Photo Credits: Victoria Anglea
Beautiful is an understatement in the island of Bermuda. This year for my annual Wedding and Event Planning Experience we traveled to Bermuda and held it at the fabulous Rosewood Bermuda Hotel. From near, far, and wide we met 45 incredible attendees who traveled from all parts of the world to be part of this EXPERIENCE.
My intention for the Wedding & Event Planning Experience is to provide a 3 day seminar for those who are looking to grow their career or who are already in the profession to learn, ask questions, and educate planners/designers in this industry.
See below a quick sneak peak of the video below at our time in Bermuda.
Video credit – LUXECINÉ
Day 1 – Let’s get to know each other!
There is so much great energy as everyone starts lining up to come in and get started. Joey and I laugh because it is our Anniversary(April 1) and we essentially have a “receiving line” with all our guest in a line waiting to come up and greet us! It was really great seeing the familiar faces of so many returning alumni along with all the wonderful new faces of the new guests that in trusted us to take this journey for the Experience! The first day is really setup to be a great way to get to know each other, we had a wonderful welcome session in the beautiful conservatory of the Rosewood Bermuda, and then we escorted all our guests down to the beach club for a very fun “family dinner party” on the beach. It was very sweet, our dear friend and trusted travel advisor for DTE Linda Mitchell insisted that Joey and I wear the traditional Bermuda Shorts to this kick off event! Everyone took lots of pictures, because I am not one for shorts, but for the sake of tradition I wore them with Joey. We had an amazing vendor team this first night to create a fun party on the beach, with great music from DJ Rusty G, and finishing off the night with the traditional Gombey dancers! Special thank you to Planning Factory for the decor, Bermuda Tourism Authority (overall sponsor), Rosewood Bermuda for the venue, food and beverage, Alaina Trott of Bridge Trading Post, Pink Sand Entertainment, Goslings, Flowers By GiMi, Urquid Linen, Passion Growers, Bridal Suite Bermuda Weddings, The Traveling Bride, Luxecine & Victoria Angela Photography.
Day 2 -A day of learning and night to the essence of romance
Our morning began with a calm and peaceful yoga lesson from Joey. Then, we met for breakfast and started off with a keynote address and Q&A session with me. Throughout the day we had amazing educators and sessions such as:
1. Setting Your Vision with Lee Richer from the Event Planners Association.
2. Tactics to Build Your Wedding Business with Bernadette Bailie from The Knot.
3. Working With Venues with Eva Chan and Serge Bottelli from Rosewood Bermuda.
4. Corporate to Creative with Nandi Outerbridge from The Bridal Suite Bermuda.
5. Q&A session with me.
6. Finding Balance and being bold with Joey Toth.
All of these educators had amazing things to teach our attendees I glanced over and saw so many notes upon pages and pages written out. We were only on day 2!!!
After all day of education, I had a special surprise venue and an over the top Pretty in Pink affair planned for all. Oh my what a treat to see everyone so dressed up and then their eyes light up when we arrived at the Unfinished Church! There had never been a dinner event at this historic location and we were so honored to be the first.Everyone had assigned seating and made their way to their designated table. I love to surprise my guests and keep each part of the night filled with the question “what’s next?” We had phenomenal performances from The Bermuda Ame Mas Choir & Joy T Barnum. If you looked up you could see the beautiful twinkling stars shining and the wind blowing through all the floral arrangements that surrounded the church. I was quite pleased by how well the night turned out but before it got too late we all needed to head back to the hotel room and get ready for day 3.
Day 3 – The final day and a night under the stars
It was a bright and shiny morning with Joey as he took the group into a special place as only he with his yoga teachings. The funny thing about the yoga at the Experience is that you Experience level doesn’t matter, you just have to show up and be open to what may come up for you! After yoga and breakfast the group went back in the education space and we continued our journey with more educators, a project, and presentation from each attendee. We had sessions such as:
- Destination Travel with Linda Mitchell from Luxury Destination Travel.
- Hands on Floral Session with Rene Johnson from Lush Flowers Houston.
- The Evolution of a Destination with Victoria Isley from Bermuda Tourism.
- Lunch Session with Chef Gerry & myself on experiencing a menu tasting.
- Partnering on Creative Ideas & Life with Matthew Strong & Selange Gitschner from Dasfete.
- Streamline Your Business with Nikki Begg from The Traveling Bride.
- Group Presentations moderated by me
All the presentations were amazing but made it and even harder decision for tonight. At the end of this night I selected 2 attendees to work with me on a future event. Two of which decisions were based on growth and the willingness to learn. Regardless of these two being experienced or not it was the passion and drive that I saw in these two and after each presentation the competition made it that much harder, but luckily I had some time to think about it.
All attendees met at the Croquet Lawn at the Rosewood and had cocktails with horderves near the infinity pool. The theme was underneath the stars and the attire was “Be Your Fabulous Self!” Everyone again looked so gorgeous and dappered up. I couldn’t wait to celebrate this final night with dancing and embracing each moment!!! We had soft and relaxing music from Gita -Bermuda’s Lady of Song. Everyone danced and had so much fun. Words couldn’t describe how that night went, you just had to be there. Haha.
Of course, as I mentioned before it was time to announce the two attendees who would work with me and my team in a future event of their choice for 2019. The two attendees were Hatian designer Johnny Altime from Celebrations and Taanya Sarma from The Cypress Manor at Cary. Congratulations you two! I cannot wait to have you aboard and working with my team and I on a fabulous event.
I feel so blessed to be able to provide an unforgettable experience for planners and designers who want to learn more. We cannot wait for next years event in Orlando Florida at the Four Seasons Hotel on March 29th-31st, 2020. If anyone you know might be interested in a spectacular event such as this please do share or forward this information. You never know what opportunities might lie ahead at The Wedding & Event Planning Experience!
P.S. A special thank you to all of the vendors and guest speakers who made this possible!
