The Special Event Conference 2009

This week has surely flown right by, and my promise to blog every night in San Diego did not happen because I was having internet problems in my room. Also, our days mostly began at 6:30am and lasted until 11:00pm!

First of all, I just have to tell you how incredibly lucky we were to have the most BEAUTIFUL weather in San Diego all week. It felt like spring, and with the convention center right behind the marina, we were able to enjoy the water between classes.

It was very refreshing to be amongst my peers from all over the world, and to recognize how much talent we have in the events industry. I feel really blessed to be in this industry, where there is endless creativity to inspire us all.

Some highlights of the conference for me:

1. I had the honor of introducing one of the speakers--my good friend Nancy Liu Chin of Nancy Liu Chin Designs. She gave a fabulous seminar on Marketing 101.

2. I attended Sasha Souza's seminar on trends and colors. She was a VERY entertaining speaker and I really enjoyed hearing the way she designs her clients' weddings.

3. The Wedding Luncheon was filled with some of the very best Event Planners in the world, and the ballroom at the Hard Rock Hotel was transformed into a gorgeous black and white ball. Carley Roney from The Knot was the key note speaker and gave a very to-the-point talk on the millennium generation.

4. I finally got to meet one of my favorite wedding designers--the very charming Tara Guerard of Soiree. Her class was incredibly inspiring as she focused on the importance of details, details, details. We got to see the many fabulous and beautiful events that she designed in the past, as she talked about the 'behind the scenes' for each of them. She was very generous about sharing information and everybody was furiously jotting down notes! After the class, she stayed to sign copies of her book--Southern Weddings, which I am so excited to own now!

5. The Designer Wedding Gallery this year featured tabletops of different stories, and my favorite one was Woodlands Revisited as seen in the last photo below

Beautiful models greeted us for the Wedding Luncheon

Me and Sasha Souza at the Designers' Gallery

Me and Tara Guerard as she signs my copy of Southern Weddings

Woodlands Revisited tabletop at the Designers' Gallery