Results for Planning Tag

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Dear Preston: Clients Won’t Pay Me The Amount I Feel I Deserve

Dear Preston: After receiving a degree in business and taking three planning courses, I took time out to carefully create a solid financial plan (two years to be exact), and I launched my planning company.  I did a lot of research on what other planners were charging in my city and found the average to be [...]

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Preston Bailey, Preston Bailey Blog, Preston Bailey and Arturo de Noriega, My Interview with Arturo de Noriega

My Interview With Arturo de Noriega

Dear Readers,   I am currently in Lima, Peru, one of the loveliest places I have visited.  The smells, colors, and people are intoxicating, and the food? I have gained five pounds!  Suffice to say that if you have not experienced Peruvian food, you have not lived.  My journey to Lima came by way of [...]

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Reader Spotlight: 10 Questions For You

Dear Readers, One of the most wonderful parts of being a member of the design and event community are the incredible opportunities we have to collaborate with (and learn from) those around us.  I am always so inspired by the comments, conversations, and wonderful emails I engage in and receive from so many of you and [...]

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What Are Your Clients Paying in Your Area?

Dear Readers,   Happy Monday!   Having the chance to travel around the world has given me the wonderful opportunity to speak to a number of planners, vendors, florists and others in the event industry.  When the topic of pricing comes into play, the conversation can become quite colorful.  I have recently heard the following statements: [...]

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hotel concierge, waldorf astoria, preston bailey blog

Preferred Vendor Lists: Helpful or Exclusionary?

Dear Readers, Many hotels, private clubs and catering halls have what is called a “Preferred Vendor List“. If you are on that list, you are lucky. If you’re not, well, you could easily lose jobs. I had two very bad experiences with venues who utilized this practice. The first was with a very well-known hotel [...]

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Henri Matisse Preston Bailey Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fearless Design: How Will You Push Your Boundaries?

Dear Readers, One of the most wonderful things about being an artist is moving through your creativity, pushing boundaries (your own and those in the design world), and coming up with innovative ways to inspire and reflect the dreams of your clients.  As you know, transformation is a big theme in my work and business, [...]

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x-ray flowers, orchids, preston bailey blog

Dear Preston: My Client Won’t Pay Taxes On The Design

Dear Preston: I am a florist in New York City and recently had a client give me a budget of $20,000 to do a wedding for 300 guests.  It wasn’t easy, but we managed to come in under budget. When we presented the bill to the client, she noticed that we had added the additional [...]

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The Beauty of Making Mistakes

As planners and designers, it’s safe to say that we want to give our best to our clients and peers. It’s a terrible thing to walk away from a situation feeling that we have let a client down or have not showcased our talents in the most polished and professional way. Unfortunately, situations like these [...]

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on the phone

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. [...]

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no drama sign

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 [...]

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sad woman

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 [...]

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writing a check

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 [...]

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DEAR PRESTON: A CLIENT RESPONDS TO A READER’S RUDE LETTER

(Image via kevindooley) This morning I shared my response to Poor and Confident’s letter, which I published in last week’s Dear Preston column. This afternoon, I’d like to share with you an email I got from one of my clients after she read the letter. Dear Preston, I am appalled at the accusation that Poor [...]

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keep brides and corporate clients happy

THE IMPORTANCE OF FUN DURING THE WEDDING AND EVENT PLANNING PROCESSS

(Image via james.holly) Recommendations from clients can be a blessing or a curse. I’ve seen it all. There’s the bride who is so happy with my work that she can’t wait to recommend me to all of her girlfriends who are also getting married. (I live for these brides!) Then there are the clients, often [...]

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Wedding Industry Etiquette Making Money

THE ONE MISTAKE YOU DON’T WANT TO MAKE

(Image via John C Abell) Most of the wedding designers, wedding planners, wedding photographers, and other wedding vendors I meet and work with are very talented. And talent, well, that’s the hard part. So it has always struck me that vendors who have the hard part down (the skills!) are sometimes so bad at the [...]

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Preston Bailey Wagner College Event Planning Design

A BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR OF MY STUDIO WITH WAGNER COLLEGE

Last week, a group of talented Wagner College students who are currently enrolled in my Signature Wedding and Event Design course visited me and my team at our New York City offices. I’m so inspired by other wedding and event designers, but especially those that are young and just starting out. Their perspective is fresh, [...]

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Easter Table Setting Decorations

MY RECIPE FOR A MAGICAL EASTER CELEBRATION

Happy Easter! I love this holiday. When I was a child in Panama I always received a new suit for Easter; it was the one time each year that I got a brand new outfit. I wanted to look good, because all of the colorful church ladies wore extraordinary hats and outfits to our Baptist [...]

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wedding reception food

UPDATING MY LIST OF CATERERS

(Image via monakos) There’s no question in my mind that caterers can make or break a party. You can have the most stunning wedding reception decorations, the most beautiful flower arrangements, and the most meaningful ceremony, but it won’t mean much if the caterer is sub-par. If you serve your guests bad food or the [...]

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Showing Respect to Nature

REMINDER: It Isn’t Your Event, It’s Your Client’s

(Image via gwaar ) I wonder if this ever happens to you… you start working for a specific client, and you have such a clear vision of what the event should look like that you catch yourself thinking, “I know best.” This has happened to me many times, especially when I also happen to love [...]

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FAQs, How to Make Money, Timecard

FAQs: If I don’t get commission from my vendors as a planner, how do I make money? What should I charge?

(Image via via Brandi Sims) The industry is bombarded with a new generation of planners. I think this is great, however, most of them are under the assumption that you ONLY need great organizational skills to call yourself a planner. In fact a lot of brides, after planning their own wedding, love the process so [...]

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