The Wedding MBA 2023 lineup looks like one of the best yet!

Attention wedding pros: this year’s Wedding MBA lineup looks like one of the best yet! 

 

 

AMM is heading to Wedding MBA 2023 in November. Once again, we’re sponsoring the Wedding Officiant track, and we'll be sharing some exciting news about our Officiant Accelerator events. 

 

It looks like we’ll be in very good company! 

 

Wedding MBA is the largest convention for professional wedding vendors in the world, attracting nearly 5,000 attendees to the Las Vegas Convention Center each year. This year’s gathering will feature 100 speakers, 160 seminars, and 200 exhibits – including a booth featuring your friends here at American Marriage Ministries. 

 

The current Wedding MBA Speaker List is filled with industry veterans, fresh new faces, and diverse speakers covering topics that are essential to today’s officiants – from SEO strategy to embracing and promoting your personal identity. 

 

Here are a few wedding experts we don’t want to miss… 
and we bet you won’t want to, either.

 

 

 

Christopher Shelley 

 

Chris was a guest speaker at AMM’s Officiant Accelerator: NYC event in August, so we know this talk is going to be good! Chris Shelley is a Certified Life-Cycle Celebrant and owner of Illuminating Ceremonies in NYC, known for turning the traditional wedding ceremony on its head by creating hilarious, personalized, couple-specific love stories. His book, Best. Ceremony. Ever. (published by The Countryman Press / W.W. Norton), has helped couples around the country plan their perfect ceremony. (Photo via Illuminating Ceremonies)

 

• NYC Celebrant Chris Shelley shares the secret to becoming a successful wedding officiant

 

 

Rev. Laura C. Cannon

Laura has been a frequent collaborator with AMM over the years, most recently in support of Officiant Accelerator – a multi-city officiant training series created by AMM in partnership with IAPWO. She serves as President of IAPWO (the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants) and is the owner of Ceremony Officiants, one of the largest officiant agencies in the United States. She’s also a Senior Minister at SOUL Community Church outside DC, and a proud member of the National Speaker Association. She speaks on topics of entrepreneurship, meditation, and spirituality – and we can’t wait to hear what she has to share this year.

 

• Professional Advice: IAPWO President Rev. Laura C. Cannon on Performing Ceremonies for Hire

 

 

Bethel Nathan

If you want to build your business, you better catch Bethel’s talk! Bethel is a frequent guest speaker with AMM’s Officiant Accelerator, and a true entrepreneurial powerhouse. As an established wedding officiant, Business Elevation Coach, Speaker, and Educator, she’s one of the most recognizable forces in the wedding industry. She’s married over 1200 couples over the past 14 years with Ceremonies by Bethel, and now trains other wedding pros on how to be the best with her business Elevate by Bethel. She helped write Asked to Officiate, our step-by-step ceremony guide, and even designed an online officiant training course for AMM –  Elevate by Bethel’s Business of Officiating Course.

 

• Become a Successful Wedding Officiant with this Brilliant Advice from Bethel Nathan
• Asked To Officiate: Your Complete Guide to a Perfect Ceremony

 

 

Don Mamone 

 

Don Mamone is up and coming in the industry, and we’re excited to hear what they have to share about creativity and finding authentic identity as a wedding professional. From their website: “Don Mamone is a speaker, identity coach & consultant teaching audiences and clients how to reach their maximum potential & impact by discovering & embracing their true identity and supporting companies dedicated to safe spaces that support unapologetic authenticity.” (Photo [cropped] via donmamone.com)

 

 

Mark Allan Groleau

You know Mark Allan Groleau as the friendly and knowledgeable officiant behind Unboring!Wedding. He’s helped thousands of officiants find their footing and their authentic voice in the wedding world through academic courses, coaching, and fun online content. We can’t wait to see what Mark’s got in store for us all this year. (Photo via @unboringwedding, taken by @tjtindale)

 

 

 

 

Kirsten Palladino

Kirsten Palladino is the queer educator and speaker behind Equally Wed, the world’s leading LGBTQ+ wedding website. She’s been a transformative presence in the wedding industry for over a decade and is a prominent advocate for marriage equality. She currently serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) director for the Wedding Professionals International Association’s Atlanta Chapter (WPIA), and is a select educator for The Knot Worldwide's WeddingPro program. We’re big fans of her work toward building an inclusive industry, and look forward to hearing her insights this year! (Photo via @kirstenpalladino)

 

 

André Brown

André Brown is an award-winning wedding photographer based in Atlanta, and teaches hands-on photography and business workshops for photographers. We love what happens when officiants work closely with skilled photographers to capture the ephemeral magic of a marriage ceremony, and we’re excited to hear what he has to share! (Photo via WeddingMBA.com)

 

 

 

Other speakers who caught our eye include photographer and creative director Twah Dougherty, wedding industry educator and business coach Terrica, body image coach and marketing strategist Shafonne Myers, and internationally trained opera singer and venue director Ian Ramirez. 

 

 

Who do you hope to see at Wedding MBA this year? 

 

Visit the American Marriage Ministries booth as you make the rounds and say hello! We’ll have some fun giveaway items and exciting surprises waiting for you. 

 

 

Photo: Brooke Cagle / Unsplash

 

 

 

Read about last year's event: 

 

• AMM’s Going to Wedding MBA 2022 - See You There!
   

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Read Next: 

 

• Why Every Wedding Planner Should Get Ordained (With American Marriage Ministries)
   
• How to Start a Website for Your Wedding Officiant Business
   

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