The Pro Experience Twin Cities 2019- Recap & Photos!

We headed to Minnesota for The Knot + WeddingWire The Pro Experience Twin Cities. The day was all about learning, mingling and inspiring the wedding pro community. The exposed beams and raw space at Machine Shop provided the perfect blank canvas for this event.

We had so much fun hanging with talented wedding professionals that were eager to learn. Together we learned strategies to get great reviews, how to craft our niche, more about social media & Gen Z and so much more!

The Simply Elegant Group planned and designed the Pro Experience Twin Cities with fun summer colors that popped, using shades of pink including rose, peach, coral, and magenta. Kaleigh of Méldeen, The Knot Worldwide’s event branding partner, helped create this bright color scheme with pops of white using the on-stage furniture (Festivities) and podium (Quest Events). Together their vision came to life through gorgeous floral arrangements (Festivities), fun table settings with gold-embroidered plates (Festivities) and tasty popcorn favors waiting for attendees at their seats (Candyland). A few more of our favorites from the day included:

• The sweets! We can’t stop thinking about the cereal pops with ingredients like Fruity Pebbles and oreos (Crave Catering & Events). Attendees also sweetened up their water from our flavored fresh-fruit water station – our favorite one was grapefruit!
• The themed stations with different table arrangements, pillows and linens to match (Nuage Designs, Inc.) and other lovely table rentals (Ultimate Events).
• Everything about cocktail hour. We’re talking passed mini burgers, a grilled halloumi station with some amazing toppings, music to set the mood (MapleLane Media) and pink lemonade in champagne flutes (Crave Catering & Events).
• The headshot bar where pros walked away with a fresh new headshot to update their Storefronts, websites and social accounts (Kendra Oxendale Wedding Photography)
• The 1:1 business coaching sessions with the Co-Founders of The Abundance Group

Check out more of the details from the day captured by the talented Jennifer Togal Photography!

Attendees heard from industry experts on the following: Bernadette Baillie of The Knot Worldwide on Wedding Industry Insights, Kaleigh Wiese of Méldeen on Building a Strategic Brand, Meghan Brown of The Knot Worldwide on Becoming a Publishing Rockstar with the Perfect Submission, Jason Jani of SCE Event Group on Crafting a Niche, Jacqueline Nwobu of Munaluchi Bride Magazine on Social Media & Gen Z, Brian Bossany of Brian Bossany Photography on Strategies to Get Great Reviews and Alan Berg, CSP of Wedding Business Solutions LLC on Listening Up and Selling More.  Our attendees got to take tons of notes in their new notebooks (Minted). We left feeling inspired and ready to put what we learned in action. A special thank you to everyone who shared with us and Bernadette Baillie for being a wonderful emcee.

We ended the day by getting to know local Twin Cities wedding pros. We had so much fun and loved how excited everyone was to be at an education event with their fellow pros. We can’t wait to come back to the Twin Cities soon! 

To see more from the night check out #TheProExperience 

A VERY special thank you to all our super talented friends who made this day happen!

Planner + Designer: The Simple Elegant Group | Venue: Machine Shop | Event Branding + Stationery: Méldeen | Catering: Crave Catering & Events | Rentals & Florals: Festivities | Event Photography: Jennifer Togal Photography | Headshot Photography: Kendra Oxendale Wedding Photography | Videography: Curtis Kennedy Films | AV & DJ: MapleLane Media  | Table Rentals: Ultimate Events | Podium Rental: Quest Events | Favors: Candyland | Linens: Nuage Designs, Inc. | Beauty: Primped | Notebooks: Minted | Coaching Sessions: The Abundance Group