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VENDOR INFORMATION CONFERENCE CALL:
Thursday, June 3
12:30pm EST
(888) 379-9287
participant code: 951215
If you are a wedding vendor that is interested in breaking into a new market, going national, or taking your positioning to the next level, this may be the perfect event for you to showcase your talents.
Photo by Garrett Nudd
photo by Garrett Nudd
On October 22 - 23, The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain will be producing a one of a kind bridal event concentrating on introducing the best wedding vendors from around the country to the luxury bride. Featuring a weekend escape for brides around the country, this event is dedicated to emotionally engage both brides and vendors. As a brand new property, they are reaching out to vendors nationally who would be interested in not only showcasing their talents at this event, but producing weddings at their hotel in the future.
Here’s a peek at who you’ll be amongst: Just announced is our luxury bridal dress designer for this show is Ines Di Santo. Bringing dresses hot off the runway just two days prior to Unveiled, she will be featured along with Executive Chef Clayton Van Hooijdonk and CORE Executive Chef, Joel Harrington. Previous productions have included celebrity dress designer, Austin Scarlett from Project Runway. Check out one of our past events www.stonervideo.com/downtheaisle2
The production has just been announced nationally to vendors and is now open for partnership opportunities. If you would like to showcase your design, photography, floral, rental, videography, planning, etc. talents to brides across the country at a property that is more than spectacular, join us on our call this week to learn more about the overall production and opportunities that could be perfect for you to gain stellar exposure.
Want to find out how to be a part of this event? We’ll be going through an in-depth overview of the production and ways to be a part of it this Thursday.
VENDOR CONFERENCE CALL:
Thursday, June 3
12:30pm EST
(888) 379-9287
participant code: 951215
Here’s a few pictures from our last production:
photo by Ryan Joseph
photo by Ryan Joseph
photo by Garrett Nudd
photo by Ryan Joseph
photo by Garrett Nudd
Nestled among the beautifully raw terrain just outside of Tuscon, the brand new Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain has just announced their specialty wedding offerings - and they are outstanding.
For couples looking for a natural and adventurous way to celebrate one of the most memorable days of their lives, this property deserves a serious look.
Check out these creative packages where couples can get married by a cowboy minister, hike with their guests along the Lower Javelina and Wild Burro Trails, walk down the aisle to music from a Native American flutist, or mountain bike into the Sonoran dessert where their ceremony and light reception take place in one of the most picturesque locations in the world:
These unique adventures paired with the legendary Ritz-Carlton service is bound to create a wedding experience like no other. Here are a few pictures from this phenomenal property.
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain Lobby
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain Spa
The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain Guest Room
It’s bridal show season and I wanted to share a unique bridal event happening in Orlando, FL on March 6-7. From the partnership of Just Marry! and the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress comes their Weekend Wedding Retreat.
This weekend is dedicated to inspiring engaged couples and guiding them through their planning process. I love how this will be an intimate weekend with plenty of 1:1 time for couples and vendors. With an exclusive vendor for each vendor category, couples will receive everything from:
- personalized planning advice from the National Wedding Expert of Perfect Wedding Guide and owner of Just Marry, Susan Southerland
- luxury accommodations, complimentary spa services, personalized dinner service, and breakfast in bed from the Hyatt Grand Cypress
- Exclusive photo shoot with celebrity photographer, Frances Marron
- Hands on workshop learning to design and create your own centerpieces
- MUCH MORE inclusive of lessons with a mixologist, tuxedo fittings, and first dance lessons
For $249 this is a fun and personalized experience for couples!
Katie and I are so excited to announce our partnership with event choreographer and founder of Rockstar Wedding Planner, Ciara Daykin! Ciara has taken her business into six figures in an extremely short amount of time and shares her guidance of how to get there with other wedding planners. In addition, Couture Consulting’s branding solutions will be included in each program offered at Rockstar Wedding Planner LIVE! We are truly honored!
Her upcoming workshop, Rockstar Wedding Planner LIVE is an intensive 3 day seminar to learn Ciara’s NEW Star Power System. Held in San Diego March 15 - 17, Couture Consulting will be featured as Katie and I will begin to take you on a step by step process in creating (or recreating) a powerful and meaningful brand in your sea of competitors. http://www.rockstarweddingplanner.com/live/
A fabulous bonus…Ciara is offering a FREE ticket to Rockstar Wedding Planner LIVE (a $997 value) if you register for her “6 Figure Wedding Planner System”. Ciara is giving a sneek peek of this system TONIGHT! Wednesday, January 20 at 8:00pm EST. Sign up at http://www.rockstarweddingplanner.com/11strategies/ and she’ll share tips on her most successful strategies that took her to the top!
December 17, 2009 at 12:05 pmOne of the most frequently asked questions we get is if Couture Consulting is a public relations company. Although we work directly with PR companies to provide them a unique brand concept to run with for each wedding vendor, we look to PR experts to make our concepts visible in the media stream. One of our go-to public relation agents is Audrey Strong, whom I closely worked with at The Ritz-Carlton, Denver and is now a free lance public relations agent. Within weeks of meeting her, I had holiday expert segments on two television stations and my name was coming up on nearly every business newspaper/blog in the Denver area. She recently wrote a post for our blog that we found thought provoking and wanted to share.
Audrey Strong, PR Agent
It’s tough out there now and getting tougher in the bridal and catering business. The Internet, bloggers, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, IPhone apps are making more and more noise, distracting us increasingly and constantly, pulling your potential clients away from traditional media sources. Attention spans are shorter. The economy means that bridal publications including Modern Bride were folded, leaving fewer publications that are even tougher for obtaining editorial coverage. So, the question is what do you do now?
It can be easier than you think. After working with Kristy and Katie in developing a strong brand concept, what’s one cost-effective solution to expose your new brand to potential clients? Public relations.
When Kristy and I worked together within The Ritz-Carlton organization, she was the Director of Catering and I was Director of Public Relations. We understood the symbiotic nature of these two areas of expertise, knowing that one can drive the other and vice versa. Pushing outbound media relations, in a mix of traditional and social/emerging media yielded sales leads for her department, and her identification of a unique approach to catering provided me with terrific pitches to go out to media, including television, radio, the Web and eventually, helping us team up during the development of Chenell and Jimenez.
Did you know if you can find just one strong differentiator in your business and brand (which Kristy and Katie define for businesses), a strong public relations practitioner can help build the brand, enhance it and secure editorial coverage that would cost you literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in ad buys? I single-handledly garnered more than $3 million dollars in ad equivalency and exposure for The Ritz-Carlton, Denver in exactly one year. It can be done.
In a business sector as bridal, the intimacy and emotional connection of your clients and potential clients to your brand is paramount. Public relations are the way to forge that connection and provide a “feel” for your business and your story to a client, to draw them in organically and drive your sales. Multimedia approaches ad layers to the mix, video and audio can personalize your staff, your story, your products and what you offer that is truly different.
I’d love to explain more about how a healthy, affordable blend of traditional and social media can help your business reach its goals. Strong PR & Multimedia can be reached at audreystrong2009@yahoo.com or by calling (720) 231-6097.
-Audrey Strong, PR Agent
October 8, 2009 at 4:36 pmAbout a year ago I received a call from the Executive Chef of The Ritz-Carlton, Denver, Andres Jimenez. Surprised, I listened to him tell me about his dream of writing a book. A goal of so many chefs, Andres chose to take a slightly different path and asked me if I would join him in this endeavor as co-author from the inspirational event lifestyle side.
Though we consistently banter like brother and sister throughout our work, I highly respect and admire Andres’ talent. As many times as I go to him with outrageous ideas, he never lets me down and continues to prove that together, we can pull off the impossible. As one may imagine, I am honored by this invitation and thrilled to be working on such an unparalleled project.
Since then, we have created our company, “Chenell & Jimenez.” Our concept - to create genuine luxury from simple inspirations.
More to come over the next few weeks as we reveal “genuine luxury” throughout our new blog site. But for now, here’s a sneek peak!
Special thanks to our “People Promoter”, PR agent Audrey Strong, our “Image Inspirationist”, Photographer Kim Nodurft, our Production Assistant, Ana and our Food Stylist, Scott.
September 4, 2009 at 3:04 pm
From the moment I met her, I knew she would be one of the most dynamic and creative people I would work with. Fortunately, I now have the exciting honor to introduce Couture Consulting’s newest wedding business consultant, Katie Hess!
Loved by the industry and brides alike, Katie’s knowledge of branding and weddings is world class. She has a knack for building engaging relationships, uncovering vendor’s true identities, and creating unique brands that set vendors apart from each other.
Katie is highly regarded in the Colorado and Florida wedding industry and her background with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company has provided her brand training bar none. Most recently, Katie opened The Ritz-Carlton, Denver with me as a Catering Sales Manager and Coordinator. Her crucial role at this luxury property included high profile weddings, industry showcases, and the stellar “Down the Aisle” bridal event featuring Austin Scarlett, lead designer for Kenneth Pool and designer from BRAVO’s Project Runway, Season 1.
I am overjoyed at Katie joining the Couture Consulting team and congratulate her on her recent client bookings! One could only be so lucky to have the opportunity to work with her!
August 21, 2009 at 7:07 amAt a loss on how to deal with negotiations these days? Think you’ve tried everything and are looking for inspiration? Check out this video from one of the most creative and ingenious people I know … Jeffrey Stoner of Jeffrey Stoner Video [www.stonervideo.com] in Orlando, Florida. This brief clip is sent to couples who are “on the fence” or looking to negotiate pricing.
What a truly FRESH and FUN way to engage a client and create buzz. Way to express your brand personality, Jeffrey!
As a grand finale for the inaugural Wedding Summit, we welcomed celebrity wedding photographer, Robert Evans to our workshop! Robert, who has shot the weddings of Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes as well as Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston, spent the morning consulting with each participant one on one in regards to each company’s brand, marketing campaign, and sales strategy. It was a unparalleled experience for participants to gain individual guidance from one of the most well respected vendors in the world.
In the afternoon, additional vendors joined The Wedding Summit to benchmark Robert’s story. Robert began by sharing his humble beginnings and went on to describe his current philosophies. Whether you were a florist, a planner, a musician, or photographer, everyone took away inspiration and ideas on how they can adapt some of Robert’s strategies to their own company.
The Wedding Summit features Robert Evans
The Wedding Summit features Robert Evans
As a fond farewell, the day ended with a champagne reception for everyone to network with each other and Robert. Thank you to Robert for such a down to earth and thoughtful presentation. As well, thank you to Grant Oakes for documenting this stellar day!
June 15, 2009 at 8:49 amI recently found this article in regards to the importance of protecting your brand when lowering your pricing. It takes a great look into how corporations around the world have adapted to the current economic times without compromising their brand.
http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2009/06/defying-the-genericizing-of-brands-.html