Libsyn Directory

513 ANDREA EPPOLITO: AI for Wedding Professionals

Release Date: 08/19/2024

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...

515 ROBERT SHERMAN: How to Build Loyalty and Retain Employees

The 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...

514 TARA GUERARD: Global Tastemaker with Southern Hospitality

The 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...

513 ANDREA EPPOLITO: AI for Wedding Professionals

The 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,...

512 REVISIT COLIN COWIE: The Gold Standard: Giving Your Customers What They Didn’t Know They Wanted

The 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...

511 LIENE STEVENS: Current State of the Wedding Industry and Investing in Yourself

The 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...

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...

509 SUSAN LACZ/Ridgewells Catering: Quality and Culture in Business

The Wedding Biz

Join Andy this week as he sits down with , the CEO of . With a career spanning over three decades, Susan has been a pivotal force in the catering and events industry, steering Ridgewells Catering through significant transformations and challenges. Listen in as Susan shares her inspiring journey, starting with her early influences, notably her grandmother, whose culinary skills and hospitality left a lasting impression on her. She discusses her initial foray into the food business, from working at a deli in Wyckoff, New Jersey, to bartending in Washington, D.C. Her passion for sales and...

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...

507 TORI WILLIAMS: From Glam Services to Global Recognition as an Event Curator and Designer

The Wedding Biz

Andy is so honored to bring Tori Williams of Tori Williams Events onto the show today! Tori is a world renowned luxury event curator who has showcased her work on major television networks such as Lifetime, Bravo, and The Food Network, and she is even the star of the VH1 original series My Celebrity Dream Wedding! She joins Andy today to discuss everything from childhood influences to pivotal moments that shaped her career! Tori shares her journey from cosmetology to becoming a sought-after event curator and designer. With a client list featuring names like Tyler Perry Studios and the Atlanta...

More Episodes

Andy is thrilled to once again be sitting down with Andrea Eppolito, a renowned luxury wedding planner and author of AI for Wedding Professionals. 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, creating a tailored experience that reflects the user's unique voice and sensibilities.

The conversation also addresses some of the common criticisms of AI, such as its perceived robotic nature. Andrea highlights her strategy of creating a personalized AI profile, which involves feeding ChatGPT with detailed information about her writing style, design preferences, and professional outputs, resulting in content that mirrors her voice (although still making tweaks to enhance it even further).

Andy and Andrea additionally explore the practical applications of AI in the wedding industry. From content creation, communication, task management, and data analysis, AI tools such as ChatGPT, IBM's Watson, Grammarly, Trello, and Eventbrite are transforming how wedding professionals operate, and Andrea emphasizes the efficiency offered by AI, allowing professionals to reclaim time and focus on their creative and strategic endeavors.

Listen as Andrea also provides some helpful insights for those new to AI. She advises starting with educational resources and gradually integrating AI into routines, emphasizing the symbiotic relationship between humans and AI where continuous interaction and feedback lead to desired outcomes. By embracing AI, wedding and event professionals can enhance their creativity, streamline operations, and maintain a competitive edge in the industry!

Andy had such a great time having this timely, insightful conversation with Andrea and hopes that you enjoy listening! If so, then please don’t keep it to yourself! If you can think of at least three people who would enjoy this episode, Andy would love it if you were to share it with them. He would also appreciate it if you left a top review wherever you listen because that really helps the show out.

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

[1:03] - Today's episode is with Andrea Eppolito, who shares insights into using AI for wedding planning.
[2:23] - Andrea explains how AI acts as a creative assistant, spotting patterns and offering insights quickly.
[4:11] - Andrea has trained ChatGPT to mimic her style by uploading detailed personal profiles and content samples.
[7:40] - Think of AI as a powerful personal assistant; you make final decisions and edits.
[9:18] - Hear about Andrea's book, AI for Wedding Professionals.
[10:26] - Andrea further advises listeners to train ChatGPT with specific prompts and feedback for accurate and personalized content creation.
[13:06] - Hear how Andrea and her husband have used various GPTs for tasks such as legal documents.
[15:27] - Andrea encourages listeners to use AI tools like Grammarly, Trello, and Eventbrite for efficiency in various tasks.
[18:40] - AI saves time on grunt work, allowing focus on creative and unique tasks.
[21:10] - We are encouraged to start with ChatGPT, ask for guidance, and spend daily time learning AI.
[23:45] - Some people use AI for referrals to avoid ads and get unbiased, authentic recommendations.
[26:23] - Andy shares a story in which he used ChatGPT to help him prepare a ten-minute presentation for a big opportunity.
[28:25] - Once you overcome AI anxiety, you can balance its use with your personal touch and creativity.
[30:17] - Hear where to find Andrea online.