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I flew down on a turbulent flight with Carley Roney of the Knot, Randy Fenoli of Kleinfeld and Say Yes to the Dress, floral extraordinaire Michelle Rago, and Antonia Van der Meer of Modern Bride yesterday. Luckily we all made it in one piece!

We arrived at the beautiful Ritz Carlton Cayman Islands around noon.  After checking in, I worked by the pool until I got too hot (but I don’t miss the rainy NY weather), and enjoyed a stunning welcome party on the beach designed by Michelle Rago, complete with fireworks!

The Engage09 xonference officially began at 8:30am, and I’ll be live blogging throughout the day!

Cayman Islands time (1 hour ahead of EST)

8:45am - Rebecca Grinnals, the mastermind behind Engaging Concepts and the Engage conferences, gave her intro.  She has been a friend to Weddingbee since our launch, and is a force to be reckoned with!

9:05am - Carley Roney of theknot is doing a presentation on wedding statistics based on a study they conducted in 2008.  Some interesting facts: the younger the bride the bigger the wedding.  2/3 of couples have at least one signature element.  Biggest area brides are cutting back in this economy: videographers and wedding planners in this economy.  15% use a wedding planner - almost half used “day of” only.  20% of couples have destination weddings (200 miles or more away).  Brides say the number #1 they would use to describe their wedding vision is “elegant.”

9:35am - Liene of Think Splendid just twittered a pic of me live blogging!

9:45am - I’m doing an interview with a cable tv show that’s doing a special on Engage09 in an hour and a half.  Thinking about what to say about trends, tips, and memorable moments at real weddings I’ve attended.

9:48am - btw — you can follow me on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/bee_kim

9:49am - Carley just addressed two of my biggest pet peeves: down with streaming music and long flash intros!

9:50am - Rebecca Grinnals says to put a picture of yourself on your site.  This is such a high touch industry, people want to know what you look like.

9:55am - Darcy Miller, Senior Vice President of Martha Stewart Weddings, is up.  Darcy is always so sweet to me whenever we run into each other at events.  She’s talking about how brides submit Real Weddings to be featured in the magazine (you need to fill out a form).  Only 5% of submissions get published.  Showcasing Cheree Berry’s (cutest name ever?) Real Wedding coming out in the upcoming summer issue.  On the Today Show throws a wedding with Martha Stewart, they were trying to get Danny Devito drive the getaway cab, but somehow Scott Baio ended up driving.  Darcy is sharing pix and stories from her own wedding.  Check out her insane wedding scrapbook here!  Antony Todd did her flowers and Sylvia Weinstock did her cake (I’m supposed to teach Sylvia how to Twitter later!).

10:24am - Confession: I haven’t thought about what I’m going to say on my panel tomorrow at all. Everyone is such a naturally great speaker, it makes me nervous!  I’m sitting next to Liene, who is twittering the conference, and who I will be speaking with tomorrow.

10:33am - Someone in the audience asks Darcy what they look for when they select Real Weddings.  Darcy says: highly personalized, has a vision, inspirational, doesn’t necessarily have a big budget… sometimes it’s just a matter of balancing what they already have.  Real Weddings submission forms is going on their website soon — Shira Sabata is the editor who collects Real Weddings so you can email her.  MS Weddings wants to know about your wedding when you have enough details down, but early enough so they can fit it into their schedule.

10:45am - Went to the bathroom and missed some of the audience questions, but Fabuluxe had a great tweet: Darcy makes a point: no trend is overplayed or overdone. We’ve planned many weddings, but it’s still the bride’s first #engage09

10:58am - Sylvia Weinstock just joined Twitter — she is so funny and witty, she’s going to be a great twitterer.   Between liveblogging the conference, following everyone’s tweets, and squeezing work in between, it’s quite a bit of multitasking.  We’re taking a break for 15 min now… be back soon!

11:12am - So sad I’m going to have to miss Marcy Blum speaking because I have to head to my interview shortly.  She is hilarious and tells it like it is!

12:07pm - Just got back from filming my interview.  Phew!  I think I did ok, but it was nerve-wracking! Mentioned a story about Mrs. Cherry Pie and why she chose Polebridge, Montana as her vene… they loved it and I hope they use it!  The show will appear at an unknown date on one of the cable networks like Style or WE.  Bee on the lookout for me dressed like a bee (yellow dress and black shoes )!

12:12pm - Millie Martini-Bratten, Editor in Chief of Brides Magazine is up!  Rebecca has been like my wedding fairy godmother and has introduced me to wedding titans like Millie over the past three years.

12:17pm - Brides is the largest wedding magazine in the world.  Millie is walking us through things that influenced wedding dress trends over the years like Gone With the Wind, Cinderella…

12:18pm - Checking out all the raving tweets about Marcy’s speech and am sad to have missed it!

12:34pm - Breaking for lunch.  BRB!

1:28pm - Back from lunch where I sat next to Abby and her husband of Style Me Pretty and had a lovely conversation!

1:42pm - People still streaming in from lunch.  I should start taking pictures with all of the fabulous people here.  You get so busy chatting with so many different people, you forget!  Who are you dying to see dear readers?  I just took a pic with Darcy and Abby at lunch so I have one down and lots more to go!

1:49pm - Sylvia Weinstock is up!  She is almost 80 years young, has been married 60 years (her husband Ben is here with her), and is one of the funniest, most real people around.  I tried on her iconic glasses at the last Engage!

Here I am pictured with Kathryn Arce — the other half of Engaging Concepts.

1:54pm - Sylvia is showing us a slideshow of some of her gorgeous cake creations.

2:11pm - Each of the speakers is hosting a dinner at a different restaurant around the Cayman Islands.  Since I came to the Cayman Islands on a press trip two years ago, I’m glad that I don’t have to go far and will be staying here at 7 at the Ritz!

2:12pm - Sylvia says people often ask her how she feels about people copying her work.  She said you should feel sorry for them for not being able to come up with an original idea — “a copy is never an original!”  And no on kickbacks!  Sylvia works 7 days a week.

2:25pm - Rebecca says Sylvia pioneered branding in the wedding industry with her glasses.  Sylvia says she saved her husband money because she can’t wear big diamond earrings with her big glasses.

2:32pm - Antonia van der Meer is on the podium and talking about Modern Bride Trendsetters.  Modern Bride is 65 years old.  The trendsetters is about looking forward to the future and adding to the strength and excitement of the wedding industry.  She wanted to bring the same kind of recognition that other industries had to the wedding industry.  The first list was 6 years ago.  The first list included an organic chef, which has since become a big trend.

2:35pm - All trendsetters, past and present (including little ol me), just stood up.  Other trendsetters I’m honored to be included among that are present here: Lisa Hoffman of CeciNY, Tara Guerard of Soiree, Preston Bailey, Michelle Rago, Sylvia Weinstock…

2:36pm - The list is a combination of people you expect like Vera Wang, and people you might not know like Robert Kalt who repurposes the items left over from events to people in need.  They get recommendations from staff, advisory members, past trendsetters…  People who are innovating or originated an idea.

2:43pm - Watching a video from 2007 on Modern Bride Trendsetters set to Coldplay featuring Mindy Weiss, Lisa Hoffman, Marcy Blum, Michelle Rago, Ron Ben-Israel, Bentley Meeker, Terry Gruber, Preston Bailey, Sylvia Weinstock, Colin Cowie…

2:50pm - The first Modern Bride Trendsetters event resulted in 1 million pageviews for Modern Bride.  This year’s event resulted in 60 million pageviews in the first 48 hours.

2:55pm - I’m going to ask Antonia a question….  I asked her since Modern Bride often focuses on originators of ideas, is that why there are so few photographers named as trendsetters?  Send emails to Holly Madison (photos) and Betsy Goldberg (news) and get your work in front of Modern Bride.

3:02pm - Attendees are picking random envelopes to see who they will be dining with this evening.

3:05pm - Short break and rum cake tasting time!

3:38pm - Chatted with Thayer and Alison Hotchkiss during the break.  Motivational speaker Simon T. Bailey is up now!

3:41pm - Simon asks — what would you do if no one paid you to do it?  What makes you come alive?  Because what the world needs is people who come alive. Honestly?  I’d be blogging.

3:43pm - Am sitting between Antonia van der Meer, Darcy Miller, Carley Roney and Marcy Blum.  Wedding superstar overload!

3:45pm - Simon says: Release Your Brilliance: Be a Storyteller. Am I creating the tomorrow that I want to live in.  And if that is so, what story am I telling today, because my story is building my brand.  Why am I here, what can I do, and where am I going?

3:56pm - Vuja de - The opposite of de javu as coined by George Carlin. Looking at something with your eyes but seeing it differently. Examples: Google, Apple.  They’ve taken something everyone knows and they’ve flipped it.  In your business, what is the vuja de?  That’s what becomes your personal brand, your story.

4:00pm - How you start the day, determines your day.  The future is created in the present. Spend a few minutes each morning getting centered.

4:06pm - It’s 2019, What is your greatest achievement?  The secret of your brilliance is hidden in what you really, really, really want. It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not that holds you back. (That last statement is so true for me!)  We had to list 10 goals we will achieve within the next ten years… mine included: having 2 children, buying my in-laws a house, selling at least 3 companies, having the option to retire but not wanting to, being happy, and leaving my mark on the world.

4:13pm - Comparison inferiority complex - when you compare yourself to others and want what they have.  You begin to reflect on the outside how you feel on the inside.

4:18pm - Simon took a volunteer from the audience and wrote her top 10 achievements.  Now he’s asking her which ones are the most important.  Is having a multimillion dollar empire more important than being in love with your husband?  Interesting exercise in determining what is truly most important to you.

4:27pm - Brilliance is a process — not a one time event.  Brilliance is a marathon, not a sprint.

4:34pm - Simon’s favorite books: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, Connie Podesta, Tribes by Seth Godin, Alchemy by Paulo Coelho.

4:39pm - Just asked Darcy and Carley how many real wedding submissions they get on average.  Darcy is not sure, Carley says maybe around 100/month?  I also asked if they publish Real Weddings that have already been published on the web, and they both said no.

4:42pm - Simon says: Failure is not final.  Failure is only feedback.  And failure is the breakfast of brilliant ones.  The greatest gift is the gift of failure.  Let it go.  Slow down in order to speed up.  Relax and it will come.  Not on your timetable, but when you’re ready.

4:46pm - Preston Bailey.  He is an amazing speaker and it’s no surprise they’ve saved him for last!  Preston says Marcy Blum is the funniest woman he knows (they are very good friends irl).  She brings in clients that are in love with her because of her sense of humor.

4:50pm - Preston on branding — what is it that makes you uniquely different?  He thinks wanting to be the best in the industry is the wrong approach.  You want to figure out how to be different.  Preston is talking about how deathly jealous he was of Colin Cowie, esp when he saw him on Oprah and then when someone mistakenly said to him, “Oh my god!  I love you Colin!”

4:56pm - Seven years ago, Preston owed a million and a half dollars… until he hired Sean Low.  Sean is opening is own company in a month — he has always been very kind to me, and he’s brilliant if you’re looking for business advice!

5:06pm - We’re watching a slideshow of some of Preston’s work.  He has worked on some of the most lavish events around the entire world, including a wedding for 5000 people!  Preston:  Yes folks it’s wonderful to have a big budget.  I admit it, I admit it. Preston usually offers three concept designs for his clients.

5:08pm - Preston sells and designs and promotes himself.  Nothing else.  In order to grow, you need to choose what it is you like to do best, and try to hire someone to do the stuff you don’t want to do.  It’s time to reinvent yourself.  If Preston can do it in 6 years, we can all do it.

5:11pm - Responding to an audience question, Preston says he and Colin are friends.  What Colin sells is elegance.  Preston sells showbiz, over the top.  Two completely different approaches.  He also flashed us his abs.

5:13pm - Preston: we are in the business of service.  Give your clients the confidence that you will not only give them good service, but also go that extra step.

5:15pm - Time for book signings and photo ops.  I’m headed back to my hotel to change and take a little breather before dinner.  Fantastic day of speakers, but exhausted already!  Day began at 7am.  Dinner at 7pm.  Dessert Reception by the pool at 9:15.  It’s going to be a 16 hour day.

Thanks for following along!