President of Fifty Flowers - 

10 Ways Your Website Is Killing Your Wedding Business!
Alan Berg, Vice-President, The Knot
 
With over 25 years experience in sales and marketing, 16 in wedding-related advertising, Alan Berg is uniquely qualified to help local wedding vendors achieve their goals. Beginning his career at the Young & Rubicam Ad Agency, Alan spent many years utilizing his combined Marketing/Accounting Degree in various companies, large and small. He was Publisher of the Hudson Valley, NY, and New Jersey editions of WEDDINGPAGES magazines before joining The Knot as a Regional Sales Director. He was promoted to Vice President of Sales in 2003, managing a local sales team of over 50 reps across the country.

Karen Casey

Karen S. Casey, CWC  Karen Casey Events

Karen S. Casey, certified wedding consultant, has been providing service to brides in the Atlanta area since 1987.  She has designed and taught seminars on "How to Plan Your Own Wedding" (for the do-it-yourself brides) and "Weddings-Southern Style" (for brides who want a traditional Southern wedding).  She has taught classes providing detailed, practical ideas for "dressing" and decorating guest tables - whether for a gala event at a grand ballroom, or an intimate dinner for a few guests in your home.

She is the chairperson for the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants and an instructor for the Association's national training course on "How to Start and Develop a Wedding Consulting Business". Karen is a member  of National Association of Catering Executives and Assn for Wedding Professionals Int'l

Co-Winner International Esprit Award 2005 - Social Event Planning:  Budget Over $100,001
Nominated for International Esprit Award 2005 - Most Creative Solution
Co-Winner Allie Award 2005 - Best Social Event
Co-Winner Allie Award 2005 - Most Creative Venue
Winner Allie Award 2002 - Best Social Event

Will Hegarty

Sure-Fire Secrets of Wedding Success!
Will Hegarty, Chancellor, Wedding Merchants Business Academy

Will began as a wedding photographer at the age of 15. He earned his degree in Business Management, started Images Wedding Photography, and sold it. He is the founding president of Rockford Fosgate car audio, which went public. Will & his wife Patti met at a wedding, where he was the photographer and she was a bridesmaid. Patti has her Masters in Education. They organized their first bridal show in 1992 with 28 exhibitors. In 2006, their two shows each had over 600 exhibitors, the largest in America.

Chris Jaeger

Chris Jaeger, of Book More Weddings -

Marketing your wedding services and products online is serious business. In many cases, it can be the most cost effective advertising and promotion expenses you can make for your business. Nine out of ten brides and grooms will use the Internet as a primary source of information when planning their Big Day. Will they find your web site? Will they choose your services and products? Why do some vendors do so well online while others get few, if any, inquiries or leads from their website?

  At the AFWPI Ventura Beach conference he'll tell you how you can:

 Get more traffic to your website Turn more of your visitors into inquiries Improve your search engine positioning Get better results from your website Sell more of your wedding products and services using the Internet

Doug Lavine

Doug Music on the Move

What message will they remember from your printed brochures?

Doug LaVine is a polished Disc Jockey and Master of Ceremonies with a continuing DJ business running since 1972. His clientele are mostly brides wanting high-end wedding entertainment, more specifically with an upscale, emotional experience.
    In the last 5 years his DJ rates have quadrupled (yes 4-times more) and is currently one of the highest paid in the Sacramento area of more than 200 DJs
    His 22 years in printing and graphic arts reflect his ability to create and effectively use printed materials to increase not only his business, but attract higher paying brides.
    This hands-on discussion will help you recognize small (or large) changes that can be made to most brochures and business cards that will help your business have a brighter, more positive image, and produce more results.

Kris Malandruccolo, an award-winning professional videographer for over 18 years, runs her own business, Elegant Videos by Kris, in the Chicago area.  To view video samples, please visit her website at www.ElegantVideosByKris.com   Kris is also the Public Relations for WEVA........

Kris will present “The Power of Video & Marketing Tips to Make Your Business Shine”. This presentation will show how you can use video as a tool to market your own services and gain more business with internet savvy brides and wedding professionals. Do you have brides that don’t want video? Come get the one tool that will help them change their mind. Experience the current trends in wedding and event video production. Experience how today’s marketing tools, including the internet , blogging and the video iPod can help you get more business. Kris will also share marketing tips to make your website, business card and print ad stand out amongst the crowd. Bio: Kris was voted one of the "Top 25 Videographers in the World" by EventDV magazine for her profound influence in the industry. Kris is the WEVA Public Relations Chairwoman and President Emeritus of Illinois Videographers Association. Kris is the only videographer to earn the title of Master Wedding Vendor through the Association of Bridal Consultants. Kris, an award-winning columnist and contributing editor, writes The Reel Deal column for EventDV magazine. Kris is a nationally recognized speaker in the videoi industry.

Julia Markel

Bridal Shows, 7 Ways The Workshop

7 Ways to Get More Bookings at Bridal Shows

Julia's background in journalism gives great assistance to AFWPI's promotional, publicity and editorial objectives.

During the past 12 years, Julia has overseen the operations and planning of Bridal Expo bridal shows, coordinated fashion shows, organized giveaway weddings at Bridal Expo, and developed the Wedding Games. In that time she noticed the differences on what makes a good display and how to convert the lookers into buyers!

Julia is also the Chief Financial Officer for Mar-Nel Productions, the parent company to both AFWPI and Bridal Expo.

At this workshop you will learn how to get the sales at the show!

Peter Merry

Past President, American Disc Jockey Association

"The Best Wedding Reception...Ever!!"

In this dynamic presentation, Peter Merry will share stories of creative ideas and examples on video for creating a fun atmosphere at wedding receptions. Fun doesn't just happen all on its own. Come learn proven techniques for allowing the guests to feel more involved, for creating a timeline that will flow smoothly, and for creating better communication between the related wedding vendors. You'll even learn how to create poignant, emotional moments that will become lifelong memories. Understanding these principles will result in better photographs and video footage, better perceptions about reception locations, and increased demand for quality wedding entertainment services and professional coordinators alike.

Laurie Morgan

has more than 14 years experience in publishing, advertising and marketing.  Prior to founding her current company, The Wedding & Special Event Yellow Pages, in 2002, Laurie held senior executive positions at IDG (the global technology publisher whose titles include PC World, Macworld, and Computerworld) and at Sony Entertainment.  At IDG, Laurie was the founder and president of IDG.net, the company’s global internet marketing and ad sales division. At Sony, Laurie founded an electronic media venture that developed a patent-pending technology for delivering multi-media books over the web.  Laurie is a graduate of Brown University and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

9 Ways to Optimize Your Marketing for Results

Suzanne Redd, Advertising Manager for Conde Nast Bridal Media oversees advertising for 16 local bridal magazines and one major bridal web site.  Markets include: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Houston, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Northern California, Philadelphia, South Jersey, Southern California and Washington DC.

With expertise in regional marketing and advertising, Suzanne has been on board with the bridal group since 1995. With the relaunch of Brides local magazine and Brides.com, Conde Nast's newest award winning bridal web site, she has insight on what is important to the brides of today.

Although headquartered in New York City, Conde Nast has sales offices across the country in an effort to not only support it's readers but it's advertisers as well.  Suzanne routinely visits as many clients as possible, now surpassing 3,000 in total nationwide.

"Conde Nast's sole purpose is to present a product that speaks to the bride's needs, wants, and shopping habits. Our magazines and web sites are designed as an essential wedding resource for engaged women and the top response engine for vendors" says Suzanne..
 
Suzanne Redd can be reached at (866) 802-6585 or Email