Weddingbee PRO

I’ve mentioned Rebecca Grinnals several times in past posts on Weddingbee, but she really has been like my wedding fairy godmother.  I met a very enthusiastic Rebecca very shortly after we launched — she just “got” Weddingbee right away, and has been a champion of the site ever since.  I’m extremely introverted and hate networking, so Rebecca introduced me to everyone in the industry when I was just starting out.  She also encouraged me to speak at all three of her Engage conferences, and despite being terrified of public speaking, there was no way I could say no!  She is warm, genuine, and one of the savviest people in the wedding industry today.  You will never meet anyone who has a negative word to say about her — which is how she was able to get such a superstar line-up of speakers at Engage! 09 Something Blue!  Thank you Rebecca for everything you’ve done for me and Weddingbee.  I’m honored to call you my friend!

So without further ado, here is my monster recap of this legendary event!

The “Something Blue” theme was carried throughout the entire conference.  All images are by the talented and generous Stacey Kane unless otherwise noted.

Our very own PRO Laura Hooper designed this gorgeous map!

Rebecca wore something blue every day of the conference.  Here she is pictured with her equally fabulous partner in crime, Kathryn Arce.  Check out all that gift bag goodness behind them!

Within our gift bags were little blue books with pictures and details on every speaker and attendee.

The first evening featured a welcome party on 7 Mile Beach, designed by the one and only Michelle Rago.

(personal pic)

Complete with a shoe valet and a paparazzi lined blue carpet!

(personal pic)

Why yes I would like a refreshing beverage, thank you!

Caymanian lobsters are smaller than the Maine lobsters we’re used to, but just as tasty!

We had such a variety of local, freshly prepared dishes to choose from.

(personal pic)

A local band atop a boat in the ocean played island music as we mingled…

… and watched this glorious island sunset.

(personal pic)

And to top the night off, we were treated to a fireworks extravaganza!

The following morning, the conference officially began.  The letterpressed paper goods were created by another one of our PROS, Bella Figura!

(personal pic)

Carley Roney of The Knot spoke on fascinating wedding statistics compiled from a market study they conducted.

Darcy Miller regaled us with stories from her own wedding.

I’m so bummed to have missed Marcy’s segment because I was off doing an interview with the cable show that was filming the entire Engage! 09 event.  Marcy has such a huge personality, and it’s easy to see why everyone wants to hire her once they meet her in person!

Millie Martini-Bratten showed us the evolution of bridal style and trends over the years.

Then we took a break for lunch, where each table had a unique centerpiece!

(all tabletop and pix with me in them are personal pix)

All of the events’ luxurious linens were provided by La Tavola Linens — 700+ pounds were shipped all the way from California!

Here I am pictured with Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings and Abby Larson of Style Me Pretty.

Time to snag some more pics with some more of my favorite industry peeps!  I feel so fortunate that most everyone is based in New York, so I get to run into them regularly!

Sylvia Weinstock…

The dapper Randy Fenoli of Kleinfeld and Say Yes to the Dress, who was the best dressed person at Engage.

A gorgeously tanned Michelle Rago

The forever young Preston Bailey

Planners extraordinaire Alison Hotchkiss, Tara Guerard, and Ivy Robinson.

Alison, me, photographer Thayer Gowdy, and Jennifer Napier on OneWed.

Acting goofy!

After the lunch break, the inspirational Sylvia Weinstock spoke.  She launched her wedding cake business at the age of 50, and at 80 years old, she shows no signs of slowing down!

Antonia Van der Meer, editor in chief of Modern Bride magazine, gave us a great sneak peek into the Modern Bride Trendsetters awards.

A short break for rum cake tasting!

(personal pic)

Motivational speaker Simon T. Bailey always gets the crowd pumped.

He asked us to perform an exercise where we listed 10 goals we wanted to achieve in the next 10 years.  This volunteer shared her top 10 which included a book and television deal, being in love with her husband, and a hot sexy body.  Simon then asked her to rank each item in order of importance.  It was an eye-opening exercise in what is truly important in your life.

Preston told a great story of how jealous he once was of Colin Cowie, that he wanted to jump out a window (not literally).  But they’re actually good friends who respect one another immensely.  He says it’s not about being the best — it’s about being different!  And look where it’s taken Preston.

We had a short break for a book signing with some of the illustrious speakers.

(personal pic)

Each speaker then hosted a dinner at a different restaurant around Cayman Islands.  I cohosted at a fabulous steakhouse called the 7 with Abby.  I absolutely devoured my enormous and scrumptious ribeye steak!

(personal pic)

The party never ends at Engage!  Dinner was followed by a poolside dessert reception.

The following morning I spoke on four consecutive panels on Social Media Success with my talented and beautiful copanelists, Liene Stevens and Lara Casey.  Unfortunately we weren’t able to attend the three other concurrent panels — a huge bummer because I heard they were all so great!

Jeff Fowler, Lara, and moi.  I laid out on the beach next to Lara later that day, and if I might say… she has a rockin hot bod!

Sean Low, President of Preston Bailey Designs, has always been oh so kind to me.  He has so much insight when it comes to the business and wedding world.  I know his new consulting venture will be a smash success!

Sylvia rocking her tropical inspired swimming suit.

After a couple hours of downtime, it was time for the final party of the conference, designed by local wedding planning company, Celebrations Cayman.  Everything was simply stunning.  We felt like we attended a different type of wedding each night — a beach party, a dessert reception, and finally a blowout ballroom bash!

Though I did not partake of the two dance floors, most everyone did.  Rebecca thought it was going to be more of a networking event, but wedding industry peeps are always working at weddings, so they know how to get down!

How much do I love fresh ceviche, let me count the ways…

Sylvia and Randy didn’t need a dance floor to bust these crazy moves.  Here is the video in case you missed it!

Love this shot Stacey because there sure was a lot of drinking going on!

Here I am pictured with Abby and a wee bit sunburned Vanessa of Two Paper Dolls and Louella Press.

The one and only Rebecca and her stunning something blue jewelry.

Towards the end of the night, Randy bowed down to Rebecca’s greatness as his partner Michael looked on.  I think we all felt like this!

It was the most incredible, informative, inspiring, over the top wedding event I’ve ever experienced.  No detail was overlooked, and now I’m left wondering… how in the world can Rebecca ever top this?!

Still haven’t had your fill of Engage! 09?  Check out these other posts!

• My live blog of Day 1 of the conference
• Donna von Breuning’s fantastic slideshow
• Celebrations’ slide show of the final night’s party
• Momental Designs’ recap and amazing sketches of some of the speakers