that no one can replicate. Read his blog for more. I am paraphrasing.

Simon T. Bailey’s new book, Simon Says Shift, comes out later this year. [images below :: Avery House]

It’s impossible to drive into the future looking in the rear view mirror. -Simon T. Bailey

Randy and Todd-Avery’s presentation was very powerful for me. Personal branding is something I am fascinated by. I truly believe you are your brand.

The bottom line: If you’re going to sell luxury, you better look luxury. -Randy Fenoli and Todd-Avery Lenahan

The always fashionable, Sylvia, gave her thoughts on personal branding and style as well. Her famous glasses have defined her image from the moment she started her business at age 50. Yes, 50! How’s that for inspiring!? We all laughed as Randy recounted the story of Sylvia and her husband Ben coming down for breakfast in Cayman last year in just their bathrobes. I will never forget that moment. If anyone can pull it off, it’s Sylvia.

Todd Fiscus was a conference favorite for several reasons.   1. The guy is brilliant. He runs multiple extremely successful businesses… very well.   2. He is an innovator, always pushing the envelope with style and design. [images below :: Avery House]

3. It blows my mind that he only started his company 5 years ago. Unreal.   4. Just look at his website. It’s hands-down the best site in the industry. [images below :: me]

5. He’s a warm, funny, genius true Texan. I love his big personality and big Texas accent!

We wrapped up Day 3 and finally headed to the beach! [images below :: Avery House]

How lovely is this!?

Thanks to these two crazy cats for most of the images in this post.

We watched a storm off in the distance. The sky against the pure aqua water was incredible. [images below :: me]

I have such fond memories with the next set of images. Some of my favorite times ever.

It’s not easy to find true friends in the industry that you can really let your guard down with and talk about anything… fears, insecurities, hopes and dreams.

I found that in Harmony and Jasmine. Such a blessing to know these two.

Great to see Ami from Elizabeth Anne Designs who also writes a fantastic blog called Edit and Post.

I had some soulful convo with my cabana neighbor Christy. Love this lady.

Can we please go back now? Pretty please!?

I. Love. This. Picture. Fresh sliced green apples delivered straight to our beach chairs. Whaaat!?!

This looks like a terrible green drink mess, but it was divine. It’s just a lot of mint, not some healthy weird wheatgrass thing. I promise.

Boxed lunch, Ritz-style.

Mmmmmmm….

After a long afternoon of fun in the sun, it was time to get gussied up for the big closing night gala! [image below :: Rebecca Davidson]

This beats any red carpet event any day. This is the same big conference room you saw on Day 2. Unbelievable transformation. Thank you, Celebrations Cayman, for making us feel like such VIP’s! [images below :: Avery House]

The linens, the lighting, the flowers, oh my!

A highlight at the past three Engage conferences has been Randy and Sylvia’s spin around the dance floor. Epic!

No one… I repeat… NO ONE has ever gotten me out on an empty dance floor in a room full of people. It’s easy to feel a sense of total abandon and comfort with Mr. Fenoli. [Image by David Wolfe]

Cue Randy and Lara dance party. [image below :: Rebecca Davidson]

There isn’t a single person on earth I have more fun dancing with. Randy is joy personified!

I think the world of Marcy Blum (below left). Her witty writing is top notch, she is an eventiste extraordinaire, she’s gorgeous and … she’s a red head. I feel lucky to know her and learn from her. Below right, Randy joked that he was Hugh with his two red head bunnies. I think Marcy needed to be in this pic too! [below :: me]

And to think just a few hours earlier we were a mess with salt water and sand. We clean up pretty well, no?

Nothing makes me happier at an event than great lighting. Sending a collective thank you hug out to all the lighting designers of the world. Yes all of you. Bear hug.

Randy’s agent, Jennifer, had never been to a wedding conference of any kind before. I think we spoiled her. She was so kind and down to earth. So glad to start a great new friendship with her.

How beautiful are Rebecca’s parents? Get to know them and you will see where Rebecca’s charm comes from.

With event planner Beth Helmstetter and calligrapher Laura Hooper. I always love seeing these two. Laura always created gorgeous maps and illustrations for Engage.

Joined by the Belle of the Ball, Ms Harmony Walton. OK, she did not want to wear that dress that night but J and I twisted her arm. Harmony, you look stunning!

There was no shortage of dancing. The last half of this video from IDo Films is proof.

I was so busy dancing and chatting it up all night that I forgot to eat. I never forget to eat. Harmony came up to me and said cryptically, “go to the curtain in the back. Trust me.” I gave her a funny look thinking it was just the mojitos talking and she quickly escorted me to “the curtain”… aka the kitchen door in the back.   A gentleman came right up and asked me what I wanted.  I felt so bad asking for something after the food was already gone so I tried to just say thank you and leave.  He would not let me leave until I ordered something.  I told them to just bring whatever and 5 minutes later a waiter came out with a full dinner on a silver platter… all my favorite foods that I had previously ordered from room service over my stay. Three people came out afterward just to make sure I loved it.  I am pretty sure I high-fived waiter number 3.   I’m not sure if he’s supposed to high-five people, but I just couldn’t help it.  Customer service WIN!  Like Colin Cowie said, “there’s no reason to do anything ordinary when you can do extraordinary.”

On a hospitality high, I finished my decadent meal and did a little blue carpet walking with (from left to right) Stevi Savage, Matt Savage, Kathy Strukel, Belle of the Ball, me, and Maria Cooke.

Pictured below with Desiree Patterson, Jasmine and Paige Levy. [below :: Harmony]

And now for some photo booth fun. [below :: Jennifer Domenick of Love Images]

Don’t ask. I laughed so hard my sides hurt.

Try to caption these. Just try.

After going to sleep at the ripe hour of 5am, we woke up late… OK, correction… I woke up late and headed straight down to the beach with my roomies to enjoy one last day in paradise. [images below :: me]

Another storm brewed off the coast, making for towering clouds and distant flashes of lightning. I love fierce storms. I don’t know why, but they always calm me down and make me want to curl up on the couch. Or beach lounger.

A big black pirate ship passed in the distance as I began to reflect on such our magical week.

When I think about my favorite parts of the week or the things that changed me the most, the first thing that comes to mind, besides the speakers, is the long walk Jasmine and I took down Seven Mile Beach that day. Life moves so fast that we don’t take time to just let go and really dream. Do you want to know what Jasmine’s magnetism is? Authenticity. Her honesty and zest for life make you feel like it’s ok to be you. I have a hard time with future-thinking and identifying what it is that I really want. It always changes, it seems. I don’t know what came over me, but as we walked along the beach, chatting about family, marriage, the future and failures, I started to find a little grain of clarity. I started to dream. So many people tell me to stop dreaming. “You are so busy, how do you do it all, you can’t possibly do more, take a break, do you ever stop!?” Well, I don’t want to do more.  I want to be more of myself.  I want to give more of myself. I want to use everything God has given me to teach and be taught. I want to let go every day and say, “whatever your will is, I’m there.” It’s a hard thing to do… to let go of control and stop making our own plans. As the sea lapped on our feet, I took a deep breath and mentally took a picture. I unknowingly made a lot of decisions in that moment. When you find clarity, you have no choice but to act on it. I am so grateful for that time. Hi, my name is Lara and I love candlelit dinners, snow-capped mountains… and long walks on the beach.

We came back and sat with Harmony as the sun dipped into the sea. Harmony and I met at the first Engage I attended in Celebration, FL. She is so knowledgeable, connected and business savvy… I could go on and on.   She has been my cheerleader through so much.  Harmony tells it like it is and doesn’t take no for an answer. I tend to let some people take advantage of me. I am a people pleaser. I’ve have had to learn how to say no and tell people when I’m really hurt by them. I learned so much from being in the presence of her no-nonsense strength that week. She doesn’t know it (well, now she does) but she helped me make one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever made.

Being with Harmony and Jasmine made me take a good hard look at my life and start to pull weeds. And some big honkin’ trees. Thank you, ladies, for your honesty and generous hearts. It’s so hard for me to find female friends who don’t have a competitive spirit with me and, being around you both, I felt like I could completely let go.  Our time in Cayman will always stay close to me.

If you’ve been following Twitter over the last few days, you’ve been flooded with a barrage of Engage10 talk. If I hadn’t gone, I can imagine I’d feel a little left out. Well, you weren’t (and, luckily, Engage happens twice a year). Engage is like the G8… it’s the meeting of the minds that sets things in motion. If you didn’t go, you will still benefit from its effects. You will see how the relationships and ideas formed there will change the industry for the better and benefit everyone around us. Great quote from Sean Low: “Engage10 is just another wedding conference like the Hope Diamond is just another rock.” Not even a week after our return, I’m seeing the positive momentum continue to grow like wildfire. A few posts from attendees:

Jasmine Star
Hilary from Alta Moda Bridal
Harmony Walton part I and part II
Sean Low
Liene Stevens
Tom McCallum
Kristy Rice Part I, Part II

JoAnne Brown of Celebrations Cayman

Rebecca Davidson

Avery House

Exquisite Weddings

Jules Bianchi

Ami Price 1 and 2

Love Life Images

If I missed yours, leave a comment and I’ll add it!

Here I came to the very edge
where nothing at all needs saying,
everything is absorbed through weather and the sea,
and the moon swam back,
its rays all silvered,
and time and again the darkness would be broken
by the crash of a wave,
and every day on the balcony of the sea,
wings open, fire is born,
and everything is blue again like morning.
-Pablo Neruda

With love,

Lara

P.S. Have questions about Engage? If you’re thinking of going for the first time, feel free to email me or leave a comment here. I’d be happy to answer any questions about my past experiences.

Past recaps: Engage08 :: Celebration, Engage09 :: Cayman MegaPost!, Engage09 :: Encore Las Vegas.

Sitting in a hospital bed two weeks ago, I was convinced I wasn’t going to Engage.  I shifted my weight a little in church, feeling a small pain in my stomach. I thought to myself, Maybe it’s the Indian food from last night. Maybe it’s the bread and grape juice from communion. It’ll go away.

It didn’t.

I texted Ari hesitantly:  I think… I need to go to the ER.  Something is wrong with me. Now, I am extremely stubborn about my health.  I have a high pain tolerance and haven’t been to an emergency room in 5 years.  I’d rather suffer than take pain killers and or go anywhere near a hospital.

I got home, barely able to walk at that point, and fell down on the couch shivering.  I couldn’t help but think of Jeff’s appendicitis story that he told at the beginning of each MTH2010.  The chills kept growing, fever came on like wildfire and within 7 minutes we were on the way to Ari’s second home.

When your husband does nothing but read CT’s, MRI’s and deal with trauma all day long and he looks worried, it’s easy for a girl to panic.  I cried.  It hurt to cry.  I stopped crying.  Not only did I have a huge event that weekend, but I had to go to Cayman in 7 days.  Miss Engage?  No way. Yes, my mind when straight to work.  Ari told me to be calm and not focus on work for a second.  He called all the docs and I stumbled into a hospital bed and a gown.  I also started to slip into more serious pain.  I told Ari to call Katharine and Emily and prepare them to take over for one of our busiest weeks to date.

I’m not sure if it was Ari’s sage advice or the morphine they injected in me, but I stopped thinking about work for a moment.  I just prayed.  I prayed for the lady in the bed next to me, too.  I couldn’t see her, but she sounded like she was in her 90’s, in a lot of pain, and very alone.   I wanted to ask the nurse to push my bed up next to hers so I could hold her hand and pray with her, but a flood of surgeons quickly squelched my spirit.  Surgery?  Surgery!? As I was poked and prodded –while dazed from pain killers that were having very adverse affects on my sensitive body– another nurse started an IV.  It all happened so fast.  The combination of stress, needles, and the word surgery quickly took the blood from my head and I was out cold.  For someone who relishes control, passing out is by far the worst feeling on earth.  It’s not a laughing gas dreamy relaxed feeling.  It feels like I am at the end of a marathon and someone just clotheslined me.

I slowly woke.  In a dreamy state, I looked at a picture of a taco in a magazine my the bedside and whispered, “that looks good.”  I barely remember this, but Ari says at that point he ordered me a CT scan.   Yeah, I was confused.  A taco looks good and I need a CT??! Explanation coming…

I was wheeled to another room.  I don’t remember much of this part.  Ari stood at the helm in front of a half-dozen monitors (I only know this because the story was recounted to me by Kyle who was in NC to shoot a wedding and had taken a taxi to the hospital).  I had downed a jug of yummy contrast and before I knew it they were injecting dye into my arm and sending me through the beast of a machine.

They wheeled me back.  An hour passed.  More pain meds.  Then…  silence.

While I waited on the results, sweaty from fever, cold the next second from chills, the movie in my mind of the last two weeks played.

Ari had been on night call.  This means he worked from the time I left the office (7pm) and got home from work when I started work (8am).  We would see each other for 20 minutes at the most, like two ships passing in the night.  Previously, this has been the worst time for us.  When I did see him, he was irritable from sleep-deprivation.  I wasn’t much help either.  I’d avoid him during call weeks as to not stir the pot.  I would try to plan travel around his call schedule.

These two weeks were also production weeks for my last two weddings that I’ve had on the books for eons… read #7 on this post.  The weddings were back to back, both huge, both full production.  Needless to say, I was a little busy.

But, despite all of this on my plate, I vowed that this time – this wedding season and this call time – would be completely different.  I deep cleaned the house, did the laundry, bought gifts, deep cleaned again, had the carpets shampooed, planted new flowers, obsessively organized, cleaned his closet, his car, stocked the fridge, wrote love notes, love emails, love texts, ran a bazillion errands, paid bills, and did whatever I could think of to make his life smooth while he was a night owl.  110% worth all the effort.  One morning, I woke up to this card:

Lara, I wanted to say thank you for going out of your way to be so sweet this past week while I have been working nights.  I realize I haven’t been as grateful as I should, but I really do appreciate everything you do.  I’m also really happy to see you not so stressed during this tough week before your weddings.  I think it is a measure of your growth as a business owner.  I love you a lot and am excited to spend more time with you.  Ari

It’s that last part, about my growth as a business owner, that got me.  One reason I love him so much is that when he says something, he means it.  He never tells me something just to make me feel good.  Yes, this can cause trouble for someone like me who craves encouraging reassurance, but it has ultimately helped me to be stronger and more independent.  Last summer was the most stressful time of my life thus far.  The magazine had launched that January, I already had a ton of weddings on the books that I would never think of giving up, loads of travel, speaking engagements, photo shoots, and no concept of how to balance it all or give any of it up. This year was different. I was… gasp… relaxed!

So, just 10 hours before my hospital visit, wedding #1 went off without a hitch.  It was perfect thanks to intense pre-planning and my amazing (understatement) team.  Exhausted, I still pried myself out of bed in the morning for church.  I needed some Jesus in my life.  I needed to sing my heart out.

That morning we did something unorthodox and watched a video called “Rain”.  The message:  Things don’t always work out the way we want them to, or the way we think they will.  Sometimes we don’t even see it coming.  We get hit with some form of pain out of nowhere leaving us feeling desperate and helpless.  That’s the way life is.  Still, it makes us wonder how God can let these things happen to us.  How God can just stand by and watch us suffer.  Where is God when it really hurts?  Maybe God is actually closer to us than we think.  Maybe it’s when we’re in these situations, where everything seems to be falling apart, that God gets an opportunity to remind us of how much He really loves us.

I could blame the following on the morphine, but I think it was much more powerful than that.  For some reason, I pictured grandpa Cecil in a cotton field in Alabama, where he grew up.  He would go farm to farm selling milk, flour, and handing out Bibles.  Sometimes that meant trekking miles and miles between houses.  To pass the time on the long journey, he would sing hymns.  His singing lead him to become the song leader at church and later an elder and preacher.  I found myself humming one of his favorites “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” when the nurses, Ari and Kyle left my bedside for a moment.  As the melody washed over me, I started to feel peace… the peace that passes all understanding.  I knew I was going to be OK.

Ari came in with a solemn look on his face.  “The good news is…”  Am I the only person whose stomach sinks when that phrase is uttered?  It just means there is not-so-good-news.  “The good news is that you don’t have to have surgery.”   What!?  I was relieved but at the same time angry.  I couldn’t imagine a pill or an apple a day would kill this pain.  I couldn’t walk or sit up.  I needed to get better pronto.  Not that I wanted to have surgery… please refer to previous mention of passing out.  After 3 doctors and the ER chief told me that I most likely had appendicitis, I was just very confused.  “You have a mass… a benign tumor about the size of a golf ball.  It has outgrown its blood supply and is dying.  As it dies, it is releasing toxins into your body that are causing you extreme pain.”  I cried.  “You will most likely have this recur for the rest of your life.”  I cried again.  “When you said the taco looked good, I knew you had an appetite which means no appendicitis.  You never eat tacos.”  I smiled, trying not to laugh and induce more pain.  Ari was so kind as he gently explained everything to me.  I couldn’t even begin to express how proud I was of him in that moment for doing what he does best –as seemingly simple as it was– to help me.  I could barely speak, but I didn’t have to say anything.  I know he saw the gratitude in my eyes and felt it in the grip of my hand.  He pulled out a piece of paper and tried to draw a diagram of what was happening.  I felt a new kind of love for him in that moment.  We’ve been married for 4 1/2 years now and I’ve never had the chance to see him work.  (Sorry, baby…  I wasn’t listening to you as you were explaining and drawing.  I was thinking all of these nice things about you instead.  I’m pulling the morphine card again here.)  Visiting him in the ER was an unexpected blessing and a turning point in my respect for him. I am in awe of what he has on his plate every day… far more serious cases than mine.  He deals with cancer all day long.  He has to tell people they may not make it.  He has to diagnose the worst kind of incurable pain.  Then, he comes home to me and I wax poetic about brides, emails and politics.  He never says to me, “Babe, I deal with cancer all day.  You’re problems are not that big of a deal.”  He should.  I love you, Ari.  Thank you for being you and for your unending kindness and heart of gold. 

I was taken home with enough pain meds to put a cattle farm out, put in bed, and watched.  They don’t tell you how long it will take for it to go away.  They just say “self-medicate until it feels better.”  Fun, right? I like concrete solutions. This did not seem like one. Come to find out, my mother and grandmother have experienced the same thing.  I am not one for pain pills, so I took one and tossed the rest.  I would rather be in pain than not be able to make decisions.  That’s just me. Luckily, after about 4 days, the pain started to subside.

I was so fearful that I wouldn’t be able to do wedding #2 that week, but –again– thanks to my brilliant team, it was beautiful.  We all joked about me coordinating the ceremony from a gurney.  Not funny.  If you are in weddings, you know what the wedding hangover is like… swollen feet and 5 showers wouldn’t make you feel so fresh and so clean.  And then there was Cayman the day after this wedding. I can handle a lot, but I couldn’t imagine –after being in a hospital bed just days before– doing a huge wedding then getting on a plane to an island where I’d be surrounded by the who’s who in weddings.  Hello! Slow. Down. Life! Engage is the kind of event that I felt I had to be at the top of my game for.  I felt the pressure caving in on me.  I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me or see that I wasn’t at my best.  I didn’t want to seem unsocial or distracted.  I just didn’t want to talk about it.  But, as I reflected on my past Engage experiences, I was overwhelmed by the thought that it is an incredible privilege to go and even if I got sick or was in pain, I wasn’t going to die. I’d kick myself if I didn’t push through.  I did not have to be perfect. I got encouraging messages from my soon-to-be room mates, Jasmine Star and Harmony Walton, who I was really looking forward to spending quality time with.  So, I started to go through the “packing motions” as best I could.  I know them well.  Suitcase out, pack the travel size toiletries, undies, socks, bras, clothes, Luna Bars and Greens Plus Bars, Jay Robb, green tea, make the bed, get the computer, charge my extra iPhone battery, take out the trash, rinse and repeat.  Even 3 hours before my flight I still hadn’t checked in.  Fear of not being my best was holding me back.

Then, a note from Ari that morning : I hope paradise is wonderful and don’t forget to look around and be grateful for the opportunity to be in such a place.  And remember to cut yourself some slack. You are only a person who can do so much and be so many things to so many different people. Just be who you can be and if it is not enough for some, then they are asking too much. I love you.

I pulled the trigger and checked in for my flight.  Now do you see why I married him?  Thank you, Ari (and so many great friends), for encouraging me to go and just be me.

My Engage!10 Grand Cayman MegaPost is up next… so excited to share what turned out to be the best week ever.  Thanks for listening, friends.

xo

lc

images :: smilebooth …taken about 12 hours before my ER visit. It was such a fun night!

P.S. Congrats to the randomly chosen winner of the FujiFilm Instax Mini, Joe Anna Haydon! Email me your address and I’ll send your new camera right over.

P.S.S. Happy 38th anniversary to my parents! I love you both more than words. Thank you for inspiring us to love deeply every day and enjoy the best parts of life- family, friends, great food and beautiful sunsets.

P.S.S.S. I’m getting on a plane in a few hours. Excited about a little surprise weekend fun. More to come…

And yes, if you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you know I have to give something away. Just have to. Why not?!
Leave a comment on this post telling me about the person in your life who has encouraged you the most and win a copy of one of my favorite books.

Each of these finalists is guaranteed to be published either in print or in an exclusive online series after the issue debuts.  Flosites is working hard on Southern Weddings 2.0 and we can’t wait to have these shoots featured on its brand spakin’ new pages!  We expect that many of the images produced from these shoots will be chosen as legacy images- permanent fixtures on the new SW site.  Our deadline for final image selection is fast-approaching, so we expect not everyone will be able to complete this assignment.  We do have a very long alternate list if one of these photographers is unable to produce their shoot.  Details and deadlines will be emailed out this week. Without further ado, congratulations to the following photographers and designers who will be given an all-access pass to our team for help with styling tips and inside info on what we are looking for.

In no particular order:

Christine Farah



Kristen Weaver



Josh Malahy and Christopher Confero



Victor Sizemore



A Bryan Photo and Blue Moon Events



Anna Kim



Melissa Schollaert



Brooke Courtney



Mandy & Me



Gina Zeidler



Marie Labbancz



Joey and Jessica



Paul Johnson



Simply Bloom



Eric Ryan Anderson



Skip Hopkins



Vue Photography



Cameron Powell



Congratulations! We’ll be emailing you all the details you’ll need this week. And to everyone else who submitted proposals: do not let this stop you from doing those shoots. If you produce your shoot, we’ll give your images top consideration for the online exclusive, so get to it!  Remember: you miss 100% of the shots you never take.

xo

Lara (and Emily, Katharine + Whitney)

header :: (left to right) A Bryan Photo, unknown, Dewey Nicks, Aran Goya

Congrats to the last post’s Hawaii giveaway winners (chosen at random): Vari Avilla, Laura Brooks, and the newly-independent-from-cubicles-forever Dana aka The Broke-Ass Bride. Email me to claim your prizes, ladies.

Apparently I really like giveaways.  This one is just because you don’t have to be a pro to have fun with film.  Leave a comment here telling me what motivates you the most in life and win a Fujifilm Instax Mini!  I love mine and am excited to see what the winner cooks up with theirs.

2009 was the year that everything changed.  I learned how far I can push myself, my capacity for love, and that I have a choice every day to make good things happen.  Looking back, I cannot believe how much has happened. I had a mild panic attack putting this post together.  I mean, seriously, this year was INSANE!!  I traveled more than ever…

…and I survived and grew only by the grace of God.   Most of the images here are from my iPhone, which became my visual journal this year, unless otherwise noted.  I have so much to say later this week, but for now…  my year (well, a small portion of it) in review, in pictures.

January 1st New Years in Vail.  I’m the one who looks frozen.  I started the year doing what I love most- skiing!

January 6th The premiere issue of Southern Weddings hits stands.  If you’ve heard my story at MTH2010, you know how much that day meant to me.  Brilliant cover by Jose Villa who will be guest speaking with me at MTH2010 Los Angeles.

January 17th Premiere launch party in Atlanta.  So many great friends came to celebrate with us including the cover couple, Chelsea and Tec.  I was overwhelmed with gratitude and joy that night.

February 12-19 WPPI Las Vegas.  This was the tipping point of 2009 for me.  You’ll just have to go to MTH2010 to hear why from Jeff and I.  I met some of my best friends in the world that night.

A week after WPPI, Jory emailed me and asked me to be his agent.  Thus, the idea of Lara Casey Reps was born.  I spent the next months working with Jory and building a brand new business plan.  Thank you, Jory, for starting this fire!

March 13th My first ever Social Media Workshop in my home town in Florida.  The relationships that were born out of that day have continued to grow and I’ve loved watching the attendees soar this year.

March 14th SW Barnes and Noble Signing in Florida.  My proud mom and dad came to say hi.

March 24 Get Married TV Shoot, Atlanta, GA.  I was nervous and my hair was really frizzy.  The clips they ended up using were about none other than bug spray and beer.  So southern : )

March 25 I was honored that Michelle and the StudioWed crew hosted this party for me in Atlanta.  So blessed to know these women.

March 27-30 My best fried, Ryan, got married at Barton Creek in Austin, Texas.  Ryan’s dad had me do an impromptu toast and I just about lost it.  We grew up together and he was even the “Man of Honor” at my wedding.

March 30-April 1  I flew from Austin to LA to meet with a producer and enjoyed a perfect afternoon in Venice with Jory. After just a few moments, I forgot he was shooting me.

April 7-8 Eventology Conference, Indianapolis.  Favorite memories (aside from the awesome conference): my roomie, Jeannine, getting a tattoo, doing the stanky leg with Jeremy and Bryan, filming the Heather and Lara show, and busting in on Michelle’s room and singing happy birthday to her at midnight.  Wedding planners know how to have good ole fashioned fun!  Looking forward to speaking at Eventology this year.

April 13-17 first shoot for Southern Weddings at Watercolor Resort, FL.

If you know me, you know I fell in love with Watercolor this year.  My far-off dream is to buy a little house there to relax in when we come to FL and to use for shoots.  I just love the way of life – slow and sweet.

April 20-23 I drove from FL to Birmingham, AL, to speak at the first-ever A Bryan Photo Workshop.  So great to see the ABP guys, Jory and so many new friends.  I admire Bryan and his team more than I can say.

Miss Whitney Davis brought her sunshine and brilliance to my life!

May 2009 I went to Florida for entire month to do weddings.  Note to self: do not ever leave home for a month.  Ever again.  No matter what.  It was fun and we produced stunning weddings, but it was really hard on my marriage.  Deployment was easier than wedding season.

May 7-10th DeAnna and Allen’s wedding on Pensacola Beach, FL.  They’re having a baby this year… so happy for them!

May 12-16 Poonam and Chirag’s EPIC Indian wedding with Our Labor of Love in Fort Walton Beach, FL.  Awesome.  Love you, P!

One of my favorite portraits this year from the OLOL Smilebooth at Poonam and Chirag’s wedding.  We had more people ask us about the little floral elephants than you would believe!

May 20-24th Wedding in Destin, FL.

June 3-10 Lindsey and Chad get married at my parent’s house in Gulf Breeze, FL.  Photo by my good friends, Rae and Wes.

June 10-13 I flew to NY with my friend Sandi to visit Nick Onken and my MTH2010 Tour buddy, Jeff Holt.

June 14-17 Back to Florida for meetings and to catch a few sunsets.

June 18-19 Back to Chapel Hill, NC, for 24 hours before leaving for…

June 20-26 Engage09::Grand Cayman Island. So blessed to be asked to speak at Engage!  Thank you, Rebecca and Kathryn for believing in me.  I am forever grateful.

June 22nd I launched Lara Casey Reps. with Jory, Jeremy, Kyle and Jeff. Thank you, Ross, for making all my crazy ideas come to life this year!

July 4th weekend – Flew to FL to get my car that had been there for wedding season and drove it back to NC.  My mom took this picture with her old Minolta right after a storm.  Made me feel at peace about moving forward with Lara Casey Reps.    I was terrified to launch it.  I knew it would change the course of my life and it certainly has.

July 5th  Back to the office in Chapel Hill.  The bulk of wedding season had ended and Whitney and I spent a week cleaning the office.  We started reading Getting Things Done together and got rid of all of the “stuff” that was just laying around collecting dust.  By the end of that week, we both felt this huge weight had been lifted and we were ready to conquer the rest of the year.  That was also the week I took the plunge and hired Katharine and Emily. (read Emily’s story for all the details)

July 15-16th Katharine, Whitney and I flew to Atlanta for the Bridalbar Atlanta Launch.  So great to celebrate with Harmony, Rebecca, and all of our ATL friends!

July 17-20th Whitney and I flew from Atlanta to Florida to do Rachel and Lee’s awesome Wedding on Pensacola Beach.

July 25th I launched this little blog : )  Get the skinny on all of the header images here.

August Emily and Katharine move to NC!  Holy Moley!

They instantly changed the way I think about business.  Suddenly, the office was humming with possibility and we set out to plan our first shoot as a team.

August 20-27th 2nd Watercolor Resort Photo Shoot with Jory, Jeff, Fred and Kyle. This was a BIG weekend- loads of people, models, photographers, makeup artists, products, dresses, flowers, and fun! Sandi, Whit, Em and I wearing Sweet Pea and Fawn headpieces below.

Gorgeousness from Fred…

So lovely… images below by Jory Cordy. Pick up a copy of our current issue to see the rest.

I drove back to NC after that whirlwind shoot and did a whole lot of thinking … wrote my Truth Day post and started to find my voice on this blog.

September 6-9th I did one of the most spontaneous things I’ve ever done.  I woke up one morning and decided I needed a solo vacation to Jamaica.

I left the next morning on a great adventure.  I didn’t tell anyone except my mom, Ari and the ladies in my office where I was going.  Incredible experience for me personally and exactly what I needed.

Back to Chapel Hill, refreshed, perspective shifted, ready to hit the ground running on our new issue.

September 22-24 Cover Shoot with Jeremy Cowart in Serenbe.  Jeremy and his crew were brilliant.

We had such a great team and the shoot was phenomenal.  This was another one of those projects that started as a “crazy idea” in a morning huddle.   Pictured below with Ashley, Michelle, Eliana and Heather.  photo by kyle barnes

October 2-4 Jay and Patricia’s wedding in Atlanta with Emily and Eliana.  In case you missed it, I broke up a fight during the ceremony.

October 10-15 Engage Encore, Las Vegas.  I heart Randi Fenolli.  You can read my iPhone recap here.

Magazine crazy time. Work work work work. With the help of my fearless colleagues, I laid out the magazine in 11 days.  Yes, that was nuts.

October 25-28th Magazine Press Check, Florida.  Longest night of the year… stayed up till 6am proofing.

October 30th Bridal Site Tour for a 2010 wedding in Salisbury, NC.  Such a beautiful venue, amazing couple, solid family… can’t wait.

November  Fall in Chapel Hill was beyond beautiful.  I started to really love it there when I saw the leaves change.

November 5-8th Southern Weddings V2 Launch Party in Atlanta at Bridalbar!

Good times with the Mammoth Men followed by an EPIC dance party.  I’ve never had more fun in my life!

November 10th Southern Weddings V2 hits stands with our gorgeous cover shot by Jeremy Cowart.

November mailing madness (<—understatement) and my favorite post on Southern Weddings this year.

November 15th Nancy Ray steps into our office for the first-ever behind the scenes peek for Brooklyn Bride.

Welcome to our office…

This was also the week I bit the bullet and got Kath and Em MacBooks and iPhones.  The office is working at lightning speed now.

November 26th-29th Thanksgiving in Florida.  My mom just had hand surgery and my grandmother had broken her arm.  They somehow managed to cook dinner with a collective two hands.

Epic sunset…  Grandma said, ““this is what I envision the coming of Christ to look like”  It was a moment I will never forget.

December 3-6th Winter Shoot in Colorado with Jeff, Kyle, Jesse and Shannon. Great times in the snow with dear friends and my brother who lives in Denver.  The images turned out fabulously.

December 16th someone had the brilliant idea to do our office Christmas party live on Twitcam.  We were all nervous but then it ended up being a ton of fun!  What I learned:  I laugh a lot and I say “amazing” far too much.  Thanks to everyone who joined us!

December 21st the first-ever Making Things Happen Intensive in Watercolor FL. Out of everything that has happened this year, this first intensive — not even two weeks ago — has blown my mind more than anything.  The energy from the attendees doubles by the second.  Want to see for yourself?  Just follow the #MTH2010 hashtag for a few minutes. The bold moves that have already been made are unbelievable! I’m so so grateful for what’s to come!

December 25th Christmas in Florida which means wearing my special “Christmas suit” which is like a box of fabric with arm and foot holes, sitting by the tree and spending time with my 92 year old Grandma Bunny… my favorite lady in the world.

December 27th – My 30th Birthday.  So grateful for all the love this year.  Despite my fears about this large and in charge birthday milestone, it was a blessed day.  The water was like liquid silver that day and my mom drove across the state line to get illegal fireworks.  It was quite the show and made me feel very loved.

December 31st – Tonight I’m with my family: Ari, mom, dad, Steve, Abby K Pants and Grandma. My mom is making Mexican food (the house smells amazing!) and we’re going to light up a few more fireworks. I love my family. PS – want to know what Katharine and Emily are up to tonight?

What I’m looking at right now…

I’ve lost sleep over what to write as the year comes to a close.  I thought about telling you what I’ve learned, what I loved most, and what changed me in 2009.  But, instead, I just want to say thank you.  I have so much to share in 2010 and can’t wait to take you, dear readers and friends, along for the ride.  Thank you for sharing your hearts with me here on this little blog, teaching me through your experiences and making me feel like it’s ok to just be me — emotional, driven, wildly passionate, and flawed.  I owe everything to God and can’t thank Him enough for every laugh, tear, triumph and failure I’ve experienced this year.

I have a special post coming this week, but for now, here is my wish for 2010: to listen more –in the largest sense of the word– and to take ultimate care of myself –even when I don’t feel like it– so I can be my absolute best for others.  I wish to know Christ deeply this year and that His love would live in me and shine brightly.  I wish for a year of connection and giving as much of myself as humanly possible.  Inscribed in my wedding ring is a verse that I am adopting as my mantra for 2010: “I can do all things through Christ.” – Philippians 4:13

It is with deepest gratitude that I bid this year farewell and welcome in a brilliant new decade.  Happy New Year to old friends and new!

xo

What’s your wish for the New Year?

We’re back with a brand new Branding Beauty, and this time around it’s Caroline Colom Vasquez of Paloma’s Nest.  Unlike our last two, shall we say, branding sleeper hits (Lisa Lefkowitz and XOElle), Paloma’s Nest is almost as famous for its beautiful branding as it is for its beautiful products.  It was truly a delight to read through Caroline’s interview, and I think when you do, you’ll agree with me that the amount of love and thought she puts into her business is inspiring.  Without further ado…

Please describe the different elements of your branding.

Paloma’s Nest creates Handcrafted Modern Heirlooms.  Our pieces are made of the highest quality natural materials available, and are designed in a timeless, pure style.  We do this to ensure that the pieces will last and be enjoyed for several generations.  In our packaging and branding, we incorporate this same philosophy.

Natural materials and a simple color palette, both of which mimic and share qualities of the product collection itself, are used throughout all of our branding.  Our signature kraft boxes are hand stamped with our logo and filled with a hand formed “nest” in which the product perches.  Some designs are wrapped in natural cotton bags, and others in translucent vellum envelopes (made of 100% recycled materials).  Every package is tied with beautiful cotton cord, a shimmery gold thread, or a chunky natural ribbon.  In both our products and our packaging, we try to allow the natural characteristics and beauty of the materials to shine through, while also holding strong to our commitment to Heirloom Quality.

What inspired your branding’s design elements, look, and feel?

The company name, Paloma’s Nest, is the source of inspiration for most all that we do.  The origin of the name is a whole other story, but was chosen on a whim (and named after our daughter) and it stuck!  It was only later that we realized with much relief and delight how perfectly the name matched the collection and product line.  A “paloma,” which means “dove” in Spanish, is such a powerful symbol of peace, tranquility, hope, rarity, treasure… all elements that we hope come through in the products themselves.  We are also inspired by how the most simple of materials and designs can be the most bold and elegant.  We selectively edit in all that we do so that there is a small hint of timeless elegance in every piece and every package–without it being overpowering.

Do you keep your company’s “look” cohesive across multiple branding platforms (i.e. your website, store, blog, business cards, stationery, collateral sent with purchases)?  Why or why not, and how?

Paloma’s Nest has a very cohesive look across all of the branding platforms we use, and feel this has been one of the keys to our success.  From the very early days of the business, we have always aimed for consistency in our photographs and collateral.  When the business began growing rapidly, we luckily had already established our brand.  As our images spread throughout the internet and in print, they (and the products featured in them) quickly became recognizable as belonging to Paloma’s Nest.  This has been so valuable in establishing the company as the “creator of the original Ring Bearer Bowl(TM)” and our collection of Modern Heirlooms–all of which bear our signature style.

What is your favorite part of your branding?  What part would you most like to change?

I love to challenge myself when creating new packaging or collateral.  How can we push our concepts further?  How can we introduce a new material and make it cohesive with what we already have?  Marketing and branding are two of my favorite parts of being a businesswoman.

We have some big surprises in store for the New Year which include some significant changes to our packaging.  Our goal with these changes is to take our packaging from being “temporary” wrapping to something that is a more permanent “home” for your Modern Heirloom piece — that the packaging will be saved along with the piece as it is passed on to future generations, not only to protect the piece for years to come, but to also help create a living history of the origin of the artwork.

What advice would you give to another wedding professional looking to improve their branding experience?

Be sure that the materials you use reflect who you are or what your company offers.  A while back, I created my own personal “branding board” — an inspiration board of sorts, that I share with graphic designers, web designers, or anyone with whom I am collaborating with on a business project.  This ensures that your team of professionals will share your vision for your branding, and that what they create for your business will reflect the marketing you already have in place.

You can make your own “branding board” by simply gathering up the collateral you already have in use — your business card, letter head, gift packaging, etc.  Step back and take a look.  If something is out of place, chances are it is not reflecting your brand the way it should be.  Pay attention to the details, too.  If you use low-quality images or paper, or a ribbon that is not the perfect color, realize the huge impact that these over-looked details can have on your brand; even if they seem like small things, they have the power to tell your audience so much about who you are as a company.

Thank you, Caroline!Once again you’ve proven you are even more lovely than your branding.  Look for more from Paloma’s Nest in the November issue of Southern Weddings, coming to a newsstand near you on November 10! (and we can’t wait to finally meet her in person this weekend at our launch party!) A little sneak peek of Paloma’s Nest in SW…

For even more Paloma’s Nest goodness, you can visit Caroline’s site here, her shop here, and her Twitter here.

And as always, if you or someone you know would make an excellent Branding Beauty, please send me an email: emily [at] laracaseyreps [dot] com.

The SW girls are beyond thrilled for our upcoming print edition, due out on newsstands nationwide on November 3!  To share some of our excitement, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 reasons why Southern Weddings is the most dynamic and valuable magazine for today’s Southern bride.  image above :: Jose Villa

10. National and international following, complete with a passion for all things Southern! Though our roots are here in the South, Southern Weddings Magazine boasts a devoted readership that spans not only across the United States but around the world.  There’s just something about the charm of the South that readers, regardless of their location, just can’t get enough of!

image above :: Paul Johnson

9.  Printed and published by the very best in the industry. To help make this next issue bigger and better than ever, we’ve hired a fabulous new printer based right here in the South (Atlanta, to be specific) that prints some truly fabulous national magazines, including Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Architectural Digest and Wired.  Also, we’re still proudly distributed by Curtis Circulation, the leader in magazine circulation nationwide and responsible for knockout publications like Elle, Newsweek, Forbes and Maxim.

image above :: A Bryan Photo

8.  Our claim to fame: the daily Southern Weddings Blog. For readers who just can’t get enough Southern Weddings, we offer the ever-popular extension of our print edition with the Southern Weddings Blog.  Updated at least three times daily, the SW blog features stunning real weddings and inspiration from the top wedding pros around the world.  We love to feature our advertising partners on the blog, especially in the weeks leading up to our launch.  Keep your eyes peeled for a massive makeover by Flosites that is sure to have you clicking back even more than you already do!

image above :: Jessica Claire

7. Personal attention. That goes for both our vendors and our readers.  We send many copies of the magazine to our readers directly from the office, and not a single copy leaves without a personal note from one of the editors.  This kind of personal attention inspires loyalty, and the loyalty our brides feel for us is a feeling they extend to our vendors, as well.

image above :: courtesy of Preston Bailey

6. Authority. Through our blog and our first issue, we’ve built a reputation for ourselves as the Southern wedding experts.  Our readers trust our taste, and they trust the vendors we select to advertise with us.

image above :: Fred Egan

5. One-of-a-kind grooms’ section: Our upcoming issue will have an exciting and exclusive “Grooms’ Section.”  Even better than our brand new, never-before-seen feature?  Our super-secret, super-fabulous groom fashion experts: you’ll never guess who we’ve got up our sleeve…

image above :: left to right – Marcy Blum, Sylvia Weinstock, Amy Atlas, Jung Lee, Preston Bailey, Mindy Weiss, Tara Guerard, Michelle Rago, Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce of Engaging Concepts

4.  Exclusive interviews with celebrity planners. Southern Weddings is happy to be in the company and have the support of many of the best in the business, several of whom will be featured in our November issue.  Look for Jung Lee, Sylvia Weinstock, Lisa Vorce, Mindy Rice, Michelle Rago, Tara Guerard and Marcy Blum weighing in on what they love best about Southern weddings, as well as new columns by Randy Fenoli of Kleinfeld Bridal Salon and Simon T. Bailey.

image above :: Meg Baisden

3.  New, never-before-seen content: Unlike our premier Spring/Summer 2009 issue, our newest edition will feature ten real weddings never before seen in the blogosphere.  What does this mean for you? Tons and tons of surprises you will be dying to see!

image above :: courtesy of Mindy Weiss

2.  Sold in (the best) stores nationwide: Southern Weddings will be sold in Target, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, and Borders stores across the country, as well as regional grocery stores and bridal boutiques.  We’re honored to have been picked up by these amazing retailers.  Imagine how much more fun the checkout lines will be once we hit stores!

images above :: left to right – Michael Norwood, Jasmine Star, Melissa Jill, Cameron Ingalls, Agnes Lopez, Becker, Michael Norwood

1.  Two Words: SOLD OUT! Our last issue completely sold out and we still receive regular requests to purchase this hot editorial commodity.  With so many new and exciting features, we can only imagine how fast our next edition will fly off the shelves!

Cover image above :: Jose Villa

Vendors, you can’t afford not to be a part of this next issue!  Email me at katharine {at} iloveswmag {dot} com for a media kit.  And to our beautiful brides from all across the country: thank you from all of us here at SW for being such loyal readers and avid fans!  This blog is for you, about you and all thanks to YOU!

Get. Excited.  We sure are!  (Surely there’s no one’s more excited than Emily, though!)

Have a great week y’all!

Katharine

ps – note from Lara: “Since we sold out, we’re working on getting the first edition online in the next couple weeks for all to see!”

I’m thrilled to be speaking at the Eventology conference next year in Indianapolis.  You can read my fireside chat on the Eventology blog to get to know me a little more.

2010 speakers joining me- the beautiful Harmony Walton, Terrica Skaggs aka Fabuluxe, Saundra Hadley, and the phenomenal Sasha Souza.  I’ve been a fan of Sasha’s since I was in college.  I still have magazine tears of her work from forever ago.

Big thanks to the creator of this conference, Katasha Butler, for this opportunity to speak with such wedding business mavens. Image above by the a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Jory Cordy

I had a fantastic time at this year’s inaugural conference.  I loved getting a chance to hang out with my Bham friends, Bryan Johnson and Jeremy Carter (the only gentlemen above).  Bryan is such an inspiring photographer and Jeremy is all about making things happen.  You know I love that.  Also above far left- beautiful planning diva from Nashville, Latrice Cushenberry, and far right, Katasha Butler.  Image by JK Photography.

With Melissa Margarita-DiStefano from MasterPiece Weddings, Kelli McWilliams from Weddings by Socialites, Me and my crazy red eye, Jeremy Carter.

Left to right: My Eventology roomie and great friend from Atlanta, Jeannine Kennedy, me, Katasha, Latrice.  ps- A little inside info about wedding planners I did not know till this conference… get them together and they get tattoos!  There was a pretty big group that went out the day after the conference together to get inked, including Jeannine (above right).

Above:  being silly at Milkbar with the A Bryan guys, sitting pretty with Atlanta wedding planner and good friend, Eliana.  She is such a hard-working planner and helped us so much in making our Atlanta premiere party happen in January.

Above:  again, silliness with JC.  We have a running joke that we are always at the same networking events. I always look forward to seeing him! There was this ridiculous set of pictures on the bar wall, so I thought it deserved an equally ridiculous pose.

Above:  with Michelle from Lemiga and Studiowed Atlanta and Jeannine, Vogue-ing it with Jeannine.

The two ladies above (Heather Crabtree from Outstanding Occasions in AZ and Ami of Elizabeth Anne Designs fame) are my new partners in crime.  We have a big project in the works for the fall of 2010 that I can’t wait to share details on soon!

Above: left to right: Heather Crabtree, me, Aletha from Pearls Events, and Melissa from Masterpiece Weddings; checking out of the Omni with Jeannine and Michelle, who was celebrating her birthday that day.

Be sure to check out the Eventology website and sign up ASAP.  This conference was packed this year and I expect it to sell out again in 2010.  Can’t wait!

xo lc

And we all stopped.  And stared.  And ooh’ed and ahh’ed.  Her bowties were the hit of the weekend.  (Fred Egan loved the one we gave him so much that he slept in it) And possibly even more than the bowties, we were smitten with her packaging.  It was fresh, unique, reflective of her personality, and memorable — exactly what branding should be.  Today she’s here as a Branding Beauty to answer a few questions.

Please describe the different elements of your branding.

I run an online shop and blog, where my product photos all need to portray a consistent image.  I furnish customers with a super experience when they receive the product with unexpected packaging, business cards, hang tags, and thank you cards.  I also sell my items at local farmer’s markets and keep my booth space and signage consistent with my online presence.

What inspired your branding’s design elements, look, and feel?

Cheerfulness.  Simplicity.  I want my branding to feel familiar yet unexpected.  I like bold, clean colors and flat space.  I like squares and round edges.  I want to keep the element of handmade in everything that I do, so my business cards, hang tags, and thank you cards are all filled in by hand.  I chose elements that could be easily reproduced in various media so that I could continue to create more branding elements by hand.

Do you keep your company’s “look” cohesive across multiple branding platforms?  Why or why not, and how?

Yes!  I want a customer’s experience with me, in any form — in my store, on my blog, and in person — to feel the same.  It’s important for any business to be easily recognized by the client, and it is especially important for a little business like me to stand out and develop brand loyalty.  Hopefully, a customer will know that they are in an xoelle space (on Etsy, on my blog, Facebook, Flickr, etc.) because it has the same elements as all of the others.

Do you feel your physical branding echoes your or your company’s in-person and/or written persona?  How?

I created this little business as an extension of myself and what I love, so I hope that my branding echoes me and my personality.  The whole idea of bowtie wearing is to be a little different from the crowd and that’s what I am, too.  My hair is blue, my son’s middle name is Danger, and I don’t watch TV.  My blog is an important part of my branding efforts.  Hopefully it reflects who I am to my customers, and inspires them to want to create and live their own lives with more intention.

What is your favorite part of your branding?  What part would you most like to change?

My favorite part of my branding is its flexibility.  I didn’t tie myself down to certain exact colors, but chose a palette of bright colors.  I can add, delete, or modify colors to suit holidays or new product rollouts.  I think it is important to constantly improve and keep your image fresh, so I’ve been thinking of adding some basic patterns here and there and reevaluating my packaging to see if there’s a way to keep it more in line with the rest of my branding materials.  It’s all a work in progress.

Name three other brands that you admire.

Johnny Cupcakes, The GAP, and Apple.

Look for more from xoelle in the November issue of Southern Weddings.

As always, if you or someone you know would make an excellent Branding Beauty, please send me an email: emily [at] laracaseyreps [dot] com.

I’m back!  I mean that in a big way.  4 days in this place did more for me than I thought it would.  Before I blog that (oh so much to tell you!), I’m clearing out my travels vault, one fab event at a time.  And FYI- they won’t be in order and I have a bunch to get through.  But, it’s alright.  No Problem.  Yeh mon. Hope you enjoy!  I’m starting with…. the Bridalbar Atlanta launch.  Katharine, Whitney and I had the pleasure of celebrating this glam launch in July.  What a stellar event.  My good friend, Harmony Walton, has taken the wedding market by storm with her boutique wedding vendor library concept, attracting celebs and debs alike.  Bridalbar’s branding is perfect for the savvy Southern bride… it speaks to the modern sorority girl who wants the best of the best for her big day.  A few pics from our Atlanta adventures:

Our Labor of Love always hits the spot with their fantabulous Smilebooth.  I could spend hours playing in this thing!  … especially with a custom backdrop from Dolci Odille.  Above from left to right: the incredible Joy Thigpen, Kyle Barnes, Whitney from Our Labor of Love, Brittany, beautiful Jesse from Our Labor of Love, not sure (help me here!), me, stunning Harmony.

“Pink carpet” pics above from Our Labor of Love.  This was the first event I brought Katharine and Whitney to and we had a blast!

More Smilebooth fun.  Top pic left to right: good friend Meredith, me, Rebecca, Jesse, and my partner in networking crime, Jeremy Carter.  One of my favorite women in weddings, Eliana, joined is in the bottom left shot.

Jesse and I have decided to start a series of Smilebooth goodness.  They shot one of my favorite weddings I’ve ever done this year and Jesse and I have some fun shots with the little green elephant from that.  Love you Jesse!

Above: Kyle Barnes and Whitney hamming it up, Kyle with Katharine and Whit, Whit-Kath love, the pink ladies and I, and sleepy SW ladies.

Congrats Harmony, Rebecca and team on such a fab launch!

xo lc

The Engage 09 Encore details were just released.  I am really looking forward to what Rebecca and Kathryn have in store for this luxury wedding business summit in Las Vegas this October.  They are in Vegas as we speak getting all the details nailed down.  You can follow Rebecca and Kathryn on Twitter for the skinny on Engage09 Encore :: Las Vegas.

I’ve gotten a slew of emails about my experience at the previous Engage conferences so I’ve put together a recap of my Cayman adventures here for you.  (You can also read my recap of the Engage08 Encore here)

When Rebecca and Kathryn emailed me about speaking at Engage 09 :: Something Blue in Grand Cayman, I was in an airport headed to … wow, I don’t remember. Too much travel this year.  Seriously, I pulled out just a small portion of my boarding passes from this spring yesterday and gasped. This image is a whole other blog post in the making…

Anyway… when I got Rebecca’s email I literally squealed!  Those poor other passengers.  I am pretty sure my email back to Rebecca had enough exclamation points in it to wrap around a small country.  I am so grateful to have had the opportunity and to have spent time with some of the most inspiring people I know.

My Cayman journey:  I woke up at the ungodly hour of 3am to catch my 7am international flight.  Glad I did, because apparently everyone and their mother catches international flights at the crack of dawn.  Who knew!?  Last time I took a flight overseas was for my 21st birthday.  It’s been a few years.  I got there early enough to get breakfast at the little organic cafe at RDU and spend some time with my Times.

There are a few luxuries I realllly appreciate in life.  One of them is my Delta medallion status.  Now, stay with me here….  This year I traveled more than I ever have.  And I tend to uh…. over-pack.  (I am working on this.)  So, airlines are mean and they charge you for bags now.  Plus, I always got charged for my overweight bags.  (I’ve had to lug magazines all over the country this year… for example- 100lbs to Indianapolis for Eventology in April)  So, I applied for the Delta Reserve card which has a $400/year annual fee.  OK, yes that sounds hefty.  Wait for it… wait for it…  So, with this card comes one very special perk.  Yeah, the Sky Club with free wifi and complementary first class upgrades are nice and all, but this perk outweighs them all.  Literally.  They don’t charge me for overweight bags!  Funny story:  For the first 3 months I had the reserve card, I didn’t know about this perk.  I just thought people were being nice and not charging me.  I still think there’s a lot of kindness in the world, but the moment I found out about this “no baggage fee” thing, I did the math and I have saved over $2000 in excess baggage fees so far.  Worth the $400?  Heck yes.  So there you have it.  Dear Delta, for my glowing testimonial, can you send me a few extra companion tickets so I can see my friends more often or something?

Above:  watching Saturday morning cartoons in the Sky Club while I waited for my connecting flight, the absolutely lovely Tiffany’s passport holder that Rebecca and Kathryn so graciously gave to all the speakers, and the breathtaking view of Cayman as my plane landed.

The magic of Twitter:  I sat down on the plane and twittered something about being happy about getting a first class upgrade.  @iMatrimony twittered: sitting in first class on the way to Cayman.  I replied: hey @iMatrimony, I think you’re sitting in front of me : ).  It was great to see Stephanie Johnson Hunt on my flight and get to meet her wonderful husband. We arrived in Cayman together after sipping a few mimosas and were greeted by island music, friendly smiles and this great Engage welcome banner.

As if it could get any better…  Walking into the Ritz Carlton that afternoon was unforgettable.  Talk about top notch service and attention to detail!  image :: Kyle Barnes

I was ushered to the reception desk where I was handed a small Ritz bag, told they upgraded my room to ocean front (hello, how amazing!!) and everyone behind the desk glowed about Engage… how excited they all were that we were there.  image below :: Kyle Barnes

As I waited for them to input my info into their computer, I opened the bag and found a card from my dear friend and Eventology roomie, Jeannine. image below :: my iPhone

I think the front desk people must have thought I was nuts.  I got teary eyed and told the lady who was checking me in all about Jeannine and how sweet of a friend she is.  She sent me a very thoughtful gift and an encouraging card wishing me well during my speaking platform.  It was the perfect way to start my trip.  Thank you, sweet Jeannine!

A young woman escorted me to my room and told me all about the lush property.  Let me just say that at that moment, I really felt like I was on vacation. images below of the Ritz and beautiful Laura Hooper samples :: Arden Photography

I walked into my room to find truffles and surprises galore.  I kept saying out loud: “wow, I just can’t believe Rebecca and Kathryn.  I am so blessed, so lucky, so lucky!”  If anyone knows how to go above and beyond, it’s the dynamic duo at Engaging Concepts.  image :: my iPhone

I opened my balcony doors as the sun was just beginning to set and just sat there in awe.  “How did I get here?” I kept asking myself.  It had been a crazy wedding season for me.  More stress than I can begin to tell you.  People ask me all the time how I balance planning weddings, running a magazine, a daily blog and life.  This spring, I didn’t.  I just did my best and made it through.  Not even 24 hours before that, I had just gotten off a plane from almost 11 weeks of straight travel.  That first day in Cayman, I started to breath again.  More than all the truffles and surprises in the world, the greatest gift was looking out at the ocean as the sun set deep into the crystal blue sea.

We were treated to a spectacular welcome gala on the beach designed by one of my favorite people on the planet, Michelle Rago.  images below :: Arden Photography

No detail was left untouched.  A private shoe valet welcomed us onto the “Blue Carpet”.  I kept thinking about that scene in Sex and the City where Carrie loses her Manolo’s.  So, I stuck my fancy Target sandals in a very safe spot.  One of the highlights of the trip was getting to be interviewed for an upcoming national television program about Engage and destination weddings.  The crew came to the welcome party to capture all the magic.  I can’t wait to see the segment and will keep you posted on the details!

The atmosphere was unreal.  I could have been at Walmart with this crowd and had the time of my life, so the scenery made this experience over-the-top amazing.

One of the many event sponsors was Tortuga Rum.  The combination of the first class service and cuisine from the Ritz, Tortuga signature drinks and Michelle’s design was unforgettable.

Walking the blue carpet with my girl Harmony Walton from Bridalbar and the beautiful Rebecca Grinnals.  Rebecca with two of the most amazing men on earth:  Randy Fenoli of Say Yes to the Dress fame and his handsome partner, Michael Landry of Gucci.

Rebecca has the greatest parents.  I had the pleasure of meeting them on a recent trip to Watercolor and fell in love with their warmth and inviting spirits.  I see where Rebecca gets her charm and contagious happiness from!

Stacey Kane and my fav Savannah gal, Donna Von Bruening.  Planning diva Ivy Robinson, the stunning Lisa Hoffman of Ceci NY fame, Modern Bride editor Antonia van der Meer, and Cynthia Boyett from the Ritz.

Two of my favorite women in the wedding world- Heather Crabtree and Terrica Skaggs.  And the couple who inspires me to love deeply and have a blast every day- Sylvia Weinstock and her adorable husband.

My new friends Alison Hotchkiss and Thayer Gowdy.  I will be writing an entire post of both of them in the near future.  I feel so blessed to have met them!  Rebecca and design queen, Michelle Rago.

Someone really should have gotten married that night.  This would have been a to-die-for reception.

How stunning is this phalaenopsis and manzantita peice?!  images :: Arden Photography

Below: catching up with wedding business guru Sean Low who has been so kind to me this year as a mentor and friend.

I can still hear the steel drum band playing from the ocean.

What happens when you bring the best of the best in the event world to a tropical paradise?  A first class private fireworks show from Fireworks, Ltd., of course.  What a magical night!

The next morning, I took a long run down Seven Mile Beach where there was a triathlon going on.  Not a bad place to finish.  images below :: iPhone

Below: Kathryn and Rebecca wearing their signature something blue.  Right: the conference seats beginning to fill up.  images below :: Stacey Kane

Introducing the speakers… so much excitement in the air!  images below :: Stacey Kane

Bella Figura did the paper items which were fabulous of course.  image below :: iPhone

My new business cards from Thomas Printers. images :: Kyle Barnes

I will admit being completely star-struck by meeting uber-editors Darcy Miller (with Darcy below right), Millie Martini Bratten, and Antonia van der Meer.  I also had the pleasure of meeting Verona Carter from Ritz Carlton PR (pictured below left).  I was so impressed not only with the Ritz’s service, but their fervor for business growth.  images below :: iPhone

The first day of the conference was packed with wedding star after wedding star.   This was like the Superbowl of weddings, people!   images below :: Stacey Kane

Holly Hatam from Teardrop Weddings did the cutest illustrations of all of the speakers and even sent us stationery to match!  Thank you, Holly!  images below :: my iPhone

My favorite speakers: Simon T Bailey and Marcy Blum.  Marcy has such an infectious smile and sense of humor.   I am so excited that she will be speaking again at Engage09 Encore.  Her blog is a must read. I’m thrilled about spending time with Simon here in Raleigh this weekend. He has been so giving and encouraging to me over the last year.  When I met him at the first Engage08 Encore, my life changed. I highly recommend his book, Release Your Brilliance.   If you get the chance to hear him speak (come to Engage09 Encore!) JUMP at the chance!   A few morsels I will keep in my “heart drive” forever from Mr. Bailey:

Failure is not final.

How you start the day, determines the day.

Your universal assignment is not necessarily to touch everyone; it’s to touch someone.

Brilliance is released when you are in an environment where you are celebrated.

The future is created in the present.

If you don’t change, you will be changed.

images below :: Stacey Kane

Kyle Barnes signing the incomparable Sylvia Weinstock up for Twitter and teaching her how to use it on my MacBook.  images :: my iPhone

Who is the man? Preston Bailey is. His work single-handedly inspired me to be an event designer. If you aren’t already obsessed with all things Preston, get out from under your rock and get inspired. He is a true creative genius.

Enjoying a lovely lunch on the Ritz patio between sessions. The food was soooo good.  images :: Kyle Barnes

I’m not a big lunch person, but I devoured every bit of this.  The key lime tart was divine.  images :: Kyle Barnes

With florist Karen Tran and the brilliant Simon T Bailey.  Kyle Barnes with Randy Fenoli.  images below :: left Karen Tran, right Kyle Barnes

I wish I could have another wedding for one reason and one reason only:  so I could have the experience of buying a dress from Randy Fennoli.  Rebecca was lucky enough to have Randy design her wedding dresses and I only dream of getting the chance to have this man dress me!  He makes every woman feel like a million bucks.  images below :: Randy’s camera… which I’m sure matched his outfit in every one of these shots

One of the many things I loved about Something Blue was the “VIP Dinearounds” that Rebecca and Kathryn arranged.  I had the pleasure of hosting with the very talented Laura Novak at The Wharf.

Our crew from left to right:  Southern wedding diva Tara Guerard, Laura Novak, Kyle Barnes, Jennifer Driscoll, me, Kathy Strukel, Carla David, Teresa Wilson, Alexis Wyrofsky, and Raemie Brigman-Jones.  images below :: my iPhone

Dinner was fab and we chatted over pinot grigio as we watched the sunset.  One person I was so impressed with and thrilled to meet was Teresa from Camelback Flowershop…. savvy, smart, and so creative.  She has a gorgeous shop in AZ that I hope to visit very soon.

The next day was my big day… time to speak!  I was nervous but excited.  My fellow panelists, Bee Kim of Weddingbee fame and Liene Stevens of ThinkSplendid were incredible of course.  Big news- keep an eye out for Liene’s book on blogging this November!  She is a great writer, so I’m sure her book will be fab.  images below :: left Kyle Barnes, right my iPhone

There were four small group sessions and each one ended up being completely different.  Hearing Bee’s story always blows me away, so it was such a joy to get to know her more.  Liene has such a sharp wit and valuable insight.  I learned so much and feel honored to have shared that time with them.  images below :: right Flaire Weddings, right Kyle Barnes

Below left:  Bee and I with my new bff Jeff Fowler and Kym Bichon from the Breakers Resort.  images below :: iPhone

Bee and I shared some beach time after the panels were over.  I haven’t told her this yet, but there was a moment in our conversation that I will never forget.  And now that she has spilled the beans, I can talk about it.  She told me about trying to have a baby for so long and then getting pregnant when she wasnt trying (read all the details from Bee yourself).   It just reminded me that life gives us such unexpected gifts.  I sat there as the breeze was rushing through our little cabanas and thought about my year… all the unexpected blessings.  It was a very happy moment.  Thanks, Bee, for being such an inspiring business woman, being such a genuine person and for sharing your life with others.  It doesn’t go unnoticed.  Congratulations on Baby Bee!

Later that night, after mojitos in the ocean, we had the joy of attending the closing night gala.  And what a gala it was!  Just hours before, this room was your average conference room.  Give Celebrations Cayman a few hours and they can turn a conference room into a Cayman paradise!  The decor was amazing, Hpnotiq “Something Blue” drinks delish, and the dancing was INTENSE!  After such an exciting few days, I think everyone was thrilled to let loose and celebrate.  images below :: Kyle Barnes

Yes, that is a GIANT floral starfish.  images below clockwise from top left:: Celebrations Cayman, Kyle Barnes, Celebrations Cayman

Could this be any more amazing!?  images below :: left Celebrations Cayman, right Karen Tran

Below with some of the most beautiful, sassy, smart women around- Leila Khalil of Be Inspired PR (call her!), Jill Miester from Get Married (love you Jill!), and Kellee Khalil (call her too!).  I somehow don’t have a good pic of me with all the Get Married girls (how did this not happen ladies!?).  I just have to say how much I adore them.  Meeting Becca and Stacie for the first time was the highlight of my trip.  OK, the next pic is not as fun without watching THIS.  Do it.

Kellee, Laura Marcusse from Adorn Brides, and Leila.  images :: Kyle Barnes

Harmony Walton and Stacie Francombe from Get Married.  Chatting with my new friends from Todd Events in Dallas, Mary and Sara Fay.  images :: Kyle Barnes

Another highlight of my trip was meeting Anthony Luscia from Martha Stewart. (Sorry Anthony, all I have is this late-night open shirt pic of you!  –center below) He was so complimentary of what we are doing with Southern Weddings.  Yes, that made my year.  I had a blast ripping it up on the dancefloor with him.  OK, aaaand I fell in love with Todd Fiscus from Todd Events in Dallas (white hat below right).  We spent some quality time together after this pic was taken talking everything from weddings to funerals to relationships to food, oh my!  He and his team are F A B U L O U S.  And, he has one of the best websites I’ve ever seen.

What a night!  I spent a couple extra days in Cayman just taking in the scenery.  Kyle took these phenomenal pics below while we were out exploring the island one afternoon.  Makes me want to go back.  Wouldn’t you want to have a destination wedding here?  So dreamy…  all images :: Kyle Barnes

Read that sign below…  so fun.  This was in the window of a candy shop we passed.

I don’t know how to scuba dive, but I’d learn just to go on this boat.

Oh this pic gets me every time.  Kyle waited patiently for the perfect splash and it came just at the last minute as we were leaving.

Read the full story on this image below here.

Engage was so spectacular. I met some phenomenal professionals who I have since developed great friendships with and partnered on some exciting projects with. We’ll be featuring Engage alums Ceci NY, Grapevine Paperie, La Tavola Linen, Adorn Brides and several others in our Watercolor shoot next week. I am so grateful for these new relationships and can’t wait to see what develops in the months to come!

Special thanks to all the photographers who contributed to this post (if I missed a credit, please let me know!) and to Rebecca and Kathryn for one of the most unforgettable weeks of my life.  I learned, I grew, I was challenged and I had the time of my life!  I can’t wait till October!

xo lc

PS- I met so many amazing people at Engage, that I could write a whole book. Instead, here are a few more Engage recaps for you:

Bee Kim’s “Ultimate Recap” on WeddingbeePro

Bee Kim “Live Blogging” from the event

Darcy Miller on The Brides Guide Part 1

Darcy Miller on The Brides Guide Part 2

Darcy Miller on The Brides Guide Part 3

Darcy Miller on The Brides Guide Part 4

One Wed :: Savvy Scoop

Ashley Baber

Susan Moynihan of Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Magazine

Harmony Walton of The Bridal Bar

Kristy Rice of Momental Designs Part 1 & 2

Alison Hotchkiss of Alison Events

Karen Tran Florals

Bella Signature

Outstanding Occasions

Blue Orchid Designs | Splendid Communications

Celebrations Ltd. Grand Cayman

Donna von Bruening

Flaire Weddings part 1

Flaire Weddings part 2

Melenbacker Photography

Trisha Hay black.white.bliss part 1

Trisha Hay black.white.bliss part 2

Get Married Blogger Brides 1

Get Married Blogger Brides 2

Get Married Blogger Brides 3

Marion Marshall – Absolutely Blooming

The Weddington

Barbara Hearn

PussBackfoot Blog