Deboanir Weddings owner, Debra Cochran, is a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants. The Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC) is the oldest and largest organization exclusively serving wedding professionals worldwide. They have been training wedding planners since 1955 to achieve excellence and maintain the highest professional standards within the industry! So its no wonder that the ABC Annual Midwest retreat at the gorgeous West Baden Springs Hotel is a highlight of the year!

We have been attending the retreat since 2017 and it continues to be an awesome opportunity for networking and learning from other industry professionals. ABC Midwest Retreat is a combination of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois ABC chapters. This year, we were not able to stay at West Baden due to the filming of a movie (based on the book So Cold the River), but we were moved over to the French Lick Hotel and Conference Center.

The weekend began with a beer tasting event, which really was more about reconnecting with those you only once a year than the actual beer! Saturday starts early and runs all day jam packed with education and demonstrations. This year’s speakers included Ami Price talking about systems and automation, Melissa Canada on how to prepare and protect your business during natural/man made disasters, and The Patel family from Elegance Decor educating us about South Asian wedding trends.

After a delicious lunch we were back at it with Derrick Taylor teaching us how experience guides your business, Jeremy & Renee Miner on vendors relationships, and Amber Baird on video marketing tips. So much great information was shared!

The evening ends with a farewell reception and this year’s theme was Roaring 20’s. The French Lick team did a fantastic job preparing the food, flowers, and decor!

Education and training  is very important to us here at Debonair Weddings, which is why we invest our time and resources into opportunities to continue learning and growing so we can better serve you, our clients.

Cheers!