NAWP Connect Miami - the 2012 Annual Conference of the National Association of Wedding Professionals - will be held September 9-11 at the Westin Colonnade, in Coral Gables.
REGISTER HERE
The NAWP Connect 2011 special edition of WedBiz Journal is now available!! Even if you did not attend, you can still gain valuable insight from the articles by the NAWP Connect Faculty.
You may also view the NAWP Connect special edition via the WedBiz Media iPad/iPhone App which is FREE to download HERE.
Photos from the 2011 NAWP Connect -- view more in our Photo Galleries (photo credits for photos below: Christine Vertin Photography and Peggy Farren of Avant-Garde Photography) 
We had an amazing line-up of speakers, each offering their expertise to help you grow your wedding business. Visit the speaker page and schedule for more details.
Andy Ebon, The Wedding Marketing Authority (Keynote Speaker)
Stacie Francombe, InspireSmartSuccess.com (founder of Get Married)
Sonny Ganguly, Chief Marketing Officer, WeddingWire
Natalie Bradley, Bride Attraction
Siri Eklund, Two Bright Lights
Dina Eisenberg, PositivelyWed
Chris Evans, Bridal Bootcamp
Michelle Loretta, Sage Wedding Pros
Tiffany Nieves Cook, Dream Design Weddings
Debbie Rodkin, Re-Focus on Careers
Summary of Schedule -- PLEASE NOTE: any updates will be posted here
Sunday, September 25, 2011
3:30 p.m.: Board of Governors Meeting - Naples Beach Hotel conference center board room (enter on north side of building - look for greeter for directions or check with the registration desk in the hotel lobby)
5:30 p.m.: shuttles begin from Naples Beach Hotel lobby to Naples Princess
6:00 p.m.: Boarding on Naples Princess begins - YOU MUST BE ON BOAT BY 6:15!
6:30 p.m.: Welcome party on the Naples Princess - NOTE NEW TIME!!
- 7 p.m.: Speaker: Andy Ebon – Success by Association
8:30 p.m.: shuttles begin from Naples Princess to Blue Martini after party and the Naples Beach Hotel
Monday, September 26, 2011
8 a.m.: Networking Breakfast (River of Grass Ballroom) Speaker: Debbie Rodkin, Re-focus on Careers (Interactive)
9:30 a.m.: Opening Meeting/Housekeeping (River of Grass Ballroom)
Keynote Speaker – Andy Ebon – Avoiding Weddings of Mass Destruction (River of Grass)
Breakout Session 1
- Mangrove Room 1: Natalie Bradley – How to Attract and Sell to the High-end Brides
- Mangrove Room 2: Dina Eisenberg – The Hassle Free Contract
- Mangrove Room 3: Chris Evans – Bridal Show Marketing
Noon – 2 p.m.: Networking Lunch and Wedding PR Panel - A "How To" on having your business featured in publications and on wedding TV
- Stacie Francombe – InspireSmartSuccess.com (former CEO of Get Married)
- Tiffany Nieves – Celebrity Wedding Planner featured on Platinum Weddings
- Siri Eklund – Founder of Two Bright Lights editorial submission and marketing site
Breakout Session 2
- Mangrove Room 1: Natalie Bradley – How to Attract and Sell to the High-end Brides
- Mangrove Room 2: Siri Eklund – Using Two Bright Lights to promote your business
- Mangrove Room 3: Andy Ebon – Facebook Marketing for your Wedding Business
Breakout Session 3
- Mangrove Room 1: Stacie Francombe – Work/Life Balance Challenges for the Entrepreneur
- Mangrove Room 2: Dina Eisenberg – The Hassle Free Contract
- Mangrove Room 3: Michelle Loretta, Sage Wedding Pros – Crafting Your Mission Statement
4 p.m.: Closing General Session/Housekeeping followed by closing Speaker
- Sonny Ganguly: You-Twit-Face: Wedding Marketing in a Digital World
Awards Dinner – 6:00 pm - 11:00 p.m.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Chris Evans Bridal Bootcamp
From Chris Evans:
"Fans are great, Customers are better."
This is a completely new Boot Camp.
We build on the information shared last year. Just a basic review and then we will get into how to make your advertising and promotion work. From Social Networking to Facebook everyone spends a ton of time trying to figure out what to do. I will show participants how to convert fans into customers AND how to close more sales.
The Bridal Business Boot camp will show you ways to find and close customers in greater numbers using less effort and in less time. Anyone who attends this Boot camp will save between 35-65% on their advertising during the next year.
The "Top Secret" thing I will teach at the boot camp is a guaranteed way to get your web page to the top of the search engines without hiring anyone to help you. It's a very simple do it yourself program that works every time.