Last month I had the great pleasure of speaking to a group of wedding and event professionals at an annual conference called WeWed in Southwest Florida. The conference producer, Kelly McWilliams of Weddings by Socialites is a great friend of The Stylish Planner, in fact, she was the FIRST planner to be featured on the blog. (Read her feature here: Kelly McWilliams Style Profile.) You can follow her on Twitter @weddingtidbits. In addition to enjoying a great conference and meeting some wonderfully talented and kind vendors in the area, I was thrilled to be in the company of two very talented ladies.
As luck would have it, I met Elisa DelGardio of A Flair for Affairs in Orlando, Florida back in May while we were attending a FAM tour for wedding planners coordinated by Indian River County. I knew that we were scheduled to present together at WeWed, so I was very happy to have an opportunity to spend some time with her in advance. Elisa is a great example of taking advantage of educational opportunities to master one’s craft. In addition to being heavily involved in the Florida wedding industry, she is a Certified Special Events Professional – an honor obtained through ISES. Elisa also serves as President of the Orlando chapter of Wish Upon A Wedding. At WeWed, Elisa spoke on Time Management, a skill that eludes me despite my best efforts. Elisa made it seem effortless and offered some great tips – including my favorite, the Pomodoro Technique. You should check out Elisa’s blog and follow her on Twitter at @ElisaCSEP.
My absolute favorite part of the workshop however, was the Bride’s Panel arranged by Kelly. Three brides, in various stages of wedding planning sat at the front of the meeting room and answered questions from attendees for over an hour. Initially, the questions they were asked were ones that had been submitted to Kelly prior to the conference. Once those were answered, we were allowed to ask questions “off the cuff”. Here are just a few of the questions and answers that resonated with me:
Q) Do you like to see pricing on a website?
A) Yes, this way I can eliminate vendors that are over our budget. It doesn’t have to be firm pricing, “starting at” prices are fine.
Q) Do you hesitate to call vendors without pricing on their websites?
A) Somewhat – may still call if I really like their work.
Q) Do you like follow-up from vendors?
A) Yes, first by phone, after that by e-mail.
Q) Did you or are you going to any bridal shows?
A) No.
Q) Are there any blogs that you read daily?
A) Style Me Pretty.
Q) Are you more likely to hire professionals that have association affiliations?
A) No, not sure what it means when a professional is part of an association.
Q) What features do you like in a website?
A) That it doesn’t take too long to load, that there isn’t too much text, that there are real weddings to view, and that there is some base pricing listed.
Q) What magazines did you purchase while planning your wedding?
A) Southern Weddings, Marta Stewart Weddings, Bride Magazine and Modern Bride
Q) What determines whether or not you will purchase a wedding magazine?
A) The cover photo.
Q) What blogs did you read while planning your wedding?
A) Classic Bride, Southern Weddings, Green Wedding Shoes and Style Me Pretty
Q) What are the main features you look for on websites and blogs?
A) Style of the site and lots of pictures.
Q) How much does a professionals appearance matter to you?
A) It matters, I need to see that they are professional and stylish.
I hope you enjoyed reading just a few of the questions and answers provided by the Bride’s Panel at WeWe 2010. This was such a great idea – I felt as though I stepped on a gold mine while the panel was answering our questions! Thank you so much, Kelly McWilliams and all the attendees of the WeWed conference last month. I really enjoyed getting to know more about your area and meeting each of you! For those who did not attend, you definitely want to follow Kelly and watch for the 2011 WeWed conference details!
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