Where do I begin talking about a conference that leaves me speechless on so many levels?  Engage14 in Beaver Creek, Colorado was an intense experience. This was the second Engage Luxury Wedding Business Summit that I have attended. You can read the detailed recap of my first experience here.

Prior to this year’s conference, I was asked numerous times what I wanted to get out of the 3 day event. I was also asking myself the same question but the only thing that kept playing in my mind was that I wanted was to be open to whatever information and connections resonated with me.  I also wanted to be confident in my own skills and abilities that I play on the same level as many of other attendees. Intellectually, I know this but I wanted to keep this mindset throughout the conference and not be intimidated.

The details I am sharing here are about 2% of the actual content of the conference. If you received value from this recap, just imagine what you would take away from attending a future Engage conference. It is an investment worth making.

Here are short recaps from the speakers I most enjoyed:

Simon T. Bailey

Day one started at 3pm with the opening sessions. This was my favorite day for big picture thinking about my businesses. Simon T. Bailey blows my mind every time I hear him speak. He talked about being a shifter. Shifters don’t like conformity. They don’t do want to do things the way they have always been done. They always ask the question, “What else is out there?” A shifter is a category of one. They are not like anyone else.  I love this train of thought and want to be more of a shifter. Simon suggested journaling regularly about what is amazing about us so that we can live it, feel it and be confident in ourselves. I admit this has been challenging for me to do but I am on day three of journaling this and I do feel more confident each time I journal. Simon gifted all attendees with his latest book Shift Your Brilliance which I can’t wait to read.

Randy Fenoli

‘Trust your gut and let the universe work for you. Life is a rollercoaster. You can throw your hands up and enjoy the ride or you can put your head over the side and puke. It’s your choice. When you fall flat on your face, the fall doesn’t define you. It’s getting back up that defines you.”

Randy was funny, entertaining and authentic. This quote from him was one of my favorites from Engage14.

Debbie Geller

Debbie talked about the three types of experience in event planning:

1. My experience as a planner
2. My client’s experience during the planning process
3. The guest’s experience at the actual wedding or event

When a bride thinks of wedding details, they are thinking of napkin treatments, table linens and types of candles. As wedding and event planners, we think of details in terms of tents, budgets and setup times. It’s helpful to understand this when we are speaking with clients and potential clients. Also, she talked about how our details need to be flawless so that our client’s details can happen. Good stuff!

Liene Stevens

I have always loved what Liene has to say about the wedding industry. Her insights can inspire and motivate as well as make you think from a completely different perspective. She talked about marketing to and working with millenials. If you have employees or contractors who are millennials, it’s important to understand what they need in their jobs and careers:

1. Need to be able to give feedback and have a voice in the company
2. Their career serves as a social function in their lives, not just a job
3. Need to understand how their work relates to the bigger picture of the company
4. They are more motivated by lifestyle rewards than by cash rewards

Brian Rafinelli

I just love this guy. He is full of style, class and wisdom.  He talked about determining what is your extra? What is the thing that makes us different now? What is the thing that makes us different next year?

It gave me great perspective from a coaching standpoint when he talked about how it is okay to just be really good at what you do but not be great. Not everyone can be great and not everyone strives to be the best and that is completely okay. Conceptually I understand this but it is always helpful to hear it from someone who IS great. Some of the event planners I coach just want to be really good at what they do. They may not necessarily want to be one of the top ten event planners in the country or even in their state. Many planners are happy in their current target market and could care less about working in the luxury wedding market.

Mariam Naficy

As the founder of minted.com, Mariam had great advice to offer. One thing that really resonated with me is that as your company grows and you get focused on managing, it is a good idea to keep something fun on your plate – a certain project or task that you love to do. Outsource the other things you don’t like. Keeping tasks and projects that you are passionate about will sustain you over time as a creative entrepreneur. This could be as simple as continuing to manage your Pinterest account or be the one who always blogs for your business because you love blogging.

Todd Fiscus

“Manage from a point of joy instead of from a fear of failure. ”

Huge revelation, huh? How many of us have managed our businesses from a place of fear instead of from a place of joy? I get stuck in the fear occasionally and don’t even realize it. I now have a printed note near my desk that says “Manage from a Point of Joy”.

It was interesting to learn that Todd is constantly evaluating and changing his business. He described it as twisting the dial on the lock until you unlock success. It can take a lot of tries and wrong combinations to unlock the success you desire.

Cindy Novotny

“You don’t have to compete with anyone else anymore. Just compete with yourself. You don’t have to achieve greatness, just be better tomorrow than you are today.”

Cindy’s advice is to give your clients more than they pay for every single time. Just do a little bit more and hire people who always do more than expected.

If you or your employees are drama queens, this quote from Cindy is for you: “Drama queens need to remember that the only one wearing the crown is the client.”

Cindy also talked about how charlatans are a thing of the past. Great information.

Angela Desveaux

“Expect competition to copy you. It’s called being a leader.”

I attended one of Angela’s breakout sessions. As the founder of WedLuxe Magazine, Angela has gone through many ups and downs in her business. She has risked it all, lost it all and came back more successful than ever. Angela’s viewpoint on life and business mirror mine – determine what your definition of success is personally and professionally. Then define your ideal life. THEN, after those, determine how your business can fit.

Angela also talked about having a clear destination in mind for the end of your business. This is something we all need to be thinking about. What happens when we are ready to move on to a different career or ready to retire? It is important to know what our end goal is so that we can build our business in ways that support that.

Angela had great advice about employees and staffing. It is easy to get wrapped up in friendships with our staff but we have to remember that relationships do not trump everything else. An employee or contractor who becomes a close friend can still leave for a better career opportunity. Don’t think that just because you are close with your team that they are always going to be there. Expect the best but plan for the worst.

Those are recaps from just a few of my favorite speakers from this year’s conference. I also took a lot away from Carla Ten Eyck’s breakout session on building and managing a killer team and from Sean Lowe’s small group tent talk. Both shared so much information and value that added to my Engage experience and learning. In addition to the speakers and breakout sessions, the experience of meeting and connecting with other creative professionals who are on the same level is one of the best benefits of attending an industry conference.

Not only was this conference educational on many levels, the decor, branding, attention to detail and parties were incredibly inspiring. The branding from the event was over the top. Every thing you could think of was branded and presented in a consistent way with many unexpected surprises along the way (Surprise speaker Wolfgang Puck, meeting Bachelorette Trista and lovely gifts appearing at multiple times are just a few of the surprises that delighted all attendees). Every meal, event and snack time was perfectly coordinated, branded and managed – a dream for every event planner. Having this entire experience at the Ritz Carlton added to the level of luxury and enjoyment.

I attended this conference with my good friend and talented cake designer Rachael from Intricate Icings. Being able to share our daily experiences, what we learned and how we are going to implement this knowledge moving forward is a wonderful opportunity for both of us to make the most of what we learned.

In addition to all the information I have shared in this post, I learned some of the most valuable insight from my breakout sessions with Michelle Rago and Xochitl Gonzalez. Michelle talked about the differences in the types of luxury clients and how to handle them. Xochitel gave me fantastic ideas on how to deal with different types of challenging clients.

I shared my detailed summary from these two talks over in the VIP Lounge. If you aren’t a member of our Very Important Planner Community, join us today to gain access to a community of like-minded planners as well as regular additional content that you won’t find on this blog.

Last but not least, a huge thank you to the two incredible women who put their hearts and souls into making this conference a huge success – Rebecca and Kathryn. Thank you for everything we saw and for everything we didn’t see. I cannot imagine the level of organization, time and determination required to pull off this amazing conference.

These highlight videos below are worth a few minutes of your time to watch – so much inspiration and ideas!

Day 1 Engage14 Video Highlights

engage!14 | Bachelor Gulch | Day 1 from I Do Films on Vimeo.

Day 2 & 3 Engage14 Video Highlights

engage!14 | Bachelor Gulch | Final Recap from I Do Films on Vimeo.