We recently connected with Andrea Eppolito and have shared our conversation below.

Andrea, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.

When I launched my wedding planning business, few believed that Las Vegas could ever be synonymous with large-scale, opulent weddings. At the time, the city was known more for fast elopements and kitschy chapels than it was for luxury and grandeur. But I had a different vision. Having helped open the Bellagio in 1998 and later working with the opening team at the Venetian, I saw firsthand that Las Vegas had the core competencies, the talent, and the infrastructure to produce extraordinary events. The potential was there — it just needed someone to tap into it with intentionality and artistry.

The first bold move I made was using the word luxury to describe my business. While the term is widely overused now, back then it was a clear, audacious signal that I was dedicated to something different. I wasn’t interested in chasing volume. I was committed to crafting transformative experiences.

I approached scaling not by growing bigger, but by going deeper.

I became obsessively intentional about the partnerships I cultivated. I studied the vendors I wanted to work with and aligned myself only with those who shared my worldview and commitment to excellence. Together, we made a pact: no kickbacks, no commissions. Instead, each partner would contribute something special — a statement piece, a personalized detail, or a subtle upgrade — that elevated the overall event. We weren’t just producing weddings; we were creating art.

I took the time to truly see my clients — their past, their present, and their dreams for the future. My commitment was simple yet profound: never do the same wedding twice. Every event had to feel unique, not just in look, but in soul.

Client experience became my signature. I offered concierge-level service not just to my couples, but to their bridal party and guests. From the first call to the final farewell, every detail was intentional, every interaction designed to make people feel seen, celebrated, and taken care of.

I also leaned hard into design — playing with color and texture, scale and emotion. I took risks others wouldn’t. My goal was to create weddings so visually distinct that someone could look at a photo and instinctively know, That’s an Andrea Eppolito wedding. Because it didn’t look like anything else they’d seen before.

And perhaps most importantly, I invested in myself. I believe education is the great equalizer. The way I see the world — as a designer, as a storyteller — can’t be taught. But what can be learned are the essential mechanics of business: contracts, negotiation, financial structure, and operations. Every year, I make a personal investment in my growth to ensure that I am running the strongest, smartest business possible — for myself, my clients, and the industry I love so much.

Scaling my business was never about doing more. It was always about being better. And in doing so, I believe I didn’t just redefine what luxury weddings could be — I helped redefine what Las Vegas could be.

Andrea, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was thirteen years old when I first truly understood the purpose of celebration.

A distant cousin was preparing for her Sweet 16 — a milestone moment in any Italian-American household in New York. Tragically, her father had passed away just weeks before the event. I remember sitting in the backseat of my father’s car, unable to comprehend why the family would move forward with the party.

“I can’t believe she’s still having her birthday,” I blurted out. I was grieving for her, confused and heartbroken on her behalf.

My father adjusted the rearview mirror, looked at me, and said something that would change my life:
“This party is the last gift her father will ever give her. Planning it, picking out her dress, choosing the menu — those are some of her final memories with him. And it’s probably been the only thing that got her out of bed these past few weeks. Years from now, when the sting of losing him softens, she’ll look back on this night and smile. That’s why people like us do things like this. Because in life, bad things are always going to happen. And when they do, you need something to look forward to, and something to look back on.”

That night, when she walked into the room, the crowd rose to their feet and clapped. She smiled.
And something shifted inside me.

I didn’t have the words for it at the time, but I understood the energy of the room — how the right lighting, the perfect music, the scent of the flowers, and the warmth of good food could transform grief into joy, absence into presence, and heartbreak into hope. It wasn’t just a party. It was an act of healing. A memory. A moment that mattered.

I went home and began planning my own Sweet 16 in a three-ring binder — this was pre-internet, of course. I carried that binder everywhere. At 15, a friend’s mother flipped through it and declared, “You’re going to be a wedding planner.”
I had planned to become a lawyer.
But she gave me a job working the front table at a wedding trade show that weekend, and just like that — I was hooked.

I told my parents I was changing everything. No Ivy League. No courtroom dreams. I was choosing the arts, design, and hospitality. I ultimately chose the University of Nevada, Las Vegas because I saw Las Vegas for what it was: a city built on fantasy, beauty, and the business of experience. It was the perfect laboratory.

Too young to work in hotels or chapels, I started by hanging flyers around campus and planning weddings for free — in exchange for letters of recommendation. By 21, I’d talked my way into HR during the construction of the Bellagio and became the youngest wedding professional to help open their elite chapel. From there, I gained experience at the Venetian, Lake Las Vegas, fine dining restaurants, retail stores, and nightlife venues. I interned with florists, worked with chefs, and volunteered for anything I could. My goal was to understand every vertical that contributed to the wedding industry.

Today, I run a highly curated, intentionally boutique business serving no more than 4–6 clients each year. This model allows me to fully immerse myself in my couples’ worlds. I spend time understanding who they are, who they were, and who they dream of becoming. I only offer one service: full-service consultation and design. But within that, I do whatever is necessary. I’m often styling my clients not only for the ceremony but for the entire wedding weekend — from the shoes and jewelry to dinners and brunches, making sure the fashion story reflects the emotional narrative we’re telling. The fashion contrbutes to the overall design, the design informs our food selection, and they all lend themselves to the lighting, entertainment, and flow of the evening.

While my designs are distinctive, what truly sets me apart is my devotion to process. The pretty is important — but it’s the purpose behind it that makes it powerful. My job is to protect the emotional integrity of the event. I manage the risks, the emergencies, the inevitable moments of chaos — and I never let anything compromise my client’s experience. I don’t take that responsibility lightly. This is sacred work.

My currency is intimacy, trust, and discretion.
I don’t fail.
And I don’t quit.

What I want people to know about me is simple: This is not just a career – it’s a calling. It is more than a profession – it is a passion.. I’m not just creating events — I’m creating memories that shape the way people remember the most important moments of their lives. And that, more than anything, is what I’m most proud of professionally.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Weddings are always emotional. But sometimes, they become a testament to something more — to grit, to resolve, to the sheer power of belief. One of the most defining moments of my career unfolded high atop a mountain in Lake Tahoe… in the heart of a blizzard.

My client dreamed of being married surrounded by snow, inside a glass atrium, with the heavens visible above and the Sierra Nevadas standing guard. It was ambitious, theatrical, and wildly complicated — exactly the kind of challenge I live for.

We began construction nearly a week before the wedding, building a transparent structure atop a mountain, thousands of feet up. And then the storm came.

Snow fell relentlessly. Semitrucks carrying our rentals and raw materials were stranded at the base of the mountain, unable to climb the slick roads. Then California Highway Patrol made it official: no more semis. The roads were closed to those vehicles.

That’s when we pivoted.

We rented smaller box trucks and began the painstaking process of offloading everything — every chair, every chandelier, every piece of staging and construction equipment — onto smaller vehicles, driving them as far as the roads would allow. That only got us so far. Two miles out from our site, the roads shut down completely. No more driving. No more shortcuts.

So, we carried everything. By hand.

Crews formed chains, bundling themselves against the freezing wind, and began hauling each and every item — up the mountain, through the snow, for two straight hours. Every step forward was a fight against nature. But we didn’t stop.

Over the course of seven days, we built a glass cathedral against all odds. It rose from the snow like a dream — glowing, crystalline, impossibly elegant. And when the couple walked in, wrapped in warmth, surrounded by their closest loved ones, and saw the beauty we had built, there were tears. From them. From me. From everyone who understood just how much it took to bring this vision to life.

That wedding wasn’t just beautiful. It was resilient.

It reminded me that the universe always tests our devotion to the things we want most. That luxury isn’t always convenient. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes it’s brutal. And sometimes, it’s carried up a mountain one piece at a time — by people who believe that love is worth it.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

By 2016, I had reached what many would call “success.” I had built a name. I was receiving leads from all kinds of clients — some with $75,000 budgets, others with half a million to spend. But behind the scenes, my business felt fractured.

My marketing was scattered. The work I was producing was inconsistent — not in quality, but in scale, aesthetic, and energy. I was saying yes to everything that came through the door, trying to serve too many audiences, and in the process, my brand lacked cohesion. My visuals didn’t align. My messaging was vague. And worst of all, I wasn’t doing my best work. I was busy — but I wasn’t fulfilled.

I came to an impasse.

So I stopped. I sat down — alone, quiet, undistracted — and revisited the heart of my business. I asked myself the hard questions:
Why have I chosen to dedicated my life to this? Who am I really built for? What does it mean to do my very best work? Who is the client that lights me up, that lets me create without compromise?

I spent a full week refining my client avatar, identifying the soul of my brand, and anchoring myself in a new kind of clarity. I made the decision — one that felt radical at the time — that I would no longer take on clients who didn’t align perfectly with my future vision for the business. I would serve fewer people, but I would serve them more deeply and more beautifully than ever before.

That year, I booked two weddings. Just two.

And I was terrified. I thought I had broken my business.

While my peers were posting reels of packed ballrooms and endless timelines, I was pouring everything I had — creatively, logistically, emotionally — into those two events. I second-guessed myself constantly. But every time doubt crept in, I went back to the client avatar. I re-read the vision. I reminded myself: this is what alignment feels like — small, focused, and powerful.

And then, a moment of genius — not mine, but my husband’s.

He said, “You can’t sell what you can’t show. I wish people could see what it actually takes to create these events. If they understood what goes on behind the scenes, they’d understand your value.”

That was it. The spark.

So I hired a photographer and filmmaker. I brought them in for three full days to document every moment of the production — the construction, the design, the breakdowns and breakthroughs. I wasn’t just going to show a wedding. I was going to show the work — the art, the grit, the orchestration, and the soul.

At the time, nobody was really doing professional behind-the-scenes wedding content. It was a risk. It was a financial investment. And I had no idea if it would work.

But within days of sharing that documentary-style video on YouTube, I booked two million-dollar weddings.

And I never looked back.

That video didn’t just showcase the event. It told the story — of what it means to trust a visionary, what it takes to produce when the stakes are high. It showed how I manager clients and the team, and it let people see the real me. Ultimately, my BTS video redefined how clients saw me. It proved that luxury isn’t just about what the guests experience; it’s about what it takes to make it happen.

That season of my life taught me that clarity is everything. That marketing without intentionality is just noise. That sometimes, you have to say no to everything in order to create space for exactly what you want. And that the biggest risk of all? Playing it safe.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.andreaeppolito.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreaeppolito
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andreaeppolito
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaeppolito
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/andreaeppolitoevents

Image Credits

Header Image: Nicole Hubbs
1. Nicole Hubbs
2. Brian Leahy
3. susie & Will
4. Nicole Hubbs
5. Adam Frazier
6. Dennis Kwan
7. Nicole Hubbs
8. Rene Zadori

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