engage!08: the inspiration

The true name for this outstanding symposium I attended in October is engage!08: the encore, however for me it should be engage!08: the inspiration...why you might ask? Well in order to truly answer I need to explain what this opportunity meant to me.

The one-day symposium was held at the Ritz-Carlton of Grande Lakes in Orlando, which of course set the stage for perfection from luxurious accommodations to fabulous food and first-class service. Engage!08 successfully debuted in June 2008 as a "high impact wedding business symposium designed to take you and your company to the next level" as outlined by founders Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce both of Engaging Concepts.

I was fortunate to be able to attend encore in conjunction with planning meetings with Disney Fairytale Weddings and was able to meet and network with 80 wedding professionals from 5 countries and 25 states. In addition to meeting new friends and colleagues, I had the good fortune to hear from dynamic leaders in the wedding industry starting with Rebecca Grinnals, co-founder of Disney Fairytale Weddings and founder of Engaging Concepts which provides expert consulting to the wedding and honeymoon industry.

Other featured speakers included Carley Roney and David Liu of The Knot, Sylvia Weinstock, Bee Kim of the Wedding Bee, Sean Low, President of Preston Bailey Designs and Simon T. Bailey renowned author of Release Your Brilliance. We had an entire day of interaction with these industry innovators and learned some of their secrets to success. Everyone of them challenged us to push our potential beyond all boundaries and to release the inhibitions that may have been a road-block to future success.

So what does this have to do with engage!08: the inspiration? Stay tuned to part!2: the inspiration.