The Michael Coombs Show

Host Michael Coombs interviews wedding photographers Joel and Justyna about their spontaneous, guest-like approach to capturing weddings “from the inside out,” prioritizing how people feel over perfect shot lists. Joel traces his path from growing up around photographer parents in Ottawa to being scouted for modeling, buying a camera, second-shooting weddings in 2009, and eventually expanding with Justyna from local work to Toronto, Montreal, and global destinations. He describes assisting his father—Canada’s official royal portrait photographer—during Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee portrait, emphasizing months of preparation and the importance of people skills. Justina shares her fine art and art history background and how creative fashion/editorial projects led into weddings. They explain abandoning heavy pre-planning after timelines, weather, and other variables, keeping only essentials like details and family photos, and attribute growth to local excellence and word-of-mouth relationships over content trends.

00:00 Spontaneous Wedding Philosophy
00:34 Meet Joel and Justyna
00:52 Joel’s Winding Career Path
03:55 Assisting the Royal Portrait
06:07 People Skills Behind the Lens
07:30 Justyna’s Fine Art Origins
09:07 From Craigslist to Weddings
10:28 Ditching the Shot List
13:28 Planning Versus Pivoting
16:18 Fashion Influence on Weddings
20:15 Why Couples Connect
23:39 Confidence and Self Portraits
25:22 Going International from Ottawa
28:53 Final Thanks and Subscribe

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Michael Coombs

Joel & Justyna

Host Michael Coombs interviews luxury wedding and event planner Andrea Eppolito about making a clean-break repositioning from high-volume work to a personal, intentional luxury brand. Eppolito describes letting go of the need to take every inquiry, overcoming fears that the phone wouldn’t ring again, and clarifying who she serves by removing misaligned portfolio content, rebuilding her website, refining messaging, and only accepting ideal clients—taking just two weddings from 100+ leads during a difficult transition year. She explains how a “board of directors” led by her husband and strategist Sean Lowe supported the shift. Discussing pricing (starting around $2,500 per person) and high-end clients, she says they buy tailored, granular decisions and access to top talent. She also outlines industry changes driven by social media, reduced gatekeeping, and AI, redefining luxury as personal, intentional, and irreplicable.

00:00 Luxury Is Personal
00:19 Meet The Guest
00:54 Letting Go Of Volume
03:29 Fixing Brand Confusion
07:22 The Hard Reset Year
10:28 Why A Clean Break
13:27 Fear And Support System
18:12 Quoting Ultra Luxury Budgets
22:12 What Clients Really Buy
25:43 Industry Shifts And AI
30:12 Defining Luxury Today
30:52 Closing And Subscribe

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Michael Coombs

Andrea Eppolito

Host Michael Coombs interviews Nigerian-born planner, designer, educator, and author Akeshi Akinseye of Kesh Events about building meaningful, culturally rooted celebrations and redefining luxury as “the felt” rather than visible, expensive details. Akeshi explains a planner’s responsibility in translating a client’s culture by listening first, asking real follow-up questions, and reflecting insights back in proposals to personalize the experience. She describes the “felt journey” as designing emotion and intention at every touchpoint, and urges creatives to shift content from visuals to feelings to better communicate value. Akeshi shares how education, constant learning, and humility support premium positioning, and discusses her platform, The Kesh Experience, which offers courses, membership, and a mastermind. She emphasizes personal branding, visibility, representation, and taking up space with excellence, and mentions her books, including The Art of Celebrating, available widely.

00:00 Luxury Is a Feeling
00:12 Meet Akeshi Akinseye
00:42 Intention and Culture Roots
02:07 Translating Culture to Events
03:11 Listening for Client Clues
04:10 From Cues to Proposals
06:10 Genuine Luxury vs Expensive
07:53 The Felt Journey Explained
09:13 Selling the Feeling Online
11:26 Pricing with Education Value
13:59 Make It About the Client
15:23 Creative Humility Habits
15:57 Learning Everywhere Daily
17:20 Cash Experience Breakdown
18:13 Luxury Market Misconceptions
19:37 Handling Client Resistance
21:01 Why Personal Brand Wins
22:24 Press Visibility Proof
24:06 Representation Take Up Space
26:12 Books Legacy Impact
28:59 Where To Buy Closing

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Michael Coombs

Kesh Events

Host Michael Coombs interviews event planner Julian Leaver, who started by planning sorority parties at the University of Oklahoma, nearly pursued a State Department career, worked in hotels including Rosewood, and now runs Julian Leaver Events with offices in Dallas and Paris. Leaver explains how low-budget college events taught scrappiness, tight logistics, and prioritizing guest experience, and how hotel systems, data, and collaboration shaped his firm while he left behind high-volume repetition. He discusses saying no based on fit and budget, educating clients on costs (including a budgeting method based on venue and food-and-beverage estimates), and managing 3,000+ micro-decisions through phased planning and recorded calls. He details post-event surveys for clients and vendors, using feedback to improve systems and understand buyer types, emphasizes client advocacy and direct communication with vendors, shares his 10-year sobriety, describes his “Mind Over Matrimony” podcast for transparency, and outlines clear, commission-free pricing practices.

00:00 Service Is the Product
00:19 Meet Julian Leaver
00:42 From State Dept to Events
02:42 Sorority Parties to Hospitality
04:24 Origin Story and Referrals
06:32 Guiding Clients on Experience
08:17 First Year Lessons Saying No
10:16 Budget Fit and Education
12:51 Wedding Budget Rule of Five
13:51 Hotel Systems vs Creative Freedom
17:06 Client Capacity and Team Structure
18:12 Paris Office and Global Planning
19:32 Local Teams Matter
20:19 3000 Micro Decisions
22:15 Recording Calls For Clarity
23:03 Post Wedding Surveys
24:15 Using Feedback To Improve
25:51 Buyer Types And Messaging
27:09 Why Vendors Avoid Surveys
30:18 Client Advocacy First
31:51 Handling Vendor Misalignment
33:09 Mind Over Matrimony Podcast
36:23 Pricing Transparency Explained
38:58 Closing Thanks And Subscribe

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Michael Coombs

Julian Leaver Events

Host Michael Coombs interviews husband-and-wife destination wedding photo and video team Dryden and Emily about building a respected luxury storytelling brand since launching in 2020. They explain why destination work keeps them inspired and removes seasonality, how they manage creative disagreements by leaning into each other’s strengths, and why extensive preparation—like arriving 2–3 days early to scout—helps them capture “magazine-worthy” imagery without harming the couple’s wedding experience. They credit rapid growth to social media, constant debriefs, and pursuing excellence in shooting, editing, branding, and posting. They discuss rebranding from Wild & Rome to “Dryden and Emily” to better resonate with luxury clients, evolving their ideal client, relying on planner relationships, and the role of community, networking, and conferences. They close by stressing there’s no single path to success and acknowledging struggles with comparison and FOMO.

00:00 Excellence First Mindset
00:46 Meet Dryden And Emily
01:29 Why Destination Weddings
02:56 Creative Conflict And Prep
05:38 Imagery Versus Experience
07:23 Prep As A Business Edge
09:38 How They Started In 2020
10:49 Scaling Fast With Social
12:34 Rebrand To Their Names
14:29 Finding The Right Clients
18:42 Planners And Vibes Check
23:52 Community Fuels Growth
26:51 Where To Network
27:57 No One Right Path
29:50 Wrap Up And Thanks

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Michael Coombs

Dryden & Emily

Host Michael Coombs interviews DJ Malike of Curate Entertainment about his recent high-profile appearances (BizBash, New York Bridal Fashion Week, Engage, FIFA) and why audiences respond to his authenticity, energy, and focus on joy. Malike defines joy as a resilient choice distinct from happiness, shaped by his mother and influenced by Viktor Frankl, and describes practicing it through acceptance, gratitude, and service, including a FIFA Fan Fest moment when sprinklers ruined the sound system and he shifted to uplifting others backstage. He discusses being the first DJ to speak on Engage’s main stage, the role of goal-setting with deadlines, and BizBash recognition for making DJs culturally relevant and fashion forward by blending professionalism with club-level cultural cool while “knowing the rules” before breaking them. Malike addresses pricing through perceived value, scarcity, and emotional intelligence, and responds to online criticism about his style by defending cultural expression and refusing to change.

00:00 Rules and Innovation
00:19 Meet DJ Malik
01:15 Authenticity and Joy
02:38 Defining Joy
04:35 FIFA Setback Story
08:29 Choosing Joy Daily
10:19 Engage Main Stage First
11:36 Why Malike Was Chosen
14:05 Who Malike Really Is
16:26 Goals and Manifestation
19:30 BizBash Recognition
20:01 DJ Industry Bubble
20:41 Conference Famous Trap
21:35 Giving Flowers Publicly
22:14 Culturally Relevant DJs
24:45 Bridging Two Worlds
26:19 Know Rules Break Rules
27:44 Reading The Audience
29:41 Raising Rates Perception
32:54 Best Work Scarcity
36:54 Heat Over Style
37:48 Culture Loud Luxury
42:16 Final Mic Drop

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Michael Coombs

Curate Entertainment

Host Michael Coombs interviews Kristin Banta, founder of Kristin Banta Events, about being named one of the most influential event professionals of the past 25 years and how her 23-year journey evolved from learning weddings from scratch to producing premieres, immersive brand events, and corporate work. Banta explains she broke from traditional weddings by first mastering the rules, then reshaping them around a clear point of view, and advises creatives to define what they uniquely bring and find clients who respond. She describes her client intake process as listening, asking the right questions, and uncovering the “why” before design begins, noting the stigma corporate clients can have toward wedding producers and the limits of designing solely for social media moments. She details her award-winning “Shape of Water” wedding concept and shares how surviving a hit-and-run accident reframed her priorities and gratitude for life.

00:00 Find Your Point of View
00:16 Meet Kristin Banta
01:22 Starting in Weddings
02:51 Theater to Events Path
05:30 Learning the Rules
06:53 Breaking Tradition Backlash
08:36 Expanding Beyond Weddings
09:51 Client Why and Intake
11:11 Corporate Stigma Shift
15:25 Pretty Versus Impact
16:13 Beyond Social Media Moments
18:30 Standing Out Today
20:40 Shape of Water Concept
22:50 Guest Journey Walkthrough
24:43 Designing Multisensory Stories
25:39 Life Changing Accident
28:56 Why the Work Matters
30:55 Closing and Subscribe

Links :

Michael Coombs

Kristin Banta Events

Today’s show features Veronica Di Santo, co-founder and managing partner of Ines Di Santo, about luxury bridal fashion, entrepreneurship, and resilience. 

Veronica describes herself as a passionate, people-focused, and spiritual person while sharing the story behind the launch of V, Veronica Di Santo. She reflects on growing up in her mother’s atelier, where she learned that bridal is about creating history and that building a successful brand requires both sacrifice and a relentless pursuit of excellence. She also shares the “aha” moment she experienced while in university that led her to join the family business.

Throughout the conversation, Veronica discusses the brand’s growth on a global scale, the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, and why strong teams are essential to long-term success. She opens up about her manifestation practices, navigating the loss of her husband during COVID with the support of her team, and the habits that keep her grounded, including working out and learning tennis. Her biggest lessons: lead with passion, embrace what makes you different, invest in great people, and always be willing to listen.

00:00 Carving Her Own Path
00:35 Meet Veronica Di Santo
02:34 Launching V Bridal Line
04:41 V Bride vs Ines Style
06:03 Growing Up In Atelier
08:29 Choosing The Family Dream
11:16 Scaling To Global Luxury
13:24 Finding Talent And Manifesting
18:56 Grief And Healing Journey
24:12 Staying Grounded And Sharp
26:47 Advice For Brand Builders
27:57 Power Of Listening
31:03 Closing And Subscribe

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Michael Coombs

Veronica Di Santo

Ines Di Santo

Host Michael Coombs interviews sales, leadership, and customer service trainer Cindy Novotny about building sustainable businesses through the combination of strong sales, exceptional service, and leadership. Drawing from her experience with the Ritz-Carlton Learning Institute and Malcolm Baldrige quality standards, she shared how vision, mission, onboarding, daily standards, reviews, and communication huddles all contribute to long-term success — and how luxury hospitality practices can translate into corporate industries.

She also emphasized the importance of fast, personalized follow-up through “personal automation,” avoiding public pricing for customized work, and consistently pursuing business through referrals, outreach, and re-engaging after lost bids. We discussed the value of asking for honest feedback after losses, the reality that most prospects need 6–13 touchpoints, and the importance of staying connected with clients at least every six months.

Some of the biggest themes throughout the conversation were consistency, blocking one hour daily for business development, understanding your numbers and ROI, using AI for call notes and speech prep, improving presentation skills, and staying curious and coachable across generations.

00:00 Consistency Wins
00:40 Meet Cindy Novotny
01:27 Sales Service Leadership Trio
02:56 Luxury Hospitality Playbook
04:08 Vision Mission Standards
05:13 Processes for Solo Entrepreneurs
06:06 Fast Follow Up Example
07:47 Personal Automation System
09:04 Why No Website Pricing
10:32 Referrals and Lost Deals
11:40 Handling Rejection and Feedback
14:36 Ghosting and Mystery Shopping
16:04 No Fluff Direct Leadership
19:14 Truth and Ethics in Sales
20:53 What Makes Winners Consistent
21:25 Daily Sales Consistency
21:42 Practice Beats Talent
23:11 One Hour Business Block
24:27 Capture Leads Fast
25:36 Follow Up Cadence
29:59 Know Your Numbers
31:26 Build Lists And Referrals
33:30 Get Help To Scale
36:37 AI As Your Assistant
38:13 Mentors And Learning
40:25 Closing Thanks And Subscribe

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Cindy Novotny

Michael Coombs

Host Michael Coombs interviews Josh Spiegel, founder and chief creative officer of Birch Events, about his path from selling florals in his dad’s Brooklyn balloon shop to producing 200+ events a year. Spiegel says Birch’s foundation is service and listening, defining luxury as how clients feel and how heard they are. He recounts early financial naivety that led to about $1.5M in debt, and describes steps to regain control: paying himself a salary, using an “envelope diet,” finding partners with complementary skills, and selling 70% of the company to gain operational and financial support; he says the debt took about 10 years to resolve. He discusses partnership lessons, resilience through COVID, designing by extracting clients’ stories, the role of relationships and authenticity, excitement about AI-driven internal tools, hiring CEO Lance Emanuel in 2023, and plans for global growth and broader market service.

00:00 Service Is Luxury
00:16 From Balloon Shop
01:20 Listening Builds Birch
02:33 Debt And Naivete
04:20 Envelope Budgeting
07:15 Finding The Right Partner
09:59 A Decade To Debt Free
10:55 Surviving COVID
13:44 Resilience Mountain Mindset
16:47 Humility And Authenticity
18:17 Innovation At Scale
19:47 Client Discovery Process
20:45 Design Starts With Questions
21:07 Reimagining Navy Theme
21:50 Jewel Box Event Reveal
23:22 Listening As Superpower
25:52 Luxury Means Whole Sentence
27:18 Relationships Build Success
29:55 Social Media And Privacy
31:30 Standing Out In Luxury
33:46 AI Transforms Workflow
36:20 Why Hire A CEO
39:18 Whats Next For Birch
40:27 Final Thanks And Signoff

Links:

Michael Coombs

Birch Events