We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andi Lipton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andi below.
Hi Andi, thanks for joining us today. One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?
I had a wedding at the Perez Art Museum on a Saturday night and noticed on Wednesday of that week morning that there was going to be an intense storm in Miami the night of the event – 90% chance! Typically, there would be no issue moving indoors, but the guest count was quite large and the Miami Dade County COVID rules at the time restricted that many people from being indoors in one place. I needed to find a solution ASAP. Once I received approval from the mother of the bride and the bride, I decided to try and move the entire wedding to Friday night. It was a destination wedding so I knew all of the guests would be available Friday since we had an event planned for them that night anyway. So I called the venue, rental companies, decor company, caterer, hair and make-up, transportation, priest, band, and all other vendors involved to try and swap days. Miraculously everyone was available and we were able to pull it off. The Friday night wedding was absolutely spectacular, as was the “wedding encore” on Saturday night – indoors on Miami Beach as their regulations were different.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I moved from Miami to New York City to attend New York University and after graduating, set out to fulfill my passion for event planning. I began my career at Sports Illustrated where I took part in the organization of the annual swimsuit party, in addition to multiple city-wide events. After some time with the company, I was offered a position at Condé Nast. It was here that I took part in an abundance of high-end projects and LOVED it!
In 2006, I returned to Miami and brought the experience I gained in that fast-paced environment back to South Florida. In June of 2008 I opened and founded ANDI Soirées.
My focus with the company is planning and executing all weddings, social and corporate events. Despite the workload being a challenge at times, I love the relationships I form with my clients and thrive on assisting them in making their events as personalized and exceptional as possible. I work incredibly hard to ensure their vision comes to life with the help of the competent and talented vendors I’ve partnered with over the years.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I think effectively balancing the personalities of my clients and my vendors has been an integral part of the success of my firm. From the initial conversation with the client, I start brainstorming who I want on their team based on their style, personality, and budget. Then I reach out to the vendors and give them a clear idea of the client’s expectation and mine. Maintaining this open line of communication allows me to effectively manage both parties and makes the experience a success. The vendors and clients know this and understand that they can trust me to create the perfect event.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
When I started ANDI Soirées, almost fourteen years ago, being on the vendor list at hotels and other venues was the most common source for new clients. Now, Instagram has become the new “vendor list” and has lead me to booking several new clients. Word of mouth is still the number one source, but it’s been incredible to see how social media has majorly changed the industry in just a matter of years.
Contact Info:
- Website: andisoirees.com
- Instagram: @andisoirees
- Linkedin: Andi Lipton
Image Credits
Andi Lipton photo credit Donna Newman Christian Arevalo photo Jonathan Scott photo La Vie photo Rodrigo Varela photo Evan Rich photo