Meet the Speakers

Candice Coppola

The Design Advantage: How Top Planners Win Clients, Charge More, and Build Demand

Candice Coppola is a business coach, author, and former luxury wedding planner who’s spent more than 15 years shaping the wedding industry from the inside out. As the founder of Jubilee Events, she planned and designed destination weddings around the world before selling her company to focus on coaching creative entrepreneurs. Today, she mentors wedding pros who want to elevate their craft, stand out with unmistakable style, and build businesses that are both profitable and purposeful.

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Meghan Ely

Navigating Luxury Wedding Submissions

OFD Consulting owner, Meghan Ely combines in-the-trenches event experience with a love of wedding PR to empower her clients to take their businesses to new heights. Her team’s publicity efforts are regularly honored by the Public Relations Society of America, and more recently, Eventex named her one of the most influential Wedding Professionals in the Industry.

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Brandee Gaar

% vs. Flat Fee Pricing: The Hot Take You Need to Hear

Brandee is a proven sales + profit strategist with a decade-long track record for helping wedding professionals transform their businesses from expensive hobbies to thriving careers.

She got her start in event planning, eventually opening her own business and quickly becoming the go-to vendor for Orlando bespoke weddings. After teaching more than 1,100 wedding industry vendors through her Wedding Pro CEO curriculum, she expanded her coaching team so she could support even more professionals in their career goals.

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Emily Foster

The Website Shift: Turning Your Site Into A Sales Tool

Emily Foster is the owner of Emily Foster Creative, a brand and website design studio based in Portland, Oregon and serving wedding pros worldwide. She helps wedding vendors and photographers stand out with high end branding, high-converting websites, and strategic marketing. When she's not designing, she's planning new episodes for her podcast, Engage Your Brand®, spending time with friends and family, traveling, reading, or heading to the gym.

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terrica

Your First Five Design Systems: How New Planners Build a Signature Look and Sell It

Terrica, a celebrated event planner and entrepreneur, has shaped the wedding industry for two decades with her unique blend of Southern charm and metropolitan flair, featured in publications like The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings. Beyond crafting unforgettable events, she empowers thousands of wedding professionals through her educational hub, focusing on pricing, sales, and client experience. Terrica champions diversity and inclusion, leading initiatives like Unity Through Community and mentoring for Wedding Pro’s Fellowship for Change. Featured on Event Therapy’s cover, she emphasizes self-worth alongside financial success. When not working, she enjoys the Golden Isles, family, and a bawdy drag show.

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wendy kay

Design Budgeting 101: Simple Systems to Price, Present, and Protect Your Work

Wendy comes from a television background where she produced and directed live television and called the shots - literally! After 8 years of 60 hour work weeks and feeling a disconnect the burnout was real and she decided she needed a change. Today, after 13 years of owning her own planning and design business, much of Wendy’s time is focused on educating other vendors on best business practices to transform their own businesses through honesty and “tough love”. Wendy has been deemed a Top Wedding Planner and Event Designer Worldwide by Martha Stewart Weddings, and Best Wedding Planner in America by BRIDES.

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Irene Katzias

Luxury Logistics: What You Need to Upgrade for the Luxury Level

Irene Katzias is a seasoned wedding planner, designer, and industry speaker with over a decade of experience creating high-end, hands-on wedding experiences. As the founder of Irene + Co Events, she specializes in storytelling-driven designs that bring couples’ visions to life. A TEDx speaker and thought leader in the wedding industry, Irene is passionate about fostering collaboration, elevating standards, and sharing her expertise. She currently serves as the Director of Programs for WIPA Utah and WeddingPro Educator 2025. Her work and insights have been featured in top publications, including Carats & Cake, The Knot, and Rocky Mountain Bride.

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Maria Bayer

How Luxury Clients Buy Differently than Mid-Tier Clients

Maria Bayer is a sales and mindset coach for ambitious wedding business owners and educators who want to skip trial and error and confidently serve high-value clients. As the only wedding educator with over $25 million in sales experience, she brings unmatched expertise to the industry. Maria created the Irresistible Selling program to help wedding pros 2–10x their sales while working less and earning more. Her signature method blends mindset mastery with results-driven strategies to build confidence, communicate value, and command top dollar—without being pushy, salesy, or chasing clients.

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Braden Drake

Updating as You Upsell: What Your Contract Needs

Braden is a California licensed attorney and tax professional. His tagline is your gay best friend here to help you get your legal and tax shit legit. Braden works primarily with online and creative small business owners through his law firm, Not Your Average Law Firm, where he and his team provide 1-on-1 services, memberships, group programs, and courses.

Braden is the author of the Unf*ck Your Biz book. When not doing business things, he is a CrossFit and weightlifting enthusiast and home cook.

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Feyisola

From Planner to Creative Director - How to Elevate 

Feyisola is a wedding and event planner of over 15 years, and business coach of over 7 years. She combines her background in Computer Engineering and project management with her planning and design skills to help wedding pros and creatives build more profitable businesses using simple, repeatable systems. Her company, Statuesque Events has produced events across the country and internationally, which have been featured in many publications including TheKnot, Essence, Washingtonian Weddings, Munaluchi Bride, BRIDES and many more.

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Ashley Ebert

Stop Hiring Out of Panic: How to Build a Team That Actually Books You More Weddings

Ashley Ebert is a wedding-pro scaling coach who believes building a wedding business shouldn't feel like a constant uphill climb. After growing and selling her own wedding planning company for over a million dollars in 2025, she now teaches seasoned pros how to scale through connection, not hustle.

Ashley's all about real conversations, smart strategy, and reminding people that rest is actually productive. When she's not coaching, you'll find her at Disney with her family or cozied up at home in Minnesota with her husband and daughter. She's a people person at heart and believes the magic isn't in the hustle, it's in how deeply you care for the humans in front of you!

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Megan Gillikin

Before They Inquire: The Content Strategy Behind Booking Full Weekend Clients

Megan Gillikin is a former luxury wedding planner turned educator and coach with more than 17 years of experience in hospitality and the events industry. She moved from Marriott’s hospitality world into owning and growing a multi–six-figure planning company, which she later sold to a member of her team.
She’s the founder of The Planner’s Vault, an online education platform that has supported thousands of wedding planners through practical tools, templates, and coaching since it’s inception in 2020. She’s also the host of For Real (formerly Weddings for Real), a top-ranked podcast where she shares honest conversations about boundaries, burnout, client experience, and building a sustainable business.

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Andrea Shah

Sensory Storytelling for Luxury Vendors

Andrea Shah is a copywriter and marketing consultant for wedding pros who want to spotlight their artistry and client experience. She has over a decade of experience working on websites and brand voice for Fortune 500 companies and luxury brands alike. She teaches wedding professionals how to use psychology, storytelling, and market research to make ideal clients feel deeply seen and heard. Andrea lives in South Florida with her family. When she’s not glued to her computer, you’ll find her reading, baking banana bread, planning her next trip, or trying her hand at embroidery.

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Shafonne Myers

Luxury Networking: Confidently Connecting at High End Events 

Shafonne Myers is a media mogul and CEO of Aisle Society, a premier wedding media company with 11 owned publications, including Pretty Pear Bride, Brooklyn Bride, and Elizabeth Anne Designs. As a size-inclusive marketing expert, she champions diversity in the luxury wedding market, helping brands embrace beauty in all forms. With over $40 million in sales generated, Shafonne has led multi-million dollar launches and is a sought-after speaker in luxury and high-net-worth circles. Through Aisle Society and her consulting agency, she empowers entrepreneurs and CEOs to monetize and amplify their personal brands using her Human Connection Marketing™ framework.

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Katie Mast

How Small Touches Can Create A High-End and Memorable Experience

Katie is a highly respected leader in the Wedding, Event, and Creative Industries. She has worked with renowned brands such as HoneyBook, The Rising Tide Society, Aisle Planner, and Rock Paper Coin. Having spent almost a decade as a business owner of a destination wedding and event planning company, Katie now dedicates her time working with companies to help them grow and develop their genuine communities, promote ongoing education, and build strong and healthy brand partnerships.

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Twah Doughtery

Pricing Your Proposals to Speak To & Land Luxury

Twah is an internationally acclaimed wedding photographer serving in the Ultra-Luxury Wedding space. Her work has graced the pages of Vogue, Over The Moon, Brides, Huffington Post & many more. As a former NYC fashion designer, Twah seamlessly blend high fashion aesthetics with her artistic vision. Vogue has hailed Twah a leading voice in editorial photojournalism. Twah is also a sought-after speaker, educator, and mindset coach, empowering wedding brands to establish themselves as a premium option in the luxury wedding market.

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Kate Foster, CMP, CWC

Video Selling for the Ultra-Discerning Client

Kate Foster specializes in sales training for luxury hotels, event venues, catering companies and wedding planners across North America and Caribbean. Her hospitality expertise spans both sides of the industry.
After planning over 500 weddings, she expanded into corporate events, working with brands like Ferrari, LA Lakers, LA Rams, Riot Games and Electronic Arts (EA) and hundreds more. This dual perspective allows her to train teams on effectively selling to both social and corporate markets. Kate has developed training programs for numerous 5-star luxury brands and some of the country's top ultra-luxury wedding planners.

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Jacklyn Watson

Mastering Luxury Hospitality & Elevated Guest Experiences

Jackie Watson is a luxury wedding planner, industry speaker, and founder of Jaclyn Watson Events, a premier planning firm specializing in high-end, bespoke weddings. With over a decade of experience, Jackie is known for her refined approach to luxury hospitality, creating seamless, highly personalized celebrations that exceed the expectations of affluent clients. She is also the owner and creator of Echelon Creative & Co., a branding and marketing company designed to help wedding professionals find their voice, refine their brand, and position themselves for success in the luxury market. A sought-after industry leader, Jackie educates wedding professionals on executing elevated guest experiences, brand positioning, and the art of working in the luxury space.

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Emily Foster

Goodbye to Beige: Attracting Luxury Zillennial Couples Through Color

Emily Foster Keller is the owner of Emily Foster Creative, a brand and website design studio based in Portland, Oregon and working with entrepreneurs everywhere. She specializes in helping wedding vendors stand out with personalized, tailored branding and website design. She brings 9+ years of education and experience to helping business owners get clear on their brand strategy. From there, she helps them translate their brand story into an identity and website that feels unique and attracts their dream clients at the same time. When not designing, she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband and two cats, Olaf and Elsa.

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