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510 REVISIT JOSE VILLA & LAURIE ARONS – Discuss Working Together As Photographer & Planner/Designer and More!

The Wedding Biz

Release Date: 07/08/2024

516 MEGHAN ELY: Aligning Your Brand for Luxury Wedding Publicity show art 516 MEGHAN ELY: Aligning Your Brand for Luxury Wedding Publicity

The 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...

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The Wedding Biz

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The Wedding Biz

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510 REVISIT JOSE VILLA & LAURIE ARONS – Discuss Working Together As Photographer & Planner/Designer and More! show art 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...

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The Wedding Biz

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508 KERRY BRACKEN & JENNIFER ROCHER/LAVENDER & ROSE: A Marriage of English Charm and French Elegance show art 508 KERRY BRACKEN & JENNIFER ROCHER/LAVENDER & ROSE: A Marriage of English Charm and French Elegance

The Wedding Biz

Andy welcomes Kerry Bracken and Jennifer Rocher of this week! Lavender & Rose is an exclusive event planning company based in the enchanting French Riviera. Join Andy as he explores their captivating journey and how they have crafted bespoke weddings in the stunning locales of Southern France and Paris! Listen as Jennifer and Kerry share personal stories of how they first got into wedding planning, with Jennifer bringing her local French expertise and Kerry contributing her British flair after moving to France in 2007. They reveal how their partnership began organically, evolving over...

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The Wedding Biz

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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 Laurie Arons Special Events 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 wedding planner master class.

Also joining Andy is Jose Villa, a fine art photographer who is considered by many to be the top event photographer in the world. He has been published in numerous magazines and was named one of the top wedding photographers by Martha Stewart Weddings, Harper’s Bazaar, Style Me Pretty, and Vogue. He was also named one of the top ten photographers in the world by American Photo Magazine and was named one of the most influential photographers of the decade. Jose, in addition, runs workshops and authored the book Fine Art Wedding Photography.

Laurie and Jose have been working together for nearly a decade, and they each elaborate upon what it’s like working with the other. Laurie describes her business as live theatre only not with actors, a feeling which gives her butterflies because she puts a lot of thought into it. They also discuss at length how they address unexpected obstacles such as challenging weather, what’s important to them as far as the guest experience is concerned, what they look for in a good venue, and what they are seeing happening currently in their business now that we are (hopefully) nearing the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Andy had such a fun time talking to Laurie and Jose again – especially at the same time – and encourages you to go back and listen to their previous episodes of the podcast by going to The Wedding Biz’s website and typing in their names in the search bar. Be sure to also subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode, and if you can think of at least three good friends who would benefit from listening to the podcast, share it with them! Andy would also appreciate a positive review wherever you listen to the podcast!


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.

 

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Time Stamps

[0:24] - Andy reveals this episode’s two guests – Jose Villa and Laurie Arons – and gives their credentials.

[2:11] - Jose reveals that location and communication are some of the key elements for a successful collaboration with a designer.

[3:02] - We learn that Laurie considers a lot of photography experience as well as commitment to be very important when working with a photographer.

[4:39] - Laurie and Jose talk about their collaborative process together, and Jose reflects on the stressful aspects of his job.

[7:39] - Laurie explains how she tries to keep Jose as informed of details as possible.

[10:30] - Laurie reflects a little on the difficulty of obstacles such as the bride wanting her hair redone and how that negatively impacts a set schedule.

[11:25] - We hear examples of how weather can negatively impact events.

[14:47] - Laurie and Jose share what’s important to them in relation to the guest experience.

[16:06] - Laurie and Jose describe a very long wooden pathway that Laurie was involved in making for a particular client.

[18:25] - Laurie discusses venues and what makes a good venue for her.

[21:20] - From a photographer’s perspective, Jose expounds upon what makes a good venue for him.

[23:42] - Jose talks about the importance of a venue eliciting a certain mood.

[25:11] – Jose and Laurie reveal what they are currently seeing in the business now that we are approaching the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[27:29] – Andy explains how to go about finding Laurie and Jose on previous episodes of the podcast.


LINKS AND RESOURCES

Laurie’s Previous Guest Spots on The Wedding Biz

Jose’s Previous Guest Spots on The Wedding Biz

Jose Villa – Fine Art Wedding Photography: How to Capture Images with Style for the Modern Bride

 

Find Laurie:

Laurie Arons Special Events – Website

Laurie Arons Special Events’ Facebook Page


Laurie’s Instagram Page


Laurie’s Twitter Page

 

 

 

Find Jose:

 

Jose’s Website


Jose’s Blog


Jose’s Facebook Page


Jose’s Instagram Page


Jose’s Twitter Page

 

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The Wedding Biz on Instagram: @theweddingbiz

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The Wedding Biz Network

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Support The Wedding Biz by clicking here.

 

Title Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Kushner Entertainment.