After the media panel we went right into our breakout sessions. My first one was with Diann Valentine…

second one was with Ellen Black of Lehr and Black. Loved that session, of course.

Last one was with Jasmine Star, Harmony Walton and Lara Casey. I really enjoyed their session and Jasmine is so super fun to listen to. Really inspiring.

After the sessions we were free for lunch and the remainder of the afternoon, to get ready for the Gala that night. The gala, was put on by the fabulous Mindy Weiss. Mark’s Garden did all the beautiful flowers and Lehr and Black did the paper products, which were again, fabulous. Before the doors were opened to the gala, we were treated to a cocktail hour, with some really cool furniture. The extra long couch (20 feet I think?) was my favorite.

Once they opened the doors to the gala, it was amazing. We were greeted by amazing amounts of red flowers and lighting, and a full 20 piece band was pretty much right in the middle of a song when the doors opened, as if they had been playing for a while. Needless to say, it was a killer entrance. You can get somewhat of the idea from the picture below…

The tables alternated between fully mirrored, and mirrored tops with fabric draping. The chairs were all silver, and super comfy, unlike the beautiful but totally uncomfortable chiavari chairs.

The band was so amazing, and played throughout the entire dinner. It was really cool, because they would play music you could dance to in between each course of dinner, then while we were eating they would play cocktail type music. Also what was cool, was as each course was served the lighting would change. I really liked that effect.

I loved, loved the fringe that hung above the band. That had to have been of my favorite details. After dinner, and a heck of a lot of dancing, the after party was opened. Another amazing room filled with incredibly posh details and a DJ who could really rock (DJ Nahchey of Dash Entertainment)

It was such a pleasure to finally get to meet Eliana of Elly B Events. We had been e-mail pals for some time so it was so fun to finally get to meet in person!

Last but not least, the video from Engage! 11 Day Two and Three: Engage 11: Grand Del Mar // Wrap Film from Cloud Nine Creative.

All in all, Engage! 11 was an amazing experience. Huge thank you to Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce, as well as the team at The Gran Del Mar, for putting on such a wonderful and inspiring event. I definitely hope to attend Engage again in the future!

All photos by Mel & Co.

After breakfast we went right into our sessions for the day…

Picture at top, me. Next two right and left, Jessica Claire. Last two by Mel and Co.

Once we got to our seats we found awesome notebooks and Engage! 11 pens. We used our place card we picked up before breakfast to mark our spot. The first order of business was to pick who we got to have our dine around with. Silver trays with red envelopes were passed around and we were to randomly select an envelope. I got Christy from Junebug Weddings! After that, we heard from Rebecca Grinnals, who is one of the directors of the Engage confrence. Next up was the incredible Todd Fiscus. I took so much out of his talk. Loved him. After him, we took a short break with an amazing spread of snacks (see below). Then we came back in and heard from the wildly entertaining Cindy Novotny. She was so much fun to listen to and so inspiring!

Top two pictures, Jessica Claire. Bottom four by Mel and Co..

After we heard from Cindy, it was time for lunch on the lawn with Sylvia Weinstock. We dined under an amazing Raj Tent, and the menus were by the beyond words inspiring Lehr and Black. All photos by Mel and Co.

Lunch was wonderful, and was followed by equally amazing speakers and another break, with a totally different look. Our first speaker after lunch was the one and only Marcy Blum. Her talk was fun to listen to. She talked a little about some clients requests, and looking for ideas outside the box. I really enjoyed it. After Marcy, was Carley Roney, who is co founder and Editor in Chief of The Knot. Next up was the always fabulous Mindy Weiss. I loved her, and she is such a down to earth person! Finishing the day off was Millie Martini Bratten, interviewing the legendary Monique Lhuillier. All pictures by Mel and Co. and yes, that’s me sitting listening intently.

Once we had our minds all completely infused with wonderful ideas, and couldn’t bear another piece of great info from information overload, it was time to go get ready for the dine arounds. We all met back at the hotel for a dessert after party at Club M, which was located on the hotel property. Whew. And that was day two, which was incredibly long but amazingly incredible!

Photo by Mel and Co.

The party was held outside on the lawn, and they had two different bands. Both of them were amazing, but I did have a favorite. More on that in a minute. The stunning decor was by Eddie of Tic-Tock Couture Floral. When I met Eddie earlier in the day, he said what he was doing for the decor was going to be different, so I was excited to see what he put together. I’ve always been a huge fan of his work, and the welcome party definitely didn’t disappoint!

Pictures by Jessica Claire.

I loved Eddie’s use of wicker and completely rustic elements infused with modern elements like orchids and succulents. Pictures below by me. =)

Besides awesome decor, there was so much food! Lining the entire perimeter of the party was food.Two food trucks, cotton candy, kettle corn, donuts, won-ton type things and the list goes on and on.

Photo by Mel and Co.

It was so great to schmooze with everyone in attendance and really get to know people the first day there.

Clockwise from top left are Beth Helmstetter and Marilyn Oliveira editor of Inside Weddings, Margot Hallac of Atelier Isabey and me, Lara Casey and David Beahm, and Candice Coppola of Jubilee Event having fun in the photo booth. All photos by Mel and Co.

Now, onto the bands of the evening. Like I said, both were great but one in particular blew my mind. They are called MASS Ensemble out of Los Angeles, and they were amazing. They played so many different instruments, but my favorite was the Earth Harp. I had never seen anything like it in my life…

Pictures by Jessica Claire.

The strings were 170 feet long, and went from the instrument to the hotel building. The sound it made was so incredible too. I love this picture of Michelle Rago by Mel and Co. Shows how amazing the strings were.

Some other fun pictures from the evening, all by Jessica Claire. The first one is part of the MASS Ensemble band, second one is the amazing Sylvia Weinstock leaning about the Earth harp and the third one is the other band rocking the night away.

Last but certainly not least, is the recap video of day one from Cloud Nine Creative:  Engage Recap: Day 1

These two pictures were taken by yours truly. The one of the dress up close has my swag bag, as well as the folder we got with our attendee book and some other goodies.

Photos by Jessica Claire.

The picture above is by Mel and Co. It’s me with Leila Khalil, Angel of Events of Love and Splendor and Constance Curtis. Fun catching up with these girls at registration! After we got all checked in, we wandered around The Grand Del Mar and I, of course, had to take pictures of the amazing surroundings of the hotel, as well as our ultra luxurious room!

A little sneak peak of our room, and my not so professional panorama of the view. Pictures by, again, yours truly.

More of the fabulous Grand Del Mar. Pictures by yours truly.

Photos by Jessica Claire.

After we had lunch and wandered around a little bit, it was time for the opening sessions with Simon T. Bailey and David Beahm. Both speakers were amazing, but David really hit home. He was down to earth and hilarious. His speech made a huge impact on me, and I think probably everyone in the room. At the end of his speech the word “Breath” came on the screen, and classical music started playing. David then talked us through a meditation and read inspiring quotes as we sat there and calmly listened. So effective!

Photos by Jessica Claire.

Our session was in the chapel of the Grand Del Mar and as you can see, it’s incredibly stunning! Since this post is turning into one lengthy novel, stay tuned for Day 1, part II coming up soon!

Featured Invitation: Anita, by Zenadia Design

Image Credits:

1 Zenadia Design, 2 Flickr, 3 Brides, 4 Flickr, 5 Flickr, 6-7 Flickr, 8 Brides, 9 Artfool, 10 Flickr, 11-12 Brides, 13, Flickr, 14-15 Artfool

Visit Artfool for more breathtaking images.

The Weddings

Susan and Tim, captured by Beth Beljon via The Bride’s Cafe.

Erika and Thos, captured by Natalie Moser featured here on Zenadia Design’s blog.

Elizabeth and Christopher, captured by Thayer Allyson Gowdy via Brides.com.

Carla and Peter captured by Beth Beljon, via Brides.com.

Clair and David captured by Docuvitae, via Style Me Pretty.