Santa Barbara Wine Country Weddings & Events

05/08/2022

Every Mother’s Day former Disney Executive Lee Cockerell would share his post about the qualities of motherhood translating to good leadership skills. This always inspired and made an impression on me.

This year, while telling a colleague about Lee’s post and how difficult it can be for some mothers who chose to stay at home and raise their children to now re-enter the workplace, the colleague said to me, "mothers are super important, Kerry Lee, but you can probably understand how they have lost touch with an essential skill set aren’t the best choice to start out in a leadership role until they prove themselves in a more basic setting"

To this individual, I dedicate this post. I also dedicate it to all mothers, working outside or inside the home. The world needs more of your leadership. Don't you dare underestimate yourselves and the power of what you have to offer.

Mother’s Day | May 8, 2022 Every Mother’s Day former Disney Executive Lee Cockerell would share his post about the qualities of motherhood translating to good leadership skills. This alw…

04/02/2022

"Awkwarrrrd! Five Responses That Are Better Than Ghosting" | Here are some responses you can try that will honor your boundaries but also give the courtesy of a response to the recipient.

Side note: I fully acknowledge there are a few circumstances and individuals who may have earned a distinguished place in the Circle of “You Don’t Deserve Any Response” (and good on you for getting rid of any toxic relationships that wreak havoc on your life- I have a few of those myself), but for the rest of those with whom we have to interact and have held a trust-based relationship or with whom we wish to continue a relationship, going silent on a response is unacceptable. Even if unintended, it comes across as rude and may actually damage a relationship.

03/29/2022

In a recent interview, I was asked how I handle push-back. My answer was the result of a lifetime career where push-back is part of the job description. You either succumb & crumble to it, or you learn to master it and turn each circumstance into an opportunity for both sides to ask better questions and in the process foster more effective communication, trust, stronger organizations, team work, and long term client relationships.

I share a few of my thoughts here on my latest blog post. See what you think and join the conversation. Have you encountered push-back in your career? How does it make you feel and how do you handle it?

https://engaginginspirationblog.wordpress.com/2022/03/28/mastering-push-back/

Leadership and anyone in the business of being creative encounter “push back” in various forms throughout their career. No department within the special event & hospitality industry…

01/31/2022

Innovation is not just for a physical product. It can be for service, a concept, or even team-building to build a better organization. During this speaking session that is part of our 2022 Speaking Engagement Collection of Topics, participants will hear about the essential elements of prototyping, asking better questions, as well as some daily practices/routines to keep your creativity fresh every day.

But the best part of this session? The fact that attendees get to "play" and get out of their comfort zone having a little fun with building something in a non-judgmental zone and through the hands-on creative project, learn more than they ever would just listening to a speaker talk "about" the subject of innovation.

Be prepared for some laughter, letting go, making new connections, and fresh revelation in this innovation session inspired by the speaker's own journey and findings with Stanford University's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program over the last year.

For more information, visit our page: https://www.engaginginspiration.com/speaking-engagements-workshops

01/24/2022

Decided to over-focus where many are underfocusing on with regard to topics & training on customer service. Part of my new "What if" series.

https://engaginginspirationblog.wordpress.com/2022/01/24/on-customer-service-what-if-2/

Most experts on customer service address the topic with focusing on actions that are outside ourselves. For example: training, policy, procedure, what-to-do-if scenarios, going “above and bey…

12/31/2021

Learn how to redirect the recipient to a better relationship rather than a divide when having to say "no". At the end of the session, join a collaborative master mind group with peers to help troubleshoot real cases brought in by attendees. This, and many other brand new, fresh, relevant & inspirational topics part of our 2022 Speaking Engagement Collection. For more details:
https://www.engaginginspiration.com/speaking-engagements-workshops

12/26/2021

Turn industry cliques into collaborative and inclusive teams with this fresh, inspired, timely, & unabashedly authentic topic that is part of our newly-launched 2022 Master Class Speaking Engagement Collection for special event & hospitality industry pros.

Turn industry cliques into collaborative and inclusive teams with "Shattering the Cliques That Divide Us". One of our 2022 Speaking Collection topics, attendees will start with a foundation of understanding why cliques are formed, their perceived purpose, and how they are adversely impacting the spe...

12/19/2021

A special end-of-2021 message for special event & hospitality professionals:

"In the midst of battle fatigue that has been relentless for almost two years for most of us, we are all longing for an oasis to wrap us all up in the promise and comfort of the good to come and maybe even hint at the good still here that never left us. If you can tap into this "longing" and fulfill it at a grass roots level, you are answering the true calling of what is being asked of us right now."

https://engaginginspirationblog.wordpress.com/2021/12/18/its-almost-2022-be-anything-but-please-be-inspired-inspiring/

Creatives, event designers, and hospitality professionals, I am talking to you. You have the ability to bring people together in ways they’ve never experienced and help re-ignite the human sp…

12/13/2021

Did you know:

**Since 2000, Santa Barbara went from about 6 professional wedding planners to now over 85 (last count) claiming the title of "wedding planner"?

**Because of this, finding a reputable, experienced and polished wedding planner can be harder than ever with all the white noise of more and more folks claiming the title of "wedding planner".

**And because of *this*, we have always referred potential clients (even before our retirement) to "the competition" if we were not the right match for an inquiry. It was *that* important that clients be solid in their confidence to have the best planner possible.

Since prior to our retirement in 2018 from weddings, we still get inquiries and have proudly sent them our list of distinguished, experienced, polished & professional (and fun) wedding planner referrals. The planners listed on this cannot be added by paying a fee or simply requesting to be featured- each one has worked with me personally in some capacity and/or I have attended multiple event planned and executed by them over the years. They continue to be beloved by their clients and all in the industry.

http://sbwinecountryevents.com/santa-barbara-wedding-planners-of-distinction/

Santa Barbara Wedding Planners of Distinction Referrals to the Best Wedding Planning Experts of Santa Barbara We have always provided referrals to the "competition" and believe passionately that the experience, professionalism and personal bond you have with your wedding planner is so important, we....

12/13/2021

Busy in the creative lab finalizing some inspirational (and hot) topics for 2022. Announcement and link coming soon.

09/11/2021

Well, it's been awhile (explanation in blog) but we finally completed one of our final weddings up on our BLOG. Enjoy the planner's notes and incredible image galleries supporting the event story.

As always, no production is a success without a team effort of exceptional event supply partners. Thank you to: The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara, Ventura Rental, Spark Creative Events, Cody Floral Design, Team Hair & Makeup, Gavin Roy Presents, Officiant Rich Tobin, Heather from Brown and Co., and Willa Kveta Photography for making the vision come alive with exceptional excellence and elegance.

http://sbwinecountryevents.com/2021/09/aubree-kcs-elegant-fairytale-wedding-celebration-at-the-ritz-carlton-bacara/

Aubree and KC have impeccable taste and style. But don't let that fool you into thinking that they aren't some of the most fun, down-to-earth and kind-hearted people you will ever meet. With incredible heart, a fabulous sense of humor and obviously madly in love, it was one of my favorite weddings (...

08/31/2021

We all deal with daily interruptions at work- triply so in the special event and hospitality industry.

Does your team know what to do in their daily tasks when those inevitable interruptions come up? Do they know how to prioritize? Or more importantly, do they know how to prioritize by keeping it super simple?

Purpose always trumps task.

See what I'm talking about in my latest blog post for special event and hospitality pros.

https://engaginginspirationblog.wordpress.com/2021/08/31/why-purpose-trumps-task-every-time-leadership-lessons-inspired-by-disney/

When your staff are faced with a difficult decision on how to spend their time in their daily tasks, do they know to which one they should automatically default when faced with having to make a cho…

08/19/2021

Please join me at this fabulous national conference next week as a featured speaker . Going to be filled with so much talent & inspo .

08/15/2021

Looking at this photo, wouldn't it be great to know in advance which path was the "right" path for you? If you could only look to see what lay ahead of each option so you could make the best choice before you set out, wouldn't that be ideal? Sometimes what may look like the right path may end up being a storm, and vice versa. Since we don't possess the power of foreseeing the future yet, let's look at what we *can* see and do. With the Delta variant, it appears COVID19 and its collateral damage are far from done dealing blows of uncertainty- especially for the hospitality and special event industry.

As part of my 8/29 and 8/30 speaking engagement for the National Conference of the Association of Club Catering & Event Professionals I will be delving into :

*why uncertainty is so uncomfortable
*how to work with uncertainty and make it part of the plan
*ways to reframe uncertainty and embrace it as a champion
...among a few other important topics inviting us to ThinkDifferent.WorkDifferent.EvolveDifferent.

Link to tickets below - non-members welcome to attend, too.
https://www.theaccp.com/Default.aspx?p=dynamicmodule...

06/18/2021

Wishing Blue Breeze Band (Motown R&B Soul Funk Band) & Pure Joy Catering the most incredible send off to getting the parties in Santa Barbara started again !

Huge thank you to Suzie & Team from PacWest Blooms for creating this statement piece for me to honor Harold & his band , and the entire PJ Team - as well as *all* guests tonight . There is so much to celebrate !

Cheers to you all ! ✨✨✨🍾🥂

06/10/2021

I'm very honored and excited to join this list of top notch professionals (including Mindy Weiss, Cindy Novotny and more) as a featured expert at what has been described as the "most innovative conference in the private club industry". Registration is now open!

Details below.
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Called "The Most Innovative Conference in the Private Club Industry"! The ACCP National Conference has won acclaim for the best education, immersive experiences, inspiration and of course, our famous swag bags (they are always over-the-top, just like our conference!) In 2020, the ACCP Virtual Conference won "Association Program of the Year" by BoardRoom magazine. We are going virtual one more time for 2021, and will pre-ship the swag boxes. Speakers include industry leaders: world famous event planner, Mindy Weiss; Founder/CEO of Cerbelli Creative, Michael Cerbelli; GM/CEO of Medinah CC, Robert A. Sereci CCM,ECM; CEO of Engaging Inspiration, Kerry Lee Doehr; Master Sales Trainer, Cindy Novotny; Customer Experience Innovator Expert, Jeff Tobe and a panel of club industry rock stars who are blazing trails in the industry with fresh new Member events. You don't want to miss this! Registration is OPEN!

https://www.theaccp.com/default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=392023&ssid=315604&forceRefreshPA=yes

The Association of Club Catering Professionals

05/22/2021

We are still looking to bring on more servers, bartenders, banquet captains and kitchen staff for our upcoming VERY BUSY event season!
Apply by emailing [email protected]
Feel free to share this post to anyone you know that might be interested!

04/15/2021

For The State of the Santa Barbara Wedding Industry Summit in 2018, I had completed an 8 month long research project on the 100 years of wedding business history that brought us to where we were at that time. One of my favorite parts of my research and presentation at the Summit was sharing a look at each decade from 1920 through the present looking at several categories per decade: the customer, event partner (vendor), advertising/marketing, and societal influences.

The crown jewel for me was the 1940s where few may be aware that the DIY bride actually originated. This was because of WWII depleting many of the resources available to brides (I use "brides" and not the more inclusive "couples" because at that time it was traditionally exclusively "brides & grooms" who wed, and the bride did all the planning with her mother at that time in history), so they had to get incredibly creative and do a lot of crafting and double-purposing on their own (remember, this was before the advent of the professional wedding planner).

Three influences for wedding style at that time included: Hollywood, WWII and Royalty. Queen Elizabeth's wedding to Prince Philip not only had influence on society at that time, but here's a fun bit of trivia you may not have known: Queen Elizabeth's wedding style represented grace and poise at a time when the world so needed to see and experience it;
.... and she had to use ration coupons to purchase materials for her gown - just like everyone else did at the time. 😉

04/10/2021

A wake up call for special event business owners as we start a gradual, dimmer -switch approach to re-opening ...

It’s right to want to get back to business as the world gradually re-opens. Further, wanting to make up for lost revenue is not only understandable but the urge is one of primal survival instinct. *AND*:

If you are over-focused on gaining as many bookings as you can right now with no awareness to:

1) ...the integrity, ethical, & moral responsibility you have for your clients, staff, community, and world...

2) ...being up to date on hybrid events - how to produce them (or loosely familiar with basics), including event partners who are skilled and ready to support this type of event (hint: hybrid is not going away and is here to stay for social & corporate events )

3) ...approaching your business the same way you did pre-pandemic (reminder: there was an economic downspend pre-pandemic & the industry was in the middle of a landslide with massive changes after a century of one way of doing things)

it would appear this last year has not brought you along to the necessary skills, nuance & approaches that will be *mission critical* for special event businesses to not only survive but ✨thrive✨ going forward.

I predict those who have not used this last year to pause , learn, develop a business by design aligned with core values - and one that is ready to serve the new normal - will be extinct within one to three years post-pandemic.

I’m not talking about those who moonlight in their special event business who have another part time / full time job or spouse/partner to support them . I’m talking -by definition - those business owners who pay the bills and put food on the table exclusively with their special event business revenue .

Harsh-sounding maybe, but this is a wake-up call for those who may have been slumbering during the 2020 COVID Pandemic. Or masking denial, indifference, fear, lack of real talent, & a scarcity mentality with one of appearing busy or over-focusing on the “when” rather than the “how”. Those who have attended my Master Class “Think Different. Work Different. Evolve Different.” are very familiar with that last part. 😉

02/12/2021

Special event & hospitality professionals (or anyone else in business, leadership or customer service), you are warmly welcome to attend my ILEA Boston - International Live Events Association virtual speaking engagement/master class ("Think Different. Work Different. Evolve Different.") whether you are a member of ILEA (International Live Events Association) or not. Tuesday, February 16th 6:30pm EST | 3:30pm PST. Details below.

This mini-master class power session is designed to shake things up to get leaders thinking about fundamental, foundational essentials before we can start living our way into the "new normal". I'm also thrilled to report that I connected with nationally-renowned economist Dr. Hiro Ito (recently interviewed on TV -some of you may have caught him), and he has agreed to provide a few tidbits to my presentation that will forecast where we are headed economically. So, what do I cover in this one hour power session? See below:

*Think Different*:
☑️What was happening prior to the pandemic in our industry and why "going back to the way things were" shouldn’t even be on your wish list
☑️The reasons you know you can survive this time and use it as opportunity to come out on the other side ahead
☑️Defining highlights of the "new playbook" for special event & hospitality professionals
☑️How optimism during a crisis may be encouraging your demise (wait, what?)
☑️How focusing on the "when" as your determiner of success leaves you vulnerable for missing current epic opportunities to re-invent and innovate.

*Work Different*:
☑️Establishing a business /department that is by design, and not default
☑️Getting clear on your “why”, including leadership & mission based on core values and how those translate to every aspect of your business /department from start to finish, and at every touch point. Hint: your "why" is not necessarily your unique selling proposition or branding alone

*Evolve Different*:
☑️The essential element of getting comfortable with uncertainty as a way of business : ...Explore ways you can make uncertainty part of the plan for your business...Learn what elements of uncertainty you can control · ...Get inspired for the best practices for crisis leadership when the future is uncertain
☑️The essential role of dissent, "good trouble"/ constructive non-conformity in contributing to progress and evolution; how to be comfortable with it, manage it, and encourage it internally, with your customers, and with your events and hospitality community.
☑️Evolution through asking the tough questions
Innovation through asking better questions (what are "better questions"?)

plus a little bonus: some leading tips from nationally-renowned economist Dr. Hiro Ito on what to expect in our future as we look at our society/industry from an economic standpoint...

When life throws crises that bring you to your knees:
Respond. Explore. Re-Create. Normalize.

We will do exactly this in this session and provide participants with the inspiration to carry forward and do this in our industry, whatever their role.
______________________________________
Tuesday, February 16th, 2021 | 6:30pm EST; 3:30pm PST
Tickets: $10 ILEA Member | $20 non-member Ticket Purchase link: https://www.ileaboston.com/.../recentcommunityeventsdashb...

For more information about the speaker 😉, visit: www.engaginginspiration.com

02/06/2021

Special event & hospitality professionals (or anyone else in business, leadership or customer service), you are warmly welcome to attend my ILEA Boston - International Live Events Association virtual speaking engagement ("Think Different. Work Different. Evolve Different.") whether you are a member of ILEA (International Live Events Association) or not. Tuesday, February 16th 6:30pm EST | 3:30pm PST. Details below.

This mini-master class power session is designed to get leaders thinking about fundamental, foundational essentials before we can start living our way into the "new normal". I'm also thrilled to report that I connected with nationally-renowned economist Dr. Hiro Ito (recently interviewed on TV -some of you may have caught him), and he has agreed to provide a few tidbits to my presentation that will forecast where we are headed economically. So, what do I cover in this one hour power session? See below:

*Think Different*:

☑️What was happening prior to the pandemic in our industry and why "going back to the way things were" shouldn’t even be on your wish list
☑️The reasons you know you can survive this time and use it as opportunity to come out on the other side ahead
☑️Defining highlights of the "new playbook" for special event & hospitality professionals
☑️How optimism during a crisis may be encouraging your demise (wait, what?)
☑️How focusing on the "when" as your determiner of success leaves you vulnerable for missing current epic opportunities to re-invent and innovate.

*Work Different*:

☑️Establishing a business /department that is by design, and not default
☑️Getting clear on your “why”, including leadership & mission based on core values and how those translate to every aspect of your business /department from start to finish, and at every touch point. Hint: your "why" is not necessarily your unique selling proposition or branding alone

*Evolve Different*:

☑️The essential element of getting comfortable with uncertainty as a way of business : ...Explore ways you can make uncertainty part of the plan for your business...Learn what elements of uncertainty you can control · ...Get inspired for the best practices for crisis leadership when the future is uncertain

☑️The essential role of dissent, "good trouble"/ constructive non-conformity in contributing to progress and evolution; how to be comfortable with it, manage it, and encourage it internally, with your customers, and with your events and hospitality community.

☑️Evolution through asking the tough questions
Innovation through asking better questions (what are "better questions"?)

plus a little bonus: some leading tips from nationally-renowned economist Dr. Hiro Ito on what to expect in our future as we look at our society/industry from an economic standpoint...
When life throws crises that bring you to your knees:
Respond. Explore. Re-Create. Normalize.
We will do exactly this in this session and provide participants with the inspiration to carry forward and do this in our industry, whatever their role.
______________________________________
Tuesday, February 16th, 2021 | 6:30pm EST; 3:30pm PST
Tickets: $10 ILEA Member | $20 non-member Ticket Purchase link https://www.ileaboston.com/.../recentcommunityeventsdashb...
For more information about the speaker 😉, visit: www.engaginginspiration.com