Results for event Tag

HOME WEDDINGS AND EVENTS CAN BE EXPENSIVE

(Image via Apartment Therapy) I’m always excited when clients want to have their wedding or event at their house. Using a private home for an event is often a dream come true: it’s unique, personal, and often rich with family history. However, many clients assume that hosting an event at home will save them money. [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged event, event venues, expenses, expensive, home, house, money, personal home, save, saving money, venue, wedding | 12 Comments

DESTINATION WEDDINGS: MORE VENDOR FEES

(Image via Rift Success) On Monday, I discussed the importance of charging clients for your travel time and expenses, especially when the job in question is a destination wedding or event. Today, I’d like to continue that discussion by addressing a few more costs related to destination weddings and events: 1. Transportation. In order to [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged additional charges, bidding, charging clients, costs, crew, destination weddings, event, expenses, far, fees, Food, installation, local, lose money, loyalty, per diem, productive, time, time is money, transportation, travel time, vendors, wedding | 4 Comments

DEAR PRESTON: HOW DO I AVOID POTENTIAL CLIENTS GOING STRAIGHT TO VENDORS?

(Image via Wild Strawberry Events) Dear Preston, Firstly, I just want to say that I’m a huge fan. You write an amazing blog that offers very practical and real-life advice. Thank you for inspiring me to be more than I could ever have imagined. To introduce myself, I live in South Africa and am very [...]

Posted in blog, Uncategorized | Tagged Advice, befriend your peers, blog, caterer, clients, Dear Preston, dinner party, DJ, event, Event Planner, FAN, florist, Food, generosity, gentleman's agreement, guest, inspiration, lighting designers, LOYAL, loyalty, more business, party guests, passion, planning weddings, potential clients, Preston Bailey, south africa, strong ipression, trump card, vendors, wedding, wedding and event industry, wedding planing business | 11 Comments

DEALING WITH CLIENTS: BIG DREAMS SMALL BUDGETS

(Image via kidoinfo) Potential clients who want me to lower my prices make me leery. On the one hand, I think that any job can be done beautifully on any budget. Yes, folks, I really do believe that. But clients don’t just want a beautiful event; they want a beautiful event done exactly to their [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged discount, dream big, event, limited budget, lower prices, potential clients, small budget, value of services, vendor, wedding | 12 Comments

WEDDING PLANNING: WHICH VENDOR SHOULD A BRIDE CALL FIRST?

(Image via fiktura) A common mistake I see many vendors make is thinking that when a bride begins to plan her wedding, she should always call them first, no matter what their speciality. But does this really make the most sense? When Ivanka Trump got engaged, I was one of the first people she called. [...]

Posted in blog, Uncategorized | Tagged bride, brides, budget, call, common mistake, designer, DJ, engaged, event, excited, florist, flowers, ivanka trump, letterpress invitation designer, New York City, planner, Planning, pricing, vendors, venues, wedding planning | 21 Comments

preston bailey floral sculpture sylvia weinstock cake

DEAR PRESTON: HOW DO I GET RECOGNITION FOR MY WORK?

(Cake Image via Sylvia Weinstock Cake Blog) Dear Preston, My team and I do a lot of weddings and events, and they’ve all been amazing. Our brides and their guests love our work. But, for some reason, I feel like credit is not being given where it’s due. The venues seem to get a lot [...]

Posted in blog, Uncategorized | Tagged bold glasses, brides, cakes, career, caterers, clients, credit, Dear Preston, design, event, floral animals, floral sculptures, florists, future jobs, guests, lighting designer, musicians, photographers, planners, recognition, signature, signature design elements, staff, sylvia weinstock, team, vendors, venues, wedding, wedding and event industry, wedding cake | 10 Comments

HOW TO DESIGN BIG ON A SMALL BUDGET

I can’t tell you the number of times a designer has said to me, “Preston, if I had the budgets that you have, I’d also be able to create great designs.” Every time I hear that, I want to scream. Folks, there’s no question that I can really let my imagination fly when I have [...]

Posted in blog, Uncategorized | Tagged big budget, boring, budget, budget decorating tips, candle centerpiece, candles, clients, create, creating a mood, designer, dramatic entrance, edible centerpiece, event, exciting designs, floral centerpiece, flowers, fruit, fruit centerpiece, great designs, guest, impact, money, mood, more is better, napkin, Preston Bailey, rose bowl arrangements, simple design, simple elements, spending money, strategy, votive candles, wedding, wedding and event planning industry | 7 Comments

MY FAVORITE WEDDING PLANNING MOMENTS

(Image via joe_toh87) Whenever I do a wedding, I have a little tradition that has come to mean a great deal to me; I always hand my bride her bridal bouquet right before she walks down the aisle. Early in my career, I realized that moment is an especially vulnerable one for brides. Sometimes they’re [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged bouquet, bride, contract, emotion, event, father of bride, job, married, Preston Bailey, radition, special moments, walk down aisle, wedding planning, wedding planning moments, weddingt | 9 Comments

HOW TO LET GO OF A BAD BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

(Image via Renato Pequito) If you’re in the wedding and event business, you’ve likely had a few difficult clients. More often than not, you’ll connect with your clients in a deep and profound way. Occasionally, though, you’ll find yourself with a client who seems impossible to please. I once did a job that was so [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged artist, business, clients, designs, difficult client, drama, event, final project, frustrating, gut feeling, hard to please, inspiration, inspired, job, let go, let go of bad business, no drama, Planning, playing the victim, remain focused, take away from experience, turn down a job, wedding, wedding and event industry | 21 Comments

DEAR PRESTON: DO YOU HAVE BRIDEZILLA STORIES?

(Image via Modest Fly) Dear Preston, I love the show Bridezillas. With all the weddings you do, I’m sure you’ve had to deal with many crazy brides. Do you have any good “bridezilla” stories? Sincerely, Bridezilla Fan Dear Fan, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t think there’s much “reality” on reality TV shows. [...]

Posted in blog, Uncategorized | Tagged bride, bridezillas, clients, crazy brides, david tutera, Dear Preston, drama, emotions, event, groom, my fair wedding, perfect wedding, Preston Bailey, reality TV, reality wedding shows, TV, wedding, wedding and event industry, wedding shows | 10 Comments

HOW TO REMOVE OBSTACLES FROM YOUR BUSINESS

(Image via 94 Sugars) Business obstacles are nothing more than unrecognized opportunities, but even though I recognize this, at times, I still get overwhelmed by them. I recently had a client who was never satisfied, no matter what I did. Talk about a big hurdle! But I was determined to reach her. Eventually, after several [...]

Posted in blog, Uncategorized | Tagged business obstacles, challenging issues, client, cost, creativer, doing business from the heart, dramatic, employees, event, event planning industry, help, learning, Michael Jordan, obstacles, opportunities, overwhelmed, Preston Bailey, share, wedding | 8 Comments

ARE DREAM WEDDINGS A REALITY AGAIN?

(Image via Preston Bailey) Everyone knows summertime is big wedding season, but I’m also very busy with all of my fall and winter brides, who are in the middle of intently planning their own upcoming weddings. With the bad economy the last two years, many of my brides requested understated designs. They wanted elegance but [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged brides, centerpieces, clients, design, dream wedding, economy, event, fall, floral centerpieces, New York City, New York City brides, royal wedding, summertime, understated designs, wedding, winter | 8 Comments

Melissa Rivers Winter Wonderland Wedding

WHAT’S THE POINT OF BEING A DESIGNER IF YOU DON’T DESIGN?

(Image via Preston Bailey) When you create a great design that you and your clients love, how often do you repeat it? Do new clients come in, see this great design, and ask that you do the same for them? When Joan Rivers’ daughter, Melissa Rivers, got married, I created the winter wonderland wedding design [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged archive, brides, clients, design, design ideas, drawings, event, Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers, money, popular, recreate, repeat, save, wedding, wedding design, winter wonderland | 8 Comments

DEAR PRESTON: WHY IS MY RACE SUCH AN ISSUE?

(Image via Poofy) Dear Preston, As an African American in the wedding and event industry, I’m encountering a problem that’s weighing heavily on my heart. I live in Pennsylvania. Brides see my work, love my work, get referred by other brides, and make an appointment to see me. But then they discover that I’m African [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged african american, blog, brides, client, clients, discrimination, event, family, fiance, groom, industry, minority, outcasts, pictures, Planning, prejudice, race, referred, talent, travel, twitter, website, wedding | 19 Comments

HOW MUCH DO WEDDINGS AND EVENTS COST?

(Image via Alaska-in-Pictures) I suspect that most of us don’t really know our area’s going rate for wedding and event planning services. So it’s little wonder that we’re constantly anxious about whether we’re overcharging or undercharging. Often it feels like one big guessing game! Today I want to try and change that, at least a [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged beverage, clients, event, flowers, Food, invitations, New York City, overcharging, Planning, price, reception, servers, services, undercharging, wedding, wedding bouquet, wedding cake | 23 Comments

DILEMMA OF THE DAY: LOSING SLEEP OVER UNHAPPY CLIENTS

(Image via Berlin Battery) We’re in the wedding and event industry, and our business is about providing great service. I love my work, and, most of the time, I consider my job play. But, once in a while, when something hasn’t gone well, I still have sleepless nights. Usually, I can’t sleep for one of [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged bills, business, client, clients, designer, designs, event, industry, pay, service, solutions, unhappy client, wedding | 9 Comments

BIG EVENTS: HOW TO PREVENT LAST MINUTE DISASTERS

(Image via bondseye) It’s wedding season, folks! And last weekend my team and I juggled two big jobs. The bigger a job, the more complicated it will be, and the more complicated it is, the more likely something will go wrong. So this week, I’d like to address a few of the things that can [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged band, caterer, clients, crisis situation, design, DJ, event, events, floral arrangement, floral centerpiece, floral design, florist, ice sculptor, invitations, lighting designer, photographer, problems, rental company, thing going wrong, vendors, wedding, wedding season | 2 Comments

MY TIPS ON HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY WORK WITH AN INEXPERIENCED PLANNER

(Image via hellojenuine) I’ve written a great deal about being a planner and hiring vendors; this is something I’ve done countless times. However, I am also a designer, and I have also had the experience of being hired by a planner to design a job. The vast majority of both planners and vendors I have [...]

Posted in blog | Tagged client, design, designer, event, Event Planner, florist, help, vendors | 14 Comments

PRESTON BAILEY

Results for event Tag

HOME WEDDINGS AND EVENTS CAN BE EXPENSIVE

DESTINATION WEDDINGS: MORE VENDOR FEES

DEAR PRESTON: HOW DO I AVOID POTENTIAL CLIENTS GOING STRAIGHT TO VENDORS?

DEALING WITH CLIENTS: BIG DREAMS SMALL BUDGETS

WEDDING PLANNING: WHICH VENDOR SHOULD A BRIDE CALL FIRST?

DEAR PRESTON: HOW DO I GET RECOGNITION FOR MY WORK?

HOW TO DESIGN BIG ON A SMALL BUDGET

MY FAVORITE WEDDING PLANNING MOMENTS

HOW TO LET GO OF A BAD BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

DEAR PRESTON: DO YOU HAVE BRIDEZILLA STORIES?

ARE DREAM WEDDINGS A REALITY AGAIN?

WHAT’S THE POINT OF BEING A DESIGNER IF YOU DON’T DESIGN?

DEAR PRESTON: WHY IS MY RACE SUCH AN ISSUE?

HOW MUCH DO WEDDINGS AND EVENTS COST?

DILEMMA OF THE DAY: LOSING SLEEP OVER UNHAPPY CLIENTS

BIG EVENTS: HOW TO PREVENT LAST MINUTE DISASTERS

MY TIPS ON HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY WORK WITH AN INEXPERIENCED PLANNER

Unintentionally Overpromising In Contracts

What Do You Get Out of Your Own Work?

Do You Judge Mothers Who Choose To Work or Those Who Stay Home?

Dear Planner: Would You Consider Doing This For Me?

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