media feature
Ali Phillips
Ali Phillips Chats Spring Wedding To Do's on ...

So fun to be a part of the Martha Stewart Spring Wedding To Do's article today! Read all the tips here on Martha Stewart Weddings! 

Ali Phillips Chats Spring Wedding To Do's on Martha Stewart
media feature
Ali Phillips
Ali featured on The Estate Blog

I had so much fun writing about my business for The Estate Blog and being asked to contribute as one of their preferred creative partners. I got to answer some fun questions for them about me, my business and my love of the City of Chicago! Here are some excerpts below of that article. You can read the full article on The Estate Blog. 

Ali featured on The Estate Blog
date ideas
Ali Phillips
Valentine's Weekend in Chicago

Get out the heart sweater and chill the champagne, it is Valentine's Weekend!! A chilly weekend is predicted in Chicago and here are my top picks for having a wonderful Valentine's weekend with your loved one!

Valentine's Weekend in Chicago
event space
Ali Phillips
Camp Wedding Retreat at Camp Wandewega

In September, I was honored to be asked to speak by Sarah and Andrea from Cherry Berry Events at Camp Wedding at the Camp Wandewega, located in Wisconsin. This was their inaugural wedding retreat and I was looking forward to meeting some new friends in the wedding industry. I attend a couple of event conferences a year and I was intrigued by the concept of Camp Wedding, with wedding professionals being in a camp environment. 

Camp Wedding Retreat at Camp Wandewega
internship
Ali Phillips
Chicago Wedding Planner Internship Available

Want to learn about the event industry from one of the best wedding planners in Chicago? Ali Phillips of Engaging Events is looking for a great intern for the winter season. Intern should be available one business day a week and available on some weekends. Please send resume, 2 references and cover letter to info@engagingeventsbyali.com. 

Chicago Wedding Planner Internship Available

press

Destination Weddings in Wedding Planner Magazine

Destination Weddings in Wedding Planner Magazine

I was honored when Wedding Planner Magazine called me and wanted me to write an article about getting into the destination wedding market . I have had the pleasure to travel to many amazing locations and countries to plan my clients weddings. It was funny, when Beth Erickson the editor called I was actually at a wedding in the Grand Cayman Islands so it was fun to write the article from the porch overlooking Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. I love to share my knowledge of the destination wedding market. It takes a certain personality to take your business on the road. A great destination planner is one who easily adapts to different cultures and methods of doing business. I find that staying open minded and embracing myself in the culture is a great way to immediately feel liked when working in different countries and with new vendor partners. 

iHeart Radio Interview with Host Harmony Walton

iHeart Radio Interview with Host Harmony Walton

 I am so excited to be a part of Harmony Walton and Clear Channel's IHeartRadio. It will air today at 1PM Chicago time (CST) and can be heard here. Harmony Walton is the host and the owner of Bridal Bar and Jet Fete . You can follow her on Twitter @bridalbar and @iheartradio. 

When the Unexpected Happens on Your Wedding Day

When the Unexpected Happens on Your Wedding Day

Pinch me! I am so excited to be a blogger for Huffington Post Weddings this week. I wrote an article about "When the Unexpected Happens on Your Wedding Day". You can read the article here. I have always been a fan of Huffington Post and when they launched their wedding blog I had in my mind I wanted to some day write for them. Well YAY my dream came true. Be on the lookout for more blogs to come. As a Chicago wedding planner and destination wedding planner for the past ten years I have a lot to share with their readers. 

The Breakers, Engage 12 Recap Part 1: Christmas Came Early

The Breakers, Engage 12 Recap Part 1: Christmas Came Early

I got an early Christmas gift last week, it was the gift from Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce of Engage!12. It was the most wonderful gift they have given of spending four powerful days with the best and the most inspiring people in the wedding industry. Engage!12, a luxury wedding business summit, has changed my business for the better, helped me develop friendships all over the world and has opened doors for me that have changed my life as a wedding planner, a wife, a daughter, a friend, and a sister and aunt. 

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Glossed and Found announces Glossed and Gowned Wedding Guide

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Glossed and Found announces Glossed and Gowned Wedding Guide

If you do not already have it marked as a favorite read every week, Glossed and Found is a must to read for all things fashion, beauty and fun in Chicago. The beautiful and always smiling Stacey Roney founded Glossed and Found and her editor and creative director  (and oh so dashing), Graham Kostic and Emily Hard produce a weekly on-line video magazine and blog that I can't wait to receive every week. They are also known as planning and producing the most fun and wonderful events in Chicago of which I have attended many and can't wait to attend the next one! 

Ali Phillips and Bridal Wave

Ali Phillips and Bridal Wave

It’s an exciting time to say “I do” as the Kenmore brand films it's second show of Bridal Wave Season 2. The live streamed reality show features eight brides and their journey to the altar as they consult with wedding industry experts in hopes of winning a $10,000 Kenmore kitchen make-over.

Chicago Wedding Planner, Engaging Events by Ali, Announces New Website

Chicago Wedding Planner, Engaging Events by Ali, Announces New Website

We are so excited to share with the world the new look and website for Engaging Events. We would like to thank the team at Neoteric Design for their hard work and amazing talent in working on the redesign of the website. I have worked with Neoteric Design for years and their team always perfectly portrays what I want to convey to my potential clients and vendor team.

The Vow Movie, Filmed in Chicago Premieres February 10th

We love movies about love! The new movie, premiering this week is The Vow. Filmed in Chicago, this movie with Chatum Tanning and Rachel McAdams is a story of a newlywed couple who is recovering from a car accident that puts the wife in a coma. Waking up with severe memory loss, her husband endeavors to win her heart again.

Speaking at Event Solutions Idea Factory in February

Speaking at Event Solutions Idea Factory in February

I am looking forward to speaking at Event Solutions Idea Factory this year in Las Vegas that takes place from Feb 26th thru the 29th. I will be speaking on Destination Weddings on Monday at 7:30am. Please add this to your calendar if you are attending and come and see me speak about all things destination weddings and how to create a Sense of Place. Having planned weddings as far away as South Africa and as close as Lake Geneva, Wisconin and Iowa, we will have an honest discussion about embracing your locale and working best with vendors you may not have worked with before. And how do you market to the destination wedding market? Come and hear at my session and come away with some new ideas and tactics in your tool kit of knowledge. 

Ali Phillips Named Junebug's World's Best Wedding Planners & Designers

Ali Phillips Named Junebug's World's Best Wedding Planners & Designers

I was SO excited when Blair and Christy called me from Junebug Weddings to tell me I had been selected to be a part of their World's Best Wedding Planners & Designers they unveiled last week and I am so thankful to be included. The best of the best are on this list and I am flattered to be a part of it. 

Wedding Feature on Elizabeth Anne Designs

Wedding Feature on Elizabeth Anne Designs

 We LOVE LOVE it when one of our favorite wedding blogs features our work! Elizabeth Anne Designs featured a wonderful wedding we did last fall at Holy Name Cathedral and River East Art Center!

Check out Morgan and Mike's wedding on Elizabeth Anne Designs and then check back later this week where I share all the awesome pictures with you!

Amazing photgraphy by Becky Hill Weddings

Style Me Pretty Featured Weddings by Chicago Wedding Planner, Ali Phillips

I am so excited for one of my client's weddings to be featured on Style Me Pretty Blog today! And the bride is Chicago photographer celebrity, Belen Aquino, from Gerber Scarpelli. Belen and Drew had the most wonderful wedding that I was honored to be a part of. It was at her parent's home in McLean, Virginia and was a magical night. 

Engage!11 Luxury Wedding Business Summit - Part 2

Last week I talked about my time at the Engage!11 Conference in San Diego which was the most amazing four days with the most incredible people in the wedding and event industry. What I want to talk about today is the wonderful speakers who imparted their wisdom of the Wedding World with the attendees. And we are not talking just fluff and stuff, we are talking great business advice from people who are the leaders in the industry. Hard core fact and information about the business of weddings which we can all apply to make our business better. 

Engage!11 Luxury Wedding Business Summit-Part 1

As many of my followers know, I am a seven time attendee of the Engage!11, a luxury wedding business summit  produced by Rebecca Grinnals and Kathryn Arce of Engaging Concepts. I met these two women attending my first conference way back in 2008 and it has forever changed my business and my life. So much more than a conference, it is an experience of amazing learning seminars, great networking and gorgeous parties and details to feast the eyes and provide inspiration to the best of the best in the wedding industry.

WGN TV Appearance on The Royal Wedding Trends

WGN TV Appearance on The Royal Wedding Trends

Last week on Friday I was excited to be invited back in to speak with Lourdes Duarte from WGN TV about the Royal Wedding. With my gorgeous fascinator on from The Left Bank and an adorable little bouquet by Exquisite Designs, I was there to talk all things Royal Wedding.