Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Russell + Ashelyn = Party With Russelyn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Russell + Ashelyn =, appreciate you joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

EV-ERY-THING! Our entire business approach is to look at how something is currently being done and considering different solutions to elevate the process while integrating trends in the industry and serving the market’s constantly changing needs.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

We are a consulting duo that works to create sales and marketing strategies for venues, hotels, and hospitality companies across the country. Our process is simple: evaluate the market and location the client is in, create new sales packages and collateral to execute higher rates and reach new target markets, manage inquiries, implement long-term partnerships and create new sales funnels to generate more revenue for our clients. Within that process, we produce photoshoots (to supply images for the new marketing materials) and launch/produce Open House events (to show them off!).

Russell Monllos made his mark on the Florida market producing successful bridal events for over a decade. His events were so successful, Ocala Style Magazine acquired a series of his events to produce under their publishing umbrella. Some other brands and clients he’s worked with over his career, include Jumbolair Aviation Estates, Alfa Romeo USA, Hyatt Corporation, University Air Center, Swedish electronic dance duo Cazzette, New Belgium Brewing Company and Harn Museum of Art, to name a few. He recently managed a 900-acre horse ranch, generating over $600k in revenue in the first year, and has solidified partnerships with influencers and media outlets like The Celebration Society, Orlando Magazine, USA TODAY, Orlando Weekly, Every Last Detail, and The Knot on behalf of clients in a record breaking one month timespan. He also managed over 100 villa rentals adjacent to the horse ranch, renting them out as add-ons to the events to generate additional revenue. Prior to arriving in the Sunshine State, Russell graduated from the FBI Leadership Academy Session 5, and was a featured speaker at the United Nations for the Pan American Health Organization. He enjoys spending time with his rescue pup, Hypno.

Ashelyn Vazquez, has produced large scale events both in-house and within international agencies in NYC for fifteen years. Aside from music videos and high-profile soirees, some of the events during her time at Jack Morton Worldwide and ALLDAYEVERYDAY include South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF), Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (NYFW), Social Media Week NYC, TED Talks, Red Bull Academy, and Food Network Food & Wine Festival, taking place across the country. She has also implemented digital sales programs for Rent the Runway (resulting in over $125k in three months), NYC Media Group (converted over 65 clients within one quarter), and was most recently the former Director of Digital at Orlando Magazine, generating a 330% increase in year-over-year revenue, resulting in over $129k in sales, and launching their first-ever Influencer Network. Some of her clients include the Standard Hotels, Diageo Brands, Solbeso, Club Monaco, NIKE, award-winning celebrity chef, Chef Julian Medina, Anna Sheffield, ALDO, Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek, Ann Taylor, House of Waris, Capital One, Visit Florida, and Milk Gallery/Milk Studios. Ashelyn is always looking for an excuse to use her passport and try cuisines from around the world.

We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.

Ashelyn: “Russell and I met while I was working as the Director of Digital at Orlando Magazine. He waltzed into my office with a dozen boxes of pizzas (mind you, there were maybe eight of us in the office that day) promoting a new restaurant and venue in the Downtown area. Not one of us was upset! We chowed down as he pitched the magazine on participating in an influencer event he was hosting in a few weeks, and his plan totally worked.

We worked together curating a guest list of influencers, swag, and sponsors. When I walked in the night of the event, there was a Fiat physically inside the venue. I asked how he got it inside (the venue was on the ground/lobby floor of a luxury condo building with standard doors) and he shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly replied “I had someone come remove the doors and reinstall them.” Having pulled some pretty crazy stunts myself while working on events in NYC for over a decade, I thought to myself “Well then… I think I may have found another nut job like me!”

Fast-forward to a year later, we joined forces to work on a venue together, and test the waters. We both have A TON of ideas and quickly realized a lot of our networks overlapped; as far as skill set, in the areas where I lacked, Russell had experience and a strong track record, and vice versa. We had a lot of hunches and theories on the direction the global events industry should go in, and what we felt trend forecasting would lean into.

Twenty-six countries and thirty-nine cities later, we hit the ground running with a solid plan. This gave us the perspective we were missing to fill in the blanks and turn our initial hunches into strategic goals. Our very first client led us to Music City, and we’ve been working to provide opportunities for the events industry folks, locals (and newlyweds-to-be!), creatives, and small businesses ever since.”

Russell: “Since the inception of Party With Russelyn, we’ve worked and lived in Nashville, Central Florida, St. Louis, Anchorage (Alaska!) and beyond. We’ve most recently relocated to South Florida to work in-house at Tastebuds Fine Catering and scale a family-owned business with a legacy that follows them. We are excited to embark on this new venture!”

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth #alldayeveryday

We are strong proponents of 1. always being transparent with our clients, 2. finding creative ways to foster high impact experiences (while being resourceful and mindful of financial limitations), and 3. allowing our work to speak for itself.

Each client interaction and project is a reflection of our collective reputations. We rely on our work to not only fulfill that particular client’s needs, but to generate long-term business and referrals.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partywithrusselyn/
• Other: https://partywithrusselyn.passgallery.com/-lifestyle/gallery

Image Credits
Starting from top left to right: 1. Russell Martin Photography 2-5. Zach Dalin Photography 6. Joshua Grasso Photography 7. Zach Dalin Photography 8. Kristen Weaver Photography 9. Frozen Exposure Photo & Cinema 10. Zach Dalin Photography