Results for weddings Tag

perfectionist and the event planning industry

PERFECTIONISTS IN EVENT PLANNING

I’m pretty confident that if I took a poll, most of you would consider yourselves perfectionists. Recently, to my great surprise, a good friend accused me of been an extreme perfectionist. Being in the wedding and event industry means that we’re always aiming for that perfect evening — not only for our clients and brides [...]

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Royal Wedding Flowers Centerpieces Design Decor

MY ROYAL WEDDING RECAP

(image via Iker Merodio) What a morning! Did you watch the Royal Wedding? I couldn’t resist! I had such fun on Twitter live tweeting with my fellow bloggers and tweeters! I must admit that with all the hype surrounding the Royal Wedding, I was afraid it might not live up to our expectations. Fortunately, I [...]

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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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wedding and event planning design inspiration

My Top Tips for Finding Inspiration

(Image via Cimexus) The weather here in New York appears to have finally turned a corner. It’s gorgeous outside. I love the warm weather and the way the city comes alive on nice days. Everyone lingers outdoors and there’s a festive, practically jubilant mood. But it can wreck havoc on your schedule: it’s almost impossible [...]

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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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vendors stealing ideas copy cats

COPY CATS: WHAT TO DO WHEN OTHER VENDORS STEAL YOUR IDEAS

No doubt almost all of you have your own websites to help promote your businesses. When clients are looking to hire a caterer, photographer, planner, designer, florist etc… for a big party or wedding where do they start their search? The internet, of course.  In today’s market, if you don’t have your own site, it’s [...]

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event planning wedding new business

PREPARING FOR YOUR FIRST MEETING WITH A POTENTIAL CLIENT

(Image via midwestgrrl) So, you’ve convinced a potential client to come in and meet you. You’re excited and very eager to get the job for this wedding, corporate event, birthday party, etc… And even though I strongly believe that we’re not right for every client, and every client is not right for us, of course you still [...]

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talking on the phone to clients

HOW TO SIGN CLIENTS OVER THE PHONE

(Image via Sean Davis) In my blog post yesterday, I wrote that it’s absolutely possible to secure a new client after just one phone call. But you must make a great impression and you must know what questions to ask. It took me many long years to learn the art of talking on the phone [...]

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budget-conscious brides

CONVINCING POTENTIAL CLIENTS TO MEET IN PERSON

(Image via pshegubj) Today’s venting post is in response to one of you, my lovely readers, who wrote in asking for my help with brides who want a price quote before they’ll agree to meet with a vendor. We vendors typically prefer to meet with a potential client before quoting any prices. The reader who [...]

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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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bride and wedding designer

COMMON MISTAKES: DEALING WITH CONTROLLING BRIDES

(Image via h.koppdelaney) I’ve never had a client who came in and said “Preston, you’re the wedding designer. Do whatever you want for my wedding.” Sometimes, clients aren’t positive what they want, but, in these cases, I know the right questions to ask, and pretty quickly I have a good sense of what they envision [...]

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wedding decoration candles

REMINDER: TOP 10 WAYS TO CREATE AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENT

(Image via Arghya a.k.a Orgho) When I ask my clients to describe the most unique weddings they’ve ever attended, I’m  always surprised that they can usually think of no more than one or two. Here’s my top 10 list on how to create a unique wedding or event using a few key reception ideas: 1. [...]

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Venting, Difference, Wedding and Design

Venting: Explaining the Difference Between Planners & Designers

(Image via via Jude Doyland) I empathize with most clients who aren’t sure about the difference between what planners do and what designers do. These two services have become so interchangeable that most of the time, it’s difficult to tell them apart. Not to mention the local banquet managers from hotels and venues who do [...]

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Theo, Music, Dance

Let’s Face the Music and Dance

By Guest Blogger: Theo Bleckmann As Preston’s partner I have had the great fortune of seeing a lot of his work in person and to be a guest at many of them. Even after 5 years, I am still overwhelmed and in awe every time I see his work. Being a singer and composer I [...]

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Celebrations,flower centerpieces, Ceremony, Ballroom, draping, chandeliers, candles, glasses, table setting, curtains,gray,tree branches, hyacinths, lilacs

What’s In or Out? Color Trends (Best of 2010)

For this week between Christmas and New Year’s, I thought it’d be great to re-post some of the most popular blog posts from 2010. I’ll post one each day and resume normal blogging on Monday, January 3rd. Have a great New Year all! Today’s post is all about Color Trends from 2010. From this survey, [...]

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facebook, Preston Bailey, website, application, Bride Ideas, floral sculpture, dog, car,seats, sections,blogs

Community Wedding Planning

As you know, I have worked with thousands of brides in my 30 years of being in business. I have learned many things about them, but mainly the following: This wedding is one of the most exciting day of their lives. They want the wedding to be a reflection of who they are. They love [...]

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cash register, money, profit, numbers, thirteen, deposit, profit, money management

FAQS: If a wedding is canceled do you return the client’s non-refundable deposit?

(Cash register image via Public Resource.org) I have had many cases, especially with weddings, where for one reason or another someone chooses to break the engagement. This is always a very upsetting time for both families. And one of the saddest things is that, most of the time, they already put down non-refundable deposits for [...]

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Petite Food, cupcakes, carrot, decoration, food design

Venting: Petite Food

(Carrot image via Malias) This post really should have been called, “Venting: When we pay for a meal, and get an appetizer.” Last week I went to dinner at this new, amazing, hip restaurant in New york. I was so excited to go there that when the only reservation available was at 5:45pm, I took [...]

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empty wallet, money, skimping, finance, assets, money management

Common Mistakes: Skimping

At what point does one say, “No I cannot do this job without skimping on everything”? I have been in this position many times, and every time I have taken the job the clients have not been happy and neither have I. I completely understand that these are challenging economic times. However, if a client [...]

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Video, client meetings, Preston Bailey, tricks, how to's

The Art of a Client Meeting

I had a great meeting with a new client and her family yesterday. It left me completely high with anticipation to do this job. I woke up thinking about this meeting and what made it so unique and it propelled me to write this entry on meeting with new clients. Here are some things I’ve [...]

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