We recently connected with Shelly Danz and have shared our conversation below.

Shelly, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

I think that producing our shows is about a lot more than bringing together vendors and the people who may hire them. When we talk about important life cycle events – a wedding, a bar or bat mitzvah – these are the events that families remember forever. So I take great care to make the planning of those experiences special, too.

For example, Atlanta Wedding Extravaganza doesn’t feel like a big, impersonal show. We carefully curate the participants so that we have a great variety of outstanding vendors. We offer a VIP Experience with early entry, champagne, and welcome gifts. We set up special photo vignettes and backdrops so brides and grooms or bridal parties attending together can take fun pictures for their socials. We give away major prizes, like honeymoons and wedding gowns. I am constantly evaluating how the next show can offer something unique, exceptional, and helpful to our attendees. And we are highly inclusive, so everyone feels welcome.

Vendors that come to our shows are catered to, as well, literally! I bring in lunch or snacks during show set-up hours and poll vendors after every show to find out what they loved and what we could do differently next time. I also help facilitate connections between vendors – we want them to become “friendors” – who can be knowledgeable about each other’s services and recommend one another. I’m respectful of their time and investment and want them to have a great show.

Going above and beyond is not the industry standard, but it is the key to our success. When a bride tells me she felt like she spent the afternoon at a cocktail party and actually enjoyed the planning process for the first time, when a vendor tells me – beaming – that they got far more appointments than they hoped for, I know that our unique approach is working.

Shelly, 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’m the Founder/Chief Party Officer of Atlanta Party Connection. I produce four shows a year to help families plan their ideal milestone celebrations for weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs. You can plan your event in one afternoon, snag great deals, and have fun while doing it! I also manage the Atlanta Party Connection websites, which include preferred vendor directories, tips, recaps, and exclusive deals on event services.

My shows are known for being party-like and fun, where attendees feel like they’re special. Vendors at our shows don’t sit behind folding tables with nothing but business cards. Booth displays are over-the-top, inspiration is everywhere, and vendors are eager to meet attendees and learn about their event vision.

For me, nothing is more thrilling than helping others celebrate the most important moments of their lives in ways they’ll always remember.

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

When COVID-19 shut down the world, I transitioned our big, beautiful wedding show into a weeklong online experience with a specially designed website. Attendees could enter floral-themed virtual ballrooms to tour vendor booths filled with photos, videos, special deals, and personal messages from the wedding pros – all on their own time. To bring the spirit of the show to attendees’ screens, we included signature drink-of-the day recipes, a virtual photo booth, and digital couple caricatures. We held a series of themed, interactive video panel discussions to help with wedding planning and showcase vendor offerings, all accompanied by live musical entertainment.

The VIP part of the show became a decorated curbside experience with a pickup of cake tastings, flowers, and gifts in a party atmosphere. A DJ crew with live musicians and models in tuxes greeted attendees as they drove through to collect their gifts.

Call it resilience, or call it a wild idea, but our modified show worked! Brides and grooms got expert guidance and some much-needed joy and hope during a challenging time. Vendors were able to reach potential clients to keep bookings coming in.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

It doesn’t feel to me like Atlanta Party Connection is all business because I enjoy the work so much! To me, It’s a network of relationships. Attendees and vendors see that it is my passion to connect them through shows that feel celebratory, welcoming, and fun. My company has grown organically because I care about every vendor with whom I work and every bride, groom, or b’mitzvah family that comes to a show.

I started with the small Bar & Bat Mitzvah Expo that has grown over a decade to become the premier event of its kind in the Southeast. Attendees and vendors see my passion for helping others plan their most important moments. And that level of commitment led to me having the extraordinary opportunity to produce the Atlanta Wedding Extravaganza over the past five years.

When someone comes to me with a compliment or a complaint, I accept it gratefully, because it either means I’m doing something right, or I am learning how to make something better. I build my reputation on each detail. I find new ways to help vendors highlight their offerings, like through an exclusive attendee discount card or a professionally written blog. I also find new ways to elevate the attendee experience, like creating a “love note” station for brides to send their fiancés love notes to be mailed the week of their wedding, or arranging a hotel package for making a weekend getaway out of attending a show.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.atlantaweddingconnection.com
• Instagram: @atlantaweddingextravaganza
• Facebook: @atlantaweddingextravaganza
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/shelly-danz-50a2493a
• Other: https://www.atlantamitzvahconnection.com

Image Credits
Paul Patrick Films, Made You Look Photography and Life on Film Photography