A Hot Night In Havana

From Caroline: Kelli Conley (with Yah Photography) and I partnered up in 2017 to launch this annual networking event. After attending many local networking events, we noticed that we often felt overwhelmed by the crowd size and would tend to gravitate towards who we knew and not actually network to meet new professionals. We decided that we wanted to start an "intimate" networking event that was fun, but also encouraged vendors to step outside their comfort zone and mingle.

We limit our invite list to between 100-130 vendors and strategically decide who we invite based on business location and vendor type. We try to pull various vendors from all over the greater Charlotte area (Charlotte, Fort Mill, Huntersville, Monroe, Concord, Rock Hill, Gastonia, etc.) in an effort to help expand connections. We also try to invite 3-4 of each type of vendor (beauty, rentals, venues, photographers, cake designers, coordinators, etc.). We strive for this event to have a "community over competition" feel.

In addition to our invite list, we also strategically decide which vendors we ask to partner for the event. We feature a different set of vendors each year and once again, try to pull from different areas and even look to select those who are newer in the industry, area or might be re-branding.

At our event, we do offer decor, food, beverages, dancing and more! However, each year we incorporate an interactive game with a prize to encourage vendors to get to know those they have not met before. Last year was 1920's themed and we incorporated a photo scavenger hunt, where guest had to find other individuals that had something in common with them (like their birthday month or home town). They were then asked to take a photo, post it on social media and tag each other. This year we implemented a "Guess Who" game where we asked for 3 interesting facts with each RSVP and handed out hints. Each business had to find out "who they were" and take a photo with them at the Photo Booth, tagging the other. We also have a fun award each year since we always theme the networking events. Last year was Best Dressed and this year was Best Dancer.

There are so many wonderful vendors in and around the Charlotte area and we not only want to meet and network with them but we also want to support and showcase them, while hopefully expanding their vendor relationships.