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Business 48 June | 2022 1. BECOME KNOWN TO AN EVENT PLANNER OR TWO. Okay, the fact is that event planners are often the gatekeepers. Destination event clients often contact an experienced, recognized and trusted event planner such as JZ Events, in New York City; Marcy Blum Events, in Brooklyn, N.Y. and West Palm Beach, Fla.; Victoria Dubin Events, in Purchase, N.Y.; and Wilkinson Rhodes, in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, Texas; to handle all the details of their big-budget events. "When planning a destination wedding weekend with events that range from a welcome cocktail reception to a rehearsal dinner, then the wedding day and a farewell brunch the morning after, we look for a design partner/ fl oral team that has the unique ability to transform each event and celebration into a themed, one-of-a-kind, bespoke experience for our clients and their guests," says Victoria Dubin. "We look for the fl oral designer who is the most familiar with working at a specifi c venue or location and who has the greatest resources and ability to bring the creative fl avor and personality of the destination into all that he or she does." Dubin is now producing an event in Como, Italy, and she chose Vincenzo Dascanio, a fl oral and event designer extraordinaire in Milan to do the fl owers. Why? "His pure love of fl owers and the unique style he brings to an event sets him apart from others in terms of completely transforming an environment," she says. You may know that Kiana Underwood, founder of Tulipina, in Stone Ridge, N.Y., is now producing eye- catching extravaganzas in Como, as well. While Dascanio is a fl oral wizard, Underwood's events are big, bold and colorful. A defi nite diff erence in style. Event planners have so many details to juggle that they tend to feel comfortable with who they know versus those unknown and untested. So how do you get on event planners' radars? To establish relationships with event planners, send examples of your work and communicate your desire to accomplish their visions. Alternatively, off er to assist people who have existing relationships with an event planner, allowing you build, over time, an expertise of that event planner's style and, most important, his or her trust. ey need to see your work up close and personal. Also, follow them on Instagram, and comment on their events to raise your profi le with them. Go to conferences where event planners convene and introduce yourself. (One such event, " e Special Event 2022" conference and Larry Walshe Studios Photo by Holly Clark Photography Larry Walshe Studios Photo by Holly Clark Photography Larry Walshe Studios Photo by Holly Clark Photography

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