The Wedding Biz
Andy is happy to be welcoming to the show! Brooke is the visionary owner and creative director of Brooke Keegan Special Events, a leading firm specializing in custom, multi-day destination weddings, and since founding her company in 2009, she has garnered recognition from Harper's Bazaar and Brides as one of the world's top event planners! She is here with Andy in this episode to share, amongst other things, her invaluable insights from her years in the industry! As Brooke and Andy catch up, Brooke reflects on challenges faced, particularly the significant downturn in wedding engagements...
info_outline 518 TWB – BRYAN RAFANELLI: The Art of Lasting Success & Self-FulfillmentThe Wedding Biz
Andy really hopes that you will join him for this episode of The Wedding Biz as he welcomes back to the show Bryan Rafanelli of ! Bryan is a renowned designer and planner and is the founder and chief creative officer of Rafanelli Events, and he has been behind some of the most high-profile events in recent history, including Chelsea Clinton’s wedding and several of President Obama’s White House state dinners. His team has also worked on key campaign events for Vice President Kamala Harris! Bryan opens up about the pressures of maintaining excellence in a saturated market, admitting...
info_outline 517 DAVID STARK: Self-Actualization in Event Design, the Importance of Scale and Simplicity, Balancing Art and Business, and More!The Wedding Biz
guest of the show returns for this episode of The Wedding Biz! David is a renowned event designer and planner with over 25 years of experience in the industry, and as the founder and chief creative officer of David Stark Design and Production, his impressive client list includes celebrities such as Glenn Close and Brad Pitt, SNL’s 40th Anniversary, The Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Metropolitan Opera. Listen in as David shares insights into his creative process, discussing the balance between designing for clients and creating art purely for himself. He reflects on collaborations...
info_outline 516 MEGHAN ELY: Aligning Your Brand for Luxury Wedding PublicityThe Wedding Biz
Longtime listeners of the podcast will likely be familiar with today’s guest as she has been on the show several times already! Join Andy as he welcomes back Meghan Ely, the owner of ! Meghan is a longtime industry speaker and writer and is a wedding pro educator with regular contributions to Wedding Planner Magazine, The Knot, Wedding Business Magazine, Catersource, and SpecialEvents.com. Meghan joins Andy for this episode to discuss defining and achieving luxury in the wedding industry. With years of experience and numerous accolades, including but certainly not limited to being recognized...
info_outline 515 ROBERT SHERMAN: How to Build Loyalty and Retain EmployeesThe Wedding Biz
Andy is so thrilled to be welcoming his business partner, Robert Sherman, to the show! Robert is Andy’s business partner at and is also the owner of , a legendary entertainment company established over 55 years ago. Together, Andy and Robert tackle the topic of employee retention, discussing how to keep employees engaged, happy, and loyal over the long term. Robert shares some valuable insights from his decades of experience, explaining how hiring for company culture is just as crucial as hiring for skill sets and emphasizing the importance of communication, ensuring that employees not...
info_outline 514 TARA GUERARD: Global Tastemaker with Southern HospitalityThe Wedding Biz
If you have been a longtime listener of the podcast, then today’s voice may sound familiar to you as it is her ! Andy is so thrilled to welcome back , owner and creative director of headquartered out of Charleston, South Carolina (and with an additional office in New York City). Tara is recognized as one of the nation's leading tastemakers globally, and she is here to share some exciting updates since she was last on the show. Listen as she and Andy reflect on the profound changes brought about by the pandemic and how it has influenced their approach to client relationships. Tara shares her...
info_outline 513 ANDREA EPPOLITO: AI for Wedding ProfessionalsThe Wedding Biz
Andy is thrilled to once again be sitting down with , a renowned luxury wedding planner and author of . Andrea shares her initial hesitation toward AI and recounts how she dedicated daily time to understand and leverage this technology, highlighting its comparison to the invention of the internet in terms of impact. Hear Andrea's take on how AI, particularly ChatGPT, can serve as a powerful creative assistant, sifting through data, spotting patterns, and offering insights that would take humans weeks to uncover. She stresses the importance of training AI to emulate one's personal style,...
info_outline 512 REVISIT COLIN COWIE: The Gold Standard: Giving Your Customers What They Didn’t Know They WantedThe Wedding Biz
Join Andy as he revisits his with this week! Having had celebrity clients such as Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, Lil Wayne, Nicole Kidman, and Demi Moore, this episode’s returning guest has enjoyed quite the career so far. has also had many corporate clients such as Dom Pérignon, Warner Brothers, CBS, Whitney Museum of American Art, Architectural Digest, and so many more! Colin is also a published author, having written books such as , , and . Colin, as he discusses with Andy in this episode, is all about making sure that he delivers the ultimate experience...
info_outline 511 LIENE STEVENS: Current State of the Wedding Industry and Investing in YourselfThe Wedding Biz
In this truly enriching episode, join Andy as he connects with Liene Stevens, the acclaimed author, behavioral psychologist, and CEO of Think Splendid! Liene brings a wealth of knowledge from her extensive experience in the global wedding market, having collaborated with clients across 97 countries and revolutionized operations for numerous luxury brands and resorts! Tune in as Liene shares her unique journey from an unexpected promotion at a nonprofit right out of high school to becoming a key player in negotiating the release of hostages with the U.S. State Department! Her unorthodox path...
info_outline 510 REVISIT JOSE VILLA & LAURIE ARONS – Discuss Working Together As Photographer & Planner/Designer and More!The Wedding Biz
Listen in to this revisit as Andy chats with two guests, both of whom have been featured on the podcast multiple times in the past. Laurie Arons is a planner and designer of and has been featured in numerous magazine publications and has been listed in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Martha Stewart Weddings as one of the top worldwide planners. Her clientele is made up of trendsetters such as Sophia Coppola, Vanessa Getty, and Christy Turlington as well as prominent business moguls like Gary Friedman, Frank Caufield, and Eddie DeBartolo. Laurie has also created and runs a very successful...
info_outline“I resonate with the client that wants to make you a part of their family throughout the wedding weekend.” Listen as Andy and his guest Caleb Jordan Lee discuss Caleb’s early passion for travel and filmmaking, Caleb starting his LLC at sixteen and why he decided to film weddings, plus much more on this episode of The Wedding Biz.
Caleb is a brilliant filmmaker and the owner of East West Production, a full-service event filmmaking company with award-winning coverage. Caleb’s work has been showcased in publications such as People’s Magazine, particularly for shooting Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding. He has also been featured in Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Brides Magazine, and Harpers Bazaar named Caleb as one of the world’s top filmmakers.
Caleb speaks about his first year in business and how his sister’s wedding was the catalyst for his business boom. He speaks about how important he feels relationships are with the creative partners and planners and how he works with the planners to create the best product.
Listen as Caleb shares a story about Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding and how iconic his shot of her walking down the aisle with her 70 foot train was. Caleb also discusses how he and his team edit and how everything plays a part in getting the perfect film for his clients.
Caleb shares the work he does commercially and how he brings emotion to each small snippet, and he talks about the challenges he faces when telling a client’s story, his perspective on social media, the equipment he uses, and how he keeps up with the constant technology change. Caleb started as a teenager and has been in the industry for over ten years. His is a success story you don’t want to miss!
If you enjoy this revisit with Caleb Jordan Lee, then please don’t keep it to yourself! Share the episode with some good friends who might also get something out of it, and be sure to also leave a top review wherever you listen to the show, as that really helps the show out! Lastly, don’t forget to follow The Wedding Biz on Instagram and subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss a new episode when it drops!
Have you heard about Stop and Smell the Roses with Preston Bailey on The Wedding Biz Network? Listen as Preston shares the secrets, tools, and technologies behind his extraordinary ability to create a theatrical environment out of any space. Also, don't forget about Sean Low's podcast The Business of Being Creative, where Sean discusses the power of being niched, pricing strategies, metrics of success, and so much more. You can find both shows on The Wedding Biz Network.
SUPPORTING THE WEDDING BIZ
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Time Stamps
[01:27] - Today’s episode is a revisit of Andy’s 2020 interview with Caleb Jordan Lee of East West Production!
[02:49] - Caleb shares where he grew up and how he ended up back in the area.
[03:40] - Caleb speaks about how family values have shaped the man he is today.
[05:08] - Caleb began shooting videos in the Himalayas, transitioned to weddings, and found passion and success.
[08:31] - Caleb talks about where the idea of filming weddings came from.
[09:42] - Hear how Caleb's career blossomed through learning from experienced mentors and prioritizing relationships, particularly with wedding planners.
[12:16] - Caleb discusses his process and how it’s all about his relationships with planners.
[13:24] - Caleb realized the importance of scaling his business wisely, opting for quality over quantity in client experiences.
[14:18] - Caleb speaks about how he works with the planners when getting to know the clients.
[16:04] - Caleb shares about some standout events he has done throughout the years.
[17:58] - Caleb discusses the experience he had when filming Nick Jonas’ and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding.
[21:09] - Caleb speaks about catching Priyanka walking down the aisle with a 70′ train and how iconic it was.
[23:08] - Caleb talks about how he and his team edit film.
[25:10] - We learn that Caleb's journey into the hospitality market stemmed from his love for weddings and capturing the essence of experiences.
[27:49] - Putting together a reel of his work and trying to put all the parts together to create a story is the hardest thing Caleb does.
[28:37] - Caleb shifted his wedding videography style to focus on capturing genuine, intimate moments, tailored to each client's preferences.
[31:01] - Discover that Caleb hasn't encountered major disasters in his wedding videography career, though drone flights remain nerve-wracking.
[32:44] - Caleb discusses how he views the business side of his company.
[33:51] - Caleb shares his perspective on social media and he uses it in his business.
[36:29] - What equipment does Caleb use, and how does he handle the constant changes with technology?
[38:26] - Caleb feels successful if he can bring other people up with him.
[39:59] - Andy reveals where Caleb can be found online.
LINKS AND RESOURCES
Vimeo Links:
Reel
Lake Como, Italy
Amanzoe, Greece
Mallorca, Spain
St. Barths
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte
Find Caleb:
Caleb’s Instagram Page
East West - Website
East West - Instagram Page
Follow The Wedding Biz on Social:
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The Wedding Biz on Facebook: @theweddingbiz
Support The Wedding Biz by clicking here.
Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment.