Master Wedding Planner™ Melanie Ramone, MWP™, Luxur Weddings & Events, Puebla, Mexico and Milan, ItalyFamily: I am married to a Dutch guy. We have no children. We live half our time in Mexico and the other half in The Netherlands.Education: [For] college, I studied in Milan with a double degree in fashion design. I have two masters degrees—in luxury brands and styling and organization for fashion events. Both in Italy.Starting the business: I started working in events in 2000, and my first business began in 2002 in Milan, Italy. It was 2005 when I created and launched Luxur Weddings & Events (it was then know as “Luxury Italian Weddings”).Business goals: For Luxur, my goal is to keep creating and innovating our service and delivering more than what our clients expect. The goal is to make fewer weddings each year but with the highest quality. For my personal brand, the goal is to help as many people as possible to have a thriving business through my consulting service and coaching.Evaluating success: Each individual has a different meaning of success. For me, I consider it a successful year when both my reputation, my company’s reputation (and the bank account) are increasing. For me, the most valuable thing and what gives me real fulfillment is the trust my clients and vendors give me.One mistake: The worst mistake I think I ever made in my business was to charge without knowing the cost of my service correctly. My business was never going to survive if I continued doing that. In order for my business to evolve, and grow, I had to charge according to my service cost and not how the market was charging.On becoming a master: My personal process took over two years. It was difficult to find the time to gather every documentation to apply with all the work I had with weddings, and I really wanted to give an over-the-top presentation.On the ABC: At the beginning, I applied just to have a badge of belonging to something. As the years pass, I am a member because the ABC is like a family, where you certainly can grow, learn, and meet incredible, reliable professionals.Other associations: Belief Wedding Planners, Woman Speaker Association, Event Planner Association, Worldwide Association of Female Professionals, Elite Wedding Society.Mentors: The people I used to work with at event planning in Italy are by far my greatest mentors. My parents also. Why? I owe to them everything I know and the person I’ve become personally and professionally.Marketing strategy: Depends on the year, but mostly, my strategy is for clients and their guests to talk about their wedding. I don’t showcase any picture of the weddings I organize. This is mainly because my high-end clients like their privacy and also because I love to create unique things for each client, and I don’t want anyone to be biased. What I do is showcase, in videos, the “backstage” of some of the weddings I plan, so when clients ask me what exactly I do, I show them a time lapse of one week of the backstage so they can see the hard work.Staying fresh: I believe each year you evolve, therefore, it’s natural that your company evolves as well. I am keen on reviewing our year in December so that we can plan the new strategies and how to innovate the next year. I like refreshing the brochure of our services and making a semester/year plan.Favorite business book: I really loved the The E-Myth (by Michael Gerber) as it describes the ups and downs of the life of an entrepreneur. I also love The Disciplined Entrepreneur (by Bill Aulet), because it shows you step-by-step how to segment your market.Favorite movies: I love The Devil Wears Prada and The Intern. These remind me of how I started from the bottom, which I think is very important to keep in mind to keep your feet on the ground. I love VT Wonen (which is a Dutch TV show about remodeling your house) and I love The Property Brothers.In her free time:   I like reading in my free time (also every night before I go to bed). I love watching a good movie with my husband—and sleep!!Words of wisdom: Take control of your business; don’t let the business control you. Know your bottom line; charge what your service is really worth.Giving back: Each year, I donate to two charities. I adopt a “grandma” each year as well. And as for the industry, I share everything I’ve learned so that other planners can be successful.Little known fact: I plan weddings, but I don’t like to go to weddings as a guest. I can go for days without sleeping when it comes to work, but if I’m in a party, I want to head home early. Also, there is no day that I go without chocolate or coffee. ABC Member Since: 2005 Employees: 7, plus extra staff for events Revenue: Luxur Weddings—70% consulting/planning, 29% décor/flower design, 1% day-of coordination; Melanie Ramone—40% business and branding consulting, 30% branding development, 15% seminars, trainings and coaching, 15% speaking engagements Contact: +52 (55) 62943650, info@melanieramone.com, www.luxurweddings.com, info@melanieramone.com, www.melanieramone.comSocial Media: Luxur Weddings & Events—Facebook, Luxurweddings; Instagram/Twitter: @luxurweddings; Melanie Ramone—Facebook luxurmel, Instagram/Twitter: @luxurmel, LinkedIn: melanieluxur